Pilots and Malaria

[Gunship]

M A L A R I A ..

We had a great thread running last year or the year before ... can we start another with tips and tricks how to combat this dreaded disease ?

Nearly lost another friend last month of cerebral malaria.

I have a few tricks up my sleave if enough interest is raised.

Cheers,

Gunnsss

[126.9]

GT

Hey Guns, I've clearly managed to avoid this disease by staying drunk! Many years ago when we all had to take the pills, I sucked on a lot of G & T. So far it's worked. I guess it's because the mozzies don't like Gin...?

[flyhardmo]

Ive heard alot of guys talk about drinking G&T's but then alot say it doesnt work. Ive been doing just fine by drinking lots of tonic which must mean that the G&T's dont work if you have too much gin which is usually the case on contract. Must admit straight tonic is not that fun

[pzu]

As a kid in East Africa, moved in & out of 'malaria' zones - didn't always take the tablets (paludrin???), but survived OK

In mid '70's did a year in East Kalimantan - took the tablets (daraprim???) religiously but had two goes of Malaria

Recently have done 3 years in Sudan - started on combined daily & weekly stuff, but my UK Doc (with an interest in Travel/Tropical Medicine - did a year as Team Doc for Ford Rally Team etc) persuaded me to take Larium - on the basis that Larium may send you crazy, BUT Malaria kills you!!! - so far no problems;

BUT I think I now have the answer - MARMITE, according to recent reserach, those who eat MARMITE give off an 'odour' that deters MOSSIES

In East Africa, I ate Marmite every day and again in Sudan - but in East Kalimantan the only 'yeast extract' available was that inferior product from the penal settlements - VEGEMITE

MARMITE - LOVE IT OR HATE IT



PZULBA - Out of Africa

[montys ex teaboy]

I'll be damned!!

My old mate marmite!!

Thanks for the info.

[bigmanatc]

Best advice is....prevention.......use nets and reppellents, long sleeves and trousers after sunset. First sign of symtoms, flu like..usually 10-14 days after being bitten, get medical attention..ASAP...don`t think it will go away...it won`t.
Pills do not prevent malaria....Larium is not approved for pilots...

Been there, done that, got the T-shirt

[Speedbreak]

Mozzies.........

Avoid black clothes, Mosquitos like to fly on holding pattern above it.
And they have ATCs given radar vectors to hit you.
For information, only mozzie's female sucks blood.
...again females....
When mosquito's female ear the sound of the male, they run away.

Drink Tonic,....if you feel a kind of neck ache, get Lariam pills....

Or you can try to wisle like a male mosquito!
Not easy but... never know!

Speedbreak

[chuks]

Malaria, very funny! You'll die laughing...

Dear Pruners,

This is just well-meant advice. Go see a doctor with first-hand knowledge of your specific region.

Assuming the original request was serious, the advice I got for West Africa is as follows:

The only effective prophylaxis is either Doxycycline (some kind of broad-spectrum antibiotic if my understanding is correct) or some new, rather expensive stuff I cannot remember the name of. It begins with 'M' I think...

Doxycycline makes some people's skin sensitive to sunlight. I just paid 130 quid for a six months' supply at Boots, Heathrow. A prescription is required.

The new stuff costs about one quid per day but it's supposed to be free of side-effects.

Halfan, in a blister pack of three tablets, is something one should have ready to hand in case of falling ill when medical attention is not readily available. It is not to be taken as a prophylactic, since it has some wicked side-effects.

I tried Lariam and found myself getting wobbly and depressive. My local doctor was horrified to find it had been prescribed me. Go figure....

Resochin, Paludrine, etc, are all ineffective against the disease in West Africa.

Gin tonics, mosquito nets, repellent, turning up the air con... everyone I know, including myself, has gone down with malaria after some time in West Africa. We had one guy who became ill after two weeks in country and I had my first case after more than 20 years. It's not much of a joke when you are alternately freezing and burning up, shaking like a leaf and not knowing which end to present first to the porcelain receptacle. And that is one of the milder forms. There's another one where they just find you out cold in your bed.

Very important, when travelling in regions without malaria, is making it known that you may have this disease rather than typhus, influenza, Montezuma's revenge or whatever. I know of several people who have died because of delayed recognition that they were suffering from malaria. In some cases they went unconscious, leaving the doctors guessing what the problem might be. It just takes three days to die of cerebral malaria, and if you don't die you may end up lacking some of your facilities.

Mosquitoes may be small but they do demand consideration!

Good luck!

chuks

[sheii]

malaria

anyone ever tried malariaquin always worked for me everytime I went to see ma gran... central Kenya..... and all I had to do is have them a day or immediately I got there and it was supposed to boost your immune system...and the old repelant is always a treat not only to repel mossies but other bugs till you get acustomed to them...




hope this is of help

[EDDNHopper]

some new, rather expensive stuff I cannot remember the name of. It begins with 'M' I think

Malarone

Good (perfect, in fact) if you stay less than two weeks. Start 2 days before your stay, 1 a day, finish several days after. Little to no side effects. Expensive.

Tonic:
seriously - with the average amount of quinine in tonic water you´d have to drink over 100 bottles of Schweppes a day.
also seriously - there is nothing better than G+T after a long hot day...

[Gunship]

My Tips

Tx so far for a great thread !

I have been on and off using "perofolaxes" Spelling - what I mean preventative measures .. sorry dunno the spelling.

I used Larium once and nearly crashed into the ground. It showed a heavy negativity with me (red blood cells kills the white one's or something to that effect) but I JUST made it to the safety of terra firma in a Alouette. God Bless old oorlede "Velle Veldsman" that still flew with me that day.

Ok so for the past 20 odd years I took nothing and as described above :

If I get the **Sniffs ** (first start of a cold) or sore neck and normally moerse headaches ... I go onto viagra .. sorry I mean "ARTESUNATE".

Made in China bru ... but works like a bomb .. ask me I just came out of a heavy bout

We all use it here .. cheap about $5 a packet of 12. Take 4 (yes four) immediately (even after you think it is just a babbalas) and then 2 every 4 hours till COMPLETED !

Ok then .. the new kid on the block .. afterwards .. you take "TRO - MALARIAL" made in Germany bru.

I quote :

... is an anti - malarial agent which acts against the malaria pathogens by reciprocal potentiation of it's two components. It is active against all human pathogenic PLASMODIA and is also effective against strains that are RESISTANT to anti -malarial agents such as Chloroquine !

Dunno .. I did exactly that (3 tablets) and I feel like a million dollar man ...

This is the latest tips from one of the best Dr's on the West Coast.

Any comments ?

Yes teh best is long sleeves but boet it is flippen 40 degrees outside - day and night ..

Cheers all - let's keep it rolling ...

Gunnss

[flyhardmo]

quote:
"ARTESUNATE".

Made in China bru ... but works like a bomb .. ask me I just came out of a heavy bout

I was also given Artesunate a few yrs ago in Gabon and now i keep a spare packet with me. I stay away from pills even though we were supposed to sign that we had taken Doxycycline. The guys always felt a bit crook after taking them.

Its interesting to hear about marmite. Im always taking vegimite on contracts and that must be another reason that i havnt had it in yrs, touch wood. If it is about the odour that repels mozzies them i would take marmite, definately smells and tastes worse than vegimite.

[Rhodie]

Ok, maybe another "old wives tale", but, I heard somewhere way back that the mozzies home in on the carbon-dioxide that you breath out..

Not the aftershave or the b.o. that attracts them, and they can't recognise dinner when it lies down.. (not like some people here...)

So, I have always used a normal standing fan when I go slumming it at my mates game farm, or anywhere else in darkest Africa - as long as there is electricity, that is, and even in winter, makes the duvet and the human heater alongside sooo much better..

Even with a net, the blasted bzzzzzzzzz keeps me awake and swatting at 'em, no such hassles with the fan. It supposedly blows all the carbon-dioxide away and the b@stards cannot get a lock-on on dinner... also, apparently they cannot land in the breeze, no, really, I'm serious...

Yeah, I know.. outside at the braai is still a problem, use Tabard..

Oh, and Flyhard - MARMITE is MUCH better...!!!

Cheers

R

[Gunship]

LOL Great to see there are humour in Mossies.

flyhardmo - I do the same (as most of us Saffers in any case) and always have a packet or tow handy when I leave the country.

Rhodie what makes our mozzies worse (or maybe it is a good point) is that there are NO NOISE ! ... No zzzzz niks - nothing - auna - ******all .. think their noise generators was stolen by a cleva Nigerian

PS: Marmite - I love it but it is bad for the gout again ...

Cheers all

[mini]

Call me a coward but I'll always take something when in a zone. Larium is supposedly effective but only for short term use, after a few months it really f**ks with the system.

I've heard that the artesun or whatever its called works wonders.

I keep a kit with me, two lab slides and a prick, if you get symptoms, take a thin and thick sample on the slides, THEN take fansidar or whatever works in your region. Apparentely, diagnosis is much harder if the blood sample is taken after treatment.

Touch wood (forehead) no dose yet.

[overtorqued]

it can and does kill

Whew!
Missed a couple days of prophylasis meds and took a real bad dose of Cerebral Malaria. Put me in a coma, damn near killed me...six days in the hospital...most of it in ICU.
Falciparum Malaria is insidious, yet extremely fast moving. From the initial onset of symptoms to death can be in as little as 48hrs.
Its those symptoms that you must recognise. I swore I had a flu as i had been around others with flu. While home alone, it progressed , annihilating my energy and destroying my ability to make a clear decision . I was found in bed, diapheretic, semi-conscience and rushed to a local hospital where, due to lack of knowledge about Malaria, I worsened until airlifted to a larger city hospital where I subsequently recovered...minus 20 lbs!
It's so important that at the slightest malaise, to get tested and treated ASAP.
After recovering, I discussed at length, future protection and treatment with several specialists in tropical deseases.
I now use Doxycycline. It has very low incidence of side effects, is not used with the most serious of bacterialogical infections so immunity isn't a factor and, taken with food, won't upset most stomachs. I also carry a treatment pack of Malarone, so that should I encounter symptoms...4 tabs /day for 3days straight.
I chose not to use malarone as a prophylasis as this use prevents it from being used as treatment.
I've worked with people who also don't take any prophylasis, but on the onset of symptoms, scarf down the malarone.
There's lots of info out there and lots of other opinions on prevention, treatment etc....chose your own weapon....but make sure your armed.

[rotorboy]

rb

[cpt]

If I understand well, humans have to swallow those awfull pills ?
Until now I was trying to force mosquitoes (female only) to swallow them...not easy and very tedious, believe me !
Should have better read the notice before.
Personnally I have given up a preventive treatment, and I rather stick to a curative one with "Alfan" but it said that "obscure" side effects might be expected ???? I'm still waiting !

[contraxdog]

The silent killer

Greetings,
Hi there Gunns, sorry to hear it got you swaer.
Doxyciline, Vibramicine, Cyclidox and all other broadbased anti biotics, has some funny side effects, apart from light sensitivity, that you will normally wont hear about. Your swimmers all die!
Was using it for nearnly four years when my joints started freezing up. It was the funnyest sight for my crew to see me crab to the crapper in the morning because I cant seem to straighten my arms and legs. Doc advised against using it any longer. He said to stop right away. Said if I ever got any lower tracht infection he wont be able to sve me as my body would built up a resistence against antibiotics.Needless to say, I got malaria 7 days later. Nearly died. I was negotiating my way through a couple of amber nectars on the 6th day and woke up with a hangover(incidently the same feeling the morning after we visited you Gunns) The hanover stayed and got worse. I wished at some stage that I would die.
The company now issues us with a couple of testing kits and two courses of Coartem(this is not an advertisment). I cant remember the term from Chemistry 1B, but its a chemical mirror image of the Arthemeter drug they used in the seventies. Think the chemical name is Alpha-arthemeter.
You take a small blood sample when you really feel bad, because then there is lots of parasites in the blood. Late after noon usually does it. insert it in the test plate and wait for the confimational red line.
When the red line shows you drink 4 pills then 2 every 4 hours. If you start in the afternoon you will be over it in the morning.
Oh yes, after a scientific experiment we conducted somewhere in the Congo, Peaceful Sleep was more efective than Tabbard.
From personal experience I'll say Dark Rum and Coke while snacking on Garlic works better than Gin and tonic.

Marmite will be accompaning me from now
Thanks guys!

"the time has come the walrus said to speak of many things, of pirate ships and sealing wax and cabbages and kings"

[flyhardmo]

Just remebered something else.
GARLIC BOMBS.
For those of you who dont know about it read carefully.

Wrap a whole clove of garlic in cheese (for the swiss and french folk who are fussy about heir cheese, gouda or chedder is fine) and grated usually works best because you can wrap the cheese a bit better. A few drops of tobasco and then just dump the whole bomb in your mouth and enjoy

Keeps the mozzies and night fighters away