Just chasing your thoughts on malaria,tropical diseases in Indo.
Is it worth going to doc's for shots and some tabs.
Whilst on the subject of general comments,any thoughts on epoxy boards for Indo.
Apart from being corky,I'm hoping a 6'6''Flex-lite will do the goods for the smaller surf encountered .
Cheers,

Epoxys fine not as corky as most think- not all like tuflites!
I take a 6'2qwad and a 6'4 thruster they handle most size from knee high to head n half easy.Nice n lite in the travel bag too. Ding fixers do a good job over there but take some epoxy filler like SEAL IT (from bunnings) for qwik fixes hardens quick will work when board is wet and ya get back in to the waves in 20 min.
I havent had malaria shots for bali in 20 years of visits

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esoom said...

Just chasing your thoughts on malaria,tropical diseases in Indo.
Is it worth going to doc's for shots and some tabs.
Whilst on the subject of general comments,any thoughts on epoxy boards for Indo.
Apart from being corky,I'm hoping a 6'6''Flex-lite will do the goods for the smaller surf encountered .
Cheers,

6"6 for small surf !! how big are you

Never had a shot. Been countless times.

just put on insect spray regularly. you'll be fine. if you do that you've got more chance of getting bali belly than anything else. n yeah, that board will be fine in smaller stuff.

Depends on where you go in Indo.

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bene313 said...

Depends on where you go in Indo.

+1

From memory the vaccination only covers about 6 strains of Malaria out of a possible 360 (or odds similar). Better off making sure you cover up in the evenings and use plenty of repellent.
I surfed a 6'2 flexifire last trip in waist to head beachies and it went well.

AS far as I am aware there are no shots or vaccinations for malaria currently.
PRevention in endemic areas is by taking medication(tablets) daily or weekly for the time that you are visiting and a few weeks after.

There is Malaria in Indo, but prophylactic treatment depends on where you are travelling.

Typhoid and Hep A and B are recommended by health dept.

Its also worthwhile making sure you are UTD with the Australian vaccination schedule.

Rabies vacine is also recommended for some occupations and certain areas.

Best have a chat with your GP.

I'll have a GT wot wot.

I also rely heavily on the quinine in a G & T to address this issue (or at least that's how I rationalise it to myself!).

Seriously, never had a shot. Would have thought that Dengue is more of an issue.

over the past 20yrs I have worked (volunteer) at a childrens home in Bali, the local Dr has assured us there had only been a couple of cases of malaria and even then it was brought over from surrounding Islands. In saying that I do have a friend who has malaria, contracted in new guinea and it aint nice.

Thanks for the info,sounds as though a trip to GP for Hep A and dengue wouldn't go astray.
Sumatran islands are the destination and the 6'6'' is for the smaller surf as I'm pushing 90kg and the wrong side of 50 years of age.
3 weeks to go and counting,trying to get paddle fit in a unheated swimming pool in the middle of winter ain't much fun either.
Hopefully there is still some passing swell.
Cheers

I don't believe the is a vac for Dengue.

You can take tablets for Malaria but nobody likes them and hence most guys give it a miss.

If going to Sumatra see your GP for shots for that area.

Bali is not Indo

Don't be casual about tropical diseases - they kick our lilly whites asses, and many have life long consequences.

No need to be overly paranoid, but it's easy to get slack after a few bintangs and forget about the mossies, or the variety of other risks.

See a GP or the Travel Doctor and consider the advice - no need to get injected for everything, but there are risks that can be minimized.

Slightly off topic but did anyone see the report on Sunday 7 program. The guy hit a reef and picked up a flesh eating disease that nearly killed him.

He was not on Bali but a island near bye. Sorry bad with names

Edit sorry hear is the link

au.news.yahoo.com/the-power-of-love-14507908.html

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jbshack said...

Slightly off topic but did anyone see the report on Sunday 7 program. The guy hit a reef and picked up a flesh eating disease that nearly killed him.

He was not on Bali but a island near bye. Sorry bad with names

Edit sorry hear is the link

au.news.yahoo.com/the-power-of-love-14507908.html

P Pass , ponphei in the caroline chain (Micronesia), not that near indo at all

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esoom said...

Thanks for the info,sounds as though a trip to GP for Hep A and dengue wouldn't go astray.
Sumatran islands are the destination and the 6'6'' is for the smaller surf as I'm pushing 90kg and the wrong side of 50 years of age.
3 weeks to go and counting,trying to get paddle fit in a unheated swimming pool in the middle of winter ain't much fun either.
Hopefully there is still some passing swell.
Cheers

If you are staying on a boat wouldn't even bother as a good skipper will anchor a fair distance offshore and away from potential bad spots. Did the banyaks last year and a couple of other chains and had no dramas. didn't even see a mozzie untill we got back to port at the end of the trip. Hope you get a few, you will have a ball

Yes but dudes get dengue even in Bali

catch it twice and you're fooked

www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Kitesurfing/General/Damn-I-caught-dengue-fever-at-Sanur-Bali/

I'm off to Samatra land based next week and have had tetanus, typhoid, hep A & B and malaria tablets.

The malaria tabs are Doxy's and I think they also act as a general antibiotic but they are really bad for sunburn for the first couple of days.

In Bali I wouldnt bother, but if your heading to other remote islands I'd take precautions.
At a certain place near a creek on a certain island there was 16 of us camping near the beach. There was a drunken nights party one night due to a week of no swell. Every other night everyone went through the ritual at dusk of long pants,shirt,repelant and mosquito coils burning around the tents, but on this night everyone got too drunk to care.
Everyone had their shirts off, in the morning people were past out on the beach in just boardies.
I know that 7 of the 16 got malaria, most probly from that night.
If you have seen someone who has been hit hard by it, you will be very cautious.

You dont need to be terrified of it, just take the time to cover up a bit and you'll be fine.
I got Ross River fever really bad a few years ago and thought I was going to die.

no vaccination for malaria - they are working on it

doxycycline good prophylactic for malaria, covers skin infections too

WHO Malaria Situation

Malaria is concentrated on the outer islands of Papua, Maluku, Nusa Tenggara (lombok sumbawa sumba), Sulawesi, Kalimantan and Sumatra. It occurs with low frequency or is absent on the islands of Java and Bali where approximately 70% of the population live.


risk/reward ratio - 3/4 malaria strains "benign" , the other can kill you in a day

imagine you feel too sick to think about dying!
fancy winning the biggest loser in under 2 weeks!
like a home sanua at no cost!
there is a very good chance that you won't get malaria
and you're probably more likely to get run down by some young male idiot tourist on a scooter while crossing
but make no bones about it malaria exists in bali
don't get bit!!

and remember to do the worm tablet thing when you get home
don't want any of 'em aliens appearing at the appearing at the dinner table or internal asylum seekers!