Malaria/Other Vaccinations - Roatan and Copan

[mark00020]

God I hate those malaria meds. they made me so sick when I had to take them (iraq) that I just quit taking them and decided to take my chances.

 

[robint]

as far as the water is concerned, I think we were told to only drink bottled water on Roatan. At CCV, they provide a huge 5 gallon bottle in the room which they fill from their own water purification thing. We didn't have any problems at all there.

 

[emttim]

as far as the water is concerned, I think we were told to only drink bottled water on Roatan. At CCV, they provide a huge 5 gallon bottle in the room which they fill from their own water purification thing. We didn't have any problems at all there.

Ah ok, thanks for the tip!

 

[RTBDiver]

God I hate those malaria meds. they made me so sick when I had to take them (iraq) that I just quit taking them and decided to take my chances.

I believe the best thing for anyone to do about anti malarials is to talk to a doctor who is knowledgable in travel medicine as well as informed about your own health status in order to make their own informed decision and not rely on an internet forum.
As far as this post I have no idea what drug was used. I do know that the CDC recommends Chloroquine for Iraq, same as for Roatan, and I have never had any noticeable effects although some do. I also know the military most often uses Lariam based meds which have a terrible reputation and have been the cause of numerous lawsuits in recent years. Depending which drug was used may be beneficial to the anti malarial question rather than just lumping them all together.

 

[DandyDon]

I think by now I have spent at least 20 weeks in the bay islands at one time or another without malaria medication and without contracting malaria. Having said that, I have heard of at least one person being infected on Roatan.

False science: I've never had a house fire, but I keep my smoke detectors and fire extinguishers operational.

Just curious -your wife did not do the hepatitis B since she isn't diving. What is the relationship between diving and hepatitis B?

Yeah, huh? Hep B is a good idea overall, but has nothing to do with diving that I am aware. It's a body fluids thing and probly the first one I'd delete from the list if hadn't already had the 3 shots.

God I hate those malaria meds. they made me so sick when I had to take them (iraq) that I just quit taking them and decided to take my chances.

I've never had a problem with Chloroquine; never taken Lariam. It's a personal call after consulting your doctor, but I'm sticking with Chloroquine in hopes that the Malaria there doesn't develop resistant to it. If taking it made me ill, I'd probly stop; if you start 2 weeks in advance as often suggested, you have time to bail before your trip.

DEET is a sticky subject, as it's the best protection for insects, but also harming the reefs. Try a Bio degradable repellent first.

 

[jwc3]

My doc prescribed chloroquine for Roatan, but I'm still unsure if I want to take it. I probably will though; I took it during my 6 weeks in Ecuador, and had no serious reactions other than some vivid dreams! The peace of mind is worth it.

I've had some of the scariest, most disturbing dreams of my life thanks to malaria pills. But, over the years I have discovered that if you take your malaria pill with breakfast (rather than just before going to bed) you will not have the bad dreams. And, I'd rather have bad dreams than malaria.

 

[Byte Me]

Just curious -your wife did not do the hepatitis B since she isn't diving. What is the relationship between diving and hepatitis B?

Hep B is transferred via bodily fluids according to our very eager travel nurse specialist at the clinic who recommended since I would be doing a sharing air test and potentially using others equipment that I get B as well. Turns out we didn't have to share air, only a reg recovery, but, I'm completing the shots anyway.

We got back a week ago, didn't see a single mosquito the whole time. Not even a no see um. No bites, nothing. We did follow a rumored way to fend off the biting beasties by taking B50 complex. I've been taking it daily since January-ish. Makes my pee the most porcelain staining neon yellow!! Just don't take your first pee of the day in your wetsuit!!

Others on the island North/west side I believe, reported ridiculous bugs when we talked at the airport.

The cholorquine bothered me a little bit the first time but the next two, no issues (taken w/ breakfast). It bothered my wife quite a bit more and we're not completing the doses now that we're back.