Malaria meds for Brits

[patnlcc]

Went to our GP to get private prescriptions for malaria tablets. You have to pay for them in the UK. I searched all sorts of online pharmaceutical companies. Best price I found was travelpharm.com - way cheaper than Boots online and no, I have no commercial interest in travelpharm. In spite of Silversea recommending only yellow fever injections and malaria medication for the Amazon trip in November, our GP suggested that it might be wise to have hepatitis C and Typhoid injections as well. Just precautionary, not vital.

[RachelG]

There is no hepatitis C vaccine, so not sure what they were referring to there. Anyone who goes outside their house should have the complete hepatitis A and B vaccine series. Just good common sense. I do agree with the recommendation for the typhoid vaccine. Also definitely recommend malaria prophylaxis and a yellow fever vaccine.

[patnlcc]

Sorry, my mistake. It's hepatitis A and typhoid vaccine combined in one injection.

[PremiumSuite]

Sorry, my mistake. It's hepatitis A and typhoid vaccine combined in one injection.

 

I would skip the malaria pills for the Amazon....OVERKILL IMO same with Yellow Fever shot unless your cruise is going thru Devils Island/French Guyana then you have no choice but to get it and it's valid for 10 years.

The shot in some cases produces plu like symptoms for several days after receiving it with strong headaches. The malaria pills also have some nasty side effects as well. I have been to Brazil countless times and all without malaria pills in the deep heart of the Amazon.

[Keith1010]

If the Yellow Fever Vaccination is not required then I would consult with your physician.

 

You will get a lot of opinions on whether or not the Malaria pills are needed. We made our decision not only based on what countries we are visiting on our Amazon trip but also what specifically we will be doing.

 

Keith

[Daniel19]

Very good advice from Keith1010. Ultimately it has to be your choice re vaccination and anti malaria tablets. Personally I would not take the risk and would always take the recommended protection. I do not know what your doctor has prescribed but I have always taken Malarone without any problems and is considered to have the least side effects. The downside with Malarone is the high cost and bear in mind you need to keep on taking it for a few days after you have left any area where malaria may be a problem.

Yellow fever jabs cost around £60, I think, in the UK. I have read that there seems to be a reluctance to vaccinate if you are over 60, but I had one last year without any side effects at 66.

Just out of interest do you need an International Vacccination Certificate for your travels.

[Keith1010]

I just wanted to second what Daniel19 said about Malarone. Our Physician also noted that while more expensive than other anti-malaria tablets that it has far less side effects than the others. Our prescription calls for taking it once daily two days before arriving to the specific area of concern, daily while there and then once daily for four days after leaving the area.

 

Keith

[RachelG]

Malarine definitely has less side effects. My son tried taking doxycycline and had every side effect in the book. Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, extreme sun sensitivity, horrible dreams. Almost as bad as the disease.

[patnlcc]

Thank you for all this good advice. We've never been to the Amazon area before and are a bit paranoid about malaria medication after a lady died on board the Wind last year from malaria which she got from a mosquito bite on a pre-cruise safari in South Africa. It was incredibly sad. Unfortunately she had not taken any anti-malaria medication.

[Keith1010]

patnicc, you are very welcome and so sad to hear about what happened to the lady who passed away on the Wind.

 

Keith

[Skeezics]

I just wanted to second what Daniel19 said about Malarone. Our Physician also noted that while more expensive than other anti-malaria tablets that it has far less side effects than the others. Our prescription calls for taking it once daily two days before arriving to the specific area of concern, daily while there and then once daily for four days after leaving the area.

 

Keith

 

I will add a third. Have taken Malarone while in Africa and had no side effects except lovely technicolor dreams. Have filled the prescription for the Amazon. As for Yellow

Fever vaccine, received it two weeks ago with no problem. Have all the other Hep. shots and typhoid ......ready for anything that occurs. Yellow Fever was around $130 pp and two prescriptions for Malarone came to about $100. My husband and I are both over 65.

[patnlcc]

Looking forward to meeting you, Skeezics.

[Wellseasoned]

We also had no ill effects from the yellow fever and hepatitis vaccines.

 

Although doxycycline is much cheaper and a widely-used antibiotic, the increased sun sensitivity is problematic for our Amazon itinerary. A big advantage of Malarone is that it should be taken for seven days after leaving the area of concern, whereas the other anti-malarials must be taken for four weeks after leaving.

 

My recommendation, as a physician, is, barring allergy or some other contraindication, get yellow fever vaccine and take Malarone. Also hepatitis A vaccine, especially if you will also travel to the Far East in the future.

 

As adjunctive therapy, quinine can also be taken, specifically in the form of gin and tonic! :)

[Emtbsam]

Now I have a good excuse for having a gin and tonic! Let's hope they don't run out of diet tonic!

[patnlcc]

...or gin !!

[maddie2312]

Hi Patnlcc

 

I have travelled extensively in Africa and also visited Central/South america and have always used Doxycycline. Never had issues with the sun and I am a typical Scot (fair & freckles) I lessen the crazy dreams by taking with Brekkie and make sure I dont lie down the hour or two after taking as this makes me slightly nauseous. Depending on your doctor, mine just writes as a normal presciption so no charge. My other halfs doc charged £8 as private presciption. Malerone when I've enquired was £60 for a weeks trip.Same with jabs, me no charge but other half had to pay and pick up at chemist. I believe you should pay but my docs have said they have no facility for me to do this. The joys of the NHS!!

[patnlcc]

Hi Maddie

 

We had to pay for the malarone tablets - £54 for each of us for 28 which we reckoned was pretty good. Jabs were completely free.

[Skeezics]

The cost of vaccine and Malarone, just a trivial amount in comparison to the $$$ of the cruise...The real expense is the house sitter for the cat!

[jpalbny]

We had to pay for the malarone tablets - £54 for each of us for 28 which we reckoned was pretty good. Jabs were completely free.

 

That is pretty good! Over on this side of the pond, it's hard to find them for less than $10 per pill...:mad:. Still, I thought it was worth it given the photosensitivity with doxycycline, and the need to take doxy for 4 weeks after exposure. Had a hard enough time remembering to take Malarone for one week! G&T is much easier...

[Keith1010]

The Malarone pills I bought came out to about $5.00 per pill.

 

But it's a small price to pay in the scheme of things.

 

Keith

[RachelG]

You can get the malarine pills for $4 per pill online. I had to get 6 mos worth for my son, so I did a lot of searching.

 

The sun sensitivity with the doxycycline is an individual reaction. Either you have it or you don't. That is why I got a 3 day supply of doxy to try out for my son before buying more. Has nothing to do with when you take it or with or without food. You either react or you don't, so if considering doxy for prophylaxis, get a few to try out ahead of time if you haven't taken it before.

[drron29]

It doesn't matter what you take for malaria prophylaxis,if it is advised just take it.As physician I take doxycycline,never had a problem.

However as a physician I have seen a very fit 21 year old fellow who felt the advice he got on a travel site that malaria prophylaxis was not needed was better than his doctors advice.Well he survived after a few weeks in Intensive care with cerebral malaria complicated by renal and liver failure.

Brazil is a medium risk malaria area.There is also yellow fever.Certainly Australia requires a yellow fever certificate if returning from Brazil.I am sure the USA does as well.

But dont forget your mosquito repellant-dengue is another illness you do not want.

[PaulMCO]

I see no one has mentioned Lariam®(mefloquine hydrochloride) as an alternative. Have taken these on several trips -- never had any issues. Certainly it is not expensive.

 

Yes of coming from an infected area you will need your WHO health certificate showing that you have been vaccinated. I would think Silversea would insist on having this prior to boarding.

[Ballyboffin]

I would certainly think twice about taking Lariam. My husband had a very bad reaction to it some years ago. He developed very bad stomach pains and nausea, so much so that he thought that he was having a heart attack. He also had extemely bad heartburn which he never had before taking it and still has to this day.

[Keith1010]

As I read these suggestions, I can only recommend that one consult with their own respective physician who knows you and who you have confidence with. That is what we did.

 

Keith