Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Diving
Divers and surfers should seek specialised advice before they travel to ensure their med-
ical kit contains treatment for coral cuts and tropical ear infections, as well as the standard
problems. Divers should ensure their insurance covers them for decompression illness.
Have a dive medical examination before you leave your home country - there are certain
medical conditions that are incompatible with diving, and economic considerations may
override health considerations for some dive operators in Myanmar.
Food
Rather than being overly concerned at street stalls, where food is freshly cooked to order,
note that eating in restaurants is the biggest risk factor for contracting traveller's
diarrhoea. Avoid shellfish, and food that has been sitting around in buffets. Peel all fruit,
cook vegetables and soak salads in iodine water for at least 20 minutes. Eat in busy res-
taurants with a high turnover of customers.
Heat
Many parts of Myanmar are hot and humid throughout the year. It can take up to two
weeks to adapt to the hot climate. Swelling of the feet and ankles is common, as are
muscle cramps caused by excessive sweating. Prevent these by avoiding dehydration
and excessive activity in the heat.
Dehydration is the main contributor to heat exhaustion. Symptoms include feeling weak;
headache; irritability; nausea or vomiting; sweaty skin; a fast, weak pulse; and a normal or
slightly elevated body temperature. Treat by getting out of the heat, applying cool wet
cloths to the skin, lying flat with legs raised and rehydrating with water containing a
quarter of a teaspoon of salt per litre.
Heatstroke
is a serious medical emergency. Symptoms come on suddenly and include
weakness, nausea, a hot dry body with a body temperature of over 41°C, dizziness, con-
fusion, loss of coordination, fits and eventual collapse and loss of consciousness. Seek
medical help and commence cooling by getting the person out of the heat, removing their
clothes, and applying cool wet cloths or ice to their body, especially to the groin and
armpits.
Prickly heat
- an itchy rash of tiny lumps - is caused by sweat being trapped under the
skin. Treat by moving out of the heat and into an air-conditioned area for a few hours and
by having cool showers. Creams and ointments clog the skin so they should be avoided.
Insect Bites & Stings
Bedbugs
Don't carry disease but their bites are very itchy. They live in the cracks of fur-
niture and walls and then migrate to the bed at night to feed on you. You can treat the itch
with an antihistamine.