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How To Stop Worrying and Love Malaria
An-D
EnthusiastAshevilleRegistered User regular
EnthusiastAshevilleRegistered User regular
So, I'm going down to Sanya in Southern China, and apparently malaria is a thing down there.
I've looked up some stuff on how to avoid it and I was wondering if people had tips so...y'know, I don't die or get malaria or whatever.
Like, drinking tonic water. Does that help? Should I just lather myself with bug spray before I go outside? Is it even a problem at this time of year (its warm there, but its technically winter)?
So, not getting malaria. How do I do that?
I've looked up some stuff on how to avoid it and I was wondering if people had tips so...y'know, I don't die or get malaria or whatever.
Like, drinking tonic water. Does that help? Should I just lather myself with bug spray before I go outside? Is it even a problem at this time of year (its warm there, but its technically winter)?
So, not getting malaria. How do I do that?
An-D on
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http://www.cdc.gov/malaria/travelers/index.html
eta - They also have a number you can call if you have further questions. 770-488-7788
Are those easy to find? Do I need a prescription? I'm sure I've been in malaria-zones before, but this is the first time I've seen a warning about it when I was looking up a place I was visiting - so obviously I got a little 'Uh...maybe I should educate myself a bit.'
I'm only going to be in Sanya for 5-6 days. Should I bother myself with it? I've heard the antimalarial drugs mess you up when you first start taking them.
go to a doc and get the pills. Take pills.
Option #2
Make time machine and engineer yourself to have sickle cell anemia.
Yes, tonic water contains Quinine which helps against malaria, however I don't know if it has a high enough quantity in it to matter. Plus, I think it is only something that treats symptoms, not a preventative.
but they're listening to every word I say
http://www.cdc.gov/malaria/travelers/drugs.html
If it's not the wet season there won't be a lot of mosquitos.
If you're really worried, take antimalarials.
Personally, I've never taken a pill for malaria. I don't find the cost and risk of daily side-effects worth it for a disease that is quite curable for someone with western levels of money. I know that there are hospitals here that cater to foreigners that can treat it in the worst case scenario that I catch it. Malaria mosquitoes are only active during the night. I sleep in a closed-off house with air-conditioning on and I wear a long-sleeved shirt when sleeping. This is enough prevention for me and none of the expats I've talked to here about the subject take the pills either.
Whether you take the malaria pills or not, you should find a travel specialist doctor. These doctors are well-versed in tropical diseases and associated vaccines and medicines. If your vaccinations aren't up to par, they will give you the vaccinations and boosters as required. They will also prescribe you antibiotics for when you have horrible diarrhea and shit like that. I took all the vaccinations the doctor recommended and bought all the antibiotics and such, but said no thanks to the anti-malarial pills.
Remember Malaria pills only lighten the symptoms if caught, not prevent malaria. Even with the pills in your system you will be out of commission for a long while and feel like death if you have it. It can take up to ten years to have it manifest if you get it now.
Word of warning: I have been on this before (over three year period on and off) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mefloquine Weirdly they are leaving out the bits about the most horrific realistic and completely unshakable night mares you get on this medicine. Avoid this one but take Doxy.
No big.
thats what they made me take for my acne
and then when i went to india i didnt take the once a week malaria pills that my parents did because i was on that....
Had you had the pills?
Did they just not know what it was?
I've had malaria more than nine times, and the symtpoms and treatment are pretty much the same; helluva headache (right near the base of the skull at first, then spreads outward), really high fever and terrible hallucinatory dreams.
You go to the doc, they do a blood test, and put you on pills. Two, three days later you're good enough to get back to things. If you leave it untreated (like a week or two) things can get pretty bad, but I doubt the OP is getting lost in the jungle away from western medicine anytime soon so theres not much to worry about. (If you are lost in the jungle, strong quinine tea is probably your best shot at lasting until you get to civilization.)
Mostly it's mosquitoes. Anopheles mosquitoes, the primary carriers, actually have a different sound to them (higher, kind of keening) than other mosquitoes. You'll become aware of that particular pitch if you live long enough in the area. Always use a mosquito net, follow the typical bug spray advice, and practice good health and food prep habits. If you're in a place where it's common, other things are probably common too.
Far over malaria, I'd get a hepititis shot- that shit is just as easy to catch and will take you down for a long time, several weeks at the least.
Well I was seven, and I was the first case of Malaria Yale New Haven Hospital had in decades, and probably the only one they've had since.
I vaguely remember all the med students and residents visiting me at all hours of the day the entire time, but mostly I remember Abraham Lincoln being incredibly worried about the Princess Bride.
TAKE THE PIIIILS
each pill is different.
for example meflaquin isn't used by the Marines anymore because they had a tendency to come home and kill their family. no shit. Of course some parts of the Government and Student Organizations still use it.
Ah, just checked- it was Malarone (Atovaquone + proguanil) that i took.
Also, some people had crazy dreams while on the pills. I didn't, but it apparently is a side-effect.
See a doctor and get a prescription for prophylactic antibiotics, wear insect repellent with DEET and avoid areas with standing water. Stay out of the jungle (unless that is the point of your visit, in which case good luck!).
I went to Africa on deployment and these are the exact precautions the Navy took. No one got malaria. YMMV.
Take the pills. I also remember reading a lot of stuff that suggested that getting malaria can lead to symptoms not unlike ME/CFS, which would suck.
Its not fun.
Still better than malaria.
It's really whether or not you want to take your pills, if you are going to have an active time there, it's not the best idea because the tablets can have bad side effects.
Satans..... hints.....
I'd also second the recommendation for long trousers and long-sleeved shirts, if you can manage with them in the heat. If not, make sure to cover yourself in insect repellent. The one place you forget will be the one where you get bitten.
Also, depending on the facilities where you are, you may get a mosquito net, usually tied ii a bundle above the bed, or already hanging down over it. Check that there are no mosquitos in the net, that there are no holes in the net, and then Use The Net (as it is generally impractical to wear long trousers and shirts to bed).
Resist the temptation not ot bother with the medication; I was in Kenya for ten years, and stopped taking the pills after a couple of years. Mosquito bites and malaria followed. As others have posted above, Malaria is not fun. It gets into your system, and doesn't really like to leave. It makes you feel absolutely, truly awful.
My dose was particularly bad, and I couldn't even pull myself out of bed for about a week, most of which I spent hallucinating; this is a disease that millions of people die of every year, and one which many western medical establishments (given your short turnaround) may have difficulty diagnosing in a good timeframe. Don't mess about with it, and just take the pills - in your case, it's not for too long, and the prophylactic benefits far outweigh the minor inconvenience.
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