HI thanks Briar ,did not read this ,I spoke to so many peeps who had not taken maralone because of the cost ,the fools would rather buy more drinks in the hotel cheers maxie

yalla chemist which resort is this in?
as i am staying in Koloi
do they always have malarone in stock?

Don't you have to start Malaria tablets before you go to be covered?

HI NICOLANE, Yalla is on road from sennigambia to kololi highway ,it is just after MALAK chemist on that road,They have most drugs needed or get them next day, one set of antibiotics in malaks cost me 14.00 pounds ,same in yalla chemist 50 pence . Yallas is right on junctionPm and I can send you moses number he knows my chemists by heart Maxie

Yes, you do need to start taking malaria prophilactics before entering East and West Africa, while you're there and for at least a week after you return home. One exception I can think of; when visiting South Africa, most of the country is malaria free, so you only need to start taking the pills a few days before entering the affected regions; the Kruger Park, Mpumalanga, northern KwaZulu Natal etc.. but for West and East Africa you should commence before leaving home (as instructed by your international travel clinic) and also be meticuluous about continuing to take the pills when you return home. The danger doesn't diminish for a time after leaving Africa.

THANKS MAGMUM, It frightens me the amount of people I have met who have no conception of how lethal malaria can be.nor which drug is needed for the area,so often have I heard oh I take 1 LARIUM a week ,its cheap.scary,
cheers maxie

Can anyone advise. Just found out that cost of Malarone Tablets (the ones that are best & recommended for Gambia) for husband and I for our 2 week holiday in March would be £90 - £100!!!! from GP on prescription.
Friends of ours who visit Gambia regularly take Avloclor and Proquanil (Paludrine) instead which is much cheaper and available from chemist without prescription. So trying to decide whether to take these instead.

I read a post on Malaria pages saying Malarone and other types are readily available from local chemist in Gambia and are much cheaper
Does anyone know if this is the case, are they always available within 24 hours. If the Malarone are available there and are cheap would buy there, otherwise it will have to be the other type recommended by friends.
All advice welcome.
Wendy

Hi Wendililac,

After speaking to my practice nurse we opted for Malarone, purely because they seemed to have the least side-effects, and I can honestly say that as long as you follow the guidelines ie, take them with food, we didn't have any problems with them, we ordered ours online with boots.com you have to send your prescription to them (Freepost) and they will process your prescription and deliver to either your home or workplace free of charge. They charged £2.10 per tablet, so for me I needed 23 days worth and this worked out at £48.30 and free delivery. I know it's not much of a saving but they were certainly the cheapest that I managed to find. I know that another poster on this board, Maxie, I think it was, has said that you can now buy Malarone in the Gambia so it might be worth giving her a PM to get further details and possibly an email ad for the chemist so that you can confirm that they sell them, just to give peace of mind.
Cheers
Scruffyish

We have been advised on doxycycline tablets for our trip to gambia I think they cost about £18 for each of us for a weeks hols (5 weeks worth of pills) They are available on prescription only. Are you going to have a yellow fever vaccination?

We were advised to use DOXYCLINE on our Caribean visits after adverse reactions to traditional tabs.
I bought these on the internet from a Pharmacy in New Zealand (Canada also supply) without sending the prescription about 25% of the Boots price.
We go to Kenya in March, I await my GP's advice but will again look to the Old Empire to supply at "World Price" not British super charges.

HI ,as far as I believe doxycycline is the generic name of MALARONE. they are readily available in GAMBIA ,get a t least a weeks supply from your GP ,you must take them before you go for ONE and 1 WEEK after your return.

THERE are many mossies that have become resistant to the other drugs mentioned,what if you get bitten by one of them?
MALARONE is medics drug of choice I beieve. Iknow it is mine all of them.

In all honesty is 90 pounds too much money to pay for your lives ,because that is what it amounts to YOU ARE ENTERING HIGH RISK COUNTRIES. doubt if your insurance will cover you if do not take anti malaria drugs,so you need at least 2-6 thousand for hopital care , +plenty of prayers then you have continuing malaria, you get a lot for saving 90 quid
enjoy your hols ,cheers MAXIE
PS seen malarone in all chemists shelf even the small hole in the wall types

Hi,
Doxycycline and Malarone (Atovaquone Proguanil), are not the same drug, Doxycline is actually an anti-biotic commonly prescribed as an anti-malarial, other than that I wholeheartedly agree with everything Maxie says regarding the importance of taking anti-malarials, and believe that no price is too high for safe-guarding your health. I can't believe the amount of people we met out in the Gambia (covered in Mozzie bites!) who had decided not to take any anti-malarials because they considered them to be an unnecessary expense !! Anyway, enjoy your holidays folks
Scruffyish

THANKS SCRUFFY ,I should have checked B.N.F to be sure ,just laziness.I agree with your comments on bites, the amount of people who are not taking the drugs or the wrong type BEGGARS BELIEF cheers maxie

Hi all
thanks for all your replies. . We wouldn't consider going without adequate medication - I agree its not worth it. Just resent paying the extortianate prices changed in UK. If Malarone is the best preventative medication for Gambia then we should be able to get it in the UK at a reasonable price through our NHS.
Would rather give our money to a pharmacy in Gambia and boost their income than to a chemist in Uk paying over the odds.
Investigating this further.
Wendy

Hi Wendililac,

Could not find any email addresses for clinics but got some phone numbers for medical practices so that you can check directly to see if Malarone is available locally.

Kololi Clinic
Palma Rima Highway, Kololi,
Tel: 4464356

Lamtoro Medical Centre
Kololi, Kololi,
Tel: 4460934

Njie And Njai Medical And Dental Service
Cape Point, Bakau,
Tel: 4494888

Hope this helps and please let us know how you get on.
Cheers
Scruffyish
(ps. have sent you a pm)

Just to say I have always taken Larium on all my trips to the Gambia.
Cost about £3 each from Boots via prescription. Need 8, one a week for 2 weeks holiday.

I have had lucid dreams sometimes but nothing to worry about.

I dont think I would buy them there, you dont really know what you are getting thats my opinion anyway.

Cher

Thought some of you maybe interested in this,
my daughter works in USAF in Public Health, in California,
she sent me an article about a watch that you wear for Malaria prevention,
apparently you wear it and it checks your blood every so often and if you have been bitten by a Malaria mossie, it sounds an alarm and then you need to take the medication.

It costs $280 at the moment.

I will see if I can get the article again and post it here.

Cher

Wendililac - There are different strains of malaria, if your friends are taking Paludrine for trips to the Gambia you'll probably find they may as well not bother at all. Wrong preventative might as well be no preventative!

As previously stated here, they should take Malerone, Doxycycline or Lariam. My GP runs and excellent and informative health travel clinic and the nurse was VERY precise about which ones we could choose from. For that region Paludrine and Chloroquine were NOT possible options only the other 3.

Interesting how people will spend thousands on a holiday and skimp on the health outlay. Glad to see you are not one of them.

I have merged some of the Malaria topics into one and made them a sticky so members can easily refer back to all the useful information provided.

Mark