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Buying malaria tablets in Africa
A recent news paper article about a journalist who travelled from Ireland to South Africa said that Malaria tablets are much cheaper in Africa than in Europe. Has anybody tried to source their malaria tablets in Africa? Was it cheaper and could you actually get your preferred type/brand?
Cheers h |
We prefer not to use any prophylaxis against malaria (take the usual precoutions, carry a test kit and emergency solution in case you do end up getting malaria), but sometimes that isn't the wisest things to do...
In Southern and Eastern Africa they will sell you Doxycycline as a prophylaxis against malaria and this is quite cheap (compared to buying prophylaxis in Europe). Recall 7 euro / 10 USD for about 100 pills. With one pill a day, this will give you roughly 3 months... I wouldn't use it any longer than that, to be honest. This stuff seems to work against almost everything, that can't be healthy :confused1: Cheers, Don Travelsick.nl PS: we found those Malaria test kits available at the better pharmacies in Southern Africa for about 10 euro a kit |
The problem in Africa (except the modern countries) is that you're never sure what you buy, there's a huge ammount of fake Chinese pills on the market because gouverments don't test them.
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I was also thinking of the risk of not actually getting the quality product you hoped for, even worse getting something in your system you don’t want...
I like the like the idea of not taking any malaria tablets as over the years I have not taken anything, but rather being careful and taking required preventative measures after dark. I also monitor closely for symptoms for a while after the trip into an affected region. Now I am considering taking the tablets is that we will be in affected regions for about 3 months. I must say, I hate taking it as it makes me so nauseou. How reliable are these test kits? |
The cheap disposable "finger stick" malaria tests are generally reliable, and you can expect these will be used by local clinics where available. I would rather rely on a "finger stick" test that having someone look at my blood under a microscope in a bush clinic which can be somewhat unreliable.
Malaria medication (both prohylaxis and curative) is generally available at any chemist in any meduim - large African city. Fakes can be an issue, but having had malaria several times and been reliant on artemesin purchased locally, I have never had a problem with fakes. If it were my choice, I would prefer to buy in Africa. Cheaper and more readily available. |
Malaria stuff - our take
Hi folks
We just did 1 year on the road UK to Cape Town via West Africa see Latest news / About us - Langebaan Sunset - Stonehenge UK to Cape Town SA - 2010/11
Nick |
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