malaria fears?

korihan

sorry for an unpleasant first post, or perhaps a subject that has been addressed elsewhere, but i am just about to set off for my first trip to india and my doctor just prescribed me lariam. i'm a little freaked out by all the info. i find regarding lariam on the web (lawsuits? suicides? etc); i don't know why i find this information so much more frightening than the possibility of contracting malaria...

anyway, the other anti-malarials look prohibitively expensive for the amount of time i'll be there...could anybody tell me about your personal experience either taking lariam? has anybody gone and not taken anti-malarial pills at all? i am so excited about my trip, but now i am worried that i'll get depressed/suicidal, be traveling alone, and have no one to notice that i'm going crazy or help me out...

i would so appreciate your experiences/advices, my fellow more seasoned travelers!

vistet

The discussion about Lariam (mefloquine) is not ... well.. well proportioned. I have taken Lariam in several sessions without feeling any sideeffects , which is the norm : less than 1 % experience "mild neuro-psychiatric side-effects" (going
slighly nuts) and these normally manifest themself at the beginning of the treatment , when you probably will be in a familiar , well-known surrounding. The number of people going really nuts is very, very small.

Some argue - and act according to this argument- that the risk of getting malaria is so small that it is unnecessary to take the risks the medication poses.

The result of this way of thinking has been summarized by the

London School of Tropical Medicine :

"2,364 travellers returned to the UK with malaria in 1997; twelve of them died."

The worst case scenario of malaria - apart from the 1-3 % mortality - may involve permanent brain damage caused by affected circulation to the brain.
Personally I prefer the minimal risk of streaking naked thru an Indian bazaar over the equally minimal possibility of spending time on a ventilator in an Intensive Care Unit.

Try not to get caught up in all these grim posssibilities. The risks are small , you need to think them thru once and make a few decisions ( like when you check the exits in a hotel) .. - and then get on with having fun.

Tomi

There are indeed other threads here on this board that have discussed malaria rather fully and recently, korihan. Look in the Health and Well-Being section, not in Yak-Yak. You'll read about the pros and cons of various approaches.

edwardseco

I have seen a lot higher percentages for side effects for Larium. I don't discount the need for prvention in the case of Malaria. Even a mild case will leave you thinking you have been run over by a truck. However, I would choose other means such as Doxy or Malarone. I think it is just a matter of time before the lawsuits catch up with the Larium maker. On the other hand there good odds you can trip out without the hazards of taking LSD..

edwardseco

prevention, its late here..

archits

if you get malaria in india ; go to a doctor in India..he will cure you.

korihan

thanks, guys, and i apologise for initially posting this in the wrong section...