Malaria tablets

[lumination]

going to SE asia. i know there are 2 main ones, doxy and this other beggining with m lol. anyone out there tried any of these and can say which one is best. i hear doxy is really good but can have really bad side effects. also one of then is £2 a tablets and the other is 14p...

[lidlicker]

I took Malarone when I went to S.Africa

[lumination]

thats the one starting with m! did you have any side effects at all? was it cheap?

[Sooper]

I went to Bali and the Gili Islands for a month and was advised not to take Maleria tablets as they can have horrible side effects and ruin the time that you on holiday/travelling etc? I didnt catch Maleria but did get Giardia which isnt pleasant!
Its a tricky one to call?!

[237SJ]

I haven`t taken a malaria tablet for 20 years. Very naughty. I`m going to Ghana next week and I`m not going to take them there either. I`d rather use a good squirt of DEET. However, if you`re going to take tablets, just ask your practice nurse which ones to take. Some parts of the world are resistant to chloroquine.

[lumination]

havent taken tablets? so you relied on Deet? didnt know you could do that. ill still check out the tablets though, heard a few horror stories about people who havent. :s

[McMouse]

I took paludrine for years when in far east. Never got malaria and never had side effects.

[lumination]

paludrine, thats one i havent heard of before. how much did it cost you per tablet do you know?
and where did you go? where you travelling?

[woofgang]

http://medguides.medi...Paludrine&use=Malaria
I too took this stuff for years with no side effects...might not be the right one for where you are going though

[lumination]

where did you go woof?

[snags]

I took Mefloquine (Larium) every time I went to SE Asia and suffered none of the supposed side-effects. I chose it as it meant taking one pill once a week rather than pill popping every day...

[lumination]

that one sounds pretty good. dare i ask how much it was snags?

[woofgang]

this was around 30 years ago...went to Hong Kong, South Africa, US, North and South, Penang, Taiwan, Singapore, The Arab Gulf, Spain, italy, France, Sweden, Indonesia, Thailand.....DH was in the merchant Navy and I used to travel with him

[snags]

I think it was one of the cheapest... another reason I chose it! Read up on it though before making a decision, as it does have many side effects, although I know many people who took it without getting them...

[joannie10]

I took doxy ones when I went to kenya and my two friends took malerone. They both had really upset stomachs and chatting with a couple who where there on honeymoon they had the same problems(said it was not their most romantic time spent together). The nurse I had went to for my injections recommended the doxy as she had used them and had been fine so I thought I would give them a go and had no side effects what so ever (maybe a few mad dreams while away). I had to take them for longer when I came back than my friends had to but cannot really remember the price. It is really important that you do take them for as long as you are supposed to. Heard Larry Lamb on a programme last week and he ended up with Malaria which has caused him to lose most of his hearing in one ear. He admits he did not continue to take the tables for the full length of time when he came back.

[lumination]

well core blimey woof! bet you have seen some things!

[lumination]

think ill look into that one snags.

[Dee Sa]

friend came to Goa with us and was in bed with diarrohea and stomach cramps he was taking malaria tablets, we said dont take them for a day and see if you feel any better, he did that and was fine the symptoms cleared within 24 hrs.We never take them for the same reason they can make for a really miserable holiday.Its trial & error really.

[KARL]

While those who have not lived in malarial areas take prophylactics, those who spend long periods there do not take any but instead take precautions against being bitten by mosquitos - no anti-malarial drugs guarantee that you will not get malaria if you are bitten by an infected insect and some people suffer unpleasant side effects from taking them. There are those who will leap into fits at the suggestion, but the practice I refer to is nevertheless what is chosen by those who live with the risk.

Do not leave doors or windows open in the room(s) you expect to occupy and at or just before dusk spray a lasting insecticide (original Baygon is best) along all lines where ceiling meets walls, walls meet each other and walls meet floors (particularly in upper corners) plus around windows and doors (for when the room is serviced and these may be opened). Also spray under beds, sofas and chairs plus tables (the actual underside of these if you can). When out between dusk and dawn, wear long trousers and sleeves and apply a powerful insect repellant (mosquito milk is good, if still available) around wrists, along outside and inside of arms, around neck, cheeks and forehead plus around ankles and lower legs. Try to minimise outdoor exposure during these hours. Keeping to this routine, my family (including 1-11 year old children) and I lived quite a few years in malarial areas and neither we nor anyone who visited us got malaria even once (none took anti-malarials). Please note that if you get cold/flu like symptoms during the trip or in the weeks after it, you should have a test done for the malaria parasite - if you get it and ignore it the disease can become irretrievably fatal.

[jno]

Lariam can sometimes cause psychotic episodes so if you want to take it, it might be worth trying it out at home first

http://www.netdoctor....icines/100001462.html

Doesn't happen to everyone, though you'll have to decide for yourself how badly it affected snags.

I've had no problems with malarone but last I heard it wasn't available on the NHS so you have to pay a bit for it.

[fredpuli47]

That's quite a palaver, Karl ! And presumably you should have a mosquito net as well. I take it that the 250 million cases a year, the 1 million deaths a year and the 1 in 5 childhood deaths in Africa from malaria are all cases of people who "spend long periods there" in malarial areas but didn't adopt your full regime [World Health Organisation figures]

Some of us may have ' fits' about it, some of us are merely cautious and take a drug as well. And anyway we can always cheer ourselves with the news that malaria is not always fatal..