Preventing That Tropical Health Threat Called Malaria

Malaria never met a mosquito it didn't like. That is why you must be super careful when traveling to countries where malaria is a problem. In the United States, you may have to worry about encephalitis or West Nile Virus. However, traveling to countries in Africa and Asia, your main concern would be contracting malaria from a mosquito bite.

The logical course of action to preventing malaria is not to get bitten by a mosquito right? Well, even the most potent insect repellants in the world will not protect you from all bites. Therefore, the prevention of malaria starts at home, before you travel.

Several weeks before you set off for your trip, you should visit with your doctor to discuss malaria and your preventative options. You can effectively thwart malaria with medicine. However, depending on where you travel, there may be different strains of malaria. Therefore, you will want to have the right medication for that particular strain. To ensure that you receive the correct one, you best bet would be to get a referral from your doctor to a travel medicine specialist, who specializes in this sort of threat.

While different kinds of medication exist for malaria, there are really three main ones that are prescribed most often. Here are those three:

1. Mefloquine – This particular malaria medication is best suited for travel to Africa and Asia. The strains are much more dangerous there than in other parts of the world. You would have to start taking this drug at least a week before leaving as well as take the drug during your trip and up to one month after you return home. This particular drug has some side effects that should be discussed with your doctor.

2. Chloroquine – This malaria medication is best suited to travelers heading to South or Central America. The strains of malaria there are milder and the drug has few side effects.

3. Doxycycline – This medication is for the more serious strains you can find in Asia and Africa. If mefloquine has too many side effects for you, doxycycline is your best option and it has to be taken daily.

Of course, there are other drugs on the market as well including the new proguanil and atovaquone. These malaria drugs are newly approved and do not have to be taken for a month after returning from your travels. Instead, you following the prescribed instructions before and during travel and take it for a week after your trip. As with all the medications, ask your doctor about potential side effects so that you can weigh the pros and cons of each.

It is important to take this malaria medication exactly as instructed if you want a pleasant trip. Otherwise, you may develop malaria which is characterized by flu-like symptoms and chills. However, if you have had the flu, you can magnify those symptoms exponentially to imagine what malaria is like. So do the smart thing and take precautionary measures against malaria.

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