Many travellers to India, especially first-time visitors, have many questions about health issues. Firstly, we would like to stress that we at Tushita are not doctors or medical experts.

As we run courses with large numbers of people resident here, student health is of great concern to us and we will provide information and assistance when and where we can; for example, we have a first aid kit and a few medical supplies here.
But, we are not in a position to offer any specific medical advice and will not be able to nurse you if you are sick.

This means that students must take responsibility for their own health and welfare as much as possible, particularly making sure that you are in good health and have made necessary arrangements and taken sensible precautions before you arrive here.

Medical preparations before your course

If you have been feeling unwell, please consult a medical professional before you arrive at Tushita, particularly if you have been having stomach problems or have been experiencing flu-like symptoms. Specifically, if you have been suffering from diarrhoea, please have a stool test done so that you can get an accurate diagnosis (we discourage self-diagnosis, such conditions often have the same symptoms but require different medication) and begin treatment before the course begins. Otherwise your condition may linger and affect your general health, ability to participate fully in the course and may endanger the health of others at the centre. For this reason, please do not join the course if you are feeling unwell but have not yet consulted a doctor about it.

So, we're not doctors, but we can offer some general, practical advice based on our experience of living in India:

• Read the health section of your travel guidebook. All the major guidebooks have extensive sections on health concerns, often containing much more information than the average traveller would ever need to know!
• Those of you who are students and/or 25 years of age or younger, may want to visit the International Student Travel Confederation website www.istc.org for information on their student travel cards which include the benefit of very affordable travel health/accident insurance.
• For those of you who like to be really prepared, consider carrying a small travel health guidebook with you (Lonely Planet publishes a very handy and inexpensive one) and a small medical kit (see your guidebook for tips on what to include).

Water purification options...

• While bottled water is available in India, the trash heap of non-recycled plastic bottles left by travellers is reaching unbelievable heights. We have a professional water filtration unit in our Dining Room and we strongly encourage you to bring your own water bottle and use this free filtered water, rather than buy more plastic bottles.

You would also be a very smart traveller if you purify your own water; boiling your drinking water first is an excellent means of purification, so travelling with a small kettle or heating coil is a great idea (good for tea on the go too!). If you’re only in Asia for a short time, water purification tablets are an option (these are generally not recommended for use over long periods of time), while for longer trips, consider bringing your own water purifier with you, an example being the Steripen. While these can be expensive, they are a good long-term investment. Just think, you won’t have to constantly spend rupee after rupee on bottled water, you’ll have the peace of mind of knowing that you can always have safe water wherever you are, and most importantly, you won’t be contributing to the ever-increasing pollution of Asia’s environment!

Availability

• Basic first aid supplies and medications such as plasters (Band-aids), paracetamol (similar to aspirin), oral rehydration solutions, and antibiotics are readily available at local pharmacies. If you wear glasses, you may want to bring an extra pair or at least carry your prescription with you as replacements can be made very cheaply in India. If you take prescription medicines, you should bring more than enough to last through your trip and a copy of your prescription. If you are planning a long trip to Asia, you may want to consider bringing multi-vitamin supplements with you, as maintaining proper nutrition on the road can be quite challenging!

• Personal toiletries such as shampoo (with and without conditioner), soap, toothpaste toothbrushes, toilet paper, and laundry detergent are readily available and quite cheap throughout India. Deoderant is easy to get in Dharamsala but harder to find elsewhere, although many westerners feel that the efficacy of deoderant bought here is not so good.

• Sanitary pads and tampons are available here, but they are quite expensive and sometimes of inferior quality to Western versions so you may want to bring supplies of these items with you. We can very, very highly recommend re-usable menstrual care options such the Mooncup. Our eco-friendly female volunteers say "an invaluable addition to any female traveller's backpack! It took a bit of getting used to, but I wouldn't use anything else now". The problem of pollution caused by sanitary protection is so much more evident here, where toilet paper etc is dumped down hillsides or burnt in the open. Do yourself a favour, ladies - save money, save the planet!

But if something does go wrong...

• We’d like to reassure you that medical care is available here in Dharamsala and is extremely inexpensive by Western standards. The closest hospital is called Delek Hospital, which offers basic Western (allopathic) medical care administered by Tibetan doctors (and by volunteer Western doctors when available). The hospital has a laboratory which can do stool and blood tests, a pharmacy, an eye clinic, a dental clinic, an in-patient ward, and even a delivery room! More serious cases would be passed to the Government Medical College in Kangra, a town about an hour away and in March 2012 a rather impressive new private hospital for more specialist cases opened in Kangra, the Fortis Hospital.  

While having surgery here in Dharamsala is not generally recommended, there are good surgical facilities available in Chandigarh and Delhi. There are also local doctors and pharmacies offering Tibetan, Auyrvedic, and Homeopathic medicine.

Malaria

• To date, there have never been any instances of Malaria in this area. Mosquitoes have never been able to survive above 2000 metres (around 7000 ft), and since Tushita is higher than that, we have never had mosquitoes here. However, ecologically sensitive areas such as this (the Himalayan foothills) are experiencing unprecedented effects of climate change, and in the last couple of years we have, for the first time, started to find some mosquitoes here - mostly during Monsoon season (July to September). They are still absent most of the year, are still few in number even when they are around (no need for a mosquito net, for example), and there is still no problem with Malaria here. However, you may want to bring some light mosquito repellent with you during Monsoon.

We strongly discourage use of the anti-malaria medication Larium (Mefloquine). Among the common side effects of listed by the Center for Disease Control are: "anxiety, vivid dreams, and visual disturbances. Mefloquine has rarely been reported to cause serious side effects, such as seizures, depression, and psychosis." It is our experience at Tushita that meditating while taking Larium may increase the likelihood and/or severity of these side effects and therefore we discourage students from taking Larium while meditating or participating in our courses.

Personal safety is a common concern for travellers. Our general advice is this:

India is an amazing country and most Indian people are very hospitable and helpful. The vast majority of travellers have no safety problems while travelling in India. Be careful and apply the same common sense in India that you would use at home; watch your bags and secure your room when going out. Always carry your passport and valuables in a money belt on your body and inside your clothing. Be especially watchful in airports, train stations and on public transport. But also relax and enjoy!

Crime and violence in McLeod Ganj and Dharamsala are relatively rare. However, there have been occasional robberies (sadly these are often perpetrated by fellow travellers) so watch your bags and secure your room. There have also been a small number of acts of violence against women, so we encourage women to be vigilant and not to walk alone in isolated areas at night. This may be especially important to remember when choosing the location of your guesthouse. Walking around the town of McLeod Ganj itself is usually quite safe, even in the evening.

For more information on personal safety in India, read the safety section of your guidebook and talk to other travellers about their experiences and advice. You may also find online travel sites such as the the India Mike website useful in obtaining information, and even in organising travel partners ("India Travel Partners" forum), obviously using discretion & wisdom about who you choose to travel with!

India is a relatively peaceful country with few travel prohibitions, but to be sure please contact your embassy for their latest advice on travel in India.

We wish you safe, healthy & happy travels!