Is Malaria medication a meme? I'm gonna be in SEA for a

From my experience, if you going to stay in cities and touristic places, you don't really need it. Malaria shots are mostly for people who camps in the forest for a week, or go visit the Amazon on a canoe, rather than the average tourist who just spend a couple of weeks sleeping in hostels and staying in the cities

>>1291296
Thanks, while i wont be going anywhere rural right away, i probably will look to explore some of the countryside in the long run.

>>1291296
Thanks. I wont be going anywhere rural right away, I probably will look to explore some of the countryside in the long run.

Yeah idk... Do whatever feels best. A few days after a SEA backpacking trip during which I got bitten a couple of dozen times, I got chills and felt really dizzy, couldn't sleep, had some light rashes. No amount of DEET can protect me, mosquitos love me, while they leave all my friends alone. We mostly stayed in cities, but it was after rainy season. I provide great protection to everyone else traveling with me, mosquitos just come straight after me...And so I felt sick ish, but never got to the point that I would go to a doctor. I kept my antihistamines and malaria pills at hand just in case. But then next time I was in South Asia, I got full on high temperature for a day or so.

I guess my immune system is about average.

I would never take malaria medication in advance either way, as my sis did that and she was pushed into the worst depressed state cause of them, and I normally react to medication similar to her...

>>1291303
I think I'm not going to take them before leaving but I'll carry them just in case. My brother took them when he was in SEA and spent days violently sick in bed. After that he just threw them away and was fine for the rest of the trip.

>>1291287
My story :
> went to Laos a few years ago for a couple weeks
> saw the malarial risk, took meds
> became suicidal and depressed because of it (side effect of Lariam), kinda ruined the trip for my friends and me
> stopped after 2 weeks because fuck it
> never even had any risk in the main places and the countryside we visited

It's unnecessary, don't take it, there is not enough risk, Laos is clean. Just keep a tab of Quartem or Malarone in case you actually have a crisis, they only give you stomachache, no weird side effect.

Remember it takes about 15 days to incubate, don't fall for false alert.

Besides, it's not recommended for people staying for more than a couple of days to take anti-malarial. You need to build up your immune system.

Though, do the usual, have long sleeves, malaria-infected mosquitoes only come out during the sunset and early night, use lemongrass spray and other repellents, mosquito net at night. And you'll be fine.

>>1291287
Check of doxycycline is suitable for SEA. Dirt cheap. Never had any side effects myself, nor did anyone I know.

Know plenty of people who got Malarone and Lariam side effects though.

>>1291314
Doxycycline has a side effect, which I find pretty hilarious if you're white : it makes you more photosensitive.

As in, you get a sunburn under 2 minutes et get blinded constantly. Vampire-like, really.

I burnt so fast while I was taking Lariam that I had the shapes of leaves on my face while I was eating some outdoor terrace under a tree.

But otherwise, it's a-OK.

>>1291303
>>1291303
DEET 100% is absolutely effective. My wife is a mosquito magnet and our whole trip in Cambodia she did not get bit once.

>>1291314
ha cool, i actually have a three month supply that. it was only €7.50 so i got it just in case. >>1291319
I'm whit af

>>1291319 here
>I burnt so fast while I was taking Lariam
I meant doxycycline, not Lariam, obviously.

>>1291340
Take a box of the strong stuff (Malarone/Quartem). Doxycycline can't do shit if you have a crisis, it's only preventive.
A full tablet of Malarone in one go can keep you up and running for 24h until you get to a hospital.

Honestly a lot of advice about them seems anecdotal, and I'd be prepared to bet most is placebo

depression from the pills?
General sickness?
I'd really check the science on these kind of claims

The only things i know for sure is that
A. malaria has a pretty clear risk window, not all times of the year will require medication
B. Many regions have drug resistant malaria strains, like northern thailand
C. Most people bring a month of expensive medication and stop taking it after a week

I wonder why there isn't a collection point for unused medication in the airport

>>1291347
>depression from the pills?
>I'd really check the science on these kind of claims

Look, it seems insane that an antimalarial cause depression and suicidal tendencies. I didn't believe it either.

But a couple hours after I took my first pill of Lariam, I was standing on the verge of the roof of my hostel, completely ready to throw myself off to finish it all, one foot already in the air. For no fucking good reason, I was doing great in every aspect of my life.
I did not jump because I thought I would ruin the trip of the friend I was traveling with. Had I traveled alone, I'm pretty sure I'd be dead now.

I checked out on the Internet, it's a common problem with Lariam, and others actually managed to kill themselves. Even the factory put it on their notice that it may cause emotional disorders.

That's why I'm drilling about Lariam / Mefloquine : this shit is actually dangerous.

Other anti-malarial don't cause these problems.

>>1291335
Good for her. It worked MUCH better for me compared with anything else, but like, I come out of the ocean, wipe myself off before putting DEET on again, and during those few seconds some mosquitos find me already, no matter how quick I am. Whatever, I'm fine.

>>1291359
Yeah, funny how people try to play it down... Drugs are drugs, you're not just drinking cleqn water.

Drink gin and tonic everyday and nothing will bite you

>>1291319
This is a meme imo. I took doxy for weeks when I was in SEA and I'm extremely white -- never burned.

I'd highly recommend just taking a daily doxy

>>1291319
>I had the shapes of leaves on my face while I was eating some outdoor terrace under a tree
Dayumn. I'm legit impressed.

I was in Africa for three months while on doxy. Got a sunburn exactly once, and I'm your average whitey. In fact, I was less inconvenienced by the sun than my tanned friend from Southern France.

Just check the leaflet that comes with doxy (and generally most meds) and you'll notice that, as a rule of thumb, most side effects affect only a minority of people.

I can only speak for Indonesia, but they have essentially eradicated the disease on Java island.

>>1291359
look I'm not sold that people's emotional breakdowns had anythign to do with it

there just isn't a causal link.
and "it happens to a lot of people" is a clear case of reporting bias

>>1292091
It's specified right on the notice in the box with the meds that it can cause suicidal thoughts and general anxiety.

http://agence-prd.ansm.sante.fr/php/ecodex/notice/N0224201.htm is the notice contained in the meds I took (only in French).
> Lariam peut entraîner des troubles neuropsychiatriques graves chez certains patients : Idées suicidaires ou comportement de mise en danger de soi-même, Sentiments de défiance envers autrui (paranoïa), Psychose (perte de contact avec la réalité)
Which means : Lariam can cause heavy neuropsychiatric troubles among some patients : suicidal thoughts or self-harming behaviour, defiance against others (paranoia), psychosis.

They wouldn't write this kind of precautions if they didn't have to.

Another one in English (not a notice, couldn't find one) : https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/medicine/1701
> Mefloquine may induce psychiatric symptoms such as anxiety disorders, paranoia, depression, hallucinations and psychosis. Psychiatric symptoms such as abnormal dreams/nightmares, acute anxiety, depression, restlessness or confusion have to be regarded as prodromal for a more serious event. Cases of suicide, suicidal thoughts and self-endangering behaviour such as attempted suicide have been reported.

But I guess your scepticism is better than the knowledge of the very manufacturer of the med, anon.

I don't know which molecule causes that bullshit to happen, I'm no doctor, but it happens.

I understand your doubt, I was just the same. But seriously, these occurences of anxiety crisis are not rare. It's not a 1 in a million kind of thing like the people who die due to yellow fever vaccine. It's around 10-15% and more.

Not everyone kill themselves due to Lariam/Mefloquine, obviously, but there is a very heightened chance of anxiety, which ain't exactly the best thing for a trip.

>>1291347
>depression from the pills?
>General sickness?
>I'd really check the science on these kind of claims
They're well known side effects. The depression from Lariam affected people so badly they black box warning'd the drug...and even if you quit the drug, and for years. There's been numerous articles about it.
https://www.fda.gov/downloads/drugs/drugsafety/ucm088616.pdf

>>1291347
>C. Most people bring a month of expensive medication and stop taking it after a week
This doesn't mean they shouldn't have been on it, or stayed on it, like the threat is somehow overstated. It is simply because people get disgusted at the side effects and stop the meds.

Doxy is well known phototoxic reaction when UVA or UVB ray penetrate cells which have the drug compound. It happens in minutes. It's commonly prescribed for acne in daily doses. You can feel nauseated by doxy the moment it hits your stomach which sucks for someone who is on vacation to feel ill all day, and after a few days, the gut flora balance is altered and diarrhea and cramping can be the next side effect though that is only some people on doxy but more often with tetracycline, and someone who doesn't ever wear sunscreen will now burn within 15 minutes, and badly. FACT. So, yea, you might just get sick of this shit, and stop taking them.

>>1292091
>there just isn't a causal link.
It is neurotoxic and just like like it damages that little malaria bug, it damages cells in your body that you need not to be damaged.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-remington-nevin/mefloquine-the-militarys-_b_3989034.html

I have torn achilles ligaments and shoulder from taking flouroquinolones. Routine sinus infection changed my life forever. I'm sure the people you say are just biased would agree with me that you are simply ignorant to clinical drug trial fact sheets. Not ever common side effect needs to have the mechanism of action understood or explained in order to be valid or unbiased. It may take time to figure out. They now know it messes with your eye health too.