I need some help. On my previous trips to Africa I was taking some anti malaria tablets that caused me to be reactive to sunlight and caused swelling in my hands. The name of the medication escapes me, but I think it was called Mefloquine or something like that. Is there a medication that does not cause photo reaction and swelling of the hands?

Muchas gracias,

Hoot

May I suggest Malarone, other than the occasional strange dream they work fine for me

quote:

Originally posted by RickyClark:
May I suggest Malarone, other than the occasional strange dream they work fine for me

+1

I think what you had taken was Larium.

The funny thing is we have all been taking it for many years, and none had any side effects at all.

The last three or four years we have been taking Malarone, at the recommendation of my doctor.

Again, we had no side effects at all, except one young man had terrible stomach cramps if he took it on an empty stomach.

I usually take mine in the evening after dinner.

Ahhhh, nothing like Lariam/Mefloquine dreams.

Lariam/Mefloquine is a weekly dose whereas Malarone is a daily dose. Also, it takes 7-9 weeks to develop adequate serum levels to ward off malaria with Lariam/Mefloquine so you have to start far in advance of your potential exposure. You can get started on Lariam/Mefloquine and see how you tolerate it and switch to another prophylactic if you have a negative reaction to it.

Malarone typically does not have all the central nervous system side effects associated with Lariam. But I always looked at the crazy Lariam dreams as a bonus...

Malarone works fine with me and the wife, no side effects..

Never tried Lariam..

I took Doxy (work supplied it) No side effects for me.

Growing up in Africa we took a weekly tablet known as DELTAPRIM, apparently also trading as MALOPRIM or MALASONE.

Never had an issue as a kid with malaria, and certainly don't recall any side effects.

+1 for Malarone, although it does give me the occassional screwy dream

I agree with the other posts, most likely Larium or some fashion of. Malarone work for me with no side affects, as others stated had to start about a week early.

Now that I think about it I had withdrawal symptoms.....bad dreams on how long it was going to take me to get back for the next hunt!!

All the best....Carl

Most folks I know take Malarone with out any problems.

I took Malarone on my first four safaris. I had to get off of it, four to five days into every hunt, because of severe cramping and diarrhea. I tried taking it late, early, mid day, with food, with milk and nothing changed.

I have taken Doxy since without any problems and Doxy can serve as a multi purpose med while on safari.

Doxycyclene most def has an allergic reaction to sun. Skin usually gets red and blotchy. Have dealt with that before, tetracyclene has done the same. My wife is a nurse practioner and confirms.
I took larium on all of early trip, it is a weekly pill. Had two trips back to back and was on it for nearly 3 months straight. During the last weeks of it my keft ear started ringing and has not stopped. Apparently this is possible side effect. I now ise daily malerone pills

quote:

Originally posted by Opus1:
Ahhhh, nothing like Lariam/Mefloquine dreams.

Lariam/Mefloquine is a weekly dose whereas Malarone is a daily dose. Malarone typically does not have all the central nervous system side effects associated with Lariam. But I always looked at the crazy Lariam dreams as a bonus...

I've taken lariam for years with no unusual effects! Of course that may be that I'm crazy and simply didn't notice the difference!

....................................................................

quote:

Originally posted by Hoot Murray:
I need some help. On my previous trips to Africa I was taking some anti malaria tablets that caused me to be reactive to sunlight and caused swelling in my hands. The name of the medication escapes me, but I think it was called Mefloquine or something like that. Is there a medication that does not cause photo reaction and swelling of the hands?

Muchas gracias,

Hoot

Doxycycline actually caused me to have this reaction the first time I went to Namibia. I was careful to stay out of the sun, but we were on a long stalk for an eland and my hands were exposed. I didn't turn very red like a normal sunburn, but for the next couple of days my hands were swollen and felt like I had a severe sunburn. I have since switched to Malarone and have not had any issues.

quote:

Originally posted by Opus1:
Ahhhh, nothing like Lariam/Mefloquine dreams.

Lariam/Mefloquine is a weekly dose whereas Malarone is a daily dose. Also, it takes 7-9 weeks to develop adequate serum levels to ward off malaria with Lariam/Mefloquine so you have to start far in advance of your potential exposure. You can get started on Lariam/Mefloquine and see how you tolerate it and switch to another prophylactic if you have a negative reaction to it.

Malarone typically does not have all the central nervous system side effects associated with Lariam. But I always looked at the crazy Lariam dreams as a bonus...

That sounds strange!

We only took Larium one week before going and has always worked.

my experience was the same. started 1 week prior and no problems.

I use Doxycycline. I found that I had a problem sleeping with Malarone. Doxy does carry a warning re: being careful with exposure to sunlight. I've always taken it in the evening and never had any problems with sunburn. Of course, I use sunscreen but I would use that even if I wasn't taking Doxy. Doxy is an anti-biotic so you may get some anti-infection benefits as well.

I am hunting with an MD in a bad malaria area this year. He told me he plans to take Doxy daily and Larium weekly for malaria prevention and for the antibiotic benefit (Doxy)

I have always taken Malarone with no side effects.

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:

quote:

Originally posted by Opus1:
Ahhhh, nothing like Lariam/Mefloquine dreams.

Lariam/Mefloquine is a weekly dose whereas Malarone is a daily dose. Also, it takes 7-9 weeks to develop adequate serum levels to ward off malaria with Lariam/Mefloquine so you have to start far in advance of your potential exposure. You can get started on Lariam/Mefloquine and see how you tolerate it and switch to another prophylactic if you have a negative reaction to it.

Malarone typically does not have all the central nervous system side effects associated with Lariam. But I always looked at the crazy Lariam dreams as a bonus...

That sounds strange!

We only took Larium one week before going and has always worked.

You can begin as late as a week before potential exposure, however, you should complete the 7 to 9 week regimen to achieve the full prophylactic effect. You can still contract malaria even though you're taking a prophylactic. It doesn't make you bulletproof while taking it, so always watch for symptoms after potential exposure.

Many years ago I thought I had contracted malaria in Zim while taking Lariam, but was my first bout with TBF instead. Not sure which is worse...

like the others Malarone has worked the best for me. I had reaction to doxycycline caused by sensitivity to sunlight I got by, but have used malarone since.

Hoot:

May want to look more closely into where you are going and when you are going. Most of Namibia is not a malaria area, unless you're up in the Caprivi strip. I remember seeing info posted about Vic Falls that malaria is only seasonal from Nov to Apr.

Depending on when and where, you may decide to not take malaria preventative, but just take doxy along in case you start to feel ill/symptoms. Doxy is used as a preventative/prophylactic and is also used to treat malaria as well as tick bite fever.

Malarone - no issues.

Malarone.

quote:

Originally posted by Hoot Murray:
I need some help. On my previous trips to Africa I was taking some anti malaria tablets that caused me to be reactive to sunlight and caused swelling in my hands. The name of the medication escapes me, but I think it was called Mefloquine or something like that. Is there a medication that does not cause photo reaction and swelling of the hands?

If it was indeed Mefloquine, this is Larium. So cross this one off the list, although I would suggest you try to confirm this was indeed it (was it once a week which is the dosage of Larium?). My sons and I have used this, very convenient, but I found that it impacted my mood while taking it, best described as listnessness (a reported potential side effect, among other more serious...) which when on safari is not what I want. When I was reading up on this drug, it was interesting how many people discontinue it while still in a malaria-infected area, which is not good.

Malarone is a viable option, and it can be used to treat malaria, but as with the others get some extra and try it first if possible. Personally I developed fever/chills and could not take it.

I use Doxy, taken with dinner and am careful in the sun. Also as was noted helps with tick bite fever and other possible ailments. It can cause thrush, and I have noticed this in the back of my throat but it was at the end of the cycle long after I was home. Personally I don't think there is a drug without some side-effects....lesser evil I supose.

The advice to check the area you are hunting first is good, and also ask your PH (many advise against Larium for example, as many have had clients experience break-downs and one of these is all it takes to sour their opinion!)

Muchas gracias guys. Thank you very much for the replies to my post. I did check again on my inoculation record and I was taking Mefloquine so as others on the thread have said, it is Larium. I will go with the Malarone tablets.

I will be going to the Caprivi Strip the first of April on an elephant hunt with Karl Stumpfe. I understand that the mosquito season will be in full swing as April is still in the rainy season. Been looking at the bug dope thread. Good information and I will need some damn good bug dope. Again, my thanks,

Hoot

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
I think what you had taken was Larium.

The funny thing is we have all been taking it for many years, and none had any side effects at all.

The last three or four years we have been taking Malarone, at the recommendation of my doctor.

Again, we had no side effects at all, except one young man had terrible stomach cramps if he took it on an empty stomach.

I usually take mine in the evening after dinner.

My wife and I take the larium. She has never had a side effect. I had a really great hallucinogenic dream the first time. UNFORTUNATELY, that was never repeated. No problems other than that.

Larium !!! This drug is sure as hell not for me ... although one of the side effects this drug is notorious for is psychotic episodes .. to me it gets me very angry over anything in the least irritating .. i.e. if someone is five minutes late I get mad ... it didn't bother anyone else in the family but that is how it bothered me ... so I use Malarone now ..

One tip on Malarone. It should be taken with food. I used to take it in the morning with breakfast, along with another medication that was to be taken with food, but had some rather unpleasant stomach side effects -- warned of in the mountain of papers they give you with the drug.

Now, I take my other medication in the morning and the Malarone in the evening after dinner and it has solved the issue. Also gives you a chance to solve any impending issue with a morning constitutional.

If I recall correctly, they have taken Lariam off the market in the US due to the psychosis side effects.

I personally have had issues with Doxy, (stomach issues big time) so while I can take it if I need to, I prefer the Malarone.

I also had some issues with rather vivid dreams- some good, some not so much so. Taking it with breakfast solved that issue for me.

Malarone Hoot.

Larry Sellers
SCI(International)Life Member
R8 Blaser
Sabatti "trash" Double Shooter

As someone suggested Malarone might best be taken in the evening after supper.I too had stomach cramps and used to take it in the morning after a light breakfast.Perhaps a richer meal in the evening will coat the stomach and protect.

I did a lot of research a few years ago before coming to work in Angola.

Larium seems to be quite a roll of the dice... some wild stories out there from using it.

Malarone is what us guys settled on and it has been fine. Always try to stick with the real Malarone brand though, as the generic has bothered some guys a bit.

Of course everyone is different so you may have mixed results.

I took Meflaquin and had one dream of an Amazon woman standing next to me in my grandfathers kitchen resting her tits on top of my head while I stared at my dead relatives seated at the table. There were other parts of that dream but they were even more bizarre. My PH got a kick out of that one!

Dutch

I took Larium for 8 safaris in Zimbabwe. The last 3 or 4 were 2 months long. Never had an ill effect from it. Took something else for Central America and never had any ill effects from that either. Had a bad case of Malaria about the end of WWII. The only thing they had for it was chocolate quinine. To this day I don't particularly like chocolate. I do not want malaria again though. Had 3 friends in Zimbabwe (a whole family) that died from some strain of malaria and it took 3 days from diagnosis to death. That scared me.

Bombay Sapphire London dry, vapor infused gin, and Schweppes tonic water, with a wedge of lime; taken in at least two doses per day, ideally after dinner and before bedtime.

Plus Malarone, once a day, just to be safe.

I was in near Victoria Falls for most of June last year. I did not see any mosquitos so I did not take my pills.