Staying well in Uganda on your African Holiday

Immunizations: Get them from your local doctor, or travel clinic. Yellow fever is a must, but tetanus, polio and diphtheria, hepatitis A and B, meningitis are something else to look at and whatever else your doctor sees on the list for Uganda.

Malaria Prevention: It is Malarone, doxycycline and or mefloquine (larium). These are the standard. Melarone being the best and most expensive, doxycline makes some sensitive to the sun, mefloquine gives some of us nightmares. Start your regiment before you arrive in Uganda and follow directions.

Water: Don't drink the water. Stay away from ice cubes. Stick with one of the bottled waters here. If you boil water, do so for 20 minutes. My coffee water in the mornings is heated up about 5 times in an electric hot water kettle to stay safe. I have had my experiences...

Travelers Diarrhea: A most common ailment Just eat properly cooked food and if it is not hot send it back. Wash your hands before eating with soap and water. Stay away foods that are raw such as salads, fruit salads, ice cream and buffets with candles underneath them. Bring some Imodium and Ciproflaxin which is antibiotic and will help in extreme cases. Follow directions including instructions for getting fluids back into your dehydrated systems. Rarely have I have seen tourists come down with such extreme cases, but have seen it more commonly in ex-pats living here and throwing caution to the wind.

Bites, bites, bites: Not only are there mosquitoes that infect you with malaria, but there are other dudus (insects) that can cause havoc such as Tsetse flies. The best is to spray your body with insect repellant. Wear loose cotton clothing. I like jeans, even though they are heavy, and this is a warm climate, I find they protect quite well. Wear long sleeved shirts and avoid shorts in the evenings. In your hotel, have them spray in the evening as you go out for dinner. In many hotels it is automatically done. Use the mosquito net and a fan, flying things do not like to move against the wind.

Sunburn: Easily acquired in Uganda, so get out the lotion and put it on thick and repeat. If your hair is thinning like mine, wear a hat. If you are going on a boat ride on the Nile or Lake Victoria, lotion is the key to avoid getting burned.

Bilharzia: A small snail that at the end of the day causes damage to your organs. Not a good thing. Do not swim in lakes, there are not many that are truly Bilharzia free. Enjoy the view of the lake instead.

HIV-AIDS, STD's: Simply-avoid it by abstaining. The percentage of bar girls with STD's and HIV-AIDS is quite high. You are playing Russian Roulette. Condom use a must if you cannot abstain. Many prostitutes are known to also rob you of everything, wallet, money, passport, watch, cell phone while you sleep. Recent police reports have shown that some use chloroform on body to knock you out and then take your things. This has happened in up-market hotels. Here in Uganda the slogan is ABC - A=Abstention, B=Be Committed, C=Condom or the Born Again (Balokole which is mostly Pentecostal) and evangelical communities like to substitute C=Christ. Statistics to sober you-almost 60% of prostitutes have STD's and almost 50% are HIV positive. In recent years the HIV infection rate has been on the increase, attributable to the myth that ARV drugs cure (deal with symptoms, that circumcision protects you totally from HIV (reality it reduces the chances). In the 90's there was a combined effort from the President and his wife along with the faith communities and everyone else that joined forces to educate people regarding HIV. This educational process has waned and the results are higher percentages of new infections.

Meningitis: You can get inoculated before you arrive and avoid the chance of getting it.

Nicks and Cuts: If untreated, they become the cause of infection that can last a long time. I have had such experiences. Clean the cut or nick properly. Use a proper anti-septic cream.

Snakes: They more often move away from you before you ever meet them. Most snakes are not poisonous. You will not come across many in your time here. I have rarely met one that has and living here it is only out in the countryside that I have.

The most common problem has to do with the intestinal track and that in most cases is easily treatable. Rarely have I had visitors from abroad that were laid up in a hospital or even in their hotels or other lodgings.

Places for Medical Emergency:

The Surgery - 2 Acacia Avenue, Kololo. Tel: 0414256003. 24 Hour Emergency Service Tel: 0752756003, Ambulance Service. Tel: 0752 756003

International Hospital: Down from Reste Corner in Muyenga up from Kapalagala and then down toward Namuwongo. Everyone knows International Clinic and it was founded by Dr. Ian Clark who still lives in Kampala and is a weekly commentator in the New Vision Newspaper. I had a friend there who was in Kampala from Sudan and came down with malaria and he was effectively treated at International Hospital and an all day stay in the Hospital with drip was less than 80 dollars USD. Tel :0312200400, Ambulance Service: 0772200400/1

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