43 replies to this topic

[DandyDon]

I know I took something in Africa. Not sure about India or Panama. I did take doxy in Afghanistan. I know people who caught it in Afghanistan and Africa. I recommend taking the precautions. The side effects from doxy aren't too bad.

Tetracycline makes me ill, but doxycycline doesn't bother me other than the sun sensitivity. Took it on a trip to Hawaii once, remember getting burned snorkeling - but then I'm not sure how much of that was due to the med. I didn't take precautions much then.

[WreckWench]

Don thank you for your well researched reply. SecretSea's original post did not refute natural mosquito repellants but your follow up post to Simon's did.

Being of the DiverDeb school of thought where I take NOTHING unless I have too so that I do not build up any tolerances for a drug when I really need it.

OTOH...I do not want to be foolish either and not take prudent precautions but you will never see me taking drugs unless I am sick as a dog or the risk of not doing so is too high.

Heck I just broke down and started taking sudafed in the past couple of months. There are many divers I know that take that stuff like it is candy.

[secretsea18]

Being of the DiverDeb school of thought where I take NOTHING unless I have too so that I do not build up any tolerances for a drug when I really need it.

Anti-malarials and antibiotics are not medications that your BODY can build up a tolerance for whatsoever. Over use of these agents has resulted in the malaria parasites and bacteria getting resistance to the drug. This is NOT the same thing at all. If you are prescribed an antibiotic or course of anti-malarial (or other preventative medication) it is NECESSARY to FINISH the medication as ordered to reduce the risk of the germ developing resistance to it. Also anti-malarial meds must be taken as most are not -cidal (meaning kills) the organism, but only -suppressive (meaning suppresses replication of the germ) and so must be in the bloodstream for the correct amount of time to do the job intended.

So finish the antibiotic prescribed, even though the infection seems much better. And take the drugs you started to prevent malaria, (even though you are home... and you aren't getting exposed anymore), as the drug has to be in bloodstream for the full amount of time.

Robin

PS. This applies to all meds... it is recommended to take the full dose of any medication as prescribed or on the box of OTC meds (like sudafed).

Edited by secretsea18, 19 October 2007 - 10:23 AM.

[DandyDon]

Don thank you for your well researched reply. SecretSea's original post did not refute natural mosquito repellants but your follow up post to Simon's did.

Being of the DiverDeb school of thought where I take NOTHING unless I have too so that I do not build up any tolerances for a drug when I really need it.

OTOH...I do not want to be foolish either and not take prudent precautions but you will never see me taking drugs unless I am sick as a dog or the risk of not doing so is too high.

Heck I just broke down and started taking sudafed in the past couple of months. There are many divers I know that take that stuff like it is candy.

You're certainly welcome. I know that you have a healthy approach to fixing the origin of a problem rather than throwing drugs at the symptoms, but malaria is a serious threat that I think too many US traveling divers don't consider reasonably. Looks like Secretsea has just posted a very good response to your personal feelings about taking drugs only when ill enough, and the post from Divegirl who we also know is a physician and a prudent person would help highlight the needs here, I think.

The there is Dengue as mentioned, and even here in Texas - West Nile. Skeeters can carry lots of bad news. Planting Marigolds around ones personal patio may indeed help some, and I am very grateful for the Swallows who return to nest on my porch each year. They make a helluva mess, but eat a great quantity of skeeters.

[Sassi]

Anti-malarials and antibiotics are not medications that your BODY can build up a tolerance for whatsoever.

I'm going to ditto this. I work in the medical field and to be precise I work in a laboratory. Drug resistance is generally thought to be due to only partially killing off an organism during the course of treatment.

The malaria parasite works differently than a bacterial organism that you use an antibiotic for, but the bottom line is you must make sure you complete your required dose also. Bottom line - if your going to a place where there is a recommendation to take it then you probably want to take it. I do agree with the other posts though. A lot of doctors are not familiar with the current guidelines for malaria prophylaxis. The CDC is always an excelelnt source!

[Fordan]

I ended up getting a prescription for chloroquine, as well as the Hepatitis A/B vaccine I'd been thinking about for a bit. Since you start the chloroquine week before, I figure that should give me a chance to see what side effects it causes with me before I go diving.

(And yes, the vaccine won't be fully active until the series is done, but it'll give some protection, and it gets the process started)

[DandyDon]

TY Sassi! Maybe I don't sound so much like Chicken Little...?

I ended up getting a prescription for chloroquine, as well as the Hepatitis A/B vaccine I'd been thinking about for a bit. Since you start the chloroquine week before, I figure that should give me a chance to see what side effects it causes with me before I go diving.

(And yes, the vaccine won't be fully active until the series is done, but it'll give some protection, and it gets the process started)

Hep A & B are just good ideas. My grandkids are required to have them, good for us adults to go ahead. Also good to not touch the friendly animals one may encounter south of the US and around. Certainly some risks there, but you see tourists doing it.

[Sassi]

I ended up getting a prescription for chloroquine, as well as the Hepatitis A/B vaccine I'd been thinking about for a bit. Since you start the chloroquine week before, I figure that should give me a chance to see what side effects it causes with me before I go diving.

(And yes, the vaccine won't be fully active until the series is done, but it'll give some protection, and it gets the process started)

Good for you! When they were getting ready to send me to parts unknown I think that is what they gave me and I didn't have any problems. Have fun on your trip; send pictures!

TY Sassi! Maybe I don't sound so much like Chicken Little...?
Hep A & B are just good ideas. My grandkids are required to have them, good for us adults to go ahead. Also good to not touch the friendly animals one may encounter south of the US and around. Certainly some risks there, but you see tourists doing it.

Your welcome! and I don't think you sound like Chicken Little at all! I think I've had pretty much every vaccine known to man (or woman for that matter), and so far I haven't had any side effects.

[Wakemaker]

Being of the DiverDeb school of thought where I take NOTHING unless I have too so that I do not build up any tolerances for a drug when I really need it..

This is my position on the topic too, especially regarding antibiotics. However, when I travel overseas, which is not often, and can be for an extended amount of time, I get EVERY and ALL "required" vaccination. http://travel.state..../tips_1232.html

If it's for work, I don't have a choice. Malaria has not been a concern of mine as of yet. One of my surfer friends stays current with his Malaria vaccinations. He recommended it all his friends on a particular trip because of their accommodations. The one guy that didn't get it, because he's had Malaria before, got sick with a rare form that affected his brain. It was only a few days into the illness before his organs started to shut down. The subsequent actions to save his life required unusual medical transport back to the States. Some of the side affects were permanent.

The number of locals who die from Malaria each year is actually surprising. When I finally do go to a Malaria region, I intend to get properly vaccinated.

Edited by Wakemaker, 24 June 2009 - 02:55 PM.

[secretsea18]

Being of the DiverDeb school of thought where I take NOTHING unless I have too so that I do not build up any tolerances for a drug when I really need it..

This is my position on the topic too, especially regarding antibiotics. However, when I travel overseas, which is not often, and can be for an extended amount of time, I get EVERY and ALL "required" vaccination. http://travel.state..../tips_1232.html

If it's for work, I don't have a choice. Malaria has not been a concern of mine as of yet. One of my surfer friends stays current with his Malaria vaccinations. He recommended it all his friends on a particular trip because of their accommodations. The one guy that didn't get it, because he's had Malaria before, got sick with a rare form that affected his brain. It was only a few days into the illness before his organs started to shut down. The subsequent actions to save his life required unusual medical transport back to the States. Some of the side affects were permanent.

The number of locals who die from Malaria each year is actually surprising. When I finally do go to a Malaria region, I intend to get properly vaccinated.

Sorry to hear of your aquaintance who had the malaria. As I said earlier in this thread, malaria is serious.

However, there is NO vaccination for malaria. You take a medication for a period of time (depends upon which medication is appropriate for your travel location) and this medication will usually begin prior to entering the malarial location (except for Malarone which starts I think the day before) and then continues during your time in the malaria zone and for a period after you leave the region. Each medication has it's own schedule ranging from daily to weekly pills. Each has its own side affects, and this may limit which one you take.
RD

[Wakemaker]

... When I finally do go to a Malaria region, I intend to get properly vaccinated.

... Sorry to hear of your aquaintance who had the malaria. As I said earlier in this thread, malaria is serious.

However, there is NO vaccination for malaria. You take a medication for a...

Okay. Okay! I got it! So, what's a preliterate to do? How's this: ...When I finally do go to a Malaria region, I intend to get properly anti-malarialized.

What?

[peterbj7]

I know I've said this before, but none of these drugs gives 100% protection. The only way to be sure of not getting malaria is not to get bitten. I spent a lot of time in Africa some years ago and was vaccinated/protected against anything imaginable. And I followed the instructions to the letter. Nonetheless I caught malaria, yellow fever and hepatitis A. I was specifically taking the best protection available then against all three (as the diseases evolve so do the drugs used to combat them).

I had several different anti-malaria meds, which varied with my physical area. Common to all of them was (I think - it's a long time ago) chloroquine. The malaria I contracted was called tertiary cerebral - tertiary because the fever recurs at three day intervals, steadily getting worse, and cerebral because it attacks the brain. I didn't know this at the time, but very few people survive this one. The fevers didn't start until I had been back in England a month or so (and yes, I did continue the drugs for the requisite period after leaving the malarial zone). I had three fevers, the first at home where I was attended by my GP, the second started at home but I was taken into hospital as an extreme emergency, and the third in hospital. The fever rose each recurrence, reaching 109f on the third. The medication I was given - don't know what it was, as I was delirious at the time - killed the fever, and I was discharged a week or so later. But it recurred some months later and then I just had two fevers, the first 107f and the second one 110f. I was transferred to the London School for Tropical Medicine and whatever treatment I was given killed it for good, though the antibodies are still in my blood.

For hep A I was on gammaglobulin, state of the art then but since superceded, but still went down with it. That was also quite nasty - I was in hospital for two months, the first five weeks in total isolation. Everyone I had worked with or come into contact with was also taken into hospital for observation, but no-one else caught it. As a life-changing experience the hep A was much worse than the malaria. Malaria to me is history, but hep A has an ongoing considerable effect on me.

The yellow fever treated itself. I had all the symptoms and without question had the disease, but I was in the middle of nowhere and by the time I got back to civilisation my body had fought it off unaided.

I'm not allowed to give blood. I wonder why?

Edited by peterbj7, 25 June 2009 - 01:27 AM.

[secretsea18]

I'm not allowed to give blood. I wonder why?

Because you had malaria. There is a possibility that you still harbor some of the parasites, but your body is keeping them under control. You probably will never get malaria again, but we never want to have a remote possibility of transfusing malaria into someone.

The Hep A (while you were very sick with it, and I have seen people die, right in front of me, from Hep A) is usually a much more benign, milder illness than you describe and often treated at home in those cases. Wonder why you were isolated, as it is contracted by (excuse the phrase) fecal-oral route. Meaning you have either eaten or drank contaminated substances and got it that way. It is not something you can catch from breathing on someone.