last year i took Chroloquine, trade name Avoclor (which is taken twice weekly) plus proguanil (2 a day), purchased for £15 at LLoyds Chemist.

No side effects, took them with a bottle of Kings and a fish Masala at around 8pm

It does get a bit boring taking them for so long, i think its 1 week before and 4 weeks after you return that you stop taking them
Better than Malaria i suppose, but wondered if the weekly tablets would be sufficient from Goa

Roll on January

The Malaria tablets which are taken 1 tablet per week are Mefloquine also known as Larium.
Although they can have side effects, we have taken them for the past couple of years at night, when we go to bed, without any problems.
Does anybody know if Mefloquine is available in Goa.?
Dave

We always buy Chroloquine - weekly tabs and proguanil - daily tabs when in Goa and bring enough back to start us off for our next trip and have had no problem with them. As others have said, we have found the best time to take them is before going to bed then they get to work while you are asleep.

DaveC, forgive me if i am wrong,but i thought mefloquine (larium) were recommended for Kenya etc,rather than Goa. But like you, i tend to take malaria tablets at night to try and avoid feeling ill. Paula

Please only take malaria medication you have been advised by your doctor to take.

Milliemeg,
Mefloquine is the recommended option for many countries including as you say Kenya.
The recommended option for Goa is Chloroquine plus Proguanil with an alternative of Mefloquine and as we prefer to take one per week, we are interested to know if we can buy them in Goa.
We have some left from those we purchased in Dubai to start us off but wanted to know if anybody knew if we could buy Mefloquine in Goa.
Thanks
Dave

Me & hubby are going to Calangute 3rd December for 2 weeks. Do you need to start taking malaria tablets before you go? or can you take them when you get there.

Hi Beckey, yes you do need to start taking them before you go, I believe it is for 2 weeks before you go, the duration of your holiday and then 2 weeks once you get home.

we were told 2 days before the holiday, during the holiday and 4 weeks after. However, it was recommended that if you are new to the malaria tablets that you take them up a couple of weeks before the holiday.This is incase they give bad side effects and you would then have time to change the type.

thanks for the info, really appreciated

Has anyone used Malarone Malaria tabs you take one the day before you leave and one a day whilst away and then 1 a day for a week after you get back.
My travel nurse told me there are next to no side effects, but very expensive, you would need 22 tabs per person for a 2 week visit and they about £2-£2.50 each tab, so if maths serve me right (not my best subject) will be £44 per person
Do they sell these in Goa does anyone know and if so how much per tab, now there's a job for those of you who live in Goa.
Any info much appreciated.
Inger

Can anyone tell me where I can buy mosquito nets in North Goa?
I don't want to take any with me from the UK!!!

Thankyou
SteveM

Mossie nets - never seen them for sale - but if they are then Mapsa Market would be a good place to start, or Panjim - not that I've seen any facilities to hook them to in any of the hotels I've stayed in - so I'm not sure how you'd use one if you had it - you're better off getting mozzie coils/plugins for the room & letting them do their job

Inger, Malarone is not available any where in Goa, it is not licensed for use in India. Malarone in the UK is a POM (prescription only medicine) so you will need a script from your GP. If you intend to use Malarone, I would suggest that you go to a local chemist who should charge you a little less than the big chains. I normally pay around £2.10 for each tablet.

Malarone, is the most effective antimalarial when dealing with the mosquito variant namely "P falciparum" which unfortunately has the highest rates of complications and mortality. Also this strain which was once only sub Saharan African is now becoming quite common in Goa and Northern India.

On a brighter note, Malarone is very well tolerated, my husband and I take it for 6 weeks every year with no after effects other than a few odd dreams for the first few days.

Regards.

we visit goa every year, and stay for as long as we can,this time it will be for two months,we stopped taking anti malaria tablets two years ago because the paludrine made us both ill.it would be interesting to known how many of the longish stayers now dont take anything at all.i know its a bit risky for me coz they love to bite me,bot never touch my wife.

Gin/Vodka and Tonic's are supposed to be good!

The situation at the moment, i would definately take them!

The situation at the moment, i would definately take them!

Why what is the situation now then

Hi Split!

Malaria is becoming a serious problem in Northern Goa: you may wish to read the 2nd paragraph above of my input or read the following:-

Source: Extracted from The Finish Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology

January 22, 2007

Two German, four Danish and two Swedish travellers got infected with serious falciparum malaria while travelling in Goa, India between October and December 2006. Most of the infected persons had been staying in North Goa, north of capital Panaji. Most of them had not been taking anti-malaria prophylaxis.

The new Finnish recommendation is to use mefloquine (Lariam ®) or atovaquone and proguanil combination (Malarone ®) or doxycycline.

Sweden, Denmark and Great Britain have also changed their recommendations for anti-malaria prophylaxis until further notice.

Sorry but to the lady who thinks G & Ts are helpful, they taste lovely but regretfully ineffective!