Water & Food:
Water is usually safe in San José and the major towns, though it is a good idea to boil, filter, or purify it in more remote places. Bottled water is readily available. Avoid ice if you’re unsure of its safety. Uncooked foods are best avoided unless they can be peeled. The water at Resbalosa is excellent.
Diarrhea:
The change in diet that you will experience means that you are often susceptible to minor stomach ailments, such as diarrhea. Pepto-Bismol usually takes care of the discomfort quickly, although it may take a few days to "work it out" of your system.
Insect Bites:
Insect repellents go a long way in preventing bites, but if you do get bitten, avoid scratching. Unfortunately, this is easier said than done. To alleviate itching, try applying hydrocortisone cream, calamine lotion, or some other kind of anti-itch cream, or soaking in baking soda. Scratching will quickly open bites and cause them to become infected. Infections do not heal well in the tropics, so if an area does get infected, it is critical to keep the area clean and as dry as possible.
Scorpions can give severely painful stings. A common way to get bitten is to put on your clothes and shoes in the morning without checking them first. Don’t walk around barefoot, and look where you place your hands when reaching to a shelf or branch. It’s unlikely that you will get stung.
Snakes:
Fewer
than 500 snakebites are reported each year. Most bites occur
among farmworkers. It is extremely unlikely to get bitten. Should
you be bitten, the snake may be a nonvenomous one. Do not try
the slash-and-suck routine on the bite. Caution is always the
watchword. Never reach into holes or under rocks, debris, or
forest-floor leaf litter without first checking with a stick
to see what might be quietly slumbering there. And remember
that many snakes are well-camouflaged arboreal creatures that
sleep on branches, so never reach for a branch without looking.
You should even be cautious when peering inside bromeliads.
The venom of most dangerous snakes does its nasty work via the
lymph system, not the bloodstream, so treatment aimed at reducing
the flow of blood or removing venom from the bloodstream is
likely to be futile. Aim to immobilize the bitten limb and bandage
it tightly and completely (but don’t make a tourniquet).
Then, with minimum of disturbance, particularly of the bound
limb, get the victim to medical attention as soon as possible.
Keep calm and reassure the victim.
Among the more common snake species you are likely to see are the wide-ranging boas which, with luck, you might spot crawling across a cultivated field or waiting patiently in the bough of a tree in wet or dry tropical forest, savanna, or dry thorn scrub. Watch from a distance.
Venomous Snakes:
Among the more colorful snakes are the four species of coral
snakes, with small heads, blunt tails, and bright bands of red,
black, and yellow or white. These venomous snakes exhibit a
spectacular defensive display when approached: they flatten
their bodies and snap back and forth while alternately hiding
then swinging their heads side to side and coiling and waving
their tails. The most talked-about snake in Central America
is the fer-de-lance, called the terciopelo on the Osa; much
feared for its aggressiveness and lethal venom. One of several
Central American pit vipers--another is the bushmaster--the
fer-de-lance can grow to a length of three meters and is abundant
throughout the country, particularly in overgrown fields and
rivercourses in drier lowland regions. They sleep in loose coils
of burnished brown on the forest floor during the day. Even
the fer-de-lance succeeds in killing only a small percentage
of its victims. Many snakes are nocturnal, doing their hunting
at night. It is best to do your hiking during the day, and leaving
the nights to stargazing.
Heat and Sun:
The heat and humidity of the Tropics make you sweat profusely and can also make you feel apathetic. It is important to maintain a high fluid intake and ensure that your food is well salted. If fluids lost through perspiration are not replaced, heat exhaustion and cramps may result. The feeling of apathy that some people experience usually fades with time.
The tropical sun will burn you to a crisp, a warning to those looking to get a great tan. The power of the tropical sun cannot be overemphasized. Don’t spoil your trip by trying to tan too quickly; use strong sunblock lotion frequently and put it on all exposed skin. Don’t forget about your feet. Wearing a wide-brimmed sun hat is also a good idea.
Medical Attention:
If you’ve taken the precautions mentioned in the previous
sections, you can look forward to a generally healthy trip.
Should something go wrong, however, there's a clinic in Puerto
Jimenez, there's a hospital in Golfito, and you can get good
medical advice and treatment in San José. The social
security hospitals provide free emergency services to everyone,
including foreigners. Private clinics are also available and
their services are normally of a higher standard than the social
security hospitals.
