Malaria antibiotics

jollygirl

Aside from preventataive Malaria tablets, is it also wise to take a course of Malaria antibiotics?

I've just been looking at threads on packing tips & have come across a few of you who who have mentioned these. My doctor never said anything so I hadn't even considered it - I leave in a week so am now starting to panic!!!

Kanehanahou

I only have my experience. My doctor was freaked and gave me 20 kg of malarial "stuff" to take. In (the entire year of) 2004, there were 7 deaths from malaria in Goa (all in north Goa, all elderly or infirm) (I spent most of my time in south Goa-6 months). I stopped taking it soon after arriving. Chatted with my doc when I came back and he was convinced.

Where you're headed makes much of the difference. I'd listen to the responses here and then decide whether to find a new doctor or not.

machadinha

What are malaria antibiotics?

Generally antibiotics are only taken as a short cure for an existing disease and they can't be taken forever or repeatedly as resistance quickly builds up. So, no I don't assume taking such a thing if there exists one as a preventative measure would do you any good. If people have mentioned those it's probably about taking something with you that you can use in case the disease should strike you, in that case I'd recommend seeing a hospital immediately though instead of fooling around with self-medication.

Don't panic, most travellers make it back alive -- then again some don't teehee. Trust your doctor rather than us silly board members.

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camelgirl

Don't panic. Just check a couple of sites like www.who.int the World Health Organization website. It will tell you more than you want to know about every possible disease! It totally depends on where you go and what season. I've been to India in every season and have not needed malaria meds most of the time. But have taken them a few times. You should talk to a doctor who has knowledge of tropical medicine. Most doctors who practice in the West don't need to know about tropical illnesses but most likely will pretend they know (hate to say they don't!)

You will forget about all the scary stuff once you are there because there is so much to see and do. But do take care not to pet stray animals no matter how cute. Rabies is real and endemic to India. Obviously some placid little puppy probably won't be a danger but a little caution is always wise--even at home!

citybell

Agree with Camelgirl on malaria. I think you should not be worried too much as there has been any case of malaria in the places you intend to visit.
Suggest you to use Mosquito net too.
Some of my foreign friends just had mosquito net, that's all.

wandering_kat

Some of the prophylactics are antibiotics anyway, eg doxycycline. What you take as treatment would probably depend on what you've taken as prophylactic.
But technically if you've taken prophylactics you shouldn't get malaria, so wouldn't have to treat it!
what you've read on here re treatment antibiotics is probably posted by people who choose to carry the treatment instead of taking prophylactics.....

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camelgirl

Citybell is right about the mosquito net. And I have a recomendation that I wish I could get more people to know about. There is a company called Longroad at www.longroad.com They make, in my opinion, the very best travel nets you can buy. We have their least expensive one called a "skeeter defeater" which is so tiny and light you wouldn't believe it. It has these tiny poles that prop it up right on top of your bed. We have used it in some hotels in India that were very worrisome & buggy and have never had a problem. Check out their website. You won't believe how cool their nets are. And certainly the primary way to stop those malaria mosies in their tracks. We also spray them with permetherin before we go to make them work even better.

Kanehanahou

In my enormous supply, and based on what I gathered, malarial medicine is both a preventative and a prophylactic (why do I think of rubbers??? cuz I'm a boy?!?!?) - I had enough to treat me preventatively and for 2 people to be "cured" with what I brought... Way ass overkill.

Read up on it. Knowledge is power.

machadinha

Not to cause any panic, and I personally don't take anti-malarials, but this is not true. You can still get the disease, just it won't manifest itself so quickly, which can be good as it allows you more time, it can also be bad in that you don't realize you're carrying it.

Dr Funkenstein

I don't think I'm gonna bother this time. I think I'll make more of an effort not to get bit and read up on the symptoms and how to cure it if I catch it.

But then I am a bit stupid ...

There's times when getting bitten is unavoidable. Ever been to the Red Fort in Delhi just after the sun goes down? I felt like I'd been chewed up and spat out.

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jollygirl

Thanks all, think I just got a little panicked cos I didnt even know you could get antibiotics for malaria to take travelling-I already have anti-malarial tablets ( proguanil & chloroquine) & a mosiquito net & mosquito repellent - surely that's enough!

sticky

im sure that those treatments are enough, and i'd definately talk to a doctor before combining any treatments together. Especially with a strong antibiotic like doxycycline.

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samkerr

Anyone any experience of using Skin so Soft dry oil spray by Avon I hear it has huge potential for avoiding getting bitten by mossis and sounds like a very pleasant way of doing so. A friend who has just come back from Greece where she is normally bitten to death said it worked for her, so although I wont be relying on it cant do any harm to give it a go. I shal still be taking my net soaked in Permethrin and safe socks as well.

Nick-H

Do a google for info on mossie repellants. Skin-So-Soft is, it seems, a bit of an urban myth. It has some, but only short-lived, repellant ability.

However perhaps the myth has become a reality because Avon do make a repellant. See their website.

Odomos or Deet-based Repel is easily available and cheap here. What is not so easily available is bite cream.

Mossie nets are also cheap here (though I got thoroughly digested before I went out to buy one). My single was R140. Nothing fancy like the free-standing one, though.

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Sama

After a lot of research and talking to my Indian gynocologist (she's from Bangalore and goes back every year), I've decided to injest the malaria meds before I travel in September because I am a mosquito magnet. My doc takes the meds as does her entire family and she said she has never seen a side effect from the meds in her 20+ years of practice.

As for Skin So Soft, it only works for some people. My own experience is that it does not work. However, this is what I've read in Alternative Medicine magazine:

1. Take 100 mg of vitamin B-1 daily. If you will be in heavily infested areas, add 2 to 3 garlic capsules (undeodorized) every 4 hours. I guess you'll smell like an Italian restaurant, but who cares?

2. According to Jon Flume who leads expeditions in the Amazonian rain forest where DEET can not be used because it is so toxic, he relies on Buzz Away by Quantum. Another DEET-free product is Herbal Armor by All Terrain. Both use ingredients such as oils of citronella, cedarwood, and eucalyptus. "Mosquitoes may land on you, but then they fly away without biting," says Flume.

3. Create a bug-free zone. Bouquets of the herb pennyroyal can ward off mosquitoes, as does a squirt of garlic-heavy Mosquito Barrier by Garlic Reseach Labs.

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