More Malaria

ray

Hi again,

When asking my farmacist if we had to take Nivaquine, or any other anti-
malaria drug, for the rest of our lives ( we are going to live in Goa ), he
replyed, not at all !!, only until we are aclimatized ??

I know are body can get used to a lot off things, but Malaria ??

And another thing ; The locals don't take any tablets, nor do they use musqieto milk ??
The population of Goa is approx. 1.5 million, and about 1% get malaria,
How do they do it ??

Cheers

mira4bai4

Swat Teams

jezterbabe

I have wondered why the locals do not worry about malaria too. I plan on being in India for up to two years and question whether I need to take pills for that long. Any more information on long term use of the malaria prevention drugs?

wonderwomanusa

The "locals" DO get malaria and they do worry about it. Worldwide something like 500 million cases each year.

jezterbabe

ok, that makes more sense. still, the age old question....how long is too long to stay on the malaria pills. I will be in gurgaon for possibly two years. that seems like a long time to take these pills but then again who wants malaria. it is a catch 22 situation.

mira4bai4

There is much that one could do but one option that I suppose many Indians use is to deal with it once you have it. It does depend on the strain that you get and how you would prefer to deal with these things. The medical professions within India are very switched on for malaria treatment, so if you get it, go to a Doctor and have a blood test, this will say what you have got if anything at all. From there you can have the correct treatment which will be rest assured the best available world wide, for some forms of malaria simple quinine is all you need which is much less toxic than the preventative medications available.

So just something to consider for the longer term stay. It is what I will have to do, no other options available at this stage that I would really consider.

jezterbabe

mira, I am considering taking something for at least the first six months and then determining what to do from there. It is a area of concern for many travelers, i think, but when just traveling the stay is usually rather short term and therefore, probably worth the risky precaution. However, when one is staying for an extended period of time the question becomes more complicated.

goangoangone

I'm in Goa now. Finally got here. The locals here will tell you not to bother with malaria tabs. I haven't seen a mosi yet and luckily, they haven't seen me either My friend got najjered a couple of times the other night though. I'm taking tabs at the moment but will have to decide whether to continue when they run out.

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GoanGoan......here

lobo

You wont get used to malaria im afraid, maybe thay are more dangerous at different times of the year?
I know in some places people whoose families have lived in malaria areas for years might be slighty more resistant but malaria kills so many people world wide its a big danger.

mira4bai4

I am not wishing to reduce the level of concern about malaria or its fatal potential but wish only to provide some balance.

Our immunity is our strength, if one is unhealthy then we will get potentially really sick and may die, this can be from any illness not just malaria. In many Asian and African countries much of the concern comes from repeated re-infestations of malaria. One dose will not normally kill a healthy person but continuously being bitten and infected then it is a fatal attraction. Babies or the young will often die from it as they have little immunity to the malaria. In many parts of India people live with it every day, they have the infection but most of them do not die from it. If people did die from it easily the population would be dropping quite quickly. People normally die from it because they cannot afford or obtain the treatment, or they are already very sick possibly from AIDS or Cholera or something else and then also contract malaria.

My strongest suggestion is to build up your immune system, plan for illness and be prepared to fight it. Take precautions as in repellents and mozzi nets and protective clothing, be careful. The slogan for my forth coming business in India is "Your Body is your House - Your Health is your Wealth" protect it.

As far as immunity boosters are concerned I will be personally taking Tahitian Noni juice which is available in India especially Mumbai, if you have access to the product Juice Plus, then I would seriously use that. These are not my products so I have no gain in these, I know and have used Juice Plus and it got rid of Bharma Forest Fever for me, Tahitian Noni from my research is quite amazing and has a compound in it that kicks arse in the immunity field and your immunity is all that separates you from being well or being sick as a dog. As a side issue the Noni is a network marketing business and is doing well in India, one could do a little business there with it and sit pretty for many years to come.

If you wish to take tablets etc in the short term and not the long, I would ask why bother as the day you stop you might get bitten, or the day before you stop maybe. It is Russian Roulette and the enemy is sometimes unseen but J walking is pretty dangerous and the injuries may be as debilitating as malaria, so don't J walk. It is like smoking cigarettes, we either know they are deadly to every cell in our body or we don't. If we continue to smoke knowing, then we are complete idiots, if we do not know then we are either completely dumb or ignorant, either way they WILL deal to us in some way.

My point is that we will often do more foolish things that have greater risks and we anguish about them to a far lesser degree, drinking and driving or just driving for example. NOTHING that you will do or take will stop you from getting Malaria if you are going to get it, all the products and protections will deal with it after you have got it or reduce the effects of it. The chemical stuff is there like a systemic insecticide waiting for something to chew the plant and then it will kill the attacker, that is all.

edwardseco

Cost benefit ratios don't favor locals taking precautions and indeed it is impractical to take anything long term in any case so do you feel lucky.?

Nick-H

Mira4bai4: have you posted somewhere about your business? Or do you have a website? It would be interesting to know more.

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Just one member of the IndiaMike Mod Team

Yulia

I think dengue fever is in/ around Delhi a greater risk, there were many cases this season, much more then malaria (I personally know only about one case of malaria this year, this may not be representative, though). I am in Delhi for the last 1,5 years and I don't take any prophylaxis, I just try to prevent being bitten, and luckily they don't seem to like me either.