BootsnAll Travel Community

RRRRreally curious if anyone has had side affects with their malaria meds - specifically doxycycline and malarone. I heard that doxy makes you sun sensitive (not so great for those tropical islands!) BUT is this REALLY a factor? Also, what about changing tooth enamel and making staining of the teeth and issue - not so great for those Indian curries!! Any info on extended travel??

Me and Bliss were just discussing this last night.

Originally me and my gf (Tigeress) was taking Mefloquine for most of the journey and Doxy for the areas where there is a resistance to Mefloquine. Doxy's side effects, including becoming sensitive to the sun, from what I've read and been told are very real. Mefloquine has less side effects than Doxy, but...

We've decided, after two weeks on Mefloquine at home to test it out, that we wont be taking either Antimalarials, and instead we are being prescribed a homeopathic alternative, along with a kit of 36 other homeopathic remedies for every eventuality. The important aspect when you go for this alternative is keeping healthy and taking action when feeling ill, instead of 'letting it pass'; using the kit.

Why did we decide against the drugs? Well, I've never been happy with the choice anyway, I've been very brought up with homeopathic medicine, but after taking these tablets it was clear that although we knew our trip wouldn't be all roses it was looking unlikely there would be [i[any[/i]. Tigeress felt the side effects firstly and mostly with dizziness and feeling panicky, whilst I was feeling a little sick now and again. Then this week I started to feel anxious and on edge on top of stomach aches and nausea.

That said, we have £200 ($361)of Antimalarial tablets up for sale at a bargain price if anyone's interested! Mainly Mefloquine and a few months of Doxy. PM for details

I took Larium for 6 months and didn't have any adverse side effects. Most people I met (a lot in Cambodia and Loas) didn't bother taking them at all.

Malaria tablets are always a grey area as the negatives of taking them can often out weight the positives. If you do catch it while taking medication, it will mean it is harder to treat so a lot of poeople risk it. I met some guy on the road who's mate got very depressed after taking Larium for 6 months, and wanted to kill him self etc. I also met other people who use to wake up in the middle of the night screaming etc and in dorms.

I didn't find a major problem at all with mosquito's in Loas or Cambodia which are suppose to be the worst for Malaria in SE Asia.

>>the negatives of taking them can often out weight the positives>>

That was my experience. I took Lariam for 2 months and not only did I have bizarro dreams, I felt like I was more depressed than one normally might be fighting off some of the hardships of budget 3rd world travel.

I quit taking it and was another 7 months in "malaria zones" and just made sure to be covered up, use mossie nets, etc. But then again, I am also one of those people mosquitos don't like.....

I took Doxy and became so sensitive to the sun that I burnt in 15 minutes while covered in SPF20 cream. That was no fun at all.

I stopped taking the tablets and relied on prevention. Lots and lots of mosquito spray and loads of mosquito coils is the way forward. Duct tape is useful for sticking over holes in mosquito nets. You can buy repellent, coils and nets much cheaper in Asia than you can at home so don't stock up before you go.

I've been on the fence with this issue for such a long time. Mosquitos absolutely love me and when I go camping or to the cottage I get ambushed..and this is only in Northern Ontario. Is the mosquito problem terrible down there? I keep telling myself that the anti-malarials are the smart choice but if the side effects are this bad I don't want to have anything to do with them. I think I may just stick with the DEET and mosquito nets and see what happens. I do not want to feel depressed or sick while I'm trying to enjoy my time, thats just not cool.

Like Wildsurf doxycycline makes me burn - horrible second degree burns even if I'm using sunscreen. And that was when I took it at home during the summer so no way I was going to take it on my trip where I would be spending all day outside near the equator. If you're really worried about doxy's effects, try to convince your doctor to give you a trial dose and then spend some time outside in the sun. Most people don't have the sun-sensitivity.

I thought the tooth staining thing was only a problem for children and that's the reason you can't take doxy if you're pregnant. And then there's the issue of doxy possibly interfering with the BC pill.

I would also be interested in people's experience with malarone. They say there are very few side effects but I've never met anyone on it.

Thanks for the info. We both got prescribed different drugs. Me (female) with Malarone b/c we both didn't want me to get any of the side affects like birth control problems and having to take meds for other 'infections'. But it is costly $5/pill and at even a 6 month supply is a kick in the guts! I DO want to have enough malaria meds though for when I travel to Africa - I think there can be no question about whether to take them or not there..........

He has the presciption for doxy, so I guess we'll get a weeks worth and try it out to see what affects he has before we go. Hopefully nothing major, but thanks for your feedback.

Anyone else?

When I was in India we took Malarone. Only for the first few days did I feel a little off. After about 3 days I felt fine. Some of our friends took doxy and they did burn very badly very quickly. They had to stop taking it because there was no way for them to get out of the sun. I also took malarone in central america with the same results.

your doctor will inform you what your options are anyway but it's important to note that you may not be able to use some antimalarial tablets because of resistance in some areas. Travel Pharm is an excellent site that can give you up-to-date information on what antimalarials you'll need for the areas your visiting. If you want more information or would like them to work out what you need for where your going drop them an email and they get back pretty fast with an answer.

Malarone was off the list for us as their is a resistance in some areas of Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia (if I remember rightly).

I took Malarone in Cambodia and didn't notice any problems, and didn't have any problem with burning, even thought we hung out every afternoon in the sun.

quote:

Originally posted by Monkey:
Malarone was off the list for us as their is a resistance in some areas of Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia (if I remember rightly).

Nope, that's mefloquine (lariam) that there is a resistance to around the Thai border with Burma & Cambodia. Malarone & doxycycline are usually recommended in those areas. Mefloquine works (so far) in Vietnam. That Travel Pharm site you linked to is way cool, thanks.

PdC you should keep in mind that Malarone is not available in most of the places you'll be going to. For example it's not available anywhere in SEA except Singapore by prescription only. So you should make sure you have enough of it to get you through the countries you really want to take it in.

Was in india on work last year, taking doxy., only side effects I noticed were slightly upset stomach in the mornings.

Spent a few days in Goa, mostly on beaches, with SPF25, didn't burn at all, and I usually do, and thats without the doxy., as I've got very fair skin, so that was a bit wierd, might have been me piling on the SPF...

Heading back to India/SE Asia for approx 2 months in total, still weighing up the pros/cons of anti-malarials vs homeopathy + prevention(nets, coils, creams etc)...

Mike how long did you take the malarone for? Just curious as there is limited information regarding safety studies for extended travel.

quote:

Originally posted by irishpdx:
Malarone & doxycycline are usually recommended in those areas.

I wonder why then we weren't given the option of Malarone? Strange. Never mind, not going for any of them now!

I took it for 2 weeks on the way up into the mountains and then took it for almost a month when we came back down out of the mts.

Traveled Asia and never used anything for maleria. We are talking Pakistan, Nepal, Laos and China. Side effects I'm told are not very cool. Maybe I'm lucky, stupid or both but so far no probleno.

I took Malarone for a month while visiting Cambodia and Myanmar. I had no side effects what so ever. Just pop one with breakfast each morning and you're goo to go!

Monkey

I was curious what homeopathic medication you took? I have been reading a lot about Demal 200 as a homeopathic treatment for malaria and am considering using it for my trip to Nepal.

Has anyone had any experience with Demal or any other homeopathic medication for Malaria?

- Create your reality -

Took doxy and it wasn't so bad. I only got fried once, but I was asking for it, riding on the top of the boat going down the Mekong from Stung Streng to Kampong Chom. Five hours outside and I was pretty red, got smart and went inside. I doubt the doxy had anything to do with it. So you can get away without becoming hyper sun sensitive on that stuff.