Medical

If your planning a trip such as ours then it is essential that you prepare as well as you can for medical problems.

The first thing to consider is the multitude of vaccinations you will require. Here is a list of vaccinations that we needed:

  • Diphtheria
  • Hepatitis A  & Typhoid Combined 
  • Hepatitis B
  • Meningitis A, C W & Y Combined
  • Polio
  • Tetanus
  • Yellow Fever      

We decided not to get vaccinated against Rabies  & Cholera as these cost £250 & £50 each respectively and we felt the risk of infection was low.

For Malaria we will take Lariam once a week before we enter the Kruger as this is the first risk area we will face.

However, we were shocked to be told by our GPs practice nurse that a years course would cost approx £650 each! 

After some quick emails to friends in SA we discovered it is far cheaper to get them there,  around 95p per tablet so we will get these when we arrive in Cape Town

The other major headache is making sure you carry sufficient stock of any personal prescriptions you take each day in the UK. Between us we take 4 tablets per day but luckily with the invaluable help of our GP we just about managed to secure enough for a year, even though we do feel like a portable drug store!

Whilst on that note its prudent to also get a TWIMC letter from your GP stating the drugs are prescribed for your own use and are legitimate.

If you plan to visit Lake Malawi or certain areas in Zambia then there is a risk of contacting Bilharzia, so you should take some precautionary medicine regardless of whether you show symptoms or not (see September 2005 week 4 in the journal). 

 

 

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