traveling to Panama with 8 month old...

[Anonymous]

I am now officially freaking out about traveling with my 8 month old to Panama...What was I thinking?!?! We have a wedding of a very good friend to go to and it's too late to back out. It's not the traveling part that's worrying me...we've been overseas to visit family before. It's the not knowing what to expect and possibly exposing my child to some illness. I spoke with a nurse at the ped's office and she says we should have him get the MMR vaccine before we go even though he's only 8 months old and that he would then need it again at 1 year. This makes me very nervous...to give him the MMR so young. On the other hand she said, "Measles at this age can be deadly" so that didn't make me relax either.

Anyone travel to Panama before? Also...do we need any documents besides passports?

[Anonymous]

Where in Panama are you going? Just Panama City or nearby?

My husband and I went to Panama on vacation a few years ago and were actually pretty surprised by the city. Perhaps given the international presence due to the canal, but it's very modern and much cleaner than many other Central American capitol cities. Assuming you're all carrying American passports, you'll get a visa on arrival, for which you will probably have to pay. They use American dollars, although they're called colones, so you don't even have to worry about changing money.

If you are staying in/near Panama City, you will not really have to worry about malaria, dengue, yellow fever, etc. - all the mosquito-borne illnesses. The biggest thing I would worry about is the water: all of you should drink nothing but bottled, including for brushing your teeth. If baby needs a bath while you're there, be very careful not to let him swallow any tap water - maybe use bottled water to rinse his face and hair, or for the whole bath. Bottled water is very widely available and is usually pretty cheap. Just always make sure the seal breaks when you open the bottle. Most of the non-mosquito-borne illnesses are transmitted through food and water, so my focus would be on making sure you and baby don't consume any fruit or vegetables that 1) haven't been peeled or 2) haven't been washed. Food at most restaurants/hotels that cater to foreign tourists will be perfectly fine; what you eat will really depend on your own comfort level. I've always eaten fruit and vegetables without thinking twice. The only place I ever actually got sick, though, was Panama, but that was through sheer idiocy: I ate not one but two different types of unwashed fruit offered to me at a market from probably very unclean hands. The result was "only" a day of really bad diarrhea, but that would be a lot worse in a baby than in a healthy adult. As long as you're not stupid like me, you'll be fine.

Also, keep in mind that Panama sees thousands of cruise ship passengers every year, thousands of other tourists because of the canal, and has a fairly high American expat population. The tourist infrastructure in Panama City is pretty good and long-established. I would be much more worried about going almost anywhere else in Central America, especially if you are staying close to the capitol!

I can't speak to the vaccination questions, but the nurse is probably right: better the MMR than risk those diseases. You may also want to contact a travel medicine clinic. I've always liked Farragut Medical and Travel Care, right near the White House.

[Anonymous]

One more thing: you might want to go to a bookstore and flip through a guidebook for Panama for more info on what to expect. Lonely Planet also has a pretty good forum called the Thorntree. There's both a Central American branch and one especially focused on travel with kids. I guarantee that a few people will say you're nuts for traveling with an 8-month-old, but please ignore them since you've said you can't not go. Others may have really helpful advice.

[Anonymous]

We went to Nicaragua with our 18 month old a couple of months ago, we didn't give her any vaccinations, we spent a number of days in tropical areas full of mosquitos, she got bitten, but she had a wonderful time and came away as healthy as she was before.
Granted she's older and stronger than an 8 month old, but we met a family also traveling in Nicaragua (they had traveled through Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico also) with a 2 year old and 10 month old and their kids had been in great health all the way through.
Just be smart about the food and water you give your child, use mosquito repellent (child-friendly), and I'm sure everything will be just fine. And as everyone points out, Panama city is a modern (and Americanized) city and many of the tourist areas around it are very developed places with modern facilities.

[Anonymous]

OP here - thanks for the advice, especially regarding the food and water. We'll in Panama City. I'm bringing all the food he's going to eat and I'm still breast feeding. In terms of bathing I think I'll just rinse him off with bottled water. He can be without a "real" bath for 4 days.

I'm still debating about the shots.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't do the shots. We adopted DS from Guatemala where he spent the first 8 months of his life in a group home. He had a normal US series of vaccines there but that didn't include the MMR at that age and he was perfectly fine. As others have said, Panama City is quite developed -- for four days, it's not worth it. Have a great trip!

[Anonymous]

Don't worry. I understand your stress. i had it before taking my 6month old to India then taking her to Brazil at 8 month,... Use your stress constructively: to prepare yourself and take precautions...

Check the yellow book (what travel nurses would do for you)
http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/destinationPanama.aspx
there will be tons of info.

Take lots of precautions with water, take a fully loaded pharmacy (infant tylenol, benadryl, cortizone for rashes,... ) and also take Electrolyte with you just in case and you'll be fine.

I always take all these things along (and never need it).

[Anonymous]

14:50 poster here. Also see the positive, you are exposing your kid to new stimulus and showing her a lot of new things. It is a good thing.