How to prevent diseases in tropical countries?
Precaution tropical countries Are you going on a honeymoon in a tropical country for 3 weeks? Congratulation ! To ensure that your stay remains an unforgettable moment and that you have more to Instagram than the toilets of the whole country, there are a few rules to observe before and during the stay.
When traveling in a tropical country, you have between 15 and 70% risk of falling ill. For pathologies most of the time not serious, reassure yourself, but which can still spoil the pleasure. Let's focus on the two main risk factors, which are what you ingest (water and food), and virus-carrying insects.
Risks related to food and water
These fruit juices sold on the side of the road are very tempting, but you will have to give them up. Why ? Because you don't know under what conditions the fruits were prepared, nor with what water they were rinsed. If they contain ice cubes, it's worse! Dirty water is indeed the vector of very unfriendly bacteria and viruses: amoebas, cholera, typhoid… shall we continue? ☺ More concretely, the number one enemy of the traveler is the turista. This more or less acute diarrhea which affects 1 in 2 people over a stay of 3 weeks is however avoidable by respecting a few hygiene rules:
wash your hands (with unsoiled water, or a hydro-alcoholic gel) systematically before meals and after natural needs;
avoid, see proscribe, fruits and vegetables that are raw or that have not been peeled by you; ice cream and ice cubes; undercooked foods; very spicy dishes if you are not used to it. These are the rules for enjoying local cuisine!
drink bottled water (uncorked in front of you) or purified water using a disinfectant. You will have taken care to plan the action time of the product, which varies from 15 minutes to 2 hours.
If despite these precautions the first well-known symptoms are felt, it is absolutely necessary to drink a lot to rehydrate. Sweet and salty liquids, and drinking water of course.
The risks associated with mosquitoes and other critters
The other pleasure of exotic travels are the beasts that we could do without, in the forefront of which are mosquitoes. The latter are potential vectors of viral and parasitic diseases to be taken very seriously: malaria, yellow fever, dengue or even chikungunya. Depending on the regions you go to, the real risk you run varies: you will be much more exposed in the forest and in isolated areas than in town. To guard against this, the attack plan includes 3 phases: before, during and after the trip.
Before departure, take out your vaccination card and take stock of the diseases and risks of your country of destination. You can consult the Cimed country sheets. In some countries, prior vaccination is mandatory, especially against yellow fever. Other vaccines are sometimes strongly recommended: diphtheria, tetanus, poliomyelitis...
On medical advice you can also follow a preventive treatment against malaria which will accompany you before departure and during the stay.
On site, use repellents against mosquitoes on the body. And in case of high exposure, wear covering clothes coated with repellents, without forgetting the impregnated mosquito net at night! And continue your treatment if you have one.
As the Unknowns used to sing, insects are our friends, with a few exceptions, however! For example, we would do without encountering certain ticks, which you are likely to encounter in rural areas or in the forest. Against ticks, the best prevention is to be dressed in covering clothes, and to examine yourself thoroughly after an outing. When hiking or camping, beware of shoes and clothes on the ground: scorpions and spiders love this kind of corner! Also avoid walking barefoot in fresh water and on beaches.
On your return, in case of fever, you must consult urgently, specifying the conditions to which you have been exposed.
What to put in your first aid kit in addition to your possible medical prescription? An analgesic, an antidiarrheal, a mosquito repellent, a thermometer (sometimes you have the feeling of having a fever when it is just very hot), tweezers (against ticks), sunscreen, a disinfectant for the water, saline solution, any medical treatment you are undergoing.
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