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Malaria Pills
Leaving next Thursday for my Classic T&K safari. I have a prescription for malaria pills.
Question: Have any taken these on this particular itinerary? Wondering if I really need to.. don't like taking if really not needed. I did get the yellow fever vaccine. TIA!
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We took them last year on Elegant Adventure once we headed for the Safaris. I had no issue but the pills gave my wife and others on the tour upset stomach feeling so they stopped taking them. Did not encounter any mosquitos. Trip was early September.
Gbsefp. I think at this point, it has to be your own choice whether you take the pills or not. People do come back from East Africa with Malaria, and once you’ve had it, even treated, it never goes away but lies dormant until maybe you get run down or immunocompromised, then it may reappear. Personally, I would say if you can tolerate them take them, they hav3 been used for many years, otherwise, cover up as much of your body as you can and use Deet in exposed skin areas, spray your clothing with Premethrin. An Africa tour director tonite told me she takes garlic capsules which seem to deter mosquitoes from her though she was bitten twice when she was last there.
My husband and I did take malaria pills while on this tour and did not have any adverse reactions. We also too then without issues on two additional Africa tours. We took the pills with breakfast.
We returned from Elegant S Africa four weeks ago and I've just recently stopped taking doxycycline (antibiotic) as prescribed by my dr. for malaria. Though it was a long time to take, I tolerated it very well. I did not get one bite (that I know of) from mosquitos, but (IMO) it was worth it as I'm normally swarmed by the critters. I also used Deet spray diligently and also sprayed my safari clothes with Permethrin.
We were on K&T last September. Took the pills each morning along with yogurt, had no problems. We didn’t run into many bugs, but we were well into the dry season, so not much standing water around.
We’ve taken Malarone on our two trips to Africa. We’ve never had any adverse reactions. Even though we went in dry season and saw no mosquitoes, I’d rather be safe than sorry, especially since I tend to be a mosquito magnet.
Just to be clear, malaria doesn't always make you prone to a possible relapse. It is only prone to a relapse if you are infected by a particular version of the parasite that gets into your liver and remains dormant. You can be totally cured if treated properly. I had a bad case of malaria when I was serving in Vietnam about 60 years ago, and have never had a relapse.