Best Malaria Tablet

[Pin Head]

Off to that part of the world once every other month and heard some shocking stories over the side effects of the various pills.

Which do you think is best and which gives the least reaction(s)?

Pin

[Bad medicine]

There is a lot of information in various threads. Try http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=196220&highlight=malaria or maybe do a search on malaria.

Cheers,

BM

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

The simple answer is get professional advice - it's your life you're messing with. The type of tablet depends on which area of the world you will be visiting and drugs are constantly being updated as the malaria strains become immune to their effects. If you are a pilot you may not be able to take some types - Lariam springs to mind. I took Lariam before anyone knew about the problems and it didn't cause me any problems. However, I have seen people with very bad reactions to Lariam..

[Blinkz]

I can second whats been said. I personally took lariam and had no problems with it, but I know people who have had hallucinations and all kinds of bad reactions to it. Seek medical advice!

[got caught]

'fraid it depends who you ask.

One one hand the drugs are pretty effective against malaria.

If you get malaria, there is a chance it will make you very poorly, or kill you.

There are some "horror" stories, surrounding the use of certain drugs- all though the risk of adverse reactions is slim, I guess a hallucinating psychotic pilot could be deemed as a hazard. (are you actually piloting).

You need to choose a drug to suit your destination. The drug people get twitched about is mefloquine- "larium," Certain airlines, I believe, allow its use, but according to my guidance, it is contra-indicated in those "performing precision activities"

Take expert advice (not available on here I'm afraid), and remember your non-drug measures - deet spray, insect avoidance etc.:p


http://www.dh.gov.uk/PublicationsAndStatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidanceArticle/fs/en?CONTENT_ID=4123441&chk=gdoeaY The malaria section of this leaflet is pretty useful.

[Farmer 1]

Off to that part of the world once every other month and heard some shocking stories over the side effects of the various pills.

...which I guess means that every other month you will be back in a part of the world where malaria is not endemic. Regardless of whether or not you take other precautions, I suggest you carry in your wallet a letter explaining that you work in such a region.

If you have an attack of malaria you might be unconscious, and hospital staff might not recognise the symptoms until it is too late. People have died for lack of a piece of paper.

Heathrow Director is correct - malaria is variable from region to region, as are the preventatives.

Whatever you do, do not listen to any old wives on this subject.

[BelfastChild]

Speak to your doc before taking anything, but the Centre for Disease Control website is probably the best info on the web about infectious diseases. The following is a link about malaria drugs. Happy travels.....

http://www.cdc.gov/travel/malariadrugs.htm

[soggyboxers]

PH
I have been working in malarial areas of west Africa now for 28 years and presently take nothing; I just carry Malarone tablets with me for self-treatment if I happen to develop malarial symptoms and am unable to get to visit a doctor for any reason. I also carry a letter in my wallet saying that I work in West Africa and in case of unconsciousness malaria may be suspected as a cause.
I used to work on a contract where the client (Exxon/Mobil) insisted on anti-malarial prophylaxis. I tried Malarone, but gave it up because it gave me mouth ulcers, excess stomach acid and faint feelings of nausea. After that I took Doxycycline daily. That also had side-effects as I am very fair skinned and it made me much more susceptible to sunburn, but that was preferable to the Malarone. I have friends who have caught malaria here and have been treated with co-Artemether, which also seems to be very effective, but I don't think it's recommended as a prophylactic.
As others have said, the most important thing is totry and avoid being bitten. Make sure that the rooms you sleep in have effective insect screens on the windows, or get a mosquito net to put over your bed. Make sure that bedrooms are sprayed twice a day with a good insecticide. Try to avoid sitting outside just around dusk as that's when you're most likely to get bitten. If you do have to sit out at that time try to wear a long-sleeved shirt, long trousers and socks and spray exposed skin, especially around the neck, wrists and ankles with a repellent containing DEET.
So far, I've been lucky and have never caught malaria (maybe because my regular tipple - Pastis and tonic - repels mosquitos and most other things :E ), but having once had to spend some time in the London Hospital for Tropical Diseases being treated for another illness, and seen many people being brought in comatose with malaria, it's not something I'd ever treat lightly. I have one friend who lives in Scotland, arrived home for leave to find that his wife was sick with flu. Within 48 hours he had also developed flu-like symptoms and went to visit his doctor. Luckily his doctor knew that he worked in Nigeria and instead of just assuming that he had caught flu sent him for testing for malaria. He had a severe infection and is fortunate that his wise GP decided not to just take his flu symptoms at face value.

[PlatinumFlyer]

As a SLF and pharmacist, I can suggest one remedy that I and my family have used for years. Take One Thiamine 100mg (Vitamin B 1) tablet once a day. I can't give a reference, but it appears that one taking this secrets an odor through the skin that are repulsive to mosquitos and they go elsewhere.
It worked for my family camping in some pretty infested mosquito areas. And its only a vitamin and cheap.

[sikeano]

dont bother with some tablets think malaria was there when the good old empire was round and how did the soilders of the british army got around it they drank indian tonic water which has quinine in it which prevents malaria so do what the good old empire boys done and have a g and t
this is true though about indian tonic water :ok:

[anjouan]

According to http://www.traveldoctor.co.uk/malaria.htm things like garlic and Vitamin B do not prevent mosquito bites. Most countries now recoommend doxycycline or Malarone for chemoprohylaxis. In many African countries, if that's where you're going, if you're able to get to a good clinic, artemisin-based drugs will cure falciparum malaria (the most dangerous) in 7 days, but if used as a combination therapy with certain other synthetic drugs in accordance with WHO guiidlines, can produce a cure within 3 days. The only problem with the artemisin-based therapies is that the drug is relatively expensive as it is still produced from the sweet wormwood plant and the extraction and production process takes several months.
Despite the traces of quinine found in Indian tonic water, it is not an effective anti-malarial as evidenced by the numbers of the good old British who still caught malaria despite many a gin and tonic.
The best things are still to try and avoid getting bitten and consult either your physician or one of the many websites offering advice as to the correct regimen for the part of the world you're visiting

[got caught]

Oh dear, more shining examples of positively dangerous advice on this forum.

How long will it be before someone gets hurt ?

[KingAir77]

I am regularly flying into and out of West Africa, and was based there back in 2000. At that time, I took some chloroquine based stuff (one of the few pills that would allow you to fly legally at that time), and still cought Malaria since the strain was resistent. So I basically gave my body the side effects and the disease... Nowadays, I also take nothing, just carry Malaron and a piece of paper. But everybody should take his own decision on this, also considering how often you will be there, occasional side effects are not too bad, but if you have to take the pills several month in a row it's a differnt story. Having said that, if you take nothin, the slightest fever, headache, sore throat should take you for a bloodtest if you take nothing.

Also, not getting bitten is essential, as you can see from previous posts. As far as that is concerned, if you are only there for a layover in a hotel, remember that mosquitos do not like dry air, cold air and moving air. So turning the aircon pretty cool and a fan on in your room, plus spraying it before going to bed and using repellants shozuld do the job. I have not been biiten in Accra Lagos or Nairobi with these measure for quite a while now. If you leave the hotel to go sightseeing, or venture away from the coast, the risk increases. I don't wat to propagate not taking pills, just discuss it with a Doctor at a specialised travel clinic (some GP's still prescribe stuff that's useless because the strains are all resistant!)

Summary: Whatever you do concerning medication, avoid getting bitten at all cost.