Malaria tablets

wanderin_star

Will be in Pondicherry area during January and wondered what other readers think necessity of malaria tablets. I notice that south of Chennai is classified as minimal risk although I realise that mosquitos do not recognise borders.
Thanks for any comments.

chunky1

Suggest you take tablets to be on safe side, however you can purchase malaria tablets in India cheaper (suggest you buy the tablet that you only have to take once a week)

Maz

anyone know the names of the malaria tabs u only need to take weekly? Do i need them for some time in Rajasthan and Kerala in December? Thanks

mca2005

I was just in Rajastan (december) and saw mosquitos.....i don't know if they are the malaria carrying kind though

definitley bring repellent - i found the natural lemon euculopytous stuff quite a effective

dhans

I always start with the disclaimer; never give medical advice if you are not a qualified doctor

Still, as malaria may kill you we were advised to give our kids (5 and 3) paludrine (proguanilhydrochloride) when we go to India in december. They get 75 and 50 milligrams each day. We were advised to take 200 milligrams per day.

The information comes from the company that does preventive health for the Netherlands department of foreign affairs. They base their advise on WHO advice. For more medical travel advice: check

www.who.int/ith/en

for information on malaria check: http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publication...0364_chap7.pdf

Have fun,

Hans (of to Chennai in 3 days time )

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Shaktipalooza

Chennai gets 60%+ of the malaria cases in Tamil Nadu.

Malaria is endemic to all of India year round below higher elevation (2,000 meters).

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sboivin

dhans, is absolutly right. Check this out with a doctor before leaving! Those who suffered from Malaria will tell you, it is not to be taken lightly!

vargoje3

Doxycycline is what i'll be using when i'm staying in Pondicherry. I just visited the doctor today and he advised that i use this b/c of its low level of side effects. The tablets you take one a week have higher dosages and have bad side effects ie Maloroan? i dont know if i spelled that right. Maloroan supposedly gives you very bad dreams and can cause you to become almost psycotic. My buddy was on this stuff last year in Pondy and had to switch to Doxy b/c he believed everyone was the devil and out to get him. Some pretty hairy moments were associated w/ the once a week tablets. I'm no doctor though so i would recomend visiting one before you leave.

Mutt

Malarone is actually a very good one, but it is quite a bit more expensive than doxy or the one that does give you hallucinations: Larium. I forget the other name it goes by, but I have heard firsthand and secondhand accounts of real problems with Larium. Malarone is probably the best, as you don't need to take it for as long after you return, and doxycycline is nice and cheap, but you have to continue taking it for a couple of weeks? after the trip.

Hope that helps

edwardseco

Lariam is the weekly one. I don't understand the emphasis on convenience when it has by far the worst record for side effects. I think the generic name is mefloquine. The reported problem rate is way underreported judging from the travellers complaints we see on the boards. Each one has drawbacks that have to be understood in case that develops. I use doxy but I have to use mucho sunscreen at first. I'll have to check out the price of Malarone in Singapore sometime..

edwardseco

Note that Malarone isn't the one associated with LSD style trips. People get confused about what is what all the time so use informed judgement checking out true medical advice..

edwardseco

Malarone and Doxy are a daily regimine..