Health in Bolivia

By Christopher Minster

Altitude sickness (soroche): In most of Bolivia, altitude sickness – referred to locally as soroche – is the ailment you’re most likely to experience. It feels like a general malaise and weakness, with some nausea thrown in. You’re most likely to experience it within 24 hours of ascending to a higher altitude: if you go for a day or so without feeling weak and sick, you probably won’t get it. It rarely lasts for more than a day or so. If you think you have altitude sickness, get some bed rest and take some aspirin or other mild painkillers. Bolivians believe that the best thing for altitude sickness is a strong tea made from coca leaves (don’t worry: the tea is legal). It does, in fact, help: native Andeans have been chewing coca leaves for centuries to stave off the effects of altitude (be careful: coca tea may result in a positive drug test).  There is no way to determine if you’re a high risk for altitude sickness: factors like age, health, weight and whether you’ve had it before seem to have no bearing on if it’ll hit you on any given visit. If you’re concerned that you’ll get altitude sickness, there are some drugs, such as diamox, which are helpful in preventing it. See your physician for more details and advice.

Yellow Fever and cholera: Since 1997, Bolivia has experienced one outbreak of cholera and two outbreaks of yellow fever, although they have been in eastern lowland provinces and did not affect many people. A yellow fever vaccination is required by Bolivia for travelers entering from yellow fever infested countries, and is suggested for incoming travelers who will be spending a lot of time in remote eastern lowlands. If you’re staying in the highlands, you need not worry about yellow fever. A vaccination for cholera is not required, but it couldn’t hurt if you’ll be traveling in extremely remote parts of Bolivia’s jungle.

Malaria: malaria is present in areas of Bolivia under 2,500 meters. If you’re going to travel to Bolivia’s lowlands, you may want to take a preventative medicine, such as mefloquine. Check with your physician before you go to Bolivia to figure out the best preventative malaria medicine for you.

Typhoid: typhoid is common in Bolivia, especially if you go far from usual tourist areas. Typhoid is transmitted through food or drink that has been contaminated by feces. The best way to avoid typhoid is to eat only in very clean restaurants or prepare your food yourself after cleaning it thoroughly.

Diarrhea: if you’re careless about what and where you eat, chances are good that you’ll come down with a simple case of the runs. Typically, cases run their course in a few days. If you don’t have to travel, the best thing to do is simply to let the disease run its course: just stay close to home and never too far from a toilet and you’ll soon be as good as new. If you have to travel, you’ll want to take some medicine, like Lomotil. It is not necessary to bring medicine from home: Bolivian pharmacies are generally well-stocked when it comes to this sort of thing, especially in tourist areas. Drink a lot of fluids, especially re-hydrating ones such as Gatorade.

Vaccinations for hepatitis and tetanus are also recommended.

It is a good idea to look into medical insurance before traveling in Bolivia.