Malarone

hoogervaaner

I used Malarone for a month with no problems (perhaps I was lucky). My GP advised that it was one of the drugs with the least side effects but also the most expensive, he gave me a private prescription for it. I also used loads of jungle formula mozzie spray (never ever spray this on bleached hair!).

money_honey

I had a prescription for malarone from my GP when I went travelling in SE Asia, and the cheapest place I found it was in the pharmacy in Tesco. I asked in Boots, Superdrug, Lloyds and Sainsbury's and Tesco saved me about £30 in total. This was in 2008 though so prices will have changed since then! I think the supermarkets do tend to be cheaper though.

I had no side effects with Malarone, and I chose it because one of the alternatives made skin more sensitive to the sun so you can burn easily, and the other (which my GP wouldn't prescribe - Larium) gave my Dad terrible nightmares when he was in Africa so he scared me off ever taking it!

WolfSong2000

absolutebounder wrote: »

Side effects of malarone can be pretty nasty.

Malarone generally has less side effects (and less severe side effects) than most other anti-malarials.

Doxycycline is a cheap and cheerful option, but it can make the skin overly sensitive to sunglight, and should never, ever be taken on an empty stomach.

Larium should, in my own personal opinion, be banned. There are viable alternatives and the potential side-effects of this drug are horrendous. At best, a lot of users experience very nasty, very vivid nightmares, and at worst, one can end up with permanent psychosis. I know of one poor guy who now suffers from schizophrenia which has been attributed to his taking malarone.

There are other anti-malarials, but those are the three I am best acquainted with...the type of anti-malarial required will depend on the destination, as different areas have different strains of malaria which all have different resistances to various drugs.

In more recent years, there's been an increase of particularly nasty strains of malaria which are becoming a lot more deadly...in the past, most times if you caught malaria, it was akin to really, really bad flu, but as long as you were treated quickly it was not life threatening, but nowadays the more virilent strains are proving more dangerous.

And as another little warning, remember that malaria can strike weeks after you get back from your holiday. Because of this, if you're taking a drug like doxycycline, you need to finish the entire prescription, and not stop when you come back, assuming you'll be safe. Also, any flu-like symptoms should be reported to your GP.

I know I am going on a bit, but it's a family thing...my mother and I have both had malaria on more than one occasion (luckily I was just a child so don't really remember it) and my grandmother died of it.

HelenDaveKids

Hello. Just pricing up Malarone - go to Gambia in feb for 2 weeks - so for 23 days worth, 2 adults and 3 children but need 3 adults doses (69) and 2 childrens (2 paed tabs each) (92). Done the usual trawl through, best i've come up with is Chemist direct £209.76 total. Anyone know any better option please? Are chemist direct reputable?

Many Thanks