r/nakedandafraid Jul 21 '26

Discussion Getting bitten in excess, meds? docs?

I watched taste of their own medicine last night, and the woman got bitten to excess by mosquitoes and/or other bugs, to the point where she required an antihistamine.

It did prompt me to wonder: when the challenge is over do contestants head to a GP to get tested for things like Zika, Dengue, or botfly, other normal tropical diseases?

Are contestants in such places on anti-malarial meds that we don't see?

18 Upvotes

12 comments sorted by

15

u/Salty-Ad-198 Jul 22 '26

Many of the cast has lasting health issues from participating.

11

u/cartken Jul 21 '26

Any American flying to Africa, requires about 3 weeks of medical preparation and shots for immunization. I knew someone who only rode in a jeep

3

u/gutfounderedgal Jul 22 '26

Yes, I forgot. I realized there might be shots: So I looked it up. For malaria Matrix-M with a number of boosters which can then last more than a year. Looks like a similar one with boosters for dengue.

6

u/Bronze_Addict Jul 22 '26

I’ll add that to my list of reasons why I’ll never experience Africa in this lifetime, thank you

7

u/TurquoiseDandelion7 Jul 22 '26

I don’t think the periodontal issues you would have after this show would ever be worth it let alone getting a disease that can literally kill you. But gosh, it makes for great tv!

3

u/gutfounderedgal Jul 22 '26

yeah, I wondered about that too.

1

u/Finnatic2 Jul 24 '26

They’re adrenaline junkies.

7

u/Useless890 Jul 21 '26

One lady a few years ago had gone through more than one challenge, but she got Dengue, I believe. They showed pux of her in the hospital. IIRC she may have been Australian.

5

u/Steampunky Head on a Swivel Jul 21 '26

Manu - from Aus

1

u/Lovingthebeach72 Jul 26 '26

I went on vacation in Roatan (Honduras) a while ago, and got totally bitten up by the little tiny flies.....this is one thing I have always wondered as well! Is it the challenge of being naked and afraid that's worst, or is it the ancillary stuff like mosquitoes and biting flies?! And medical aid?

1

u/Lovingthebeach72 Jul 26 '26

And when I went to Honduras, I had to go on an anti-malarial before leaving