Malaria Tablets - cheap and reliable source?

[v15ben]

Thanks for the advice and link John. I found ASDA pharmacy would do the amount of doxy I need for £7.37 which doesn't seem bad.

[eldar]

phumy said:

For the last three years ive been working in the deepest part of Vietnam on the Mekong Delta at a place called Ca Mau (a real sthole, i can say that now i have finished my contract there ), mosquitoes as big as Torbay Sh!tehawks, i tell you. They can drink a pint in one sitting, if i had taken all the tabs that i had been told by the magazines and circulars i would have been rattling. Malaria, Dengue and loads of other crap around, locals dropping like wild fire, just keep topped up on the local brew, the mozzies get pissed and start fighting with each other until death...........

Never taken malaria tabs for the last eight years out here and dont intend starting to either

There are around 2000 cases a year in the UK, and around a million a year die of it worldwide.

http://www.who.int/features/factfiles/malaria/en/i...

Worth avoiding for a couple of quid a day.

[apotek]

You`re very welcome, sold my pharmacy a couple of years ago or would have sorted you no probs.Have a good trip that price seems good just go for it.

[v15ben]

Thanks. I'll be in Laos for a week then it's a one way ticket to Korea, can't wait

[rsv gone!]

XJSJohn said:

spend enough time in both those places, never used anti malerials just show common sense (and consume a healthy amount of G&T)

TBH - Dengue is the greater worry out here and anti malerials don't do squat for that!

If the people I know out there, 0% have had malaria and 100% have had dengue.

[XJSJohn]

v15ben said:

The docs here didn't mention Dengue at all.

O/T but I'll be in Singapore for a few days before Laos if you fancy a beer in Clarke Quay somewhere!

Cos there is sod all for Dengue other than a liberal coating of deet and a rolled up copy of the current bun or local equivalent!

Beers always sound like a good idea!

phumy said:

just keep topped up on the local brew, the mozzies get pissed and start fighting with each other until death...........

Never taken malaria tabs for the last eight years out here and dont intend starting to either

11 years or so off and on and this has been my strategy also.

rsv gone! said:

XJSJohn said:

spend enough time in both those places, never used anti malerials just show common sense (and consume a healthy amount of G&T)

TBH - Dengue is the greater worry out here and anti malerials don't do squat for that!

If the people I know out there, 0% have had malaria and 100% have had dengue.

I have managed to avoid Dengue also (see precautions above ... ) but know plenty of people who have caught it, hav heard it described as the worst hangover of your life, and it lasts for 3 to 6 months.

Ben, honestly if i am in a known mozzie black spot i much prefer to go down the spray on deterrant and then liberally marinate my innerds in local hooch! Seems to work for Phumy and myself, and at least you know what the side effects will be!

For those of us living out here it would be impossible to constantly be taking teh anti malarials, the damage it does to body and wallet is stupid!

[rsv gone!]

XJSJohn said:

rsv gone! said:

XJSJohn said:

spend enough time in both those places, never used anti malerials just show common sense (and consume a healthy amount of G&T)

TBH - Dengue is the greater worry out here and anti malerials don't do squat for that!

If the people I know out there, 0% have had malaria and 100% have had dengue.

I have managed to avoid Dengue also (see precautions above ... ) but know plenty of people who have caught it, have heard it described as the worst hangover of your life, and it lasts for 3 to 6 months.

My friends live on the islands. On Koh Tao, the daytime mossies, with white markings (the more likely to pass on dengue IIRC) can be pterodactyl size. They described it as a fortnight of hell.

[GT03ROB]

Best thing is plenty of DEET & cover up I'm afraid!

Spent several years in India & never bothered with the tablets, however then spent a few years in West Africa. Different story. It was a condition of employment that you took the tabs, with random testing. However the strain of malaria was such that there was no way I wouldn't take them. In some parts of the world the strains are such you just cannot mess with them. The strain could kill those with no resistance in a matter of a few days. And it did. Just be careful in the advice you get before you decide to not to take the tabs.

[v15ben]

I can see where people are coming from about not taking the tablets, but I'll definitely be taking them. A friend got malaria from not taking the tablets and he was in a bad way! I'll have plenty of DEET with me too.

[rsv gone!]

There is a locally available spray called 'OFF' which comes in bright orange aerosols. It is only 15% DEET but seemed to work really well when I was last over at Xmas. Under the Thai sticker, it was made by Johnson & Johnson IIRC

http://www.off.com/deet/

[Moose.]

v15ben said:

I can see where people are coming from about not taking the tablets, but I'll definitely be taking them. A friend got malaria from not taking the tablets and he was in a bad way! I'll have plenty of DEET with me too.

Yeah, I guess for a week's vacation in a Malaria risk area it's not a bad idea. I myself cannot take any of the various pills as they would effect my ability to do my job. I know of quite a few guys who've had either Dengue or Malaria and it's not nice!

Anything with DEET in it is good stuff though. I find 'OFF' a bit too sticky so use Soffell instead. It's available throughout SE Asia for less than a $1 and comes comes in little white bottles with a pink lid. It's 13% DEET and I've never been bitten whilst wearing it

rsv gone! said:

the daytime mossies, with white markings (the more likely to pass on dengue IIRC) can be pterodactyl size. They described it as a fortnight of hell.

You mean these bad boys:



Tell you what, they don't have leave a welt when they bite! You can actaully feel them once they've bitten you as it hurts for a bit, then itches like crazy! Didn't get Dengue that time though thankfully!

Edited by Moose. on Tuesday 22 June 12:57

[deelo555]

There are two main ways to get malaria tablets in the UK.
Visit your GP/travel clinic and obtain a private prescription. Using your private prescription you can purchase malaria tablets in most high street pharmacies.
Usually you will have to pay for the prescription and you will pay a high price for the tablets.
Alternatively most online pharmacies have a consultation procedure which will allow you to obtain malaria tablets online. This is generally cheaper.
You can compare prices of several online pharmacies here:
http://www.comparepharmacy.co.uk/

The cheapest site for malaria tablets is currently: www.expresspharmacy.co.uk

[SimonMaidenhead]

deelo555 said:

There are two main ways to get malaria tablets in the UK.
Visit your GP/travel clinic and obtain a private prescription. Using your private prescription you can purchase malaria tablets in most high street pharmacies.
Usually you will have to pay for the prescription and you will pay a high price for the tablets.
Alternatively most online pharmacies have a consultation procedure which will allow you to obtain malaria tablets online. This is generally cheaper.
You can compare prices of several online pharmacies here:
http://www.comparepharmacy.co.uk/

The cheapest site for malaria tablets is currently: www.expresspharmacy.co.uk

I'm sure that piece of information would have come in useful about 3 years ago.