I'm going on a three week travel on my own in India and am starting to get a bit worried about how to prevent malaria. There are so many different medications you can take, and so many types of malaria, it seems like quite a jungle.
Is it necessary to take pills, or is it sufficient to use mosquito nets and spray?
Which pills are good, and do you guys have any experience with side-effects?
Any help would be really appreciated
cheers, Madeleine
Reply to this Hi Madeleine, ....or should I say bonjour...
It's all depend where you are going....never used malaria pills in India...
Doxycycline is cheap...I'm on the for the moment....you can dive using it...and take it for extended period.
Malarone is...expensive...but supposed to have less side effect. With the one above, if you are not already suntan when you use it, you could be facing some rough times under the sun.
The main question is where are you going...long sleeves, mosiquito nets and repellent can also go a very long way.
But if you go in an infested place...do get medecine....i've got enough friends who will carry malaria forever!
hope this help.,..currently from Uganda,
Peter
Reply to this Hello there, when it comes to seriuos health matters, and malaria is a very dangerous, potentially lethal disease one should not rely on advice from friends or fellow travellers. You should contact a doctor specializing in travel health or at least infectious diseases. The medication to take is dependent on a number of factors, such as the type of malaria, its resistance, side effects etc. It is also very important to take the medicine as prescribed, no experimentation on your own. Another important aspect is that in some countries there are cheap counterfeit drugs, which should be avoided at all cost as there is no guarantee that they contain what is written on the label. You can find some information on the Central for Disease Control homepage (google), but I strongly recommend you go to a doctor too. Enjoy your trip.
Reply to this Merci Peter! 😊
But how do I know the infested places? Can you refer a homepage where I could check if I'm traveling through especially dangerous areas?
Cheers from Denmark.
hello greek gal.
Yeah, I know. Of course I spoke to my doctor, he just didn't seem very sure himself. So I'm double checking on a site full og experienced travelers 😊
Thankyou for the homepage recommendation, I'll have a look!
take care!
Reply to this I'm far away from being a specialist of the ALL of India. It's all really depend where you are going. The best is to google name of provinces and "malaria". Pretty sure you can also find some further info on the lonely planet.
If the place is at risk, take medecine....but to give you an example, I've seen people visiting Saigon in Vietnam, taking malaria pills...this is strictly useless...the only arms mosquitos are doing in the city is the dengue...no medecine to prevent this, and still very nasty.
I went to Rajahastan, Andamans and Chennai and Pondicherry...so asput above, this is a very limited knowledge of places. But in those places, you should be taking it if you stay in proper conditions.
Reply to this Hi Madeleine
I understand why you want a second opinion, I've had very mixed and dubious advice from my doctor too when it comes to travel questions. If there is a travel clinic near where you live maybe try talking to them too?
I've no advice on India specifics as not been there but for general info I'd recommend always preventing getting bitten in the first place. Cover up, spray on lots of Deet (50%!)(MISSING) and use a net. This will help you avoid the other nasties such as Dengue as well as Malaria, plus the prophylaxis meds are not foolproof. There are maps of malaria regions within countries on the nhs website 'fit for travel':
India malaria map (google it if link is cut)
They also have info on the different malaria prophylaxis available, as a crude summary:
At the moment I'm favouring Malarone as it's got the least side affects. For a short trip like yours it shouldn't be too expensive but for long ones it's ridiculous money and difficult to get prescription.
Doxcycline is really cheap as Peter said, but I know a lot of people that got bad sunburn when taking it and I've been warned off it as it can upset your stomach.
Larium is quite cheap but can give you dodgy dreams and potentially a lot worse side affects including psychosis.
Sounds nasty but then again you could take any of these meds and have absolutely no side affects whatsoever, plenty of people are fine on all of them, it's a risk to weigh up and a difficult decision for you I'm afraid!
Reply to this Hey guys!
Thanks a lot for taking the time to answer, this was really very helpful!! :-)
I promise to look into the medication, but am already cheered up by the malaria map, it does not look too bad according to my plans at all!
I'd better hurry up and do the research, will be leaving soon and am sooo exited =-D
Take care and happy travel!
Reply to this Hi Madeleine..
Am Ankit from Bangalore, India.
Its great to know that you are excited about your India trip.
I would like to tell you that only few parts of India is infested and not the entire country.
So, its better you share your travel plans which would help me to inform you about "INFESTED PLACES"!
Cheers!
Reply to this Hi Ankit!
Wow, super to have some inside-information! :-)
I arrive in Mumbai on Wednesday (so soon!!!!!) . My temporary travelplan is as follows:
one day in Ajanta
four days in Varanasi
one day in Agra
three days in Delhi
*airplane from Delhi to Bangalore*
three days in Bangalore
six days in Goa
- and the rest of the time on the trainrides in between.
(I know, I know, my plan is a little ambitious, India being huge and diverse and all, but there is so much I want to do and see, and so little time...
I have not booked anything, nor trains or accomodations, only the planeticket from Delhi to Bangalore.
So I'm quite flexible to changes and sudden spontaneity.)
What do you think? Any "infested places" ;-)
I heard Goa was risky?
What do you think about the plan in general?
Any advices, suggestions and recommendations or dissuasions are welcome! 😊
Cheers!
Reply to this Hi..
well.. according to me..
you should start with delhi 1st.. Agra is around 4-5hrs by road from delhi.. 1 day is enough to check out the Taj Mahal and few forts around.. from there you can get train/bus to varanasi..
Once done with varanasi.. come back to delhi.. fly down to Bangalore(My city 😊 😊 )..
Three days in bangalore is more than enough.. spend a day in Mysore which is 3hrs from bangalore.. there is a beautiful palace over there..!
Then MUMBAI!! lots and lots of places to check out in this city!! spend 2-3 days here
Ajanta is close to mumbai..
end your journey with goa! beautiful place.. lovely beaches! but sadly.. its gona b VERY HOOOOOT!
Goa is not risky.. u gona find more foreigners over there than the locals.. but just be little careful
Only few areas in these cities might be "infested".. if you are really worried about malaria then carry some medicines.. Make sure you drink only bottled water..!
Every state in India is like a different country.. with its own culture.. language.. people!
Am sure your trip is gona be fun..
Cheers!
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