Anilao Trip+Malaria Pills?

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fdpdrum345

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Hi everyone.

I checked the CDC website, and while Manila is explicitly listed as a place you do not need to be worried about Malaria, I'm curious if anyone has heard/experience with Anilao.

I have done some diligence and while it is important to stay healthy it is also important to enjoy the dives. With that I am aware that medication can possibly affect stuff while diving so when I went to Indo I opted to not take stuff.

Could you all chime in here with your experiences?

Thanks,
D
 
Lariam (mefloquine), iirc is contraindicated for diving.

Chloraquine put me in the hospital but most tolerate it well.

You need to know which medication is effective for the area too.

Malerone was popular last time I checked.

After my near death experience, my mind argues with itself.
 
As per 2019 PIs Dpt of Health says there are only a few provinces left in the Phils where malaria remains endemic. Most of them are quite remote (Palawan, Mindoro Occi, Sulu islands...).

Anilao is not part of these provinces, besides that I've never heard my local guide and friend Dennis saying anything about malaria.
Dengue is another problem, so better avoid being bitten rather than thinking about taking pills.
That said, I never had mosquito problems in Anilao as it's breezy, unlike some other places in SEA.
 
Yes, Dengue, big problem many places.

You never know just because it isn't mentioned.

I was going to an island fairly regularly for over the course of a few years. I'd been led to believe that there was no malaria, let alone dengue. But one day in a small art shop, a young woman told me that she was just back from the mainland, having been hospitalized for (I can't remember now if it was malaria or dengue) but it wasn't her first time and she'd had both. She told me of others. After that, I was more careful in the way that I asked locals if they'd ever fallen ill. The answers became more clear.

Before my next trip back after that, I started the chloraquine, which as it turned out for me, was probably worse than getting malaria.

So, as Luko says, avoid the bites. Wear your deet, reapply your deet. Figure out how to do this without wearing your deet into the ocean.
 
[QUOTE="Edward3c, post: 8821311, member: 148585 Once you’ve caught it you have it for life.[/QUOTE]

not true.
 
Malaria is not a problem in Anilao, Peurto Galera, or anywhere on Luzon(Anilao), Mindoro(Puerto Galera), or Cebu islands.

Dengue can be an issue, and it sucks (I've had it), but it moves in waves through locations. Never heard any issues around Anilao yet.... not a lot of stagnant fresh water around there. You should be fine. But as advised, take light protections around evening time, they go away around 8 or 9pm. Generally basic Off lotion is enough on exposed skin.
 
[QUOTE="Edward3c, post: 8821311, member: 148585 Once you’ve caught it you have it for life.

not true.[/QUOTE]
I’ve worked with people who have malaria relapses 30 years after first getting infected. They learned how to deal with the relapse every 5-7 years.
 
Thanks for all the replies.

@Luko we are diving with Dennis, so should be a good time. Seemed like he was one of the best guides if not the best.
 

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