malaria and wetsuits

[Midget]

Each to his (her) own ... I'll take Malarone in my system over DEET any day ...

Malarone doesn't protect you from bites. Therefore, it doesn't protect you from Dengue.

 

[highdesert]

Well, taking malaria tablets (like malarone for example) when you are not sick, will make you sick for sure. I remember a tourist in west India that took malaria tablets had to stop to take them because he got sick of them, he was so scared of catching malaria after all the rumours he heard on the net.
This is what the doc told me : if u get sick of malaria, take the tablets, that will ease the disease and go straight away to the doctor. That's it !

You can have the tablets with you, but no need of eating them unless you know for sure you got malaria.

Never had the tiniest little side effect from taking malaria meds, nor has my wife, and she's really sensitive to changes in her body chemistry, so I have to disagree with the "will make you sick for sure" school of thought. Like I said, "Each to his own."

 

[Luko]

Never had the tiniest little side effect from taking malaria meds, nor has my wife, and she's really sensitive to changes in her body chemistry

Yep, Malarone, if that's the antimalarial you take, is side effect free.
Lariam/mefloquine is the bad one... really... :shocked2:

 

[nwflyboy]

I've taken both:

Mefloquine, years ago, and I did notice side effects (minor changes to my perception - it was kind of "trippy"...not uncomfortably so, just a very subtle effect that one had to "look" carefully for). I didn't think it was much of an inconvenience (not especially enjoyable, either, from a recreational standpoint - just kind of "meh").


Malarone, recently. No side effects at all that I could notice (and I'm pretty keenly attuned to any changes in my consciousness...).

Malaria sounds utterly miserable, and I am perfectly willing to take a pill a day to keep it away while I'm off diving in exotic, mosquito-filled locations.

While it's nice to hear options on the internet, I would take my advice from an actual doctor.

 

[sonar]

found 20 of them from my previous trips; be stupid not to take them

 

[_scuba_steve]

Well, taking malaria tablets (like malarone for example) when you are not sick, will make you sick for sure. I remember a tourist in west India that took malaria tablets had to stop to take them because he got sick of them, he was so scared of catching malaria after all the rumours he heard on the net.
This is what the doc told me : if u get sick of malaria, take the tablets, that will ease the disease and go straight away to the doctor. That's it !

You can have the tablets with you, but no need of eating them unless you know for sure you got malaria.

This is ridiculous - Malarone since you specifically call it out, as are many other anti-malarial drugs, is designed for both prevention and treatment of Malaria. Malarone works by preventing the parasite from multiplying once it enters red blood cells. Such drugs are designed to work in tandem with agents to prevent bites in the first place (DEET, permethrin, lemon eucalyptus oil, etc). Undoubtedly, not all bites will be able to be prevented, thus requiring a second line of defense.

 

[CuNanoTube]

I have a friend who contracted malaria in africa (of course bali will be have different strain) she gets very sick about once a year. Malaria is not something to mess around with, take preventative meds.

 

[instructorchick]

Having lived and worked in Indonesia now for over 4 years, I get the "should I take Malarone?" question A LOT! My partner and I have never taken any anti-malarials, one reason being because we made a decision to live here, and therefore can't take anti-malarials forever. When we were working Sorong (Raja4), whenever we went into town to restock the boat, we always wore long pants, tshirts and sprayed with Deet or other anti-mosquito spray we could get our hands on. Once out on a LOB, far away from port, the chances of getting bitten by a mosquito that carries malaria is very rare. However, I have recently heard reports of malaria in the Misool area of R4...
For north Sulawesi, depending on where you are going (note in the report earlier it says 'rural areas') the chances of being somewhere with malaria mosquitoes is very very low. In the Lembeh/Bitung area, I haven't heard or read of any malaria cases in a long time.
If you're happy taking anti-malarials, then by all means do it.
I suggest emailing the operation/resort that you'll be visiting and asking if there have been any cases of malaria and if you need to take precautions.

One thing to consider, there was a HUGE outbreak of dengue in Bali last year, hundreds of people were affected. Very good friends of ours living in Bali all got it! Complete bummer!

Good luck!

 

[instructorchick]

Having lived and worked in Indonesia now for over 4 years, I get the "should I take Malarone?" question A LOT! My partner and I have never taken any anti-malarials, one reason being because we made a decision to live here, and therefore can't take anti-malarials forever. When we were working Sorong (Raja4), whenever we went into town to restock the boat, we always wore long pants, tshirts and sprayed with Deet or other anti-mosquito spray we could get our hands on. Once out on a LOB, far away from port, the chances of getting bitten by a mosquito that carries malaria is very rare. However, I have recently heard reports of malaria in the Misool area of R4...
For north Sulawesi, depending on where you are going (note in the report earlier it says 'rural areas') the chances of being somewhere with malaria mosquitoes is very very low. In the Lembeh/Bitung area, I haven't heard or read of any malaria cases in a long time.
If you're happy taking anti-malarials, then by all means do it.
I suggest emailing the operation/resort that you'll be visiting and asking if there have been any cases of malaria and if you need to take precautions.

One thing to consider, there was a HUGE outbreak of dengue in Bali last year, hundreds of people were affected. Very good friends of ours living in Bali all got it! Complete bummer!

Good luck!