Medical
Medical
I’ve always been the careful sort, so I decided to get all the jabs we need for the trip—but to be honest, I never really considered the price. I’m the type of person who takes malaria tablets if there’s even the slightest risk, and I lace up with insect spray, especially since J has a rough reaction to anything crawling or flying. That’s true both mentally and physically—she’s been badly infected from a single mosquito bite a few times, so we are especially careful about legs getting sprayed.
I used to be convinced that DEET 50% was great stuff, but I’ve recently switched to Icaridin—specifically Autan Active Sport. If you’ve used DEET, you’ll know it’s terrible: it makes your skin crawl and melts plastics in all sorts of ways. Ever had a bottle leak in your suitcase? Exactly. Icaridin doesn’t do any of that, is actually pleasant to use, is WHO-certified, and is supposedly as effective as DEET in lower concentrations. Let’s see how it goes. DEET seems to build up on the skin—ever notice even the bits you miss stay “protected”? That’s the stuff getting into your liver. According to research, Icaridin doesn’t penetrate—so you reapply a bit more often, but it’s much safer.
When I was about 20, I still remember a letter off Pyramid about their Repel 100 product warning it could give me cancer. I’d been using DEET for years!
With Africa’s situation—water shortages, evacuation zones, drought—we’re getting some not-so-common vaccinations: (prices current August 2025)
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Yellow Fever: £50 (now £74)
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Meningitis: £7.40 (now £57 for ACWY)
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Cholera: £7.40 (now £68 for the full 2-dose course)
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Rabies: £110 (now £222 for the 3-dose course)
…on top of the usual Hep A&B, Typhoid, Tetanus, Polio, etc. We considered Japanese Encephalitis but we’re not going to the Far East for a year+, so we’ll get that later—also the jab lasts just a year (currently £218 for the 2-dose course).
For malaria tablets, we’re taking Doxycycline (100 mg) as the main prophylactic, and a month of Malarone just in case. Honestly, there’s nothing more you can do. Doxy is now licensed for two years, so we can take it straight through from southern Egypt. If symptoms arise, we’ll hit emergency Malarone. We’re gearing up with 300 tablets each (~£30 × 2 [now ~£0.65/tablet, so £195 each]) and 28 tablets of Malarone (£100 [now ~£3/tablet, so ~£84]). If we continue into South America, we’ll need more. We also checked the shelf life—Doxy is still good, as is Malarone. We grabbed extra Doxy for South America and haven’t used it. We also got some Artequick, a malaria cure from Africa, allegedly 100% effective.
We stocked up: 700 Doxy and three boxes of Artequick. Added 14/06/12
(If you take doxy, PLEASE don’t take it at night. Take it in the morning with food or milk. I ignored that and quickly developed an ulcer—so I get it now. Morning with cereal or yogurt is best. It hurt!)
We have 700 more Doxy… unused… planning to donate to a mission. Added 1/04/13
Ever-Growing Medical Kit
Our first-aid kit started small—about the size of three cigarette packs. It grew to shoebox size—and is now the size of a holdall. I’ll post the full list soon. We’ve added Coartem as a malaria cure. One box will expire soon, so we’ll get another in Kenya (it’s about $10 USD—a worthwhile backup). Added 22/12/11
Then we replaced Coartem with Artequick, which cures both types of malaria. It was cheap and quicker (only four tablets). Steve, the overland truck driver, recommended it—available at chemists across Africa for just a few dollars. Added March 2012
J’s a pill-popping hypochondriac… (For good reason.)
J needs Thyroid tablets daily while away—and the doctor only gave a six-month supply, meaning she’d get ill. We’re looking at making her visit chemists in Egypt for more. God willing, they still dispense without fuss. Added 14/09/11
J ran out of pills, and they’re bloody expensive in SA—so we needed a solution. Problem: Mother to the rescue—posted them. Added 16/06/12