medications

HI:

I am travelling to Quito and then the Galapagos starting Dec 2nd thru 13th. What meds would you suggest I take with me. Does anyone think I need any vaccinations.
Thanks for your help
Marilyn

I wouldn't worry about vaccinations. The recommended one would be for hepatitis but because you will only be here for a short time I, personally, wouldn't get it.

As far as other meds go, everything is available in Quito. There are a handful of pharmacies in La Mariscal area where you can pick up what you need. Just walk done Amazonas between Calama and Veintimilla. If you still can't find what you need go to the Pharmacy's at Clinica Pichincha (it's on Veintimilla and 9 de Octubre) or keep walking down Amazonas toward Parque El Ejido and there's a Fybeca (sp?) across from the Hilton Colon Hotel.

As far as prices go, international brands are more expensive than the national equivalents. So if you prefer a certain brand you might want to buy it before you come. Not only might it be less expensive at home but there is no guarantee that your brand will be available in Ecuador. With that said, if you don't mind trying a new brand I can say with almost absolute certainty that it is cheaper here in Ecuador. There is one exception to this: Sunscreen! Bring it from home. It's expensive down here.

In General I would take some stomach medicine. The pink stuff or some loperamide (brand name: Imodium). Some people also bring meds to fight parasites and antibiotics to fight bacteria - it's not a bad idea. My mom had stomach problems on our galapagos trip and she missed the last 2 and half days of excursions because of it. Also, some common pain killers are always a good thing to have handy because you can never predict when you might do something "stupid" and wish that you had them.

For the galapagos, if you are taking a cruise I'd suggest you take sea-sickness medicine and maybe some sleeping pills. If you are going on a small boat (less than 20 passengers) the seas can knock you around a lot, especially at night.

For Quito it might be handy to have some allergy medication. The pollution here can be unbearable at first so something to help your upper respiratory system might be appreciated.

I'm by no means a med doctor, but I hope this helps.

fatrob