after long thinking
i decided to not take Malaria pills as a prevent
and will carry it as a treatment
i have mephaquin
would like to know is it wise ?
what the best i can do to protect my self from it ?
cheers and travel safe all

I did the same just have some pills with you in case you need them. The next hospital might be a few days drive away...

Adventure Motorbike expedition through africa - Transafrika part 1

To protect your selfe just use a tent with mosquito net and long sleve clothes in the evening at the fire place...

thanks Ta rider

Buy the insect repellent that the locals use - in southern Africa we use Tabard and Peaceful Sleep. Those together with covering up between sunset and dawn worked for us.

I attract mozzies and react to their bites here in the UK but I can honestly say that in our travels in southern Africa I hadn't as much as 1 bite.

We didn't take the tablets because of previous reactions to them.

greater than 90% of travellers who contract malaria upon returning home did not take anti malarials. All the people we met travelling in Africa who contracted malaria were not taking anti malarials. Maleria itself is not very prevalent in South Africa but once you are in central Africa it is endemic. You should cover up and use repellent and mossie nets wether you take anti malarials or not. Anti malarials such as doxycycline are relatively safe, and very few people have negative side effects from them. Maleria is a debillitating disease, potentially fatal and mostly preventable with sensible management

My thoughts - 3 years around Africa, west coast and east coast:

- I didn't take anything and didn't get Malaria. I carried 3 packs of Coartem in case.

- I religiously covered up each night well before dark with thick socks sprayed with stuff, thick jeans and long sleeves. I would put spray on top of my hands as they often landed there otherwise. They never bit me on the neck, sometimes on the cheek.

- When getting into my tent each night I would spend a minute with a light looking for them before sleeping. If staying in a bad area I would usually spray the tent with fly spray 30 mins before bed time.

- Watch out again in the morning.

- Watch out even in daytime in shade or near water in shade - like the wash area out the back of a building for example.

- The only other long term travellers I meet who didn't get Malaria were a couple who plastered each other with creams/sprays each night the same time as me.

- Most other people got it, and once they got it once they often got in 3-4 times over a few years. My general impression was they didn't take covering up seriously enough, often too busy having a and waiting until they had been bitten a few times before covering up. It's hot and sticky and its a pain to cover up. I generally found that people I thought would get it did because you could see they were lazy towards not getting bitten.

- Its hard to get kids to cover up or stay covered in spray.

- Some of it is luck.

- If your a couple it seems more likely you will get it, once one has it chances are another mossie will pass it to the other one.

- I meet loads of people who were taking something and still got it. None of the drugs prevent you from getting it, they will lessen the risk, some may help slow the symptoms down hopefully enough that you can get treatment, such as Malarone I believe?. You can get self testing kist (accuracy?) and if you carry two different treatments and understand them, you might be ok if stuck in the bush days from anywhere. Know how to take your temperature for example. The best policy is not to get bitten!

- None of the drugs are suitable for taking for long periods - over 6 months - and I wouldn't want to take doxycycline (an anti-biotic) for a long period, its not healthy. It's about balancing the risk of Malaria against the longer term impact of the drugs on your body, for me at least. The drugs are all pretty harsh..

- I helped quite a few people to and in hospital with it. When it was the first time they were usually reluctant to go as getting to he hospital can be a pain in the arse etc. It's no fun for anybody.

- People often relapsed a few weeks after their first case as they start to feel 'normal' again after about 10 days so continue with hard traveling, drinking etc, but it seems the body needs longer to truly fight it off. Spending two weeks afterwards doing nothing and being healthy seems best.

Doing it again I'd do exactly the same again. Try to understand the risks, assess them to your situation, prepare for the worst case scenario and if you get a fever, stop and see what it is.