internet, and from physicians) was all over the place, so based on the philosophy of “better safe than sorry”, on the flight over, we decided not to drink the water in Bali.
.....That resolution, however, became moot pretty quickly, since within an hour of landing, my wife and I had, without noting what we were doing because it was sooooooooo hot, consumed a couple of ice-filled drinks, so after looking sheepishly at each other, we immediately adopted a new philosophy of “in for a penny, in for a pound”, and for the next week, we drank the water wherever we went, and happily, we both stayed well.
.....Second, in line with knowing the health risks of your destination, always find out which immunizations and prophylactic medications you need for each of the countries you plan to visit, and make sure you get those shots and drugs, and keep in mind that often, in less developed parts of the world, the immunizations you need in one country may be different than those you need to visit its next-door neighbor.
.....As well, of course, malaria prophylaxis often varies within specific parts of a single country.
Equally important, take the prophylactic medications as prescribed, and not as you feel you should take them, and most important, if you have to continue taking those drugs after you’ve left the area, perhaps even for a while after you get home, do that.
.....Third, make sure to make a full and exact list of the medications you and your wife are on, and then, make a copy of that list and give that spare list to your wife in case you lose the first list.
.....Actually, I take that back: if you’re a typical male, you will certainly lose your own list so make sure that your wife has a spare copy, so that if you need to visit a physician or a clinic in Glasgow or Madagascar or Bali to get a refill for some pills you need (perhaps you spilled your own stash, or perhaps you lost it, or perhaps you had it pilfered), you can just show that list to the physician at the clinic, who may or may not speak English (they speak a form of English in Glasgow, but believe me, you won’t understand a word the doctor says to you), but who can surely recognize the name of a medication and look up the local equivalent for you.
.....Also, very important: bring spares of everything
|
 |
|
