Tips To Avoid Malaria When Travelling And Backpacking

< span                            insurance claim. Travel           class="cap">Recentl     insurance policies have a general  y, a young woman travelling     exclusion regarding exposure to    lone in Vietnam stopped taking        unnecessary risk. Insurers        her antimalarial pills because        generally advise that travellers   she was experiencing bad dreams.      should behave as if they are not   She teamed up with a female           insured and exercise reasonable    travel companion and they were        care to prevent illness. In       both bitten by mosquitoes. Her       cases like this, claims or         companion had not taken               assistance would be at the         antimalarial drugs, contracted        discretion of the Assistance       malaria, and spent the rest of        Company or insurer.             her trip very sick in hospital.        There are many opportunistic    She was repatriated home to           bugs, parasites, and nasty         continue her recovery. Luckily        diseases freely available to       for the young woman who had           travellers. They strike when an   stopped taking the antimalarial       unsuspecting tourist lets down     tablets she didn't contract the       their guard, but malaria is the    disease even though she had been      one that tends to get the most     bitten. However, the remainder       press. Smart travellers will       of her trip was ruined because        educate themselves and do          she was constantly watching for       everything possible to avoid       symptoms and terrified that she       contact with mosquitoes. To be    would also develop malaria.           fair, it is not the actual         Travellers should be aware that       mosquito but the malaria parasite  stopping antimalarial drugs, or       carried by infected mosquitoes     not taking them at all when           that poses the danger. No matter   travelling to a country where         how many precautions are taken,    there is a risk of malaria might      the potential to contract this     cause a problem with a travel         potentially life-threatening       disease will always exist when        Those with pre-existing medical    travelling to tropical and            or mental health problems, or who  sub-tropical areas of the             are particularly sensitive to      world                              drugs, would be wise to seek the   The type of malaria parasite       advice of a medical professional   depends on the country being          well in advance of travel.         visited and the time of year.         Antimalarial drugs can produce     The main trouble spots are North      side effects such as bad dreams,   Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, the       mood changes and sleep             Middle East, South Asia, South        disturbances. However, it is not  East Asia, Oceania, the               a good idea to interrupt or stop   Caribbean, and Latin America. If     the treatment once it has been     embarking on travels to these         started, unless under the          areas it is essential to take         direction of a medical             steps to avoid contact with           professional.                 mosquitoes. Consult with a            Antimalarial drugs are not a    doctor, pharmacist, or visit a        total guarantee against malaria    travel clinic several months          because some of the bugs have      before departure to find out          built up a resistance.             which type of antimalarial will       Therefore, external methods        work best for the area of the         should also be used to prevent     world being visited. With the        exposure to mosquito bites.        enormous amount of information        Mosquito nets that have been       available online about malaria        impregnated with insect            and tropical diseases there's no      repellants should be used at all   excuse for anyone to say they did     times for sleeping. The best way  not know!                        to be sure of always having        Some antimalarial drugs are        access to a net is for people to   available over the counter, but       take their own with them. The     others need a prescription.           net should be impregnated with an  insect repellent for maximum          natural products.               effect, checked regularly for          Regardless of whether           holes, and rolled up when not in      antimalarial drugs have been       use so mosquitoes can't get           taken, if flu-like, feverish, or   inside. .                        other symptoms occur during a      Mosquitoes are at their            trip, or following return home,    hungriest at twilight and             medical attention should be        throughout the night. It is          sought immediately. The doctor    advisable to spray rooms, and         should be informed which           ideally there should be fine-mesh     countries have been visited and    screens over all windows and          that there is the possibility of   doors if there is no                  exposure to malaria or other       air-conditioning. Clothing is an     tropical diseases. Many           important factor in avoiding          travellers return from trips       mosquito bites. There are            abroad each year with symptoms of  special lightweight travel            malaria - and a handful of cases   clothes on the market, which are      are fatal.                      designed for tropical climates.        So… Next time you see someone   No one wants to wear long-sleeves     jump up and start swatting at an   or long trousers or socks in a        invisible assailant, the chances   hot climate but it is a good idea     are they haven't gone mad but are  to cover up for maximum               trying to escape that              protection - especially at night.     high-pitched buzzing sound we all  Mosquitoes are attracted to dark     dread! More often than not we      fabrics, so light colours should      don't see or hear those sneaky     be worn - which are also cooler.      little mossies until it's too      Any other methods to keep             late and we start to itch and      mosquitoes away should be used,       scratch… such as insect repellent skin         d>About the                     creams or sprays, or alternative      Author id="authorbio"                        href="http://www.travel-insurance  class="membersnoticewhite">Jean       .net/discovery/backpacker-travel-  Andrews is a freelance writer         insurance.php">backpackers travel  living in the UK. She regularly      insurance. contributes articles for TIA Ltd      div>                           who offer Published At: www.isnare.com Permanent Link: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=249696&ca=Travel Got a question about this article? Ask the community! Article Tags: antimalarial, drugs, mosquitoes ...Archive >>