Health in Peru

* While traveling

* When you return home

Health - Preparations before you travel
If sensible precautions are taken by the visitor to Peru, there is no reason why you shouldn't remain as healthy as at home.

1. Before you travel make sure that you take out good medical insurance. If you plan to undertake 'adventurous activities' such as rafting, horse riding or paragliding, make sure that your policy covers you. You may have to pay a small surcharge for this.

2. For advice on what immunizations that you require we recommend that you try ringing a specialist travel clinic (at least 6 weeks prior to travel). Your own doctor is probably unfamiliar with health in Latin America.

Although not strictly necessary, you should, however, consider the following immunizations:-

*Typhoid
*Polio
*Tetanus
*Hepatitis 

Health - Tips on staying healthy whilst traveling Health - Tips on staying healthy whilst traveling
The most common problem encountered by the traveler in Peru is diarrhea (between 30% and 50% of travelers in a 2 week stay experience this) but the majority of these upsets will be relatively minor. Don't become paranoid; trying the local food is part of the experience of travel.
Tap water in Peru is unsafe to drink. Always purify the water first by boiling it or adding purification tablets such as Micropure which can be easily bought in most pharmacies throughout Peru (make sure that you read the instructions before using them). Bottled mineral water is readily available everywhere.
In most good restaurants, purified water is used to wash fruit, vegetables and salads. If in doubt ask.

Fruit in Peru is plentiful and delicious, but ensure that you wash it or peel it yourself.
Avoid undercooked and reheated foods.
Shellfish are a particularly high risk and so is ceviche (raw fish marinated in lime). They are all delicious, however, and should be safe in well-run hygienic establishments.
There are good doctors and reasonable hospitals in the major cities, but little in the way of good facilities away from the major centers.

Altitude Sickness
On reaching heights above 3000m, heart pounding and shortness of breath are a normal response to the lack of oxygen in the air. However, for some visitors these symptoms can deteriorate into a conditions known as Soroche (or acute mountain sickness) when you can start to experience headaches, loss of appetite, extreme tiredness, sleeplessness and often nausea. Symptoms usually develop within the first day at altitude, but may be delayed by up to 2 weeks. To prevent Soroche, try to take things easy as soon as you arrive. Once settled in your hotel room have a lie down for a while and drink plenty of fluids. Don't plan any strenuous treks until you've acclimatized for a few days. Avoid alcohol, cigarettes and heavy food. Drinking mate de coca (an infusion of coca leaves - and perfectly legal in Peru) may help. If symptoms become more severe and prolonged it is best to quickly seek medical attention and make arrangements to descend to a lower altitude. On recovery one can re-ascend slowly or in stages.

Health - When you return home
 Report an symptoms to your doctor and say exactly where you've been. If taking anti-malarial tablets, remember to keep taking them for 6 weeks after leaving the malarial areas.

Note. The above information and advice on HEALTH is give in good faith. We cannot accept responsibility for accuracy of information provided. In issues regarding your health it is always best to consult a specialist.

Emergencies

If you have an emergency in Peru, we recommend you to first of all contact your embassy or consulate, which will provide the right advise on how to solve your problems.
You can also contact the Tourist Protection Service (SPT), an entity set up by Peruvian authorities to help out travelers.
The service has a hotline which attends tourist's calls 24 hours a day, handling queries in several languages at the telephone number: (511) 224-7888.