Within the last hour I have been informed that in mid-March I will be traveling to India on business. My smart ass “been there, done that” cliche that I am able to say about 20 other countries as well as 48 states doesn’t apply in this case.
What I want to know, specifically is, do I need to get any shots or have any health records to go. I, of course, will be searching for this answer elsewhere, but I decided to start here first. Thank you in advance for any info! 
Hello pkbites. before you make your trip to India I would suggest that you try and get any preventive medicine for malaria and jaundice. It is also a good idea to carry medication for an upset tummy, cold etc.
This previous thread might of great help to you.
If you have any specific question feel free to ask.
Your going to want to make sure you are up on your tentnus, measles and polio. You will also want shots for typhoid and Hepatitus A.
They will also want you to take anti-malarial pills- make sure your doctor knows you are going to India, because the malaria there is resistant to some drugs. In my experience, a lot of traveller’s don’t take this precaution because malaria pills can be pretty unpleasent.
Your doc will probably also try to give you some antibiotics for traveller’s diarrhea. I’d pass on this unless you are going to be very far away from big cities. Drugs there are cheap and the medical care in cities is excellent. If you need dental work this is a great time to get it, and a pair of contacts will only cost you twenty bucks (but they don’t make toric lenses 
).
If you have travelled in an area considered a yellow fever risk, you will need documentation that you have been vaccinated against yellow fever.
Have fun! Where in India are you headed?
New Delhi & mumbai, but I don’t know which first. Details of the trip will be at a slow trickle for the next week or so. The news that I’m going is totally unexpected, and I just found out hours ago. This is a pure business trip, so I don’t know how much actual “fun” I’ll be having. But traveling is my passion, and if I haven’t been there (regardless of “where” where is) I’m willing to go, work or pleasure. Unfortunately my wife will not be able to join me as my employer has not invited any spouses on this particular trip (which tells me it’s going to be mostly business).
My next question is, how long do you suppose the plane trip is? I’m in Milwaukee so I assume I’ll be leaving from Mitchell, or O’hare in Chicago.
Check here for the CDC’s recommendations regarding inoculations.
I just did a quick check with some online airfare places, and it looks like the shortest flight from Milwaukee to New Delhi runs about 23 hours - most are in the 25-26 hour neighborhood. Oh, joy!
The plane trip will probably take you around twenty four hours. Air India does direct flights from O’Hare (although they stop either in either London or Frankfurt). You probably want to avoid an economy ticket if you can, although their business/fist class section is not too shabby.
Albeit a bit rough. 
And if you’re going to Mumbai, maybe Xash can show you around.
Not been, but many friends have…
Water is the biggest problem. Outside of the (presumably good) hotel, only drink bottled water, that you’ve purchased and opened yourself. And the dangers of food also revolve around water more than anything else - so a meat dish is less risky then a salad (which could be washed with awful water). Beyond this one simple concern …enjoy yourself! Goddamit, I’m sure I’m not the only one that would love to be sent there for business!
The old, bad drugs I had to take the first time I needed antimalarials were horrible. Malarone, which came out a year or two ago, though, is really pretty painless. Because that’s the newer stuff, doctors are much more likely to prescribe it. It hasn’t been around long enough to exert a lot of selective pressure yet, so there isn’t (or wasn’t, when I last checked) a resistance problem.
As someone who had to learn some medical entomology, let me tell you–it would be very, very hard to find a malaria prophylaxis with side effects as bad as having malaria.
Flights to India run around the 24 hour window. March is going to be very pleasant in Bombay with the summer just begining to start.
I wish I could have been in Bombay to have shown you around but I am sure xash who is from Bombay and Gouda who stays near Bombay can meet you if possible.
Air India does have a Chicago-London-Bombay flight (its the one I took to come to the US) and if you like Indian food you will enjoy it.
The plane ride is a bitch- count on 24 hours, no matter which way around the globe you go. I flew Virgin, and it was a nice trip. Air India’s food is supposed to be really, really good, but don’t get it mixed up with Indian Air, which has a pretty abysmal safety record.
I second drinking only bottled water no matter where you are. It’s cheap and abundant (although there are environmental drawbacks, and always scrunch up your bottle when you are done or it will be picked up by scammers who refill them from the tap and sell them again.)
I used doxycycline for malaria, and it made me throw up every morning for a month and a half before I couldn’t handle it any more. Make sure to start your anti-malarials ahead of time to make sure you don’t have bad reactions.
When my need for the antibiotics burst onto the scene, I wanted to start on the antibiotics right away without waiting to track them down locally. You might consider taking enough for one course of treatement with you from the states and replenishing your supply locally – or getting a hold of a supply shortly after your arrival.
Curiously, I didn’t have any problems while I was in New Delhi – only when I was in smaller cities.
Sure, feel free to call me once you’re in India. Email me your plans and I’ll send you my numbers. Tapioca, I’m sorry I couldn’t get to meet you during your trip here.
http://www.journeymart.com/tools/health.htm
http://www.journeymart.com/dexplorer/asiais/india/default.asp