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 Québec, 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.