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Health During your
Egypt Tour
Many
tourists have health concerns when
travelling in other countries and these
usually revolve around the cleanliness of
the water, the safety of the food, potential
illnesses and the standard of hospital
care. Keep reading and we will give you the
facts on these as well as some conclusions
from our long experience in leading tours
When visiting Egypt don't drink the tap
water,
As it is
highly chlorinated. However, this water is
only safe to drink if you got used to it,
and if you are willing to live in Egypt for
a long time; then it should be ok. This doesn't mean
that the tap water is polluted, it simply
means that you are not used to it, and you
might get stomach problems. The same thing
happened to me when I was visiting UK once
and attempted to drink the tap water, I got
stomach cramps!! I was simply not used to
water there. So, my dear
traveller, it is the same situation for you
in
Egypt. It is advisable to drink bottled water
during your entire holiday. That is why I would advise strongly
that you don't drink the tap water, and use
it only for washing and brushing your teeth.
Tourists are often
advised not to eat the many fresh fruits or
vegetables; but this means missing out on
some of the best taste sensations you will
ever have ! In
Egypt, it is safe to eat fruit and
vegetables, as long as the food has been
washed correctly! You will find that
any good hotel or cruise boat will wash them
before cooking, so don't worry! Avoid
eating them in really cheap places or local
outlets, if you wish
to eat local food, stick with Falafel, or
what Egyptians callll Tammia, preferably from a known
place such as the restaurants on the streets
of Downtown. Tamia is very cheap, very safe
and a very tasty food.
When you go on a Nile cruise
you may get a diarrhoea due to many
contributing factors, such as the class of
boat you are staying in, the quality of food
and cleanliness habits that you follow
Despite the fact thatwe
always spend to fully brief the guests
on the tips and tricks of a successful
Egyptian holiday including all the
health tips, before the
cruise;
Then
...How come????
At this point, most people would assume that
it was the food causing the
problem; others would say it was the
water! But I was always convinced that it
was neither! Since we all ate the same food
and we only drank bottled water, and a few of
us still caught this “bug”, I decided to
start to monitoring the eating habits of the
groups more closely! Eventually I was able
to find the real reasons for these
illnesses, and they were:
1. The accommodation on the cruise boat is
of a full board basis, and most of the time
the meals are presented in an open buffet
manner. I noticed that some of the
passengers ate each meal as if it was their
last! What they were doing was completely
changing their eating habits, causing total
overload on their stomach’s capacity. Not to
mention that at least 5 to 7 items on the
buffet are types of food totally new to
them. I advised them to remember that the
food, on the boat, is actually never ending,
and they should be aware not to change their
eating habits and take it easy.
2. Whenever we come back to the boat, after
finishing a visit, some passengers would
rush to their fully air-conditioned cabins
and “crash” on their beds to rest. They
forget that the air conditioning is on full
power, and they are wet from walking. Here
comes the danger! They easily catch cold,
get back pain and their natural immune
system becomes vulnerable, hence the
sickness, diarrhoea, vomiting and
dehydration.
So the solution was simple! I stressed to
them that they should not rush to their
cabins after each tour, but to try and
acclimatize first, by sitting for a while in
the lobby before going to their cabins, and
once in their cabin, they should turn the
air-conditioning off immediately, turning it
back on whenever the cabin became warm.
The results were amazing! In the following
weeks, most of the time, none of my
group members had any illnesses.
So, dear traveller, please remember
the following if you
go on a cruise boat:
Exposure to extreme heat and cold is bad for
your immune system! Please take the time to
acclimatize your body before going into your
cabin!
You know what your stomach is like! Just
because you are on holiday don’t treat it
differently, if you have a sensitive stomach
and tend to stay to a certain type of diet,
try and do the same when you are Egypt. Err
on the side of caution; you do not want to
ruin a great holiday because you have eaten
something you would never have tried at
home. Some people are lucky, they seem to be
able to consume anything and everything,
others are ill by looking at a different
food. You may feel brave by trying something
different, but sometimes you are better by
being a coward and enjoying your stay.
Also many forget to wash their hands before
eating. this contribute a lot for cause of
the sickness.
HELPFUL TIP:
Once developed for cleaning
the parts underneath a babies nappy /
diaper, “Wet Wipes” (the small, damp, tissue
usually bought in a plastic tub) are
becoming more and more popular with adults.
They are also very useful when travelling in
Egypt. When you have felt the relief’s in a
Temple, touched the hieroglyphs in a Tomb,
caressed the stones on the Pyramids etc.,
you only have to take one of these wipes out
to instantly clean your hands. No more
looking for a washroom!
To cure many types of diarrhoea, there is an
excellent antibiotic called
Anitnall or
Entoseed,
( local drug equivalent for the amodiom )
which works very fast on removing the worst
of the symptoms, and putting you back on
your feet.
-You
can buy them at any pharmacy without a
prescription !
MALARIA TABLETS:
There is no malaria in
Egypt!
Egypt hasn’t had
a malaria case in the last 50 years.
Some travelers may take these tablets during
their stay and don’t realize that one of the
many side effects of the tablets is diarrhoea!
So,
my advice is not to
don't take malaria
tablets, simply you dont need them! I
have often seen people ruin their whole trip
because they were advised to take these tablets. They
get diarrhoea daily basis and end up staying in bed, o while the rest of their
party are enjoying themselves! Some tourists
come to Egypt taking these tablets, because
their doctor advised them to do
so! Unfortunately too many doctors
giving such advice promotly once they know
that Egypt is located in Africa,
So they immediately advise their patients to
take these tablets, two weeks before
commencing their trip.
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