Travelling? Remember that medical kit
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With sanitation and environmental conditions not always up to par with those in their own countries, travellers to Southeast Asia might well face health issues during a trip.
In fact, current estimates indicate that as many as 15 to 40 per cent of travellers in the region are affected with health problems and 5 to 10 per cent need medical advice. Awareness of the various health concerns at the selected location and the preparation of a medical kit are both beneficial in preventing potential problems that might ruin the journey.
Taking out reliable medical insurance with a repatriation clause should go in parallel with booking a ticket to an exotic country with an unsatisfactory healthcare system. Anyone with a chronic illness requiring daily treatment should bring an adequate supply of their medications to cover the duration of the trip, along with a prescription giving the generic name of the drugs and a recent medical report (in English) on their condition.
A medical kit is definitely useful in a remote area for two reasons: a medical clinic or reliable pharmacy in the area might be difficult to find if they exist at all and counterfeit medicines are often widespread in small drugstores.
The medical kit aims at dealing with the most common and fortunately minor health troubles when travelling that can be treated with over-the-counter medication. It should include thermometer, tweezers and scissors; disinfectant solutions such as chlorhexidine or povidone-iodine (Betadine), alcohol swabs, adhesive bandages, small and large bandages, medical adhesive tape, antibiotic ointment (such as fucidin), butterfly bandages or steri-strips to deal with moderate skin lesions, burns, infected wounds and minor sprains and injuries. Also include an anti diarrhoeal agent such a loperamide for travel diarrhoea and simple food poisoning (although loperamide should be cautiously used because it can retain the infection within the intestine and prolong the episode), oral rehydration solution to avert dehydration that can worsen diarrhoea and insect repellent (with DEET ingredient) to prevent bites from mosquitoes known to transmit dengue virus or malaria parasite. The pack should also contain pain killers and anti-inflammatory medications such as paracetamol, ibuprofen or aspirin for common cold and various aches (aspirin should not be given to children and teenagers recovering from flu-like symptoms due to the risk of Reye’s syndrome), sterile saline solution for minor eye problems; high SPF sunblock and sunburn soothing gel for sunburn. Alcohol-based hand gel sanitiser is useful because it has been shown to effectively lower the risk of travellers’ diarrhoea and gastrointestinal upset.
If you intend trekking in an isolated forested area, first research then respect the pertinent health recommendations, carrying with you prescription items and possibly receiving some immunisations a few weeks before leaving home. You need to consult your doctor who may propose the following depending on your destination and the time during the year of your visit: immunisation booster especially for tetanus and poliomyelitis; vaccination against local diseases such as Japanese encephalitis, cholera or typhoid fever; malaria prophylaxis (choice of medicines such as chloroquine or mefloquine depends on the visited site); large spectrum oral antibiotic such a doxycycline or ciprofloxacin for a week’s treatment in case of sudden infection, antibiotic eye drops (such as fucithalmic gel) for bacterial eye infections; and water-purification solutions to ensure you drink clean water at all times. A set of syringes, needles and stitches may be useful when travelling in an area where the safety of medical equipment cannot be ensured. If you are at risk of then severe allergic reaction known as life-threatening anaphylatic shock, an EpiPen auto-injector (prescription item containing adrenaline) may be suggested.
While having a well though out medical kit is definitely valuable, adequate awareness and knowledge of the health risks and how to handle them is far more important. So in addition to checking out information on accommodation and sightseeing, always take time to review the health-related risks so you can best enjoy your visit to a tropical location.
Dr Gerard Lalande is managing director of CEO-Health, which provides medical referrals for expatriates and customised executive medical check-ups in Thailand. He can be contacted at [email protected].
