Hello to all.
My girlfriend and I are off to Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia in October for 4 months and are currently going through the required jabs back home here in England.
One precaution that the docs and nurse keep mentioning is against Malaria, however, I know of several friends who have had bad experiences with Mefloquine and Doxycycline and there are many tales about others experiences so i'm unsure about what to do.
Do I wait and buy in Bangkok on arrival or try and avoid getting bitten and not take anything?!?!?
If anyone has got any ideas/recommondations as to the best course to take it would be much appreciated.
Thanks
Craig.
Reply to this Just avoid the mosquitoes. I've been traveling through SE Asia for three years and only used doxycycline once when traveling through a particularly bad part of the Mekong without a mosquito net. Generally, if you stay indoors or cover yourself up at dawn and dusk you'll be fine. Beside, your chances of getting malaria are way lower than your chances of being in a road accident.
Reply to this Malarone, another prescription for malaria are supposed to have minimal effects, but are quite expensive!
Reply to this This is a tricky one because there can be outbreaks....on a low risk island there was an outbreak and 17 out of 36 people there contracted malaria....Not me fortunately for me....but ensure you use deet oil and be sensible is a great suggestion. It is an awful malady.Remember, daytime in cool shady jungles is nightime for mossies and you need to have protection!
Reply to this I can only speak from my own experience, having used mefloquine and chlorochine for short periods of time without any noticable side effects. I don't know anyone who did develop problems, but I do have a friend who succumbed to malaria though, and it really wasn't a nice experience for her.
Regardless of if you choose to go with pills or not, I recommend getting them ahead of your trip since you are supposed to start eating them a week or so before you arrive in the risk zone. In general it is also a very good idea to try and minimize the chance of getting bitten in the first place. Mosquitoes can carry other precious gifts as well. Not wanting to scare you or anything, but personally I am more concerned about dengue fever, for which there is no preemptive vaccine. The carriers of dengue are mainly active in daytime and prefer urban dwellings.
Reply to this Here are a few options.
Avoid Mosquito bites
Use mosquito repellent cream
Mosquito nets
Use preventive medicines like Chloroquine and proguanil
Thanks,
John
www.travelplans.tv
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