Travel Medical Kit

Suggested for your Travel Medical Kit:

Many of these are available at local pharmacies but you may have to travel at least 45 miles to the next big town.

§         Antibacterial hand sanitizer (Purell, etc)

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Health Precautions

General Health

It’s wise to drink water regularly. The symptoms of dehydration can include headache, joint aches, kidney and bladder pain, etc. Drinking water will keep you healthy.

Applying sunscreen is advisable as often we are out in the sun for many hours without thought. While a tan might be fashionable, a burn is not.

Food and Drink

You will be well fed in Uganda, whether vegetarian or omnivorous. The carbohydrate and protein content is typically high, but micro-nutrients and minerals may be less often found. In addition, sugar is expensive here. If you want to ensure optimal nutrition and taste, we recommend you bring your own vitamins.

Be patient with the cuisine as some might be an acquired taste, but the majority of visitors leave Uganda fatter than when they arrived! All meals are provided at the host family and are cooked with loving attention to detail. Meals might include plantains (bananas), a thick corn meal called posho, local beans, potatoes, roasted or fried chicken, pasta, greens, cabbage, salads with cucumbers, carrots, and tomatoes, porridge, mango, beef, peas, maize (corn), and a variety of other foodstuffs.

The water from the taps is not safe for consumption by westerners. We recommend you purchase water (in bottles or packets of bags), use a filter you’ve brought from home, or drink water that has been boiled and stored appropriately.

Malaria

Malaria remains a killer disease in Sub-Saharan Africa, but taking medicinal preventatives regularly, sleeping under a mosquito net, and covering up and applying repellent in early mornings and at evening can drastically minimize malaria’s threat to your health. Symptoms can vary, but a fever should be seen by physician to rule malaria out. It’s good to trust the advice of knowledgeable local people as well, as they have experience with this disease.

HIV/AIDS

HIV/AIDS remains a serious problem in Uganda, despite decreasing rates of infection in many areas. Heterosexual sex and passing from mother to child at birth remain the most common methods of contracting the disease here. However, despite abstaining from sex, you might contract the disease from cleaning up bodily fluids (e.g., blood, vomit, diarrhea) or if you have contact with open wounds. There is no way visual way to tell if a person has HIV at whatever age, so please be certain to take precautions. Use bleach and gloves if you are cleaning up blood. Don’t share razors or toothbrushes and avoid injections from unreliable sources. 

Bilharzia

A skin-burrowing snail, Bilharzia can be contracted by walking through or touching the water on the shores of Lake Victoria. Be careful walking near the shores. If you forget and step into the water, rub the area vigorously with a dry towel.

Putsi Flies

When clothes are left on the line to dry, the putsi fly may lay its eggs into the wet clothes. When you wear the clothes, your body heat causes the eggs to hatch and the larva will burrow into your skin, eventually forming a boil as it grows. To avoid this problem, do not leave your clothes to dry overnight. In addition, ironing kills the larva and other germs and is recommended for all clothes and bed sheets.