Hello,

Has anybody any experiences with Malaria in RIM (specially at summer time)? What is the best prevention in this region?

cheers

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Pawel Kanik
TT600R
Poland

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Pawel Kanik
TT600R
Poland

Mefloquine (Lariam™), doxycycline, or atovaquone/proguanil (Malarone™).

A cheaper option are two/three tablets of Fansidar, which you take only if you contract the disease. There is however a marginal risk that the disease will be immune to this particular drug.

More importantly though is using a mosquito net at night and wearing long sleeves and trousers after dusk and (or) mosquito repellant.

N.B.Doxycycline has the advantage that it is an antibiotic which is also effective for a severe case of the shits. Two birds with one stone for your medical chest!


[This message has been edited by ctc (edited 16 June 2004).]

Hi,

Check this: http://www.mara.org.za/mapsdownload_bmp.htm

Then download the maps for Mauritania.
This should give you clues on the distribution and yearly prevelance of Malaria in Africa, and specifically in Mauritania.

Cheers,
José

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Desert Crocodiles of Mauritania: http://cibio.up.pt/crocodilos/en

Now THAT is a useful link.

Thanks!

Sam.

Has anyone used DEMAL200 yet ?
It's a 'new' homoeopathic treatment & prophylactic for Malaria.

It's also mentioned on http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tripplan/safety/

the website http://www.blueturtlegroup.com/

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bart

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bart & sophie

>>[B]Has anyone used DEMAL200 yet ?
>>It's a 'new' homoeopathic treatment & >>prophylactic for Malaria.

For Christ's sake DONT !!!! . When Those homeopathic quacks offer cure for common illness , they are just ripping you off. But when they claim to offer malaria protection , they are also putting your life in risk. !!

http://www.homeowatch.org/

Those 19century quackery , in order to avoid lawsuits , often offer "non critical" drugs , such as anti-seasickness ,sleep-inducers,"energy replenishers" and so (btw ,they definitely DONT work at all ) , but at least , they dont seem to harm you much .


But claiming homeopatic malaria protecion is going one step further !. That could kill people very possibly , if they believe this homeopatic bshit and fail to use actual malaria protecion/profilaxis.


Their web doesnt seems to work any more , but I am sure that advertising / offering "homeopatic maliaria profilaxis" is probbably a crime ! .

ITs like using holy-water as brake fluid , just becose someone "tell us" that it works.

It is definitely a rip-off and a crime .

I had a condition cured by homeopathy that 10 years of mainstream medicine couldn't deal with. Admittedly a homeopathic malarial treatment is a leap of faith, but don't make the mistake of dismissing homeopathy out of hand. Maybe it is all bollocks, but as I say it, or some aspect of the treatment tranformed my health.

Andrew.

If you were a little more open-minded, you might be able to accept that some homeopathic solutions are better than the chemical alternative.

It could be claimed that using citronella oil to keep the mosquitoes away (instead of DEET) is a homeopathic option. It does work (although for less time (ie you need to re-apply more frequently) than DEET)

Don't be afraid of the old stuff, it might just work.

Sam.

I know somebody whio travelled for three years in Central and West Africa and only used citronella and a lot of self control (making sure she was covered all the time, sleeping in a neyt always etc etc) and she never got malaria at all.... I admit I'd find that bit of a daunting prospect, but you know, it can be done and we don;t ahev to rely on drugs.

I've used homeopathy for a variety of things too... sometimes with quite dramatic success... and I started out as a real scpetic !

we need to be more open minded about health don't we ? after all, how much is there that we don't know we don't know about the functioning of our bodies.... or for that matter the functioning of drugs....

Simon

(I know its gonna be Off Toppic right now ... but)

I am afraid that's not correct.

Citronella oil , is a well known mosquitoe repellent. Sam, the fact that it is natural (i.e. not sintetic ) by all means does not make it homeopathic. It is just natural-medicin which some effect at repelling mosquitoes.
Together with our mainstrain medicin science ,we have a couple of "not so serious" alternatives , which most of the time works ,such as natural medicin , acupunture , etc.. et.c. which we should be (and are ) open minded about them .
A lot of people are mistaking -nowdays- herbal remedies , naturopaths , aromatherapy (which got a subtle undenyable effect , and probbably needs mucho more research into) .. with ..


,Homeopaty.This are just a rip-off , fall in a different cateogory with horoscopes , amulets , alchemy , etc..
.They are just outdated charlatans. The have absurds principles , laws , and most of the time (due to their fantastic "law of infinitesimals" they sell actuall nothing but coloured distilled water to people which doesnt mind learn the difference beetween "serious medicin" , "alternative medicin" , and "bare-faced ripoff".

Homeopathics appeared somehow effective in a era (19th century) in which doing nothing (i.e. taking homeopaths fantastic dilutions -water-) was sometime better (cheaper) than the accepted medicine of the age (amputations , dodgy surgeries , etc... and other dubious stuff ) .


The most funny thing about homeopathics ,is their law of "the lesser the concentracion the bigger the effect")-what happens if one takes then half-tablet ? double effect (????) ,and claiming dilutions of about 10^30 (ten raised to the 30 )-If we believe them - then , so TRERES'NOT A SIGLE MOLECULE OF "SUPPOSED" ACTIVE INGREDIENT IN THE BOTTLE !!! - but they still claim the water has some kind of "waterish memory " What a crap .

Using PEET thing in the jungle is the right thing to do .

Using Citronella oil is a somehow effective way to keep moskitoes away

Using "Homepatic" remedies (i.e. just a coloured placebo) is just a stupid way to get malaria.

Sorry for this long-off-topic-post.
Javier.

Millions of people use homeopathy, find it works, and come back for more. Maybe it is all psycological, but if it works - so what. A friend of mine uses it on her dogs - it works on them too....There are Homepathic ONLY vets.

What evidence do you have to say it does not work? Have you ever tried it? Just because the process cannnot be measured chemically does not mean it cannot have (other) effects. Millions would disagree with you,

For Malaria I would not take the usual drugs, I would use the homeopathic treatment in conjunction with the avoid and use repellants technique as in the previous posting.

Many drugs have very unpleasant side effects and can cause all sorts of other problems - not everyone wants the cure to be worse than the disease.

Andrew.



[This message has been edited by Andrew Baker (edited 01 July 2004).]

"For Malaria I would not take the usual drugs, I would use the homeopathic treatment in conjunction with the avoid and use repellants technique as in the previous posting. "
Sorry but I disagree. The aim of homeopathic treatments is to be used ALONE. And I would also agree on the fact that, even if the most common treatments for Malaria are not known to be very effective, relying on homeopathy only might be a dangerous idea ... I know and I respect the idea that it works on some people but be sure to find at least as many people who would sware it is useless, after having tried.

Having had a basin full of side effects from powerful drugs I would not be happy to entertain the idea of yet more problems. If you can avoid malaria by disciplining yourself to cover up and use simple treatments - sounds like an eminently sensible way to go to me. It doesn't mean anyone else has to do it that way...Too many people are brainwashed by the drugs industry to think that they alone have all the answers.

Yes I know you are meant to to take homeopathic treatments on their own, but actually you don't have to. They may still work whilst you are taking mainstream industial drugs. Sometimes you just have to use both together if the problem is severe.

Andrew.