Health...


Purple Burbs, Warbles and Terminal Hemmorids
Pepto Bismol, a jar of Vaseline and a bottle of Corns no More take care of the above three. Now for all else you should got to the Center for Disease Controland World Health Organization sites on travelers health. I like how WHO even deals with issues like health on planes.

As a kid I used to play doctor with the two sisters next door. I've traveled from Mexico to Chile. Had lots of shits, dysentary seventeen times and Hep A in Mexico. Picked up shrapnel in Guatemala. OK...so you are still here.

Your Doctor

If you live in Europe or most of the US odds are he knows virtually nil about tropical illnesses. But he will pop into his office, scan the CDC and WHO sites and comeback and give you a prescription for Cipro. Take it along...great drug.

Travel Clinics

If you belong to an outfit like Kaiser they probably have a travel clinic you can call. Odds are that the person you talk to has no medical training and is sitting in front of a computer screen going through a bunch of menus. The way things are outsourced these days English may not be their original language and they may even be located in a Third World country besotted with the various diseases you are inquiring about.

Your Health

A few presumptions here. You received all the normal childhood immunizations while growing up. If you were raised by cave dwelling Mennonites in Nova Scotia who believe asprin are the work of the devil then you oughta back track and get some of those jabs. If you are knocked up then lots of meds aren't good for you. Herpes, AIDs or other immune related crap..talk to a specialist.

Kids

Some meds they can't take. Full strength DEET...more on it in a minute..ain't good for the critters. Small volume individuals dehydrate and over heat faster than grownups. So if you are taking kids or dwarves along keep that in mind. Just about every pharmacy carries rehydration liquids. If the kid gets the shits start on this right away.

Holistic Health Remedies

If it doesn't involve a ground scorpion it doesn't work. You feel these are the best to use on yourself...good. You will die and remove your defective genes from the pond. But don't use that crap on others...especially kids.

If You Get Sick

First thing you do is get a decent hotel room. One with private bath and either heat or airconditioning. Splurge if needed. Eat in decent restaurants. Avoid grease...hard as that is to do down there. No junk food. Let your body catch up to the stress of travel. See a doctor if you don't know what is wrong. Office calls are cheap. So is lab work. I knew a Brit....starting in Guat. who kept going for months even though he was plagued by the shits and other things. He ended up being carried on to a plane on a stretcher in Bolivia ...at huge costs to his parents for the air evac.

Diseases

Shits/Montezumas Revenge/Purple Burps

This is the most common ailment. This is also where you learn I was right in saying to pack a roll of toilet paper. If you are normal it won't kill you. It's your internal biota getting out of whack due to water, unfamiliar food, heat, stress and all the other things that happen when you travel. Travel for a couple decades and you build up immunities to most strains. Drink bottled or purified water, wash fruits and veggies that can't be peeled. Use waterless hand sanitizer..just been shown to be only 50% effective..but that is 50% better than wiping your hands on your pants. Drink lots of liquids. Force yourself. Don't try and travel. Get a room, case of water, several rolls of TP and a box of crackers. If it's not over in 48 hrs. then you have dysentery or similar. Lomotil or similar stops it.

Dysentery

Rice water shit and it feels like you ate ground glass. Flagyl used to be the cure...not the suppositories...the pills. You don't hear of it as much. Even the cheap restaurants are taking better care.

Malaria

Here's where a bunch of folks get weird and won't take the pills. If you are still reading and have not gone to the sites I linked above than follow this advice. First off...malaria in Latin America is not as fierce as Africa...but can still cause serious and even permanent damage. Where it's not. No malaria over 1500 meters...too cool. Nor will you find it on dry coastal areas such as the coasts of Peru and Chile. Costa Rica has few reported cases. Mexico claims to be free of malaria in many areas. Like most things...they lie. Two basic strains. North of southern Panama there are non-chlorine resistant strains...though this may be changing. This means that the best drug is chloroquine. You can buy it over the counter most everywhere in the region. Often sold under the name Aralen. All malaria drugs have to be taken for several weeks after you leave the area. Don't skip this. Drugs work by hitting different stages in the life cycle of the parasite. You get the parasite...gotta wait until it reaches the right stage. Alternative drug is doxycycline. Antibiotic. Here is why I don't like it. Increases sensitivity to sunlight. Also...whenever someone takes antibiotics without need it speeds up the evolution of resistant strains of bacteria. South America...you need Larium or Malarone. Side effects of anti-malarials.... back in the 70's and 80's they used to advertise that Larium caused psychotic episodes. Imagine how pissed lots of folks were when they found out it didn't work. Don't worry...South America has lots of other cool drugs. Anyway...another urban legend grew up amongst backpackers that all anti-malarials caused psychotic problems. Lots of folks quit taking them. Unfortunately malaria in the region is seldom fatal so there were no long term benefits from this. If at home you are a psychotic twit...and go on vacation to strange and unusual countries, live totally different, eat totally different and take a malaria pill ...plus no doubt a slew of illegal drugs...there is a sizeable chance that you will be a psychotic twit down there. Of course these geniuses immediately blame the malaria pills. New drugs being worked on and coming on the market. Sure you can lather yourself with DEET and wear long sleeves. But long sleeves in the jungle? About DEET...best value is the 100% Jungle Juice sold by REI. 100% DEET dissolves plastic...not shitting you. I use it...makes my hands tingle.

Hep A and Hep B

Hep A should be on your must have list along with duct tape and condums. Guatemala is the Hep A capital of Central America with Lake Atitlan being the worst...where do you think all the shit from the villages goes? If you go to the bathroom in even nice restaurants you know that sanitary facilities are less than perfect. It only takes a single shot.

Hep B is spread by sexual contact and sharing needles (although teachers in the US who work with young children get the shots in case of bites). Here is my argument for getting the shots even though you don't plan to do any of the above. You are in a rural area and have an accident. You are taken to a small clinic where...through either lack of training or lack of funds... sterilization procedures are less than perfect. It takes a series of three shots...the second a month after the first and the last six months later. Even if you don't have time for all three before your trip get what you can. Supposedly, a certain percentage of the population gets some or full immunity after the first shot. It's just that the three make sure that everyone is safe.

Yellow Fever

You don't want this. It can kill. From southern Panama on south but only in the jungle. Vaccine is good for 10 years.

Dengue Fever

No cure for this. Makes you really sick. But you probably won't die. Avoiding mosquito bites is all you can do. Seems to be spreading.

Rabies

Once the symptoms set in you are dead. Best to get someone to put a bullet into you. There is a vaccine. I don't recommend it for most. Expensive and only good for a limited time. If you do get bitten you still need shots..just not as many. Statistically it just doesn't make sense to get it...unless you are working with animals or spending long periods of time out in the jungle. No matter what..if you are bitten get to a place that offers shots ASAP. Try and cut the head off the critter to take along for analysis.

Warbles

These are the larva of a botfly. Gross if you get them. Look for a bite that does not heal...larva has to keep the hole open to breath. Intermittent sharp pains as it moves around. To get rid of them...go to a clinic. No drugs will work and you don't want to kill the warble inside you..it rots and infects. Covering the hole with vaseline is suppose to force it out. Left alone warbles will eventually chew their way out and pupate.

Other Stuff

There is a viral infection of the cartilege that causes gangrene. Chagas disease transmitted by a beetle that lives in thatch. This stuff kills you but is rare.

STDs

Just because these countries are backward doesn't mean they are behind the curve on this stuff. Certain parts of Honduras and the Dominican Republic are way up there on AIDs numbers. Plus the loose moraled Eurotrash you pick up in backpacker bars are liable to be carrying something.

Altitude Sickness (Soroche)

Obviously not a problem until you hit the Andes...unless trying to climb some of the tallest mountains in Mexico. Part of the confusion on this issue is that people can react quite differently. Physical conditioning is not always an indication of how you will react. Here are some general observations for what I have read and experienced. Acclimation seems to run at about 1000 meters a day...doesn't mean you are perfect...just not gasping. Hence four days in La Paz should have you able to walk around pretty well. The rate at which you lose it also varies. Probably 4 days in Rurre for a pampas trip won't put you back at stage one...at least that is my experience. For instance ..if in downtown La Paz and having problems...change hotels for the night and move to one of the richer neighborhoods..down about 1000 ft. Don't booze heavily. Eat to keep blood sugar up...but avoid the heavy stuff. If you smoke ...try and quit before coming. Drink coca tea...really does help. So does chewing the leaves if you do it right. There is a drug..diamox. But it can be dangerous. A friend took it...she collapsed in La Paz...out cold. Luckily she was in a doctors office about to start a medical volunteering gig. The Bolivian doctor said she was crazy to take the drug. If you are climbing mountains inquire with a specialist first. At really high altitudes you can die from pulmonary and cerebral edema...remember this is at altitudes above what none climbers experience.

If ....and only if...you are climbing mountains then check out the High Altitude Medicine Guide. The info given there doesn't apply to Cusco or La Paz. We are talking way up 14,000 ft. or more in most cases. An issue with climbing is if you have problems it is harder to deal with them.