Health & safety
Before you go
Prevention is the key to staying healthy while abroad. A little planning before departure, particularly for pre-existing illnesses, will save trouble later. Bring medications in their original, clearly labelled, containers. A signed and dated letter from your physician describing your medical conditions and medications, including any generic names, is also a good idea. If you’re carrying syringes or needles, be sure to have a physician’s letter documenting their medical necessity. If you are embarking on a long trip, make sure your teeth are OK and take your optical prescription with you.
Insurance
Citizens of EU countries are entitled to free or cheaper medical care in most European countries, but need to carry proof of their entitlement in the form of the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), which replaced the E111 form at the end of 2005. In the UK, the card is available directly from the Department of Health (0845 606 2030; www.dh.gov.uk/travellers) or by using a form obtained from any post office. Note that this card might not cover all medical expenses while abroad (eg repatriation) and that some insurance policies aren’t valid without an EHIC.
Citizens from other countries should find out if there is a reciprocal arrangement for free medical care between their country and Cyprus.
If you do need health insurance, make sure you get a policy that covers you for the worst possible scenario, such as an accident requiring an emergency flight home. Find out in advance if your insurance plan will make payments directly to providers or reimburse you later for overseas health expenditures.
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Recommended vaccinations
No jabs are required to travel to Cyprus, but a yellow-fever vaccination certificate is required if you are coming from an infected area. The WHO recommends that all travellers should be covered for diphtheria, measles, mumps, rubella and polio.
Internet resources
The World Health Organization’s publication, International Travel and Health, is revised annually and is available online at www.who.int/ith/. Other useful websites include the following:
www.mdtravelhealth.com Travel health recommendations for every country; updated daily.
www.fitfortravel.scot.nhs.uk General travel advice for the layperson.
www.ageconcern.org.uk/AgeConcern/fs26.asp Advice on travel for the elderly.
www.mariestopes.org.uk Information on women’s health and contraception.
Dangers & annoyances
In general, Cyprus is a very safe place to travel, both for locals and for tourists, and personal safety is pretty well guaranteed. The crime rate is minimal and muggings are almost unknown, although petty theft and crime may be on the increase in urban centres – this applies equally to both the Republic and the North.
As a traveller, you run few risks of personal loss or harm in Cyprus, though you’re advised to lock hotel rooms and keep personal belongings secure. The greatest risk will often come from fellow travellers in resorts with a high concentration of tourists, where petty theft and drunkenness are the most likely annoyances to be encountered.
Care must be exercised when travelling in the area of the Attila Line (known as the Green Line in the capital) that divides the North from the South. Be sure to only cross at designated checkpoints and nowhere else. The dividing line is normally clearly visible and identifiable by barbed wire, sentry boxes and UN watchtowers. Despite this, there have been cases of people inadvertently straying across the line towards the North, whereupon they have been arrested. The delineation between North and South is less clearly marked within the Dekelia Sovereign Base Area in the east, where there is no UN buffer zone as such. Extra care must be exercised here.
There are still occasional demonstrations and gatherings by Greek Cypriots at various points along the Attila Line, and tensions can run very high. In August 1996, two Greek Cypriots were murdered by Northern Cypriot counter-demonstrators at Deryneia, close to Famagusta (Mağusa). At the same time, some Greek demonstrators and several foreigners were also injured by gunshots.
To avoid possible problems, travellers should not linger near military bases in the North or the South, and should obey prominent signs prohibiting photography.
In transit
Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT)
Blood clots may form in the legs during plane flights, chiefly because of prolonged immobility (the longer the flight, the greater the risk). The chief symptom of DVT is swelling or pain of the foot, ankle, or calf, usually but not always on just one side. When a blood clot travels to the lungs, it may cause chest pain and breathing difficulties. Travellers with any of these symptoms should immediately seek medical attention. To prevent the development of DVT on long flights you should walk about the cabin, contract your leg muscles while sitting, drink plenty of fluids and avoid alcohol and tobacco.
Jet lag
To avoid jet lag, drink plenty of nonalcoholic fluids and eat light meals. Once you arrive, get exposure to natural sunlight and readjust your schedule (for meals, sleep and so on) as soon as possible.
While you're there
Availability & cost of health care
If you need an ambulance, call 119 in the Republic of Cyprus, or 112 in Northern Cyprus. Pharmacies can dispense medicines that are available only on prescription in most European countries, so you can consult a pharmacist for minor ailments. Emergency medical treatment and assistance is provided free of charge at government hospitals or medical institutions. However, payment of the prescribed fees is required for outpatient and inpatient treatment. Make sure your medical insurance covers any emergency.
Hospitals can be overcrowded and hygiene is not always what it should be. Conditions and treatment are better in private hospitals, but these are expensive. All this means that a good health-insurance policy is essential.
Traveller’s diarrhoea
If you develop diarrhoea, be sure to drink plenty of fluids, preferably in the form of an oral rehydration solution such as Dioralyte. If diarrhoea is bloody, persists for more than 72 hours or is accompanied by fever, shaking, chills or severe abdominal pain, you should seek medical attention.
Heatstroke
Heatstroke occurs following excessive fluid loss with inadequate replacement of fluids and salt. Symptoms include headache, dizziness and tiredness. Dehydration is already happening by the time you feel thirsty; aim to drink sufficient water to produce pale, diluted urine. To treat heatstroke, drink water and/or fruit juice, and cool the body with cold water and fans.
Jellyfish, sea urchins & weever fish
Avoid contact with jellyfish, which have stinging tentacles. Stings from jellyfish in Cyprus can be very painful, but are not dangerous. Dousing in vinegar will deactivate any stingers that have not ‘fired’. Calamine lotion, antihistamines and analgesics may reduce the reaction and relieve the pain.
Watch out for sea urchins around rocky beaches; if you get sea-urchin needles embedded in your skin, immersing the limb in hot water will relieve the pain (test the water temperature first!). You’ll then need to get a doctor to remove the needles in order to prevent infection. If you try to remove them yourself, some travellers report that olive oil applied to the skin helps to loosen needles.
Watch out for weever fish, which bury themselves in the seabed with just their dorsal fin showing, as stepping on this dorsal fin is very painful. However, instances are very rare. The only treatment is to put the affected limb in water as hot as the victim can stand without causing scalding.
Leishmaniasis
This is a group of parasitic diseases transmitted by infected sandflies, which are found in Cyprus and Turkey. Cutaneous leishmaniasis affects the skin tissue, causing ulceration and disfigurement; and visceral leishmaniasis affects internal organs. Seek medical advice, as laboratory testing is required for diagnosis and treatment. Avoiding sandfly bites is the best precaution. Bites are usually itchy and yet another reason to cover up and apply repellent.
Tick-borne diseases
Lyme disease, tick-borne encephalitis and typhus may be acquired in Cyprus. Seek immediate medical treatment if you believe you have any of these diseases.
Lyme disease usually begins with a spreading rash at the site of the tick bite, and is accompanied by fever, headache, extreme fatigue, aching joints and muscles, and mild neck stiffness.
Tick-borne encephalitis can occur in forest and rural areas. Symptoms include blotches around the bite, which is sometimes pale in the middle. Headache, stiffness and other flulike symptoms, as well as extreme tiredness, appearing a week or two after the bite, can progress to more serious problems.
Typhus is spread by ticks, mites or lice. It begins with fever, chills, headache and muscle pains, followed a few days later by a body rash. There is often a large, painful sore at the site of the bite, and nearby lymph nodes are swollen and painful.
Seek local advice on areas where ticks pose a danger, and always check your skin carefully for ticks. An insect repellent can help, and walkers in tick-infested areas should consider having their boots and trousers impregnated with benzyl benzoate and dibutyl phthalate.
Snakes
There are eight species of snakes in Cyprus, three of which are poisonous. They usually show up in spring and summer only. The most dangerous to humans is the (thankfully) rather rare blunt-nosed viper (koufi), recognised by its yellow, hornlike tail. The other two poisonous snakes are the cat snake and the Montpellier snake; although they can inflict a nasty bite, they’re not as dangerous as the blunt-nosed viper.
To minimise your chances of being bitten, be sure to wear boots, socks and long trousers when walking through undergrowth where snakes may be present. Don’t put your hands into holes and crevices, and be careful when collecting firewood.
Snakebites do not cause instantaneous death, and antivenins are usually available. If bitten by a snake that may be venomous, immediately wrap the bitten limb tightly, as you would for a sprained ankle, and then attach a splint to immobilise it. Keep the victim still and seek medical help. Take the dead snake with you for identification, but if it’s still alive, don’t attempt to catch it if there’s a possibility of being bitten again. Tourniquets and sucking out the poison are now comprehensively discredited.
Travelling with children
Make sure children are up to date with routine vaccinations, and discuss possible travel vaccines with a health professional well before departure, as some vaccines are not suitable for children under one year old. Lonely Planet’s Travel with Children includes travel health advice for younger children.
Women’s health
Emotional stress, exhaustion and travelling through different time zones can all contribute to an upset in the menstrual pattern.
If using oral contraceptives, remember that some antibiotics, diarrhoea and vomiting can stop the pill from working. Time zones, gastrointestinal upsets and antibiotics do not affect injectable contraception.
Travelling during pregnancy is usually possible, but always consult your doctor before planning your trip. The most risky times for travel are during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy and after 30 weeks.
Sexual health
Condoms are readily available in Cyprus, but emergency contraception may not be, so take the necessary precautions.
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