Mr Malaria

Ikuru

Do You take Malaria pills in India?

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yogivivek

yes just got a big bag of malaria pills called paludrine 2 a day and that for 6 months

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volga_volga

I'd like to post a comment on this poll. I am afraid that newcomers to India will look at it (at the moment it is 50/50 yes and no) and will think that they have an option NOT to take malaria pills since half of the "seasoned" travellers are doing so. And that malaria is not such a big risk.

It's not that simple.

(1) those who voted No are most likely using other ways of malaria prevention (so I think it is better to have a poll "what kiind of malaria prevention do you use?")

(2) remember it takes only one bite and the result can be deadly. It is your life and don't look at what others are doing. They may not value it as much as you do!

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Ikuru

Does anyone know anyone who had malaria? It sounds rare to me, might be chances are your more likely gonne get bit by a cobra.

Kanbe

Is there mid-way?...I started taking them...and then I stopped...hm.

Ikuru

Yes.
Buddhism.

vistet

From the London School of Tropical Medicine :

indianprincess

better to be safe than sorry...

Rob_The_Pom

As we all know from the stuff people ask and post on here, Malaria is actually a complex issue. Who to believe, what to take, are you going to risk area and so on...

I don't take them because they made me very sick.
I was in north India in winter (mostly the Himalaya), and in Leh in summer - so I stayed away from risk areas anyway. I don't think I had more than a couple of bites in my whole stay.
One guy I met in India had had it, he had one of the more benign variations - he said he flared up once in a while, but wasn't much of a problem anymore.

I certainly wouldn't give anyone advice on whether they should take anti-malarials or not, I'm not a doctor and I don't want that responsibility.

Very good advice from Volga_Volga though.

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amogasiddhi

This old chestnut again.
Guys and Gals, take 'em if you want to but always make sure that it's because YOU want to and not because someone in a white coat told you to do so based upon some statistical analysis or because a woman who refuses to shave her armpits and insists upon growing dreadlocks between her legs tells you that these little white Homeopathic pills will only work if you contract Malaria but they're better for you when you do take them, if you do take them.
Basically it's all a load of rubbish. You could get Malaria in India but statistically speaking, you probably won't. A conservative estimate of 1.3 Billion people are apparently living in India but you'll soon realise, once you go there, that this is no more than a political guestimate, as there are waaayyyy more people living conveniently unnoticed by the same politicians for them to be able to count as humans.
If YOU feel that the 'risk' is too high for YOU (exactly what a 'risk' is i'm not sure but there does seem to be a common understanding among some folk about it so i'll leave it in and I can't be arsed to get into the syntactical bullshit tonight) then take some bloody pills and don't make a big deal out of it.
If you feel that you're probably not going to be counted among the globally minute yet significant amount of dead Malaria contractees in this years politically biased count, then don't take anything, like me, go to India and get on with not being bitten by plugging repellants in for 72 Rupees, take a bed net with you (don't waste your time trying to find one while you're there), buy repellant to help prevent them from biting you (Odomos 26 Rupees for a tube of toothpaste-like white cream, in a toothpaste-like tube and it works too!), Don't wander about after sunset without covering up nicely and stop filling your head with paraniod thoughts of Rabid dogs, Cobras and Malarial mozzies as the chances are that you'll never even see one.
You have more chance of catching a nasty 'traveller's bug' and losing some significant weight through throwing up, shitting, having a temperature of 103 for 5 days etc etc etc and that you just can't buy a pill for.
Sheeesh!

machadinha

Moga I don't know what disease you caught nor if you actually ever left for that matter, but after all the good advice you asked and got on this forum I truly wonder is there any way you can write anything down without being a completely obnoxious twit? I for one have had it with posts like these.

About the malaria in general, it's well-renowned even in medical circles for being the no. 1 most contentious topic among travellers. It's funny how people feel the need to start proselytizing as soon as the topic comes up; it would seem more sensible to just get yourselves and others informed and make a decision on that basis.

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shpatel

I still don't understand why people just don't take the damn drug unless they're having some sort of allergic reaction

Do I know anyone who has contracted Malaria? YES

My foolish father(no disrespect to my father but in this instance I must say he was foolish) decided to not heed my medical advice and chose not to take the Malaria pills and ended up contracting it with extremely high fever as a sequlae. In the end he was taking malaria pills to treat his Malaria.

My grandmother died due to malarial complications.

The only reason not to take Anti-malarial drugs is
A) you're allergic to them(but this is still not an excuse since there are several great drugs available)
B) you're in an area where there are no mosquitos(i.e. high altitudes, Himalayas)

So please heed the advice of those who have more medical knowledge then the general population! Trust me, it's not some sort of conspiracy

SP

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salicornia

Yep, I am going to take those pills. Departure is in 3 days, we have our boxes of pills, the latest (and most expensive) version.
Why? Well, as Machahinda said, we informed ourselves, and on that basis, we decided to take them. Because we will go for some parts of our trip in natural areas, supposedly risky to being bitten, also that these pills have the less second effect, and because it's quite practical : only one pill a day, take in advance one day only, and a week after.
But i must also add that i've been in some of the most infested areas for resistant malaria, in Africa and in South Guyana, and given the length of the stays and the false information I got beforehand (for Guyana), the pros/cons of the pills we had at that time (Nivaquine) i didn't take them. I was lucky. But if i had the actual choice then, I would certainly have taken them. Have seen close persons have bouts of malaria, and God, it's not a nice sight...also in my school in Africa, many were sick, and one landed in hospital for a very long stay.
I know the choice is easier for me, i go only about 3 weeks, but i could only add my voice to the ones advising not to decide too lightly...

dani

to say "the people living there don't get malaria" is a very bad argument, because:
- it's only partially true
- many asians suffer from the socalled Sickle cell anemia which gives them a certain malaria resistence

shpatel

- many asians suffer from the socalled Sickle cell anemia which gives them a certain malaria resistence[/quote]

Yes it is true that sickle celled patients do have a resistance to most types of malarias but so do people who are heterozygous for the sickle cell gene( i.e they don't have sickle cell but still have the protective function against getting malaria)...genetics is cool!