Health Requirements for Nepal

For travel to Nepal it is essential that you are up to date with Typhoid, Tetanus, Polio and Hepatitis. Nepal is generally considered a low risk country for Malaria, but if you are travelling in the southwest of the country, close to the Indian border, you may need to take anti-malaria precautions. For competitively priced Malarone visit www.travelpharm.com who are an online pharmacy that offer online consultations.

However as we are not trained to give specific health advice, we strongly recommend that you visit your GP surgery or a travel clinic for professional advice well in advance of your travel date. Some immunisations need to be given well in advance of departure, so seek advice at least two months before you depart. For further information MASTA operate travel clinics across the UK and provide a free travel health brief on their website www.masta-travel-health.com or contact The Hospital for Tropical Diseases via their website www.thehtd.org.

Please note if you are arriving from an area in the Yellow Fever zone (currently only South American & African countries) you may be required to show that you have been inoculated against the disease.

Trekking & High Altitude
Although much of popular Nepal (Kathmandu, Chitwan & Pokhara) is at a lower altitude, as soon as you start out on the trekking trails the altitude can increase quickly and this could affect your holiday. Altitude sickness can affect anyone and may do so with varying degrees of severity. If you are going to be travelling at high altitude you must consult with your doctor before travelling, especially if you have a known heart (or other) condition. To reduce the chances of being affected by altitude sickness please drink plenty of water and take things slowly so that your body can acclimatize successfully.

If you are trekking there are prescription tablets available called Acetazolamide (Diamox), which is a weak diuretic that increases ventilation of the lungs. These tablets are usually taken for one or two days before highest altitude is reached, and continued for a further three days. For competitively priced Acetazolamide, the online pharmacy www.travelpharm.com provides consultations. However if you are trekking we strongly recommend that you speak to your GP first, before buying this sort of medicine.