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I know a number of HfP have traversed the length and breadth of South America, taking in several countries on their travels.
OH has been looking into vaccinations required or not! We will be briefly in Ecuador before heading to Galapagos for 7 days, then 18 days round Peru before Easter Island and Atacama desert in Chile. All decent accommodation, nothing too rustic. We’ve had all the usual vaccinations and are sensible re: drinking water and eating but wondering what others did. OH is 70 and I’m a tad younger!Not sure about vaccinations, but you probably need to take precautions against zika and dengue – basically don’t get bitten!
Our GP practice recommended this site to us prior to a trip we did last year.
+1 for @Man-of-Kent ‘s recommendation
Superdrug is also a great resource for this stuff: https://healthclinics.superdrug.com/travel-vaccinations/ecuador/
Our GP practice recommended this site to us prior to a trip we did last year.
That’s an interesting site not used that before. I normally check the NHS Fit to travel website. I’m off to Namibia in October and checked the malaria risk. Both have different areas at risk which makes the decision whether to tablets or not more confusing. The area in question in Etosha National Park.
Get some Moskinto bite relief plasters. the biting insects in the Galapagos were relentless and happily chewed through socks, and inside clothes.
Take insect repellant and use it liberally, I often forgot.
Sounds like you’re not going to any yellow fever areas, so you can skip that one. I’ve been carrying my certificate around for years now and never been asked for it.
I’ve always used the Trailfinders Travel Clinic (Kensington High Street) for advice and vaccinations. They are expert at looking after people travelling to places off the beaten track.
Zika is serious. I’ve been in Brazil during zika, and we were planning to conceive during that time. I took all the precautions, yet got bitten once.
I got back home, went to NHS to get tested.That’s when the real “nightmare” started: NHS was clueless, didn’t look knowledgeable, they googled it in front of me… I got tested negative at the end, but didn’t trust it one bit.
Take precautions as if NHS doesn’t exist.
Our GP practice recommended this site to us prior to a trip we did last year.
That’s an interesting site not used that before. I normally check the NHS Fit to travel website. I’m off to Namibia in October and checked the malaria risk. Both have different areas at risk which makes the decision whether to tablets or not more confusing. The area in question in Etosha National Park.
The Travel Health Pro website is aimed at informing healthcare professionals to advise UK travelers. It’s run by https://nathnac.net/ .
But as you highlight the more resources you look into the more answers you get.
Our GP practice recommended this site to us prior to a trip we did last year.
That’s an interesting site not used that before. I normally check the NHS Fit to travel website. I’m off to Namibia in October and checked the malaria risk. Both have different areas at risk which makes the decision whether to tablets or not more confusing. The area in question in Etosha National Park.
Having taken malaria tablets on 2 separate holidays, I vowed that I won’t go anywhere requiring them again. It takes weeks for my stomach to settle after them. I spoke to a family in Kenya, who said they brought the tablets with them but didn’t take them, apparently the treatment for malaria is 4x the normal dose of malaria tablets. They had decided that rather than take them and suffer the consequences, they would rather carry the necessary medication in case they fell ill. I’m not sure I agree, but that is an option.
If you are going to Machu Pichu cover up and use the strongest insect repellent you can find. The biting insects there are the worst we have ever encountered. Fortunately we had been warned but still didn’t escape being bitten completely. Other travellers we met were not so lucky.
Didn’t get bit at Machu Pichu but made the mistake of wearing shorts at Petrohue falls Chile and was badly bitten several times by what looked like big black horse flies which drilled into my legs so much so I struggled to walk for several days. I always wear long trousers now!
You’re putting me off these places now! Biting things congregate to meet me off the plane. Also, traditional repellents don’t work on all insects; last summer in Spain I had to literally run away from swarms of horse flies which were completely undeterred by my liberal application of Jungle Formula. O- blood is apparently like drugs to insects!
Didn’t get bit at Machu Pichu but made the mistake of wearing shorts at Petrohue falls Chile and was badly bitten several times by what looked like big black horse flies which drilled into my legs so much so I struggled to walk for several days. I always wear long trousers now!
Long trousers and thick socks don’t stop them in my case. I still have bite scars from South Africa all over my shins.
When we were dropped off at a gorgeous beach for the afternoon in the Galapagos the flies were really bad. One couple were savaged by them so much that they had to call the dingy to take them back to the ship. No idea why the flies went for them both, we assumed it was their brand of sun lotion or something like that
@Tracey Maybe try a different tablet. There are a few types.
@LD27 I went all around MP and South America when Zika was first in the news a few years ago and didn’t see anything at MP in terms of insects. I guess it’s a seasonal thing. Was totally paranoid the whole trip and didn’t get any bites from anything. The darn things have made up for it since then 🙁Thanks all. A lot of good advice which we do take when on our travels. We were in Brazil during Zika a few years ago so sprayed up as did cabin crew before getting off!! and had plug-in mossie killer. I think we are too old for yellow fever which carries a greater risk of adverse reactions and is not advised for our age group. Where we live in Scotland does lend itself to the dreaded midgies, but we cover up….Ill find some hopefully impenetrable clothes! Bug spray is always with us on our travels for and someone here did mention reef safe suntan lotion ( just in case I head for the watering Galapagos). Our Galapagos and Peru section of the trip is with Trailfinders so will take a look at their advice.
Any tips to combat altitude ? I’m in 2 minds whether to be take my sats monitor. Professionally invaluable, but a holiday trip? How stress inducing if the numbers plummet!
@Jill, I hear the locals chew some indigenous leaves to combat altitude sickness 😜
someone here did mention reef safe suntan lotion
No need for anything fancy or expensive. I can highly recommend Nivea Sun, protect and moisture factor 50. I didn’t get burnt at all through my last trip and it’s reef safe and not greasy.
@Jill, I hear the locals chew some indigenous leaves to combat altitude sickness 😜
Don’t work for me – clearly didn’t take enough or perhaps it needed to go somewhere else and not be chewed! Seriously with altitude take it easy drink lots of water and try and move up gradually if possible. I was OK for instance at Puno but suffered a few days later in Cusco which is lower – go figure! One benefit I found with altitude is it killed the appetite so I lost a few pounds.
Yeah mozzies love me too. Was in Cambodia about 10 years ago and even though I was well covered up and sprayed all over in the day, I made the mistake of popping over to the 7/11 opposite my hotel after a long day at Angkor Wat complex with my sandals on rather than the socks and trainers I’d had on all day. Of course no bug spray on my feet which then got bitten to pieces in about 2 minutes
Another +1 for the Travel Health Pro website,
Am also approaching the altitude sickness issue with some trepidation. Gradual acclimatisation seems to be key along with keeping well hydrated and no booze. Will have to get my pisco sours in when in Lima! I have also read that pharmacies e.g. in Cusco sell small oxygen canisters if needed. Does anyone have any experience of that?
Quite a few years since we visited South America but went to both Cusco and La Paz. As you say the general advice is to acclimatise slowly and give yourself plenty of time to get around as you will notice getting out of breath more quickly. We didn’t suffer too much (bit of a headache only) but I recall that the hotels had oxygen available if people felt they needed it.
Talking of yellow fever, received the below from GOV.UK this morning.
“There are increasing cases of yellow fever in Colombia, especially in the Departments of Tolima and Cundinamarca. Yellow fever vaccination certificates are required for travellers who have recently visited or transited higher-risk countries or those visiting areas of higher risk within Colombia”.
Re Altitude sickness,
When we flew into Bogotá 4 months ago, we were ok, but flying from Medellín to Bogotá at the end of our trip 3 weeks later, it was a different story, due to the sudden difference in altitude, recommendations were to drink plenty of water, but this didn’t work for me, it hit me for a day or so, very lethargic.P20 8-hour protection for us! NB the sensitive skin one, not the one that dyes
your clothes yellow.Never having played a round in my life, I find golfing clothes
fantastic to travel in: incredibly light, non-iron, and covers
as much skin as possible away from the feasting hordes! Also
v convenient to have a pair of long trousers for certain dinners, etc.
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