Medical Considerations
On most treks, you will always be within a few days of medical
help. If you are on a group trek, the leader should have the medical knowledge necessary to deal with emergencies and evacuation. If you are on your own, you will have to shoulder most of the responsibility for medical problems yourself. The sherpas who will accompany you are not doctors, nor are they first aid practitioners. It is essential that you bring your
own first aid kit and be prepared to take care of your own
blisters, cuts and scrapes. In the event of a real emergency, the
sherpa sirdar will do his best to get you transported quickly to
a qualified physician or an airstrip from which you may be
evacuated to Kathmandu.
Medical Supplies
The supplies listed here are recommended for any trek. Since some of them are prescription drugs, you
should visit your doctor and discuss the trip with them and
obtain prescriptions. If your doctor makes recommendations
contrary to the suggestions here, follow your doctor's advice,
and obtain substitutes for these items. It is not necessary to
burden yourself with a lot of medicines for the trek, though you
should carry enough to take care of minor problems. The ones listed
here are sufficient for most situations. You should be sure to
provide your supply of own aspirin, band aids, etc. If
you are taking an extended trek, you should consult Dr David Shlim's medical
chapter in Stan Armington's Trekking in the Nepal Himalaya and
equip your party to deal with possible problems and emergencies.
Basic first aid supplies
- Suntan lotion or sun blocking cream
- Lip salve (Chapstick, Blistex, or Glacier Cream)
- Foot powder
- Bandaids (plasters) and tape
- Moleskin or other blister pads
- Elastic (Ace) bandage
- Antiseptic cream
- Aspirin
- Throat lozenges or cough drops
- Decongestant tablets
- Iodine - small bottle for water purification
- Toilet paper & matches or a cigarette lighter to burn used TP
- Bactrim, Norbactin or other diarrhoea remedy
Immunisations
Your own physician and your local Public Health Service are the
best sources of information about immunisations necessary for
Nepal. The list of recommended injections here includes
immunisations usually recommended for trekkers in Nepal.
Hepatitus and Meningitis protection is also strongly recommended. It
is a good practice to have your jabs recorded in a yellow
international health certificate.
Recommended Injections
- Cholera
- Typhoid-paratyphoid
- Tetanus
- Polio (oral)
- Malaria (only if you will be visiting a jungle lodge)
- Typhus
- Hepatitis
- Meningitis Meningococcal A/C vaccine
Some Advice about Food and Water
In Nepal you should drink only treated water and eat only freshly
cooked food. You should always wash your hands before eating,
especially if you eat things like biscuits and bread with your
fingers. If you follow these simple rules, you should not
experience any severe stomach problems. Be forewarned, however,
that it is not unusual to have some mild diarrhoea in Nepal while
your system adapts to a new environment. If, however, you have
diarrhoea accompanied by severe cramps, high fever and chills,
you may have a bacterial or parasitic infection that requires
additional medication. For any medical advice and assistance you
require in Kathmandu go to the CIWEC Clinic, near the Yak
& Yeti Hotel, phone 228531.
The food in most hotels in Kathmandu should pose no health problem. Some conservative
physicians recommend that you yourself see any water you drink
boiled or treat the water yourself with iodine. The bottled
mineral water available in Kathmandu is the safest water to
drink. Do not drink tap water under any circumstances. If you eat
in restaurants outside the hotel, you should follow the cooked
foods rule. Salads and fruits that cannot be peeled should be
regarded with suspicion. Open air sweets, dried fruits, local
chhang, candy coloured soda pop in the bazaar, and the wares of
small pie shops are all tempting, but can harbour germs and
parasites that can upset your stomach and ruin your trek. During
the trek, the sherpa cook and kitchen crew thoroughly cook all
food and wash dishes in boiling water. You should have no stomach
problems if you eat only the food served by the sherpas. The most
important consideration for staying healthy is to take extra care
with your own personal hygiene. Keep your hands clean by washing
them frequently in the washing water that the sherpas provide.
Contents copyright © 1995, 2001 trekinfo.com. All rights reserved.
Revised: 1 August, 2001