*The content listed below, whilst factual, should obviously not replace going to a doctor before heading off on your trips.
This is the first post of a mult-ipart series listing the important things you should bring and what you should know before you leave for your trip.
I went to the travel clinic the other day to get some vaccinations for my upcoming trip. Because of the massive cost of this trip already, I was going to skip the vaccines in order to save money, knowing the dangers full well (I’d had the big “talking to” in the past about all of the scary things that can happen if you go to tropical places vaccinated when I went to get my yellow fever vaccine for my trip to Brazil in 2007). But, being the neurotic hypochondriac that I am, I realized that I’d probably have psychosomatic symptoms mimicking whatever I thought I’d caught, and I’d probably go into a full blown panic attack if I even suspected that I’d caught anything whilst on my trip. I’ll be in a little village just outside of Ubud, and whilst Ubud is well known and has a clinic and there is a doctor on-call 24 hours a day, it’s quite a ways to the capital of Bali, which is Denpasar, which has the most well-equipped hospital.
I did quite a bit of research before I went to the clinic (as I always do, since I’m one of those people who generally mistrusts some of the medical establishment because they often try to peddle drugs on you that can sometimes do a lot more harm than good). Fortunately for me, the nurse was lovely and he gave me a very well put-together presentation of all the dangers I faced in Indonesia and South-East Asia in general and what to do.
I decided that I would ask for Typhoid fever vaccination, because Typhoid is common is South East Asia, but especially because I will be there during Indonesia’s rainy season and in a rural area amongst the rice paddies, and typhoid is most common in such areas and is transmitted by contaminated water. People with weakened immune systems are most at risk, of course, and I thought my immune system absolutely takes a beating every time I travel and lose sleep, as well as when I experience anxiety, which I undoubtedly will be experiencing a whole lot of for the fist little while as I become accustomed to a whole new way of life in a land far, far away all by myself.
The second vaccine I got was Hepatitis A, for obvious reasons. Hep A is transmitted very easily through something as simple as someone with Hep A handling ice cubes and then putting them in your drink and consuming it. It’s one of the most easily prevented diseases in the world, if vaccinated.
The nurse at the travel clinic included in a free mumps vaccination for me. I’d like to think he was flirting with me. Although he didn’t give me a lollipop after my vaccinations.
He also schooled me on malaria and dengue fever, which I knew a bit about, and there is no vaccine against either, however there are many precautions one can take in order to avoid getting either one of them.
First of all, malaria is the most serious and fatal disease transmitted by mosquitoes. However, most malaria deaths occur in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Transmission:
- Malaria is spread to humans by the bite of a mosquito infected with malaria parasites.
- The mosquito that spreads malaria is usually active during the evening, night and early morning (dusk to dawn).
- The risk for malaria transmission increases in rural areas and during and after rainy seasons.
- Particularly two to three hours after dawn and during the early evening. They breed in standing water and are often found in urban areas.
Mosquito Repellant – Make sure it has at least 30% DEET
What can you do to prevent it? Well, on the medication side of things, there are a host of anti-malarial pills that you can take beginning about six weeks before your vacation, but again, the side-effects of those are very nasty, but to be most practical, wear long sleeves, pants, tuck your pants into your socks, wear shoes as opposed to sandals, and use insect repellent that contains at least 30% DEET – this is very important. Also make sure that you sleep with a mosquito net covering your bed, and tucked into your mattress. Make sure there are no tears, and get one that is treated with insecticide.
For more information, consult the Government of Canada’s website section of traveling abroad.
As for dengue fever, mosquitoes carrying it tend to bite in the daytime, rather than the nighttime like the mosquitoes carrying malaria. Mosquitoes carrying dengue fever strike particularly two to three hours after dawn and during the early evening. They breed in standing water and are often found in urban areas.
Symptoms
- Most commonly take four to seven days to appear, after being bitten by an infected mosquito.
- Usually include flu-like symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, pain behind the eyes, joint and muscle pain, and a rash.
- It is common for some people to show no symptoms.
- In about 1% of cases, people with dengue fever develop dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF). Symptoms of DHF include fever, but also bleeding under the skin, severe abdominal pain and vomiting.
- DHF can lead to shock. With proper medical care, only 1% of cases will result in death.
Most people with dengue do survive, however, consult a doctor immediately if you start to feel any of the symptoms. Don’t hesitate to do it or feel like you’re wasting a doctor’s time – it’s better to be safe than to die. You could very well have a weakened immune system and not even know it.
Some of the things you should include to help prevent illnesses. Yes, the water bottle is there for a reason and it’s not the reason you’d assume!
Now I did not get vaccinated against rabies, even though I should have. The cost was sky-high and it was a series of three doses and it was already too late for me to get it. Since Bali
has many stray dogs as well as the area I will be staying in is close to monkey forest, I should have gotten it, but I didn’t. Instead, I learned from the travel clinic what to do.
Of course, the first thing to do is to phone a doctor. If it’s a rural village, the doctor may not be able to get there straight away. In that time, you’ll want to flush the wound out soap and water (hence the water bottle in the picture) for at least 15 minutes (or hand sanitizer if you have it on you) with sterile gauze or a piece of clothing (or whatever you can, because it’s that desperate of a situation) to wipe to the area very vigorously to make it re-bleed a bit (to cleanse it). The image below contains all of what you’ll need within the first hour. More information is available at The Government of Canada’s Rabies page.
The image to the right is also some of what you should pack with you in your medical kit that you most certainly should bring along, even if you’re staying in some 5 star resort in a city.
In following posts, I’ll be updating on some other very important things you must bring with you!
Related articles
- What is Dengue Fever ?? (22amiruldenguefever.wordpress.com)
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