Malaria tablets: which to choose, Malavone or Doxycycline??

Vanyh · Post by **Vanyh** » Mon, 18 Jul 2005 5:33 pm

Hi,

We go to Vietnam in 2 weeks and our doctor told us about malaria tablets to take. She gaves us 2 options, Malavone which is to be taken 2 days before, during the trip and 1 week after the trip, it is pretty expensive medecine though. The other option is Doxycycline which you have to take much longer (4 weeks after coming back) and is much cheaper but can upset your stomach.

Ever taken any of these, can you please advise??
Thanks!

robby · Post by **robby** » Mon, 18 Jul 2005 5:49 pm

no matter one one you take you still get dodgy tummy but rather take tablets then endeing up in ic ward

JayV · Post by **JayV** » Tue, 19 Jul 2005 11:04 am

Lariam is an option. Take one week before, during the trip and four weeks after, one tablet per week. Price is 4.40 $ a tablet at the Guardian.

JayV

huxley · Post by **huxley** » Wed, 06 Feb 2008 2:48 pm

Let me knwo what kind of these medicines are which you recommended to intake? Please explain what are advantages and disadvantages of such medicines.

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billturk1 · Post by **billturk1** » Wed, 06 Feb 2008 2:56 pm

the one tablet deals like Lariam can do badddd things to you.

Was in Nigeria and Angola for 5 years and man that was bad, boss had to be med evac out from reactions to Lariam, appears they can only be taken for a short time like no more then 6 months and he did it for a year.
sick dude.

Also lariam can have problems with other medicines you take, so suggest you get check it out with your doctor.

Myself took Doxycline for several years, not a problem.

MAIN THING IS TAKE SOMETHING, do not go without

LT123 · Post by **LT123** » Wed, 06 Feb 2008 4:15 pm

Really- do you have to take anti-malaria pills for any travel in Vietnam?? Will be there 9 days - going to Ho Chi Minh City (and surrounding area) and Hanoi (and surrounding area). But leaving on Friday so doubt we could even see a doctor before leaving...

Thaiclan · Post by **Thaiclan** » Wed, 06 Feb 2008 4:50 pm

I went to Vietnam for a week break directly from the UK. I went to my doctor and she explained that as I wasn't venturing out into the jungle there was no reason to take ANY malaria pills. In fact if you take the pills incorrectly (wrong times etc) then you can acutely increase your chance of contracting malaria. Needless to say I did not take any and neither did my 5 year old daughter....
However if you are venturing into the jungle or outer areas than thats a whole different story.....

LT123 · Post by **LT123** » Wed, 06 Feb 2008 6:58 pm

Thanks very much for your response. Its hard to know when to worry and when not to... we'll be in very touristed areas, so it sounds like we'll be fine. thanks again.

Post by **jpatokal** » Wed, 06 Feb 2008 8:36 pm

Who recommended that you take malaria pills? A Singaporean doctor, or someone back home?

In my experience, Singaporean docs are (probably rightly) pretty reluctant to prescribe malaria meds, as the odds of catching it are pretty low if you're a casual tourist and, as mentioned above, the side effects can be pretty nasty. I had to do a short course of Lariam once and it felt like a combination of the flu and drinking way too much espresso -- not something I'd like to repeat. This was out in the countryside in darkest Africa, but none of the expats living there were on antimalarials: they figured the occasional bout of malaria was better than constant side-effects from medication

LT123 · Post by **LT123** » Wed, 06 Feb 2008 8:51 pm

Wow - now I am TRULY reassured! thanks

no one actually recommended malaria pills to me directly... I have just been reading a bit on US government website (CDC) which was sort of vague, and maybe over-cautious... and I've also been reading some travel forums (Trip Advisor and Thorntree) where occassionally people say "you MUST take malaria pills."

I'm one of those unlucky people prone to mosquito bites, but well..it'll be fine if I drench myself in repellant.

suuz · Post by **suuz** » Fri, 08 Feb 2008 5:14 am

Vietnam is malaria safe that is in 2/3 of the country, in eropean standard and they prescribe pretty fast here.

It is not safe near the Laos border and in the north in the mountain area and in the south the cambodian area.

If you do touristy things and not in these areas you are safe without meds.

I have been in Laos (which is seen as dangerous in malaria terms) and i never even met one musquito...

If you wear long trousers and long sleves as the sun sets then you are also safer. In the cities the areas are malaria safe.

I do travel in asia a lot and what i do when i take a longer trip i only take the meds with me in case i get sick...a fever in a tropical country is usually bad news... I have never ever been sick. I do take meds with me so i can take them when i feel i have entered a dangerous zone.

The doxy...i have no good reactions with it. Next to that most people get burned by the sun because of it it also harms your colon bacteries, and i am already prone to candida in the bloodsystem. Thus the doxy would make me very very sick.
But i have seen taken it by a lot of long travel tourists and they were fine with it (besides the sunburn)

i think now with the lower temps , i was told the malaria musquito does not live in cold or at high hights (above 1500 mts)

have fun there

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Malaria tablets: which to choose, Malavone or Doxycycline??

Malaria tablets: which to choose, Malavone or Doxycycline??

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