Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
cooked food is piping hot all the way through). If you develop diarrhoea, be sure to drink plenty of fluids, preferably an
oral rehydration solution containing water, and some salt and sugar. A few loose stools don't require treatment, but if
you start having more than four or five a day you should start taking an antibiotic (often a quinoline drug, such as cipro-
floxacin or norfloxacin) and an antidiarrhoeal agent (such as loperamide) if you are not within easy reach of a toilet. If
diarrhoea is bloody, persists for more than 72 hours or is accompanied by a fever, shaking, chills or severe abdominal
pain, you should seek medical attention.
Amoebic Dysentery
Contracted by eating contaminated food and water, amoebic dysentery causes blood and mucus in the faeces. It can be
relatively mild and tends to come on gradually, but seek medical advice if you think you have the illness, as it won't
clear up without treatment (which is with specific antibiotics).
Giardiasis
Like amoebic dysentery, this is caused by ingesting contaminated food or water. The illness appears a week or more
after you have been exposed to the parasite. Giardiasis might cause only a short-lived bout of traveller's diarrhoea, but it
can cause persistent diarrhoea. Seek medical advice if you suspect you have giardiasis, but if you are in a remote area
you could start a course of antibiotics.
Environmental Hazards
Heat Exhaustion
This condition occurs following heavy sweating and excessive fluid loss with inadequate replacement of fluids and salt,
and is common in hot climates when taking exercise before full acclimatisation. Symptoms include headache, dizziness
and tiredness. Dehydration is happening by the time you feel thirsty - aim to drink sufficient water to produce pale, di-
luted urine. Treatment: fluid replacement with water and/or fruit juice, and cooling by cold water and fans. The treat-
ment of the salt-loss component consists of consuming salty fluids, as in soup, and adding a bit more salt to food than
usual.
Heatstroke
Heat exhaustion is a precursor to the much more serious heatstroke. In this case there is damage to the sweating mech-
anism, with an excessive rise in body temperature; irrational and hyperactive behaviour; and eventually loss of con-
sciousness and death. Rapid cooling by spraying the body with water and fanning is best. Emergency fluid and electro-
lyte replacement is required by intravenous drip.
Insect Bites & Stings
Mosquitoes might not always carry malaria or dengue fever, but they (and other insects) can cause irritation and infected
bites. To avoid these, take the same precautions as you would for avoiding malaria. Use DEET-based insect repellents.
Excellent clothing treatments are also available; mosquitos that land on treated clothing will die.
Bee and wasp stings cause real problems only to those who have a severe allergy to the stings (anaphylaxis). If you
are one of these people, carry an EpiPen - an adrenaline (epinephrine) injection, which you can give yourself. This
could save your life.
Sandflies are found around the beaches. They usually only cause a nasty, itchy bite but can carry a rare skin disorder
called cutaneous leishmaniasis. Prevention of bites with DEET-based repellent is sensible.
