Health and Medical - Packing List for Travel to Vietnam

By Beverly Roeder, DVM, PhD, Karen Muller and Allison Martin

Packing list for medical and health needs, with suggestions for yourself and your family.

Medical Kit for Adults

Medical Kit for Baby

Antibiotics for Vietnam Adoption Travel

Many USA pediatricians advise against prescribing an antibiotic to take with you to Vietnam and other international adoption areas due to fear of misuse by untrained parents in treating diseases, but also out of ignorance as to the gravity of the situation that exists in these foreign countries. Medical facilities may be poorly equipped, may have little or no access to prescription medications, and unfortunately any Rx medication that is present may have been produced under questionable circumstances regarding formulation, sterility, shelf-life, etc.

According to Dr. Roeder, many of the kids in Vietnam have not had any previous antibiotic to treat any illness,and the likelihood of sensitivity and the risk of anaphylactic shock from an allergy to the antibiotics is very slim. Her son was very sick from the very first day they met. He had an ascending middle ear infection with a high fever. Without the prescription meds that her pediatrician had sent with me, he could have died. He also had continued problems and needed lots of oral rehydration for diarrhea and fevers. We used Ibuprofen to help with the fevers which were later confirmed to be due to malaria. The anemia he suffered from was resolved after he was successfully treated for the malaria, but he also has hemoglobin E trait.Later, Preston was a healthy, happy little boy at least 6 months ahead of schedule on the pediatric assessment charts for developmental skills and abilities. With the correct diagnosis and early treatment he has not had any lasting ill effects from any of these medical problems.