Health it seems is the number one worry for a lot of people planning to visit India, will I get diarrhea from the food, should I take malaria tablets or not, if I get sick what are the facilities like in India, are the needles sterile etc.
In the following section we try to give you some useful general advice on how to stay healthy on a long trip through India. We would like to stress that this is only general advice and should be treated as such, if you are feeling unwell for more than a day or two it is a good idea to go and get yourself checked out by a medically qualified doctor and if you become chronically sick over a shorter period the same applies!
HEALTH INSURANCE
Medical insurance in our opinion is a must for travel within India or anywhere else. The medical facilities vary greatly India and should the worst comes to the worst and you have an accident you will be glad to have the wherewithal to be evacuated back to your country of origin!!
DIARRHEA
Delhi belly, the trots, Gandhi's revenge the names go on. Diarrhea though often treated lightly is at best very uncomfortable and at worst life threatening if left untreated. A fact of life is that it is pretty much unavoidable on an extended trip to India. Below are few tips on how to try and avoid it, with some general ideas on how to treat it!
AVOIDING DIARRHEA
1 Try to stick to the same few restaurants, find 2-3 places that you like and if you have no problem with your stomach then these restaurants are probably ok for you.
2 When eating in roadside restaurants or buffet restaurants try to eat at Indian meal times, this insures that the food you are eating should at least be freshly cooked. If you decide to eat at one of these places around 4 o'clock say you will probably be eating food that was cooked around 12 o'clock and has had plenty time to go off
3 Wash all fruit with an iodine water solution, especially grapes we have seen so many people contract diarrhea from eating unwashed grapes.
4 Drink only mineral water from sealed bottles, whilst some Indian tap water is undoubtedly safe to drink, the problem is the quality changes from town to town, so if you want to play safe stick to the bottled stuff. Never drink well water!!!
5 Ask other tourists; ask around, the worst restaurants are usually pretty well known! Although you may of course get info based on nothing more than prejudice.
TREATING DIARRHEA
1Only use drugs such as Immodium as an emergency preventative measure, like if you are forced to travel that day! Immodium and other anti diarrhea drugs act by paralyzing your ability to excrecaite whilst making no impact on the disease/ virus, in fact by prevent bacteria from escaping, long term use of these drugs may make matters worse!!
2 Steer clear of fatty or overly spicy dishes; try to eat a lot of bland starchy foods like boiled rice, pasta, boiled veggies. Green bananas will help settle the churning for a while, as will ginger or a green lime squeezed into a bit of milk and drunk straight away.
3 Keep yourself hydrated; drink plenty of water in the case of chronic diarrhea use re-hydration salts diluted in water. These are available at most chemists (it's not a bad idea to carry a few around for emergencies)
4 Always wash your hands thoroughly after visiting the toilet otherwise you will simply re-contaminate yourself (and others)
5 Steer away from excessively cold or hot drinks.
6 Don't turn to aryuvedic medicine; all the informed people we've talked to advise us that the local aryuvedic medicine is not as useful in combating chronic diarrhea as conventional "western" medicine.
7 If the symptoms persist visit a doctor taking a stool sample with you!!!!
OTHER VACCINATIONS
Malaria a virus existing in many life forms is transmitted by mosquitoes. The big debate in India is should you use anti malarial drugs or not. There are many different drugs to choose from and each one has its uses and its drawbacks. For a list of the different drugs and they're side effects look up the health link on our travel info page.One thing to bear in mind about all anti-malarial drugs is that none of them prevent you from contracting malaria; they simply tone done the symptoms should you contract malaria (a point worth considering if you trip takes you away from hospital facilities e.g. Trekking) Balance that against the long term effects of taking these drugs and you can decide if you need to be taking them. Inform yourself properly about the risks where you will be traveling (in the north eastern states malaria is more prevalent) before making a decision
N.B.the recommended prophylactic against malaria in India is Chloroquinine + Palaudrine!!!
There are other vaccinations available for the various afflictions you may come across in India e.g. Typhoid, Cholera, Yellow Fever rabies etc. Once again inform yourself well about these before making what can be an expensive decision, not all of these are effective as the manufacturer would have you believe, something to bear in mind when shelling out money for an expensive vaccination! Go to travel info and the "Health" link or
Look after your self properly; wash all cuts grazes bites etc. with clean water and clean with an antiseptic cream/solution and keep clean with a bandage or plaster. Wounds fester fast in the warm climate and can quickly get infected if left untreated. Sand fly bites in India are particularly prone to infection follow the steps above but use a powder antiseptic instead of a cream /solution this will keep the wound dry and prevent the ulceration that comes with many infected sand fly bites.Eat plenty fruit to replace lost vitamins. Eating a lot of cheaper food in India can cause depletion and therefore tiredness listlessness.Always drink plenty water, around 2 liters a day is the minimum requirement.
