OVERLANDBIRDS ON TOUR - A DRIVE AROUND THE WORLD IN A LAND ROVER DEFENDER
How Much !
I've always been the careful sort and so decided to get all the Jabs we need for the trip but to be honest never really considered the price. I'm the type of person who takes Malaria tablets if there's even an outside risk of the area having it and lather up with Insect spray especially since J has a bad reaction to anything crawling or flying. This applies to both the mental aspect and the physical aspects of the insect ! She's been badly infected from a single mosquito bite on a few occasions so we are pretty careful to make sure she's sprayed and especially her legs.
I've been convinced that DEET 50% is great stuff for years but have recently gone onto Icaridin in the form of Autan Active Sport. If you've used DEET you might understand that its terrible stuff making your skin crawl and melting plastics of various types. If you've ever had a bottle leak in your suitcase you'll know what i mean. Icaridin has none of these side effects and is pleasant to use. Its certified by the WHO and is allegedly as effective as DEET in lower concentrations. We going to see how we go with it. I must say that i notice that DEETs effect builds up on the skin, at least that's how it seems. If you use it for weeks on end even the areas you miss seem to stay "protected". This is because it does get into the skin and goes into your Liver! According to the research Icaridin doesn't do this so you need to re-apply slightly more often but its a good deal safer. I remember when I was about 20 years old getting a letter off Pyramid about its Repel 100 product telling me it will give me cancer. I've been using DEET for years!
Injections for all the normal stuff and some of the not normal stuff. With the situation in Africa we are having some not so normal vaccinations due to the water shortage and evacuation from the drought areas. We are having Yellow Fever (£50) Meningitis (£7.40), Cholera (£7.40) and Rabies (£110) on top of the normal HepAB, Typhoid, Tetanus, Polio, etc etc. We considered Japanese Encephalitis but we're not going to the Far East for over a year so will get it later as the Jab only lasts a year.
The Malaria tablets are going to be Doxycycline (100mg) for the volume treatment and a month of Maralone just in case. To be honest there's nothing more you can do. Doxy is now licensed for 2 years so we can take it straight through from southern Egypt. If we get some symptoms we can take Malarone as an Emergency dose. We're going to get 300 tablets each for Doxy (~£30 x 2) and 28 Malarone (~£100). We'll need to get more later on if the trip continues to South America. We also need to check the shelf life of all the drugs we take. Turns out Doxy is OK on shelf life and Malarone even longer.
We got more Doxy for South America and haven't used it. Also got some Artequick which is a Malaria cure from Africa. Allegedly its 100% effective. We got 700 Doxy and three boxes of Artequick.
'If you decide to take Doxy PLEASE don't take it at night. Take it in the morning with food or milk. I usually ignore such advice but having developed an ulcer quite quickly from taking them at night and lying down afterwards I realise the instructions are correct. Both Julie and I developed this symptom. In the morning with Cereal or Yoghurt is best for me. They hurt !! ( added 14/06/12)
We have 700 more Doxy....we've not taken any of it....donating it to some Mission probably.
(added 1/4/13)
Ever Growing Medical Kit
Our first aid kit started out as a little pouch about the size of 3 packets of fags. Its then grew to something the size of a shoebox....its now getting to the size of a holdall. I'll post a list of what we are taking at some point.
We've added Coartem to the kit which is a cure to malaria. We will get another box in Kenya as this box expires soon. Its around $10USD so its a worthwhile addition. 22/12/11 Replaced with Artequick.
We've added Artequick which is also a cure for both type of Malaria. It was very cheap and works quicker than Coartem as its only 4 tablets. Steve the overland truck driver recomended it over all the other types. Its available in most chemists in Africa and was only a few US dollars. (March 2012)
I've been convinced that DEET 50% is great stuff for years but have recently gone onto Icaridin in the form of Autan Active Sport. If you've used DEET you might understand that its terrible stuff making your skin crawl and melting plastics of various types. If you've ever had a bottle leak in your suitcase you'll know what i mean. Icaridin has none of these side effects and is pleasant to use. Its certified by the WHO and is allegedly as effective as DEET in lower concentrations. We going to see how we go with it. I must say that i notice that DEETs effect builds up on the skin, at least that's how it seems. If you use it for weeks on end even the areas you miss seem to stay "protected". This is because it does get into the skin and goes into your Liver! According to the research Icaridin doesn't do this so you need to re-apply slightly more often but its a good deal safer. I remember when I was about 20 years old getting a letter off Pyramid about its Repel 100 product telling me it will give me cancer. I've been using DEET for years!
Injections for all the normal stuff and some of the not normal stuff. With the situation in Africa we are having some not so normal vaccinations due to the water shortage and evacuation from the drought areas. We are having Yellow Fever (£50) Meningitis (£7.40), Cholera (£7.40) and Rabies (£110) on top of the normal HepAB, Typhoid, Tetanus, Polio, etc etc. We considered Japanese Encephalitis but we're not going to the Far East for over a year so will get it later as the Jab only lasts a year.
The Malaria tablets are going to be Doxycycline (100mg) for the volume treatment and a month of Maralone just in case. To be honest there's nothing more you can do. Doxy is now licensed for 2 years so we can take it straight through from southern Egypt. If we get some symptoms we can take Malarone as an Emergency dose. We're going to get 300 tablets each for Doxy (~£30 x 2) and 28 Malarone (~£100). We'll need to get more later on if the trip continues to South America. We also need to check the shelf life of all the drugs we take. Turns out Doxy is OK on shelf life and Malarone even longer.
We got more Doxy for South America and haven't used it. Also got some Artequick which is a Malaria cure from Africa. Allegedly its 100% effective. We got 700 Doxy and three boxes of Artequick.
'If you decide to take Doxy PLEASE don't take it at night. Take it in the morning with food or milk. I usually ignore such advice but having developed an ulcer quite quickly from taking them at night and lying down afterwards I realise the instructions are correct. Both Julie and I developed this symptom. In the morning with Cereal or Yoghurt is best for me. They hurt !! ( added 14/06/12)
We have 700 more Doxy....we've not taken any of it....donating it to some Mission probably.
(added 1/4/13)
Ever Growing Medical Kit
Our first aid kit started out as a little pouch about the size of 3 packets of fags. Its then grew to something the size of a shoebox....its now getting to the size of a holdall. I'll post a list of what we are taking at some point.
We've added Coartem to the kit which is a cure to malaria. We will get another box in Kenya as this box expires soon. Its around $10USD so its a worthwhile addition. 22/12/11 Replaced with Artequick.
We've added Artequick which is also a cure for both type of Malaria. It was very cheap and works quicker than Coartem as its only 4 tablets. Steve the overland truck driver recomended it over all the other types. Its available in most chemists in Africa and was only a few US dollars. (March 2012)
J's a pill popping hypochondriac...(for a very good reason)
J needs to take Thyroid every day whilst she's away and the ffing Doctor will only give her a 6 month supply meaning she will get ill. So we need to find a way to get more. This might mean a trip to numerous chemists in Egypt to get another 6 boxes. I do hope the chemists in Egypt still sell anything to you with no explanation !
14/09/2011
J ran out of Pills and they are a fortune in SA so we need somewhere to send em to ? Problemo....Mother to the rescue....posted them.
16/06/12
14/09/2011
J ran out of Pills and they are a fortune in SA so we need somewhere to send em to ? Problemo....Mother to the rescue....posted them.
16/06/12
