Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

General health

Mumsnet doesn't verify the qualifications of users. If you have medical concerns, please consult a healthcare professional.

Flip

Original poster

Antimalarials - malarone vs doxycycline

10 replies

mears · 13/07/2006 10:34

Anyone out there with experience of which is better? I know Malarone is more expensive but am keen to avoid thrush which is a side effect of doxy I have read.

OP posts:

MissChief · 13/07/2006 10:36

depends where you're going and therefore on strain of maleria. Malaron is much more expensive, but for rural Kenya for eg (when we wnet a few yrs ago anyway) it was strongly recommended. can you google it?

Original poster

mears · 13/07/2006 10:55

Have googled and either drug is OK.

OP posts:

MissChief · 13/07/2006 10:56

off somewhere nice?

LaDiDaDi · 13/07/2006 11:00

I took doxycycline for acne then went to the Carribean for 2 months and got really bad pigmentation changes to the skin on my cheeks because of the sun exposure, so watch out for this.

LaylaandSethsmum · 13/07/2006 11:02

Malarone is taken for a shorter time too whereas doxy has to be taken for 4 weeks after returning. Doxy also makes you much more sun sensitive and interacts with the pill.Have a look at this website, it is the general public version of the site used by most GPs and travel healthy nurses It has some good info! Hope that helps

Original poster

mears · 13/07/2006 21:40

Thanks for the link - very useful. Should be going to Malawi end of September.

OP posts:

expatinscotland · 13/07/2006 21:42

I've taken Malaron and had no bad side effects. Well, it did make me nauseous a bit, but no thrush or sun sensitivity - I also have olive skin, however.

wheelybug · 13/07/2006 21:43

I've taken malerone as didn't want side effects of the others or to have to take it for too long. It was fine - absolutely no side effects and you only have to take it for 2 days before and a week after IIRC. Worth the money IMO.

suedonim · 16/07/2006 00:36

Hi, Mears! We're all taking Malarone long term as we're in W Africa. (Actually, we haven't taken it tonight so thanks for the reminder!) We haven't had any side effects apart from some mouth ulcers but they only seem to appear after we've been taking it for at least 6wks. Hth.

littlefrog · 17/07/2006 20:28

Hello there, quick word of support for doxycycline; I took it for 18 months in rural Mozambique. No problems at all - no skin problems, no thrush, just the great side-effect that I never got any stomach problems, even after eating things that left everyone else sick for days! However I was told by the doctors here that if you get pregnant while taking it the baby can be born with cartilege instead of bone, and it's an antibiotic so not a great idea to use it for ages.
Why not larium? (I was meant to go abroad in first trimester of pregnancy and that's the only thing they'll let you take, perplexingly given all the bad press).

Flip