Health And Insurance Egypt tourist information,vacations

Despite the potential health hazards of travel in Egypt, the majority of visitors experience nothing worse than a bout or two of diarrhoea. For minor health complaints, a visit to a pharmacy is likely to be sufficient. Egyptian pharmacists are well trained and dispense a wide range of drugs, including many normally on prescription in Europe. If they feel you need a full diagnosis, they can usually recommend a doctor - sometimes working on the premises. Most doctors speak English or French.

Although the change of diet and climate accounts for most health problems, individual responses vary. While some people adapt quickly to the heat and consume local food with impunity, others get sick and stay poorly (children and the elderly are likely to suffer the worst effects). If you're here for a week or two only, it makes sense to be cautious, but longer-staying visitors might prefer to get ill early, acclimatize, and worry less thereafter - a lot depends on your constitution. Bearing this in mind, take whatever precautions seem appropriate.

Preventative medicine
Although visitors to Egypt are not required to have inoculations unless coming from an infected area, you should always be up to date with polio and tetanus . It's also worth being vaccinated against typhoid , which occasionally flares up in parts of Egypt - although the cholera shot is generally acknowledged to be worthless. If you're hoping to visit southern Egypt, Sudan or sub-Saharan Africa, a vaccination against meningitis is essential.

While not an issue for most tourists, visitors planning to stay a long time in Egypt or the Middle East should consider vaccination against hepatitis . The new shot for Hepatitis A (Havrix monodose) is expensive at about £50 (though your doctor may provide it free), but with a booster a year later it lasts for ten years. Hepatitis B is only transmitted through body fluids, so immunization is only really necessary for medical workers. Though all these vaccinations can be obtained in Cairo, it is vital to ensure that any injections are done with sterile needles. If necessary, supply your own disposable syringe, sold at pharmacies.

Other precautions are fairly obvious, though whether all of them are justified is debatable. Guard against heatstroke and food poisoning . Rare meat and raw shellfish top the danger list, which descends via creamy sauces down to salads, juices, raw fruit and vegetables - and if slavishly followed would prevent you from eating most of what's on offer. Visitors who insist on washing everything (and only cleaning their teeth) in mineral water are overreacting. Just use common sense, and accustom your stomach gradually to Egyptian cooking. Asking for dishes to be served very hot ( sukhna awi) will reduce the risk of catching anything. Take prompt care of cuts and skin irritations , since flies can quickly spread infections. Anthisan cream (available abroad) is good for bites, swellings and rashes.

Medical Advisory Services
In travellers who call the " Health Line " (tel 01891/224 100) run by Masta - the Medical Advisory Service for Travellers Abroad - can receive the latest detailed health advice by return post. In the US, you can get advice by phone from the US Centers for Disease Control (tel 1-888/232-3228 or 404/332-4559, www.cdc.gov). In Australia and New Zealand, contact the Travellers' Medical and Vaccination Centres . Australia: Sydney (tel 02/9221 7133), Melbourne (tel 03/9602 5788), Adelaide (tel 08/8267 3544), Brisbane (tel 07/3221 9066), Perth (tel 08/9321 1977), Canberra (tel 02/6257 7156), Darwin (tel 08/8981 2907) and Hobart (tel 03/6223 7577). New Zealand: Auckland (tel 09/373 3531), Christchurch (tel 03/379 4000) and Wellington (tel 04/473 0991).

Pharmacies, doctors and hospitals
Pharmacies , found in every town, form the advance guard of Egypt's health service. Pharmacists usually speak English, and can dispense most drugs without a prescription. Private doctors are equally common, but charge for consultations: expect to pay about £E50 (roughly £10/US$16) a session, excluding the price of any drugs you are prescribed. If you get seriously ill, private hospitals are generally preferable to public sector ones. Those attached to universities are usually well equipped and competent, but small-town hospitals are often abysmal. Many hospitals ( mustashfa) require a deposit of around £E200. Normally you must pay this on admission; a delayed payment by your insurance company is not acceptable. Despite several good hospitals in Cairo and Alexandria, Egypt is basically no country in which to fall seriously ill.

Health hazards
The tap water in Egyptian towns and cities is heavily chlorinated and mostly safe to drink, but unpalatable and rough on tender stomachs. In rural areas, Sinai campsites and desert rest- houses there's a fair risk of contaminated water.

Consequently, most tourists stick to bottled mineral water , which is widely available, tastes better, and won't upset sensitive tums. However, excessive fear of tap water is unjustified, and hard to sustain in practice if you're here for long. Once your guts have adjusted, it's usually okay to drink it without further purification (Halazone tablets, iodine crystals, or by boiling).

What you should avoid is any contact with stagnant water that might harbour bilharzia (schistosomiasis) flukes. Irrigation canals and the slower stretches of the River Nile are notoriously infested with these minute worms, which breed in the blood vessels of the abdomen and liver (the main symptom is blood in the urine). Don't drink or swim there, walk barefoot in the mud, or even on grass that's wet with Nile water. But it's okay to bathe in the saline pools of the desert oases.

Women's health
Travelling in the heat and taking antibiotics for an upset stomach, you are liable to vaginal infections even if you wash regularly with mild soap, wear cotton underwear and loose clothing. Yeast infections are treatable with Nystatin pessaries (available at pharmacies); "one-shot" Canesten pessaries (bring some from home if you're prone to thrush); or douches of a weak solution of vinegar or lemon juice. Sea bathing can also help. Trichomonas is usually treated with Flagyl, under medical supervision.

Sanitary protection is available from pharmacies in cities and tourist resorts, but seldom anywhere else, so it's wise to bring a supply for your trip.

Bring your own contraceptives , since the only forms widely available in Egypt are old-fashioned, high-dosage pills; the coil; and not too trusty condoms. Cap-users should pack a spare, and enough spermicide and pessaries. If you're on the pill, beware that persistent diarrhoea can render it ineffective.

Travel insurance can buy you peace of mind as well as save you money. Before you purchase any insurance, however, check what you have already. North Americans, in particular, may find themselves covered for medical expenses and loss of or damage to valuables while abroad. Some credit cards, too, offer insurance benefits if you use them to pay for tickets, though the level of coverage may be less than adequate.

If you are travelling for any real length of time, however, additional or specific travel insurance is reassuring. Most policies are quite comprehensive, covering not just medical costs but also loss or theft of baggage and money; and in real trouble they should get you home. If you are diving, be sure that your policy covers you for this: treatment in a recompresssion chamber can cost US$1000 a day.