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Malaria? info again please Malaria? info again please
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sub-Saharan Africa Topics specific to sub-Saharan Africa. (Includes all countries South of 17 degrees latitude)
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  #1  
Old 6 May 2016
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Malaria? info again please
I've browsed through a couple of dozen threads on Malaria, but there is so much conflicting information its hard to know what to do here.

I will be travelling throughout Africa for the next 10 months, down the West, up the East. I don't want to take pills every day for 10 months. What have other people done in this situation? I'd prefer to just have a test kit and some treatment pills on me if I'm not close to a hospital/medical centre. I read in some ride reports of people who had Malaria without realising and went from perfectly normal to barely being able to stand in a matter of an hour or two - hence wanting treatment pills if in a remote area. I am unfortunately still in Spain, and I have time to buy something before I leave.

Anyone on the road doing something similar?
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  #2  
Old 6 May 2016
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Will be taking pills one week before entering suspect area and a month after leaving as a profilactic measure
Take care of side effects
In any case as a preventive measure you take 1/6 of the dose compared to a person who is ill
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  #3  
Old 6 May 2016
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Quote:
Originally Posted by flashgordo View Post
...pills one week before entering suspect area and a month after leaving...
Just wanted to point out that dosing before and after depends on the specific anti-malarial you decide to take. Malarone is different from mefloquine which is different from doxycycline. The advice quoted is often incorrect.

Personally, I always take antimalarials in sub-Saharan Africa, and I strongly suggest that others do the same. There's nothing like a bout of acute malaria to mess with your travel plans, or with whatever you hope to accomplish at home after your trip. OTOH, it's your life at stake, not mine.

Hope that's helpful.

Mark
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  #4  
Old 6 May 2016
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There is no reason to take profilactic pills for such long period of time - side-effects of it have ability to collect and became worse and worse.

On my opinion (I already 10 month in Africa going by west-side) and information I gathered the best idea is to have supply of pills and tests. As well as taking care about passive protection - mosquito nets, repellents and so on. Also, in Yaounde I saw some kind of personal electronic protection which is working on a batteries and making unbearable sounds for flying bastards. Passed it by so no idea if it's effective.

But what all of the people were telling me: even if you start to feel yourself worse but test showing nothing and you're far away from civilization - start taking pills immediately. You better not to joke with this crap. I've got malaria three times (Senegal, Cameroon, Angola) and it was not the best times of my life.

P. S. For Namibia and South African rep. you will need a prescription. I was really surprised when I heard that.
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  #5  
Old 7 May 2016
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I believe you should build up a resistance to mosquitoes before thinking about NOT taking anything. I've had malaria several times & lost several friends in West Africa to malaria ...

Agreed, 10 months is a long time, but they could save your life!

However as I've been shuttling back & forth to W.Africa for many years and spend several months there each year, I decided since December 2015 to stop taking them as my immune system should have some resistance.

My advice would be to take them for several months to build some resistance but talk to a knowledgeable tropical medical doctor first!

I was a Lariam user (but took Mephlaquin the generic version) which is a lot cheaper in West Africa compared to Europe. I now carry two 4 tablet packets of Mephlaquin and several self-testing kits that I can only find in Ghana; they are incredibly simple to use and give a result within 20mins. If I'm still concerned I go for a real blood test at a clinic.

Bearing in my you could be remote at time when you need medical treatment, take your own syringes & needles!

Glad that you're concerned about malaria, it does kill but so many people ignore the issue!
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  #6  
Old 8 May 2016
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Sorry, but why not take daily pills? Small price to pay for avoiding malaria! The West African strains in particular are not something you want to mess with. Malaria is let us not forget a fatal illness.

Doxycycline is cheap with minimal if any side effects. I took it daily riding Africa west and east over nearly a year. Never contracted malaria. If i did, I was packing malarone for emergency self treatment.

Look at it this way, if you don't take a prophylactic and you contract malaria, I'd bet 100:1 you start taking prophylactics when you recover.
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  #7  
Old 10 Aug 2016
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I took doxycycline on a cycle tour to the Gambia in 2013 and got malaria regardless. I wouldn't bother with doxy again.


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Old 10 Aug 2016
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Another blanket statement based on one experience.
I have taken doxycycline as only antimalaria treatment for eight years and havent had malaria. Doesnt mean it will work for every one, every time.
Chanses are your infection, if you get sick, will be much less severe if you are taking some kind of treatment.
http://www.cdc.gov/malaria/resources...oxycycline.pdf
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Old 11 Aug 2016
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Quote:
Originally Posted by priffe View Post
Another blanket statement based on one experience.
I'm struggling to work out how 'I wouldn't bother with doxy again' can be construed as a blanket statement.



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Last edited by B1ke; 11 Aug 2016 at 05:37.
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