Preventive Medicine or shots for Roatan Trip ?

[LAopul]

I know there are all kinds of opinions about the malaria medication (taking it or not taking it). My first time to Roatan was in May and I took the Chloroquine (sp?). The side effects were very mild and I did not mind taking the medication, but then I decided to go back in July and I took it again. A few Canadians and US Americans that live in Rotan said that the Malaria that you would get in Roatan is cureable and that you would take the same Med if you got Malaria that you take to prevent it. I was also told that there is still a chance of getting Malaria even if you take the medication and that if you have taken the medication for prevention and then get malaria it might not be detected right away and that could be dangerous for your liver. Well, I went back to Roatan in September and I deceided not to take the medication. I still debate which is wiser... taking the medication or not. The problem with asking the Doctors is they will always say to take it because they need to cover themselves because the CDC recommends the medication.

 

[Hank49]

Call me lucky, but I've been to a lot of tropical countries, including Roatan, and lived in the tropics for 30 years now and all I've ever gotten for immunization was Hepa A, which was good for 6 months. I've never had any problems with malaria or any other exotic disease....except leptospirosis, which you don't get immunized against. I think a lot of this preventative action is overrated.

 

[Aspendiver]

I spent a month in Roatan in the fall of 2004. I had already had the hepatitis shots from a trip to Asia, but I didn't do the Malaria drugs. I lived in an sideboard house on the beach- mosquitos were not much of a problem except evenings or in the mangroves, but the no-see-ums are pretty bad in places.
As to repellants effecting the reef- you don't need to wear repellant on the boats! Just wear socks or your booties to get to the boat, and you're all set. At the least, you can just wear repellant up to your knees- I hardly ever got bitten higher than that.

 

[GrandpaScuba]

We did the whole shebang of shots and pills recommended by the cdc. Just took my first chloroquine pill two days ago and neither my husband or I had any side effects at all. I'm 45 and I guess the older I get, I find myself leaning towards the 'better safe than sorry' path. Malaria does not sound like a fun thing to get.

I recommend the liberal application of gin and tonic, the original anti-malarial.

 

[fraff2]

All, thanks all the informative replies. Good news is my son already had Hep A/B. He acquired the Malaria pills but do not have to start till 1 week before trip, so, we have a little time to decide. I will be off to doctor tom'w to get Hep A/B prevention, hopefully in the form of twinrix which will cover both with one shot. Will post and let u know about any side affects with malaria pills I get (Hopefully not !).
P.S. CatFish... I like the recommendation of a liberal dose of gin and tonic, I may try that one !

 

[jkling17]

Hello all,

My son and I are going to travel from US (NJ) to Roatan in November. While I know nothing is "required" but should I get any type of Malaria and/or Hepatitis A/B preventative medicine before I go ?

I've been going to Roatan regularly since '93, and haven't known anyone to come down with anything like that among all the people I dive with down there over the years. A good friend of mine has been down to Roatan and nearby Utila about 20 times total and she just uses good old bug spray.

I do agree that you should certainly bring some Deet-based spray along to keep the noseeums away. Cactus juice is ok, but it's not as good as deet. From my perspective, I'd rather not risk any nasty side effects and just use a spray.

Good luck and enjoy - the diving is great. I particularly recommend the shark dive!

Jeff

 

[UnderwaterBumbleBee]

I posted this exact question a few months ago before we went in August. We ended up getting Hep A/B, tetanus, typhoid (cdc recommended) and we took Chloroquine. The only thing I had a reaction to was the tetanus shot in my arm which was really sore and red for awhile. I figured why not get updated since I couldn't remember the last time I got a tetanus shot and if I ever had Hep A/B.

Funny thing happened though (well painful really) was that I got terribly sunburned on the last day of our trip which was largely my fault for not applying sunscreen. Probably didn't help that a side effect of the Chloroquine is sensitivity to sunlight. I ended up going to the doctor when I got home because I had blisters/puss (it was nasty) and found out that the Aloe Vera with Lidocane and Lanacane spray I was using makes the Chloroquine drug ineffective. So most people probably won't run into this situation but thought I would throw that out there. I ended up breaking down and using the products and not finishing the pills because it was so painful.

As for bugs, we took about 3-4 different things. We had 100% pure deet (for the evenings and walking around the island) which we did not like. You have to use it incredibly sparingly. I forgot I had the plastic/rubber waterproof watch on that I had just bought so I could tell time when I applied some deet and it ate away at the watch. My husband was also convinced that it seriously upset his stomach on two occasions. We had a little bottle of some all natural lemon eucalyptus stuff that i liked, we also tried the cactus juice and some bull frog stuff. We did get bit but not too bad and just apply stuff every time you shower or get out of the water. The bugs would not make me shy away from going there again so it wasn't that bad.

 

[hopefulist]

We've had great luck with the Sawyer's Controlled Release product with 20% deet - less is absorbed but it's very effective. We've never had a problem with sand flies in Belize or Honduras because of consistent breezes but Sawyer's has a product with something (R-236?) added specifically for flies of various kinds; might be worth checking out.

Sawyer Products- Your Leader in Outdoor Protection