Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
To protect yourself
against altitude sickness,
take 125mg or 250mg of
acetazolamide (Diamox)
twice or three times daily,
starting 24 hours before
ascent and continuing for 48
hours after arrival at alti-
tude. Possible side effects
include increased urinary
volume, numbness, tingling,
drowsiness, nausea, myopia
and temporary impotence.
Acetazolamide should not
be given to pregnant women
or anyone with a history of
sulfa allergy.
When travelling to high
altitudes, avoid overexertion,
eat light meals, drink lots of
fluids and abstain from al-
cohol. If your symptoms are
more than mild or don't re-
solve promptly, see a doctor.
The Murgab Ecotour-
ism Association (META)
(Meta; % Gulnara 93-519 18
02; www.meta.tj; Osh 91; h call
ahead) in Tajikistan's eastern
Pamirs has a hyperbaric
chamber in case of altitude-
related emergencies.
Food
Eating in restaurants is
the biggest risk factor for
contracting travellers' diar-
rhoea.
Ways to avoid it include
eating only freshly cooked
food, avoiding food that has
been sitting around in buf-
fets, and eating in busy res-
taurants with a high turnover
of customers. Peel all fruit,
cook vegetables and soak
salads in iodine water for at
least 20 minutes.
Insect Bites
Bedbugs don't carry disease
but their bites are very itchy.
They live in the cracks of
furniture and walls, and then
migrate to the bed at night
to feed on you. You can treat
the itch with an antihista-
mine.
Ticks (kleshch in Russian)
are contracted after walk-
ing in rural areas. They are
commonly found behind the
ears, on the belly and in the
armpits.
If you have had a tick bite
and experience symptoms
such as a rash at the site
of the bite or elsewhere,
fever or muscle aches, you
should see a doctor. Doxy-
cycline prevents tick-borne
diseases.
 
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