Medical

We want you at your best health, so we advise taking the steps which follow. This advice is not a substitute for the counsel of your physician. You may want to check off items.

1. All those traveling under ACTI must have short term trip insurance. Please contact our Las Cruces office for trip insurance arrangements, allowing 10 days for processing. We will need the names of those covered, the destination and the dates of travel. Overseas Insurance Consultants, tel: 770.663.0114, fax: 770.663.0628; ovrccinsur@aol.com is our agent. Our policy number is HTP97084, and claims are reported at 1.800.453.4067 or at 1.516.294.6952—collect. Contact Overseas Insurance Consultants for a brochure describing coverage, which includes medical treatment.
2. Consult with your doctor or international immunization nurse to make sure all immunizations are current and to receive their advice. An appointment will be needed at least 10 days before departure. The following information is based upon the advice of one such nurse. You will need shots for YELLOW FEVER, TYPHOID, and HEPATITIS A (GAMMA GLOBIN), TETANUS/DIPHTHERIA, and MENINGITIS. A POLIO BOOSTER (dead virus) should be investigated. The Center for Disease Control does not now recommend a Cholera shot, since it is not very effective. The yellow “International Certificate of Vaccination” may still be required for yellow fever immunization, so carry it with your passport, since you may be required to show it in London and Entebbe.
3. MALARIA You will need an anti-malarial prophalactic, such as Lariam (or the older Mephlaquinne, which has side-effects). These treatments begin one week before departure, continue the day of departure and same day each week during the trip, and for four weeks (Center for Disease Control recommendation) after the trip (consult your doctor for specific dosages, and take food with the pill). Put tablets for use after your return in your refrigerator to await your return. Side effects may include nightmares, nervousness and/or nausea. This seems to be the exception. Prices vary, so shop for a low prescription price (Walmart may then beat it) and fresh Lariam pills. To help prevent malaria, bring and PLEASE USE a mosquito net (bring nylon cord to hang it), since malarial mosquitos are active at night. The best is Army surplus. We recommend USING mosquito repellent with a high percentage of DEET. Army surplus liquid is good and inexpensive. You may wish to bring bug spray for your sleeping quarters and outhouses. Duct tape is useful to secure the nozzle against accidental discharge, and a small role is often useful for quick-fixes. Cologne and perfume may attract peskies. Long sheeves and pants (men, and in certain circumstances, women) will help, and DEET can be applied to the clothing rather than the skin. Try not to bathe at night, to reduce the chances of being bitten by mosquitos.
4. While bottled water is available, if you will be in an extremely rural village for some weeks or on an island, a water filter which will filter out guiardia, cryptosporidium and other microbes is a good precaution. If you have aluminum sensitivity, bring a non-aluminum pot to boil water. Do not bring mineral/distilled/spring water, since bottled water is available there, and it takes valuable weight. Trust us. If you don’t use bottled water, bring a canteen or small Thermos? bottle for purified water.
5. Other medicines which have been prescribed for the trip are Diphenoxylate/Atrop, or Immodium, or Lomotil, to stop diarrhea, Promethazine 25 mg, for motion sickness, and Doxycycline 100 mg caps, for infections.
6. Vitamins, such as C and multi-vitamins can be helpful, as well as aspirin.
7. A laxative can be very important, since diet, including much tea, can cause difficulty.
8. A triple antibiotic salve and Benadryl? are recommended, together with plastic bandages, two in extra large size.
9. Some carry their own syringes, in case an injection is required, and alcohol swabs in packets, with which to wash hands and fruit. Others carry gloves (one goes in a 35mm film container in a fanny pack) and wipes. AIDS is widespread in Uganda, with at least 10% of the population HIV positive, and more in urban areas.
10. Some recommend taking a small dose of Pepto Bismal? (1 or 2 tablets) the day before departure to help coat your stomach against minor bacterial difficulties. The treatment would include taking one tablet each morning, through to two days after your return.
11. Yet other medicines which have been found helpful are: aspirin/Tylenol, sleeping pills, chapstick, cough drops, eye drops, Promethazine, Diphenoxylate w/Atropine, Ibuprofen, Diphenhydramine, Sulfatrim DS, Triamcinolone .1% cream (anti-allergy), Acetaminophen/Cod#3, Metronaidazol, Tetracycline (for worms), and electrolite solution. Let need, not fear, be the determining factor as to what you take, and ask the Lord for wisdom as to what you will need. You will not need everything we have suggested.
12. Apart from personal and perscription medicines, your team may find it more economical to develop 2-3 combined first aid kits, if you will not be going in more than 2-3 different directions.
13. A disinfectant kit may be used. Bob Hayes: “To sanitize critical surfaces in restrooms, etc., carry a disinfectant kit made up of a 2 or 4 ounce bottle of Clorox solution (1 part Clorox to 10 parts water), a single-use rubber exam glove, a Handi-Wipe,and a generous supply of toilet paper. Keep the solution wrapped in a paper towel and in a small Ziploc bag to guard against leadage. Use glove to hold some toilet paper moistened with the solution to wipe…necessary surfaces. Wait for at least one minute, then wipe solution off and rinse surface with clean water or Handi-Wipe.” We advise you against using the public toilet facilities in downtown Kampala.
14. Contact ACTI for courses available in tropical medicine, if interested. One two-week course is conducted by Equip, Inc., attention JoAnn Mansfield, 704.738.3891. Another is offered by the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene—please contact Nancy Sanders at 304.293.5916.