Are you thinking about going to Cozumel for your ultimate family vacation? Have you been planning it for too long and want everything to be perfect? Are you are asking yourself whether Cozumel is safe enough for you and your family? Be prepared because there is a predator on the island that is attacking tourists and locals alike. The Federales and the Marines have turned out to be no match to this predator’s attack.

These predators are evasive and well-prepared. They watch you sleep, calculating the precise moment at which you began to enter the dream stage. Their attacks occur in a short, unexpected burst. This often leaves you dazed and confused. By the time you turned on the lights, they will vanish. Who uses these guerrilla warfare tactics? The MOSQUITOES!!!

Mosquitoes spread viruses like dengue and chikungunya. Dengue fever symptoms are a sudden onset of fever, headache, and severe joint and muscle pain. Later, joint swelling, backaches, and a rash may appear. Symptoms may improve after two to three days or persist for about 10 days. The World Health Organization estimates that there may be 50-100 million dengue infections worldwide every year. However, introducing vaccines against dengue could be soon. A different virus causes Chikungunya. This illness has many similarities to dengue fever but is rarely lethal or as severe. Symptoms appear between four and seven days after the infective bite and include high fever, joint pain, joint swelling, rash, headache, muscle pain, nausea, and fatigue. In some people, joint pain may cause persisting trouble. Recovery brings immunity to further infection. Chikungunya is also spreading fast–half a million cases have occurred since 2013, in the Caribbean and Latin America. No vaccine is available at present.

My beautiful wife Silvia contracted Dengue this year and I spent many disquieted moments waiting for her 103-degree fever to break. We hope this post will prevent you from contracting any infections in our tropical paradise. You will be hard-pressed to find any tropical destination free from the risk of infection with mosquito-borne viruses, however, bite protection measures reduce the risk! When you are outdoors (at dawn and dusk), use an insect repellent containing DEET on exposed skin and on your clothing. Two of the best are Repel 100 insect repellent, which contains 98 percent DEET or Ben’s 30 DEET tick and insect repellent. Products like Avon’s Skin so soft just do not work. You can go to Cozumel and have a great time, but you must take careful precautions to avoid being bitten.

Stingray Villa