Taking Malaria pills?

Question

Soon i will be going to south africa and i have been told i will soon have to start taking malaria pills to prevent getting malaria. Ive heard though that there are some side effects and wanted to know what they are eg, making you sick. If this is the case is it just at the start of you taking the pills or through the whole treatment? I will have to be away for a month so it would suck to be sick that long. Ive also heard some types give you nightmares. I wouldnt mind that so what are those called.

Answer 1

Several drugs, most of which are also used for treatment of malaria, can be taken preventively. Generally, these drugs are taken daily or weekly, at a lower dose than would be used for treatment of a person who had actually contracted the disease. Use of prophylactic drugs is seldom practical for full-time residents of malaria-endemic areas, and their use is usually restricted to short-term visitors and travelers to malarial regions. This is due to the potentially high cost of purchasing the drugs, because long-term use of some drugs may have negative side effects, and because some effective anti-malarial drugs are difficult to obtain outside of wealthy nations.

Quinine was used starting in the seventeenth century as a prophylactic against malaria. The development of more effective alternatives such as quinacrine, chloroquine, and primaquine in the twentieth century reduced the reliance on quinine. Today, quinine is still used to treat chloroquine resistant Plasmodium falciparum, as well as severe and cerebral stages of malaria, but is not generally for malaria prophylaxis.

Modern drugs used preventively include mefloquine (Lariam®), doxycycline (available generically), and atovaquone proguanil hydrochloride (Malarone®). The choice of which drug to use is usually driven by what drugs the parasites in the area are resistant to, as well as side-effects and other considerations. The prophylactic effect does not begin immediately upon starting taking the drugs, so people temporarily visiting malaria-endemic areas usually begin taking the drugs one to two weeks before arriving and must continue taking them for 4 weeks after leaving (atovaquone proguanil only needs be started 2 days prior and continued for 7 days afterwards).

Answer 2

Combined pill to combat malaria

Malaria is spread by mosquitoes
A cheap and easy-to-use pill could help combat malaria - which kills nearly 2m people a year in poor countries.
The pill combines a classic malaria drug amodiaquine with a newer medicine containing artemisinin, which comes from a Chinese plant.

Developed by pharmaceutical company Sanofi-Aventis, patients need only take it twice a day - other regimes require as many as eight pills a day.

The malaria parasite has developed growing resistance to current drugs.

Malaria
Malaria kills between up to 2m people a year, and affects 500m
A child dies of malaria every 30 seconds in Africa
An estimated 40% of the world population, mostly living in the world poorest countries, is at risk
Malaria is the leading cause of death among the under-five children in sub-Saharan Africa
It is thought that part of the reason for this is that current treatments require patients to take a large number of pills, so many often do not complete the course properly.

This leaves them vulnerable to recurrences of the disease, but also allows the parasite, which often it not totally killed off, to modify, and develop resistance.

Dr Allan Schapira, of the World Health Organization, said: "It seems to be a simple thing just to put two drugs together in one pill, but it really is an important step forward because it makes it much easier for people to take.

"It's very good news. It could have a major impact on the effectiveness of treatment."

Africa to benefit

Four main malaria drugs are used around the world, and often one drug will work in one country, but not in another.

The WHO recommends using those classic medications together with an artemisinin-based newer drug.

The new drug, developed in collaboration with the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi), is likely to be most effective in parts of Africa - where a child dies of malaria every 30 seconds - and Indonesia.

It is hoped the drug will cost less than $1 per three-day treatment for an adult, and 50 cents for a child.

There is already a combination tablet for malaria, using another of the four classic malaria drugs - lumefantrine.

However, that therapy still involves taking eight pills a day and is more than twice as expensive as the new combination pill.

Dr Bernard Pecoul, DNDi Foundation Executive Director, said: "One of the key goals of the DNDi's development strategy was to create a drug that is simple to use, at a cost below a dollar."

The World Health Organization estimates malaria affects up to 500m people world-wide each year.

Answer 3

The anti-malaria pill I believe is called Atabrin. I suggest you check with the Center for Desease Control, Overseas Travel Section. They will advice you what precautions to take, if any, for travel overseas. One month is not too long. You may also check the website Medlineplus.com to get information about malaria.

Answer 4

I posted the Centers for Disease Control website below.

It shows what Vaccines are recommended for a trip to South Africa.

They do not mention taking Malaria tabs. If you are still concered write them. They will have the answer

Answer 5

i'd go on the secure part and take them. "P. falciparum malaria is often replaced into once endemic (i.e., continuously happening) in rural parts of the Dominican Republic, with the utmost probability of transmission happening in parts bordering Haiti. regardless of the very incontrovertible actuality that hotel parts in the Dominican Republic are often not probability parts, small localized outbreaks have got here about in modern-day years in and round resorts in the province of l. a. Altagracia." be conscious: Punta Cana is placed in the province of l. a. Altagracia. As an aspect be conscious, you should also evaluate getting the Hepatitis A vaccine (the B one too, yet extremely a lot less proper on your holiday is my wager).

Answer 6

worry about alopatheic traet,go 4 homopatheicas it is natural &inc ur immune power.

Answer 7

First of all have a safe and wounderful trip. Make sure it is safe by protecting yourself. this will help you - http://www.wiseorb.com/Articles-review-397-T-Before_Traveling_to_Malaria_Endemic_Areas.htm

Answer 8

the CDC can help you.