Maleria Travel Forum

due to go to Kenya need maleria mediaction. everyone seems to be recommending Maladrone but have ben told by chemist that it will be £85.00 for 30 tablets, dr won't do a prescription only private. anyone know of cheaper access for above thanks

Hello!
I have spent what seems like hours at a travel clinic here in Calgary Canada, working through all the vaccinations and medications that I need to take with me to India. MALARIA IS A MUST! There are 3 types of oral meds you can use, each have their pros and cons.
1.Mefloquine. Taken weekly, start 2 weks before you go, and finish one mon th after returning home. Side effect included dizziness, headaches, strange dreams, & insomnia.
2. Doxycycline. **this is what I chose, since I will be there for 4 months** Start 1-2 days before leaving, finish 1 month after return home. Taken daily. Slight chance of causing sun-sensitivity (but you should be wearing suncreen 30 or greater anyways).
3. Malrone. Taken daily. Side effects are dizziness, headaches, nausea. Do not use if pregnant.

Each of these require a prescription, and can be bought over the counter. Doxycycline is the cheapest to my knowlege @ 40 cents CANADIAN per pill. But it really depends on the country where you will have it administered. Rest assured, it will be well worth whatever cost you pay. This is a MUST med!! Along with Typoid, Hep A & B, Tetanus, and Polio. Recommened (esp for longer stays) are Yellow fever, Japanese Encephalitis, Rabies, Cholera, MMR's, and TB.

One thing to note: most, if not all, of these oral Malaria medications make you birth control pill VOID. Be careful!!

Hope this helps.

I was on doxycycline for 2 years while in Mali - never got malaria. Knew lots of people on malarone with truly psychotic, terrifying dreams who stopped taking the pills because of them and ... got malaria.