Buying Anti malaria tablets in S America?

mahdlo

Has anybody done this?

What kind if saving would I make on, eg Malarone?

(visiting Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia, Chile, Peru)

dmg24

AFAIK you need to take anti malaria tablets prior to your trip, as well as when you are there.

Please do not take a chance on buying prescription drugs abroad. Buy the in the UK. Any saving is far outweighed by knowing that you will keep your health.

melancholly

they may also only offer certain drugs, and may require a prescription. you will need to start taking the drugs before you leave for them to be effective so you need to buy some at least over here.

just think how much the drugs will cost compared to cost of your flight - it's a big risk for what will be a tiny percentage of what the entire trip will cost!

Voyager2002

First point: you cannot buy malarone in any developing country, so if that is the drug you want you will have to buy it in the UK.

However, I do not think that there is any region in South America where malarone is required. Since it is by far the most expensive anti-malarial on the market, you could save a useful amount of money by choosing a different drug.

From my own experience, the pharmacies in major cities in Colombia are reliable and offer drugs of the same quality as those sold in the UK, often at a fraction of the cost. I don't know about other countries.

In any case, the countries that you mention are, on the whole, not affected by malaria. Check whether you will actually enter any malarious regions, and if not then don't worry.

For more detailed discussion, visit thorntree.lonelyplanet.com (note this site does NOT begin www) and go to the Health branch. Some people expressing opinions there are better informed than are others. I have particular respect for the views of NutraxForNerves, who is medically qualified.

Voyager2002

melancholly wrote: »

they may also only offer certain drugs, and may require a prescription. you will need to start taking the drugs before you leave for them to be effective so you need to buy some at least over here.

just think how much the drugs will cost compared to cost of your flight - it's a big risk for what will be a tiny percentage of what the entire trip will cost!

The OP lists a number of countries and so may be planning to stay away for several months. Buying malarone for six months would probably cost as much as the price of an air ticket.

And no, I don't think that any pharmacies in the countries mentioned would require a prescription in order to sell drugs.

mr_rush

Voyager2002 - I wondered why you handle sounded familiar

melancholly

Voyager2002 wrote: »

From my own experience, the pharmacies in major cities in Colombia are reliable and offer drugs of the same quality as those sold in the UK, often at a fraction of the cost. I don't know about other countries.

In any case, the countries that you mention are, on the whole, not affected by malaria. Check whether you will actually enter any malarious regions, and if not then don't worry.

or indeed go to a travel clinic and speak to a GP who can give the best possible advice - there may also be issues with yellow fever vaccinations being required after recent outbreaks in brazil, and professional medical advice is probably the best way to find out all the travel immunisation information for all the countries, however good alternative forums may be!

it's one thing to suggest cheaper ways of obtaining a drug, but i'm nervous about encouraging someone to decide whether or not they need it without consulting proper medical advice (particularly in light of forum rules)!

Crabman

Hi peeps - I'm moving this to the Health and Beauty forum as it's related to getting specific medication cheaper.

Please read Martin's message on the Health & Beauty Forum for the rules on what is and isn't acceptable on the forum

Crabman

Voyager2002

melancholly wrote: »

or indeed go to a travel clinic and speak to a GP who can give the best possible advice - there may also be issues with yellow fever vaccinations being required after recent outbreaks in brazil, and professional medical advice is probably the best way to find out all the travel immunisation information for all the countries, however good alternative forums may be!

it's one thing to suggest cheaper ways of obtaining a drug, but i'm nervous about encouraging someone to decide whether or not they need it without consulting proper medical advice (particularly in light of forum rules)!

I do so agree with your comments.

I have found that there are limits to the information available to GPs in this country. I had assumed that the OP had already exhausted such advice, and was now doing further research.

In particular, I have had the experience of being told I needed anti-malarials for Colombia (correct); then getting there to find out that the region where I would be spending all my time was malaria-free. Under medical guidance it is generally possible to establish these kind of things before leaving the UK.

cannylass_2

http://www.fitfortravel.nhs.uk

The above is an excellent and up to date resource for use by the public.

theamazinggem

we went to these countries and didn't need the malaria tabs at all, BUT you do need them in north of brazil i believe, possibly the far north of argentina, and a small part of lowland peru. as it was we didn't go to the rainforest, and skipped lima and so on. having said that when i got sick in arequipa (peru) after having got a bus straight from argentina through chile, the doc thought i may have malaria, despite not having been through an "official" malaria area.

check the websites, check locally, and regardless ALWAYS wear insect repellent (don't skimp on that either from my experience) - apart from anything else, dengue fever is on the rise in most of these countries (in towns and cities as well as rural areas), and is not something you want either.

not intending to scare you, we had a fantastic 6 months in SA with very little drama.

incidentally, if you go to machu pichu, slather on the insect repellent. there aren't mosquitos because of the altitude, but there are plenty of other things that bite, including llama ticks, and the bites hang around for WEEKS.