Flying helicopters in africa, anti malarials
 

Do any of the Rotorheads fly in africa for long periods of time, and do they use any anti-malarial meds, ie Malarone, and if so, any side effects?
I guess some of the long haul fixed wing guys only fly in and out but heli pilots probably find themselves there for extended periods.

Cheers

Not sure about those flying over there, but growing up there gin and tonic was the staple anti malarial counter measure. :-)

Noted :ok: :)

Well, some eat them (malarone), and some don't, but even those who eat them gets malaria and those who don't gets away without having malaria. I don't due to the side effect dehydration headache and so on. The treatment if you get malaria is really good down here in Nigeria and will leave you grounded for a few days (3-5 approx). wouldn't recommend any other medicine like Lariam cause the side effects can be even harder. make sure that the company you work for has a medical centre that you can attend 24/7.

T

Appreciate the input, thanks. Off to Tanzania so know it to be a Malaria risk area, and would rather not catch it if possible. :ok:

It's a rather emotional subject in many ways. Doctors at home will swear that you MUST take anti malarials, then the ones in the countries will tell you "under no circumstances".
There are theories of the prophylactics "masking" early symptoms and making treatment harder due to delayed diagnosis, aside from the health issues from long term use of the drugs.

Some companies insist on use on pain of being fired if you get malaria and don't have the stuff in your system.

If you do get malaria, the treatment where you got it will be the most effective and skilled.

Personally, I have the pills with me at all times and I decide when I get there whether I will use them or not, dependant on season and number of known cases of malaria in the area. I also have a self-test kit in case of emergency.

Self test kit? Tell me more? :confused: can i buy it in uk ?

helimutt, I'm sure that you checked the Search facility and saw this thread? Can Exxon deprive me of my human rights? is an old thread, but deals with anti malarials and their effects.

being here as an engineer. I would say

1. dont use Malarone, as it has proved to be basically useless. and can delay dianogstics
2. you cant use Lariam as flight crew ( lord knows why, and yes I know about all the surveys that say you go bonkers from it. ) but if you have no side effect I dont see the problem.
3. get the things for your room, those vaporizer things you plug into the socket. and use plenty of anti mosq. products

My suggestion (if you want medical advice go to a doctor), based on experience in Africa..

Don't take anything; where long clothes from dusk to dawn (long trousers, long sleeve shirts), sleep under a net, and use an anti-mosquito cream, like tabbard (better than the sprays and you can get more even coverage).

Keep plenty Artemisinin handy - make sure you get it from a reliable source e.g. before you go in country (there is a lot of fake on the market in Africa - even from the ER in hospitals who were duped!).

The moment you feel poorly take the Artemisinin. (headaches, fly like symptoms, tiredness)

If you use it as a prophylactic it will make you used to it and reduce or remove its effectiveness.

......never mind the mozzies......what out for the PROZZIES...
 

Prostitutes are rife in DAR and AIDS is rampant there.....so rubber up if you dare to touch anything....:eek:

As unstable load says...it's an on going debate...

I was always advised not to take anything as it would mask the symptoms, but instead, take a self test kit with and the anti-venom pills in case...
I got it in DRC while working there. We had a full time medic with us at all times, so no real worries.... Started showing the symptoms, spoke to him about it, he did a self test which turned up negative (I have now learned that a neg does not necessarily mean you don't have it...!) but because of the symptoms, he suggested taking the drugs and having a few days off.... After about 3 days resting up, sweating it out, I was A OK and back up for work...:ok:

So, my advice, don't waste your money on the pre-meds, get a self test kit, know the symptoms, and if they start showing, take the few days off and pop the good pills...

Get down to a travel clinic and speak to them about what drugs are best for Tanzania.....

Tanzania is a great country with lots of good people who are not as bribe orientated as their brothers on the west coast...

Anti Malaria
 

It probably depends how long you stay

If long, then you can do as the "Africans" say (ie no pil), but I noticed that most of them do get occasional fever attacks. Apparently suffices to forget socks/sleeves in the evening when having a drink at the bar while having mosquitoes around.

My stays tend to be less than 3 weeks (was in Tanzania a few months back, will be in Rwanda next month) So I take Malarone, even if it creates discomfort (headache..).

m2c
d3

6 week tours, might just take the malarone with me, and make sure i'm not far from a decent medical facility.

Senior Pilot, yes looked through that thread which is informative and goes back a long way.

Cheers all.

know the symptoms. Carry COARTEM, its cheap, and effective.

Start taking it at the onset of symptoms. It breaks the fever fast and has few if any side effects.

Make sure you have it handy fro 2 weeks after you leave Africa, as some one I know :* came down with Malaria 10 days after an afternnon in the the Luanda airport!

Hey Helimutt!

I'm flying in Tanzania at the moment and although it is generally considered a high-risk area for Malaria it much depends on where you're going to be stationed (I suppose Everett in DAR?). If you're going to be in the Arusha / Kilimanjaro / Mount Meru area or elsewhere in the highlands don't worry at all, pretty much no Anopheles mosquitoes around in these areas as it's simply too high. If you stay in the lower inland parts, around Lake Victoria or Dar Es Salaam have some medication at hand to take it when you get sick. As one of the previous posters mentioned use Coartem instead of Malorone. You can get it here for 12.000 Shilling (~8 USD) and it works faster, better and with a fraction of the side effects of Malorone. You can get Malaria Quick Tests in every pharmacy, too (careful with false negatives though!). I would not take prophylaxis if staying longer than the average tourist, your liver will not be thankful.

The best way to go about Malaria is prevention anyway: after ~5pm use Mosquito repellent, cover unprotected skin, sleep under a fan, use a mosquito net (check for holes!) and spray your room about an hour or two before you go to bed. A good advice my AME (frequent Tanzania traveller) gave me: bring your own net, bring a bit of rope and bring a wall hook or nail. This way you can fix a mosquito net anywhere.

Have fun and if you need any help give me a shout! Oh, and good luck with TCAA:yuk: :mad:

Helimutt,

Worked Africa and Asia for many years. Took different anti malarials for over two years. By this time the whole lot of us were well and truly screwed up. Blood shot eyes, yellow skin and suffering, delicate stomachs (which I still suffer from many years later). We all gave up taking the tablets.

If taking Artemisinin, don't take it alone. Take it with the relevant anti malarial. The Plasmodium organisms are starting to become resistant to Artemisinin. Taking the anti malarials helps to prevent this.

This link will give you some factual information specifically about Tanzania and the most common diseases found there:

International Association for Medical Aid for Travellers - Tanzania

This link exposes some of the common malaria myths:

Dispelling the Myths - Malaria

This is what the Center for Disease Control has to say:

CDC Destinations - Tanzania

In my 30+ years I've been lucky to have had malaria only 3 times and not very badly and I've treated it with Coartem (Artemether/lumefantrine). I've usually used doxycycline as my chemo-prophylaxis although as I am fair-skinned this may have contibuted to a few small rodent ulcers which I've had to have treated with cryotherapy. I always carry Coartem when I go on leave and I've printed up and laminated a small card saying that I work in West Africa and if I'm found unconscious suspect falciparum malaria.

Flying in Sierra Leone last year, was advised by the local doc just to take sensible precautions with bug spray, mosie nets etc. Malarone won't stop you contracting Malaria, and upon any symptoms, his first action would be to give me Malarone anyway. Had no problems at all.

I have to add that, the year before, I was in Mali with wife. We started Malarone prior to going and after about 3 days in country I came down with terminal screaming ab-dabs. That night as wife gave me my Malarone, I noted that they no longer had "Malarone" inscribed..........yep, she was giving me the wrong pills ffs! I did note that she was not affected by taking the laxatives she was feeding us???? or at least, feeding me!

Tam

If all else fails, ask the Centers for Disease Control:

CDC - Malaria - Travelers - Malaria Information and Prophylaxis, by Country

one note at the bottom of the table might be the understatement of the year:

1. This risk estimate is based largely on cases occurring in US military personnel who travel for extended periods of time with unique itineraries that likely do not reflect the risk for the average US traveler.

What you need is some of this!

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