hello, i am planing to go with my two dogs to africa driweing my camper. somebody knows if there is anny particular medical rules about dogs and do i need to have NOC (no objection certificate) for my dogs on entering countrys in africa. for marocco i know no need, i was already with my dog once. some info?? thanks, svetlana

Mate as an ex serviceman & a Paramedic, If I took all the things I thought I 'might need' I would not have room for items i would need!, I.E. suture set I would take, you unless knew how to use would not, I would take coagulant crystals, most people would not.

like others suggest do a basic first aid course, if you work in a office then you office would have dedicated first aiders, ask if you can become 1 that way you get to do a first aid course for free or contact st johns amb service. and pay to do it whear as doing the office option means you get to possibly help work mates.

__________________
We are the Pilgrims, Master, we shall go Always a little further: it may be beyond that last blue mountain barred with snow, Across that angry or that glimmering sea.

Hi folks

Just finished a 12 month trip from London to Cape Town via west and central Africa. We have posted a summary of our medical kit and hygiene tips, how we used the kit and what we actually treated on the trip.

You can read the full article here

HTH

Nick

__________________
Langebaan Sunset - Africa Overland
Website Twitter

Hi,

I always keep tablets like metacin for fever and Dramamine for vomit.In addition to first aid kit,i always prefer to keep fruits with me it keeps me refreshing.

__________________
Hotel Reviews

The best thing you can bring is your brain.

I did a first aid course a few years back, and my wife and I decided to do a wilderness first aid course as our trips are usually well off the beaten (or driven) track. It was superb! way better than a "regular" first aid. It goes through what to do for problems where your not expecting professional help for many hours or even days. For the sake of a few quid and a couple of days, this is a super course to do.

As to what to bring, that depends on how many in the group.... 20 folks will get through a lot of plasters :-)

at a minimum, 1 roll of sterile gauze, 1 compression bandage, VERY good sissors (knife if you have to). cling film. good few sterile gloves. loads of clean water. That's it. any more bandages / slings / splints are made on the spot from whatever is around. after that, it's stuff that's medical, but not first aid - tablets for shits, re-hydration powders/drinks, anti-malaria etc.

but the most important - do a course, ideally a wilderness/remote one.

Great if you dont need any of this, but you could easily come across anyone from this group, dying for the want of some help....

Merv.

I like to carry a very small dental kit - enough to do a temporary filling. Toothache one of my pet hates. Broke a tooth in Siberia in July but luckily the root died of its own accord and I had no pain - lucky me !

A good tip is to bring the book called ' Where there is no doctor ' a proven publication printed over 3 million copies dealing on basical medical subjects and tropical medicine in particular. It it is extensively illustrated as well.

good travels,
Michiel (MD)

There is a free download : http://weblife.org/pdf/where_there_is_no_doctor.pdf

__________________
R 1200 GS '08 en G 650 X Challenge '08

If toothache is a fear take a small bottle of clove oil. dab a little on your finger tip and rub on effected area. Works like a dream and is the basis to lots of top dental products. If anyone is passing through Pemba (north of Zanzibar ) pop in and ask to look around. Fascinating place.

+1 on knowledge as the key thing as you can improvise a great deal of things with a bit of ingenuity.

It's also very important to work out what you'll REALLY need, rather than a general kit sold to cover the 'average' trip.

Tooling around in Sierra Leone and Liberia I realised that a lot of 'First Aid' gear is great if an ambulance is on the way, but if you're 3 days drive down a dirt road from an overcrowded, understaffed UN hospital where all they will do is possibly help you get on a helicopter then it may not be much use to be kept alive for that extra hour.

In really remote places I have aimed to carry things that will help me move myself away and organise my own solution. Travelling alone, I never carried a CPR mask or airway kit as the likelihood of someone finding it in my bag and knowing how to use it when I am in trouble is rare. Oral Rehydration Salts, Imodium, Asthma medication, Epipen as needed. Allergies, Cholera or similar and Asthma will cause serious bother if you're not able to help yourself out. A broad spectrum antibiotic is likewise highly valuable.

I don't take painkillers except for Ibuprofen for hangovers as pain won't kill me and opiates can cause big trouble at customs (example - Lebanon, where you can buy almost anything OTC has total bans on a huge number of commonly abused drugs). I found Chlorhexidine antiseptic cream incredibly helpful for minor infections, and carry medical tape and gauze instead of bandaids. I'll definitely take a suture kit next time. I was stitched up without anaesthetic after riding an hour to a hospital once, and am confident I could do it myself or instruct someone else on it if it was a minor thing.

I've also toyed with the idea of getting a small tattoo with blood type and other pertinent medical details in an obvious place.

It might be a bit of a cavalier attitude but I didn't like my chances of getting much emergency help in case something really went wrong, so I just aim to carry what I will either definitely need or what might let me get myself out of trouble.

Hi, a number of the guys in my Regiment had there Blood Group tatooed on there wrist underside where a pulse would be taken normally.

It was common to have a Red Equlatral Triangle (tip of triangle facing up the arm), with the words above the point Blood Group, below it the actual group.
Make sure it is written in plan i.e. If B Rhs Positive (B+)

Of course I would suggest the best option would be to buy a set of Dog Tags then have them engraved, make sure you know you blood group.

Have the following put on them (same as in Army) First initial or (name) Last Name, DOB Blood Group & any allergies you have, if need be can put them on the back of the tags as well!

I still have mine, from when i joined the Army in 79, nothing has changed, probably cheaper than a tat as well lol

__________________
We are the Pilgrims, Master, we shall go Always a little further: it may be beyond that last blue mountain barred with snow, Across that angry or that glimmering sea.

Hiya

Although a very good thing for people in the Services, is the blood group bit of any real use at all outside them?

I was told by a UK doctor that you would always always always check for blood type regardless of any tattoo or other markings etc? So no real point to a civilian??

Just asking