hi all,THANKS FOR ALL CONTRIBUTIONS. SORRY NEVER FOUND AN EMAIL ADDY FOR ANYCHEMIST IN GAMBIA, THE NET RUNS AT 100 MB A SEC faster flying there than emailing .glad one of my postings has been so positive and hope all read it.You do not need prescriptions in gambia for anything,CHEMISTS are not stupid though NO HARD DRUGS SOLD,at any price that I have found that even included more than two weeks sleeping pills I forgot to take,cheers all be sensible stay healthy, stay alive MAXIE

might I recomend http://www.preventingmalaria.info

this site is 1st class advise per country and age.

The problem is one needs to start treatment in the UK, but prices vary by hugh sums. Doxycyline is quoted by Stratford Pharmacies at 22p per tablet Boots on line quote 38p+ per capsules. That is around £16 per couple for a 14 day holiday (100 tabs).
If you know better prices please share your info.

HI doxcycline these are quoted 60 dalasi card of 14 chemist opposite serrekunda police station,will post his mail addy when I clear my suitcase if you wish malarone,friend on holiday had nausea with the doxycycline but it passed cheers maxie. OH A TIP If going out spray your room with BOP 55 dalasi a can kills all mossies entering,and you know if their are any when you are in bed they sound like spitfires as they attack you lol . DEADLY little sods

I have spoken to my dad who is a pharmacist and doxycycline and malarone are not the same drug at all. Though both are used for malaria.
if i were you i would visit and doctor or pharmacist and ask their advice, they are qualified. its your life your are risking by not taking them

Just thought I would comment on malaria tablets. We have just returned
from Gambia. Some people in our hotel had taken doxycycline trade name Vibramycin which can cause extreme sensitivity to sun, and they got very burnt quickly, red raw like like they had been burnt by fire! so had to stop taking them on medical advice. So I would strongly suggest you take Malarone which have little or no side effects.

Wendy

Ailsa is absolutely right - you must seek professional advice. Some strains of Malaria are now highly drug resistant and it is vital to take the particular one recommended as being the most effective for your destination. Better by far to have to take care in the sun than discover too late that the prophylactic you have taken doesn't protect you from the strain in that area. This is why different medications are recommended for different destinations.

SM

We took Malarone when we went to Gambia in March but both suffered from an upset stomach. Pretty sure it was the tablets as it continued while we were still taking them for a week after we returned home.
Our practice nurse said they were the recommended tablets for that area though so don't know whether we could try a different type next time?

hi .Problem I am having with malarone is hallucinations (really severe) every time I use them, doc says this happens occasionally,problem is I am now totally confused what to do,yes doxycycline can make people sensitive to sun ,so can many other over the counter drugs ,ie brufen ibobrufen cheer maxie after reading from below I act as though on acid ,am very sick with side effects or go shcizo with Larium ,LORD and I love GAMBIA

COPIED FROM ABOVE LINK

Based upon the details you have entered, there is a risk from malaria during your trip - Gambia (Very High).

You will therefore need to consider taking preventative antimalarial drugs to help avoid catching the disease.

Based upon the relative risk posed by the countries/regions you are intending to visit, the suggested drugs for your trip are Doxycycline, Malarone or Lariam.

More information about these drugs is contained in the report which can be viewed on the next page.

Me and my mum are regular travellers to The Gambia, and we also stay in Kololi, only on our last visit, my mum actually caught malaria. we were taking the tablets, it was just one of them things i guess.
what i will say to anyone who's thinking of risking it...... DONT!
mum was in hospital for 5 1/2 weeks after we came back, and its a horrible disease. it attacks your immune system, so a cold can and most probably will turn into something more severe.
We havent been hindered by this experience, as we are returning in Novemebr, but we shall remain vigilant!!!
Also, top tip is to drink bitter lemon and tonic as they both contain quinin, a natural mozzie repellent....

HI LEAH,Sorry about your mum,hope she is well on the mend,your letter expresses everything I preach,DONT RISK GOING WITHOUT ANTI_ MALARIAL, Funnily this time in KOLOLI I noticed a lot more mossies and that was in february,I used BOP SPRAY often ,each time I left the room to deter the blighters,local friends though from that area commented that malaria was on increase amongst the locals,still Iam booked up from january till march mext year ,cheers maxie

hiya allmy brother has just come back from malaysia and whilst out there he bought me some tablets for malaria he got me 2 seperate ones they are called MEXAQUIN and also ZIDOX has anyone used these or know of these thanks maggieomx

I'm sure people will post outraged replies to what I'm about to say, but...

Last month, I went backpacking in northern Mozambique where malaria is endemic all-year-round, and the mosquitoes are resistant to chloroquine. Oh, and as they're recovering from civil war, the country is not wealthy, so there's plenty of places for mozzies to breed

Went to a travel clinic in London, and got Malarone, and followed the instructions very carefully, and after sunset made sure to cover my arms and legs to minimise bites

Yes, I still got malaria, with all the usual symptoms (headaches, mild fever, shivering and sweating, etc...). Went to see a local doctor after 36 hours of feeling flu-ish - this was in a 3rd world country - and within 30 mins, got the results of a blood test, had initial jabs and been given pills. Spent the rest of the day relaxing and reading a book, and within 12 hours felt much better. After 24 hours, was well enough to spend 4 hours travelling with a backpack

Upshot ? If you still come down with the disease after taking the pills, it ain't as bad as everyone in the UK imagines - although definitely worth seeing a doctor if you have the symptoms. The taxi driver in Zambia who took me to the doctor told me he'd had malaria seven times and hadn't died yet

If you still come down with the disease after taking the pills, it ain't as bad as everyone in the UK imagines - although definitely worth seeing a doctor if you have the symptoms.

Well here's the outraged reply you courted. It is positively dangerous to encourage people to take such a cavalier attitude to a disease which still kills many people - 36,000 kids per year in Kenya alone. You have no way of knowing whether it was the fact that you took the pills which actually ameliorated symptoms of the disease nor what might have been the consequences if you had not been able to see a docter and receive treatment so promptly. And anyone who has been to a Malaria area and starts developing the symptoms - very like flu in the early stages - MUST see a docter at the earliest opportunity. Any flu like symptoms that appear even months later after a trip to a Malaria area need to be taken seriously and you should go to your docter immediately for testing immediately, explaining that you have visited somewhere where you maight have been infected.

I can speak from firsthand experience of watching a friend go through it just how severe the symptoms can become if treatment isn't started promptly. Bear in mind too that symptoms may not appear until some time after you were first infected - in my friend's case her symptoms didn't start for more than 3 months after she already returned home. There's therefore a good chance pmbma that you weren't actually infected in Mozambique but somewhere else on an earlier trip.

The taxi driver in Zambia who took me to the doctor told me he'd had malaria seven times and hadn't died yet

The taxi driver has NOT had Malaria 7 times. He has Malaria fullstop and has had 7 acute attacks. And now you are infected with it you too need to be prepared for recurring acute attacks too.

There is no permanent cure for Malaria, only palliative treatments and the older he gets the more debilitating these acute attacks will become and believe me he will keep getting them. The friend of mine who was first infected in Papua New Guinea 30 years ago has had repeated acute attacks over the years, is still in the care of consultants attached to the School of Tropical Medicine in Liverpool and has had various health complications ever since. She has been on invalidity benefit for years and is unlikely to ever work again despite still only being in her early 50s. Malaria should never be regarded lightly. None of the prophylactics will guarantee that you won't become infected but it's foolhardy to take the risk by not taking any at all.

And of course mosquitoes pick-up the infection from us by sucking the blood of an infected person and then passing it on when they bite other people later. If enough people in the UK become infected with Malaria then there is the possibility that in time it could become endemic here to. In fact I seem to remember reports that a small outbreak in the DR last year was considered to have most likely arisen from infected migrant workers from Haiti being bitten by mosquitoes that then went on to bite other people.

SM

My friend's mum died after contracting Malaria - she was originally from Kenya, but had lived in this country for some 20 odd years, and went back for a family funeral. Shew didn't bother about anti-malarials (against advice) as she was "only going for a few days" She was bitten while out there, came back, and by the time her symptoms were showing, it was too late.
Don't take chances, you only have one life.

HI ALL.
I am back in gambia land,just had a long chat with the pharmacist at Stop Step pharmacy on kololi highway,(MY HAVE THEIR PRICES DROPPED) they have a wide range of anti malaria prophilactics.The lady is making up a price list of the various recommended anti malaria,check with your GP and compare the prices.MALARONE is priced everywhere at double that of the UK .hope this is of help cheers from hot and sunny kololi, maxie

** Edit to remove bold font. luci HT Mod **

Hi, larium is 270 dalasi from banjul pharmacy in serrekunda,thats fot pack of 8,arond 5ponds 50p cheers maxie

Some relatives I am going to Kenya with have been told they can get malarone free on an NHS prescription because they are over 60. Anybody else heard of this ?

Re tablets for over 60 free on nhs - my partner is 60 and they have been told they will have to pay , so it may depend on the gp area and they are not cheap, for both of us it will cost over £100

Whether you are able to get malaria prophylactics on an NHS prescription or have to to pay the full price for them on a private prescription really is up to the individual GP practice. Mine takes the view that one needs to way up the cost of the drugs against the cost of the treatment if someone decides on cost grounds not to take the drugs and then contracts something nasty. Thus, where it would be costly to treat the disease they have decided that it is more cost effective for the NHS to pay for the preventative drugs than have to provide treatment at a later date and hence take a very generous view of what they will issue NHS prescriptions for.

It might well be that your relatives' GP has similarly decided that Malaria is a very dangerous disease for someone over 60 to become infected with and that the cost implications of having them return to the UK having been infected with Malaria far outweigh the cost of the preventative drugs themselves. Other GPs do seem to take the view that if you can afford the holiday you can afford the drugs and if you're not willing to budget for the drugs as part of the holiday cost then you shouldn't be going on the holiday It is pretty much a lottery as to who gets a subsidised prescription andd for what drugs, and who has to not only pay for a private prescription but then has to pay the full cost of the drugs themselves.

SM