Updated
August 26, 2007
General Health Issues
Do and don't advice
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Malaria
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The Following Vaccines are usually recommended (as Appropriate for Age):
Consult with your doctor at least 4-6 weeks before your trip to allow time for injections to take effect. ·
Hepatitis A or immune globulin (IG). ·
Hepatitis B, if you might be exposed to blood (for example, health-care
workers), have sexual contact with the local population, stay longer than
6 months, or be exposed through medical treatment.
Meningococcal meningitis, for travel to most of these countries (see meningitis
map) from December through June.
Yellow fever.
As needed, booster doses for tetanus-diphtheria, measles, and a one-time dose of polio vaccine for adults.
Hepatitis B vaccine is now recommended for all infants and for children ages 11-12 years who did not complete the series as infants.
To Stay Healthy, Do:
- Wash hands often with soap and water.
- Drink only bottled or boiled water, or carbonated (bubbly) drinks in cans or bottles. Avoid tap water, fountain drinks, and ice cubes. If this is not possible, make water safer by BOTH filtering through an "absolute 1-micron or less" filter AND adding iodine tablets to the filtered water. "Absolute 1-micron filters" are found in camping/outdoor supply stores.
- Eat only thoroughly
cooked food or fruits and vegetables you have peeled yourself. Remember:
boil it, cook it, peel it, or forget it.
CAUTION - Food kept hot is hotels is a breeding ground for tummy bugs only eat freshly cooked foods.
- Take your malaria prevention medication before, during, and after travel, as directed.
- Protect yourself from insects by remaining in well-screened areas, using repellents (applied sparingly at 4-hour intervals) and permethrin-impregnated mosquito nets, and wearing long-sleeved shirts and long pants from dusk through dawn.
- To prevent fungal and parasitic infections, keep feet clean and dry, and do not go barefoot.
- Always use latex condoms to reduce the risk of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.
To Avoid Getting Sick:
- Don't eat food purchased from street vendors.
- Don't drink beverages with ice.
- Don't eat dairy products unless you know they have been pasteurized.
- Don't share needles with anyone.
- Don't handle animals (especially monkeys, dogs, and cats), to avoid bites and serious diseases (including rabies and plague).
- Don't swim in fresh water. Salt water is usually safer.
What You Need To Bring with You:
- Long-sleeved shirt and long pants to wear while outside whenever possible, to prevent illnesses carried by insects (e.g., malaria, dengue, filariasis, leishmaniasis, and onchocerciasis).
- Insect repellent containing DEET (diethylmethyltoluamide), in 30%-35% strength for adults and 6%-10% for children. Unless you are staying in air-conditioned or well-screened housing, purchase a bed net impregnated with the insecticide permethrin. (Bed nets can be purchased in camping or military supply stores.)
- Over-the-counter antidiarrheal medicine to take if you have diarrhea.
- Iodine tablets and water filters to purify water if bottled water is not available.
- Sunblock, sunglasses, hat.
- Prescription medications: make sure you have enough to last during your trip, as well as a copy of the prescription(s).
After You Return Home:
- Continue taking your malaria medication weekly for 4 weeks after you leave the area.
- If you become ill after your trip-even as long as a year after you return-tell your doctor where you have traveled.
