Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Get bitten by the travel bug, 2 Oct 2000
'Bugs Bites and Bowels can be used in one of two ways. As a guide to health hazards abroad, it is the most useful and least hysterical travel health book I have ever come across. It's purpose is not to fill the reader with paranoia, but describe what you can catch or pick up, how to avoid it, and what to do if the worst happens.The book doesn't advocate avoiding all local foods and never drinking the water, as if the rest of the world is some disease-ridden cesspit, but calmly, and reassurringly details how to avoid such problems as dehydration, sunburn, mosquito bites and dodgy stomachs. As she says in her introduction, Wilson-Howarth is not attempting to be your portable doctor in times of crisis (although she is one), but to try to ensure that a doctor is never required. I haven't read as clear and comprehensible description of the malaria issue anywhere, and as I travelled to Africa this year, I really appreciated the clear and detailed summary this book contains - it's worth owning just for that. However, the other good reason to own a copy of this book is as a source of sick entertainment: although she insists that such critters are rare, the sections on some of the more unpleasant beasties that lurk in far-flung corners of the world are nothing short of addictive. Revel in descriptions of the horrible Tumbu flies, put your friends off their dinners with tales of the Candiru fish, and generally have fun with snake stories. The author might well convince you that the sensible traveller need never risk an encounter with such unpleasantness, but still, this is a read-aloud classic when drunk.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Bugs, Bites & Bowels, 15 Oct 2008
The author has a wide knowledge and experience of parasitology and travel medicine, gained over many years of living, working and travelling abroad. Readers of her books have come to appreciate not only the breadth of her knowledge and experience but also her engaging way of writing about her subject.Those who have read previous editions of this book will not be disappointed with the latest edition and those new to her writing will find much to educate, stimulate and amuse them. The book is aimed at travellers but health care professionals with an interest in travel health will also find it a valuable source of information. The content of the book is wide ranging, covering as it does preparation for travel and what to do on returning home as well as problems, both physical and psychological, encountered during travel, with sections devoted to women and child travellers and expatriates. Its scope covers topics as disparate as culture shock and accidents in addition to the "bugs, bites and bowels" of the title. Additions to this edition include information on bird flu and the new vaccines. The layout is user-friendly, with many useful maps, tables and text boxes drawing attention to key points in the text, and readers will find the many case studies and anecdotes in turn entertaining and instructive. What marks this book out from others in the field is the author's gift for clarity in explaining travel health topics in language that can be easily understood by the general reader whilst remaining accurate and authoritative. travel health advisers will find this a book that they can confidently recommend to their travelling patients as well as being one that they will wish to keep on the consulting room bookshelf for reference.
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