I've got a confession to make...

I only told my mum that we're climbing Kili a couple of weeks ago. It wasn't that I was deliberately keeping it a secret, but somehow I just kept forgetting to mention it whenever we talked on the phone. I suppose life just kept getting in the way...

Anyway, her first reaction was fairly relaxed, as she knows that we're into climbing and outdoors-y stuff, so this was just a bit of an adventure type holiday in her view. However, she's now come to realise that we'll be spending some time in sub-Saharan Africa, and as a doctor, she is now incredibly worried about the various horrible diseases that we can catch while we're out there.

Part of our Boxing Day get-together was spent going through one of her numerous medical books, reading through the many symptoms of malaria, yellow fever, typhoid, etc... Worryingly, common symptoms included tiredness and irritability, which I'm sure we'll all be exhibiting during the night ascent!

Mum's now e-mailed me with a few links to websites, and this MDTravel Health page is actually quite useful, so I thought I'd share it with everyone. It provides a good summary of the relevant diseases and vaccinations available, likely side-effects, etc.

I've now been scared into booking my consultation with the travel specialist at our GP's surgery. Appointment coming up on the 10th of Jan. Eeek!