Specific Health Problems
Canada requires no specific vaccinations, but problems can start when you're walking or camping in the backcountry. Tap water is generally safe to drink, though at campgrounds water is sometimes good for washing only - ask if in doubt. You should always boil backcountry water for at least ten minutes to protect against the Giardia parasite (or "beaver fever"), which thrives in warm water, so be careful about swimming in hot springs - if possible, keep nose, eyes and mouth above water. Symptoms are intestinal cramps, flatulence, fatigue, weight loss and vomiting, all of which can appear up to a week after infection. If left untreated, more unpleasant complications can arise, so see a doctor. Blackfly and mosquitoes are notorious for the problems they cause walkers and campers, and are especially bad in areas near water and throughout most of northern Canada. Horseflies are another pest. April to June is the blackfly season, and the mosquito season is from July until about October. Before you go, take three times the recommended daily dosage of Vitamin B complex for two weeks, and take the recommended dosage while you're in Canada - this cuts down bites by up to 75 percent. Once you're there, repellent creams and sprays may help: the best repellents are those containing DEET - the ointment version of Deep-Woods Off is the best brand, with 95 percent DEET. If you're camping or picnicking you'll find that burning coils or candles containing allethrin or citronella can help (but watch those smells - they'll attract the bears ). If you're walking in an area that's rife with pests, it's well worth taking a gauze mask to protect your head and neck; wearing white clothes and no perfumed products also makes you less attractive. Once bitten, an antihistamine cream like phenergan is the best antidote. On no account go anywhere near an area marked as a blackfly mating ground - people have died from bites sustained when the monsters are on heat. If you develop a large rash and flu-like symptoms, you may have been bitten by a tick carrying lyme borreliosis (or "lyme tick disease"). This is easily curable, but if left can lead to nasty complications, so see a doctor as soon as possible. It's spreading in Canada, especially in the more southerly and wooded parts of the country. Check on its prevalence with the local tourist authority - it may be advisable to buy a strong tick repellent and to wear long socks, trousers and sleeved shirts when walking. Whether ticks give you anything or not, they're nasty on their own, burying into your skin, often after spending time moving surreptitiously over your body to find a nice warm soft spot. In backcountry areas look out for poison ivy , which grows in most places, but particularly in a belt across southern Ontario and Quebec, where poison-ivy ointment is widely available. If you're likely to be walking in affected areas, ask at tourist offices for tips on where it is and how to recognize the plant. It causes itchy open blisters and lumpy sores up to ten days after contact. Wash body and clothes as soon as possible after contact, smother yourself in calamine lotion and try not to scratch. In serious cases, hospital emergency rooms can give antihistamine or adrenalin jabs. Also keep an eye open for snakes in certain western areas; pharmacists and wilderness outfitters can advise on snakebite kits, and park wardens can give useful preventive advice. Should you get bitten without an antidote on you, get a good look at the culprit so that the doctor can identify the species and administer the right medicine. If walking or climbing, go properly equipped and be prepared for sudden changes of weather. Watch out for signs of exposure - mild delirium, exhaustion, inability to get warm - and on snow or in high country during summer take a good sun block . Finally, of course, take the same precautions against HIV infection as you would back home - use a condom and don't share needles.
Your Tip for Quebec
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