= Such Stupid Things =

I popped the fourth and final pill of my oral typhoid vaccine this morning. For those who haven't had the pleasure, typhoid vaccines come in two forms, a series of pills taken over eight days, or a single shot in the arm. The pills work better, last longer and are (at leastwith my Cal insurance plan) significantly less expensive. So why would you ever bother with the injection? Well, according to the nurse in the travel clinic, during the eight days of treatment the patient isn't allowed drink alcohol. Horrific! You can imagine why your average college senior might shy away from such a medicine, and take the more expensive option.

But upon closer investigation, the nurse wasn't being entirely up-front with me. It's true that alcohol will dissolve the pill's outer lining and kill the live, antibody-building bacteria within, but once the pill passes your stomach, having a drink or two is just fine. I get that the nurse wants me to be safe, but personally, I just assumed that the manufacturer's instructions -- take pill on an empty stomach with a lukewarm glass of water -- implied that I shouldn't be wasted while doing so. Maybe others drew different conclusions. So consider this my public service announcement du jour: drinking, OK.

I'm reminded of something from my own undergraduate experience, in which a fellow student was diagnosed with tuberculosis. Everyone in the class had been "exposed" and needed to be tested. While waiting in line for the tuberculin all I could think was "if I test positive, I'm going to be on antibiotics and won't be able to drink for, like, months." In retrospect, the more pressing thought should have been "if I test positive... holy shit I have tuberculosis!"