Do I really need malaria treatment for Kenya or Gambia

[KatyMac]

There is no way I'd go without treatment, but are there places that are safe?

(If I am being silly & of course you have to have malaria stuff, please say so nicely.......I'm feeling vulnerable)

TIA

I think you need it - see here

Kenya - yes. And also Gambia. There may be areas of each country where the risk is less, but is it really worth taking the chance? i knew someone who contracted malaria while a POW in Burma; he had recurrent attacks for the rest of his life. :(

We will go somewhere else then

DH (chronic lung disease & asthma)& DD (post-viral plus asthma) are too vulnerable imo

Where shall we go - December?

Sorry I forgot to say Thanks (esp for such a quick answer)

Parts of South Africa are ok

Thanks Cosmos don't fly there I am using my Tesco vouchers

Yes - the last thing you want is malaria.

I would make sure that I got the right advice and was put on the right medication.

There are always risks associated with taking pills - I think I could live with the consequences if it meant I was at least protected from the awful disease.

There are also a lot of precautionary things you can do - sleep under nets, keep covered, citronella and, of course, the quinnine in the tonic water for G&T's!!! (I love medicinal alcoholic drinks))

I think going somewhere else is easier - but maybe I'm just lazy

Cuba then, stunning

Again not with Cosmos

I think it is Egypt or Canaries

Do you need to take Malaria tablets? Yes, definitely. You start taking them before you go, during your trip, and after return for a while. My younger son went for a month on a school trip.
One boy didn't think he needed anti- Malaria tabs as he had lived in Kenya for a while, but he caught it, and ended up in hospital.
My son hates swallowing tabs, and gags, but he realised how important it was.
He also had Yellow Fever and other vaccinations. Your doctors surgery will advise you.

We also had vaccinations for Egypt, but not Malaria tabs.

Be very careful with malaria tablets - there is one that can lead to massive mental health problems - can't remember which now but a quick google should suffice. I always insist on the other safer brand, but was a bit shocked when we went to SA last year and it cost me nearly £200 for mine and DD's prescription - not provided on the NHS anymore.

Then when I took mine, I remembered that they disagree with me and give me chronic diarrohea so I had to stop taking them. Not all parts of SA are malarial however, so now I just risk it for me (but not DD).

We're planning Egypt this easter, but from what I've read xmas is a good time. We wouldn't contemplate anywhere in sub-Saharan Africa TBH.

Somewhere in the Southern USA or Mexico maybe if Cosmos go there - depends what you're into, of course.

I think (with our budget) it will be Egypt or Canaries

I always go on and on about it, but you really need to go to the Hospital for Tropical Diseases if you are in / near London. They have a travel clinic staffed with nurses doing the consultations, and when in doubt, the doctors are there too, so they check with them if applicable.

As ds has asthma, they have always gone to double check with the doctors. E.g. per the general guidelines we had to get a couple of extra jabs when we went to Peru last year, but we had to tell them exactly which towns we were visiting, and as it happened, we didn't need to after all. According to the normal gp advice, we would have had to. This isn't a criticism against gp's as they're not required to have such specific informations - but as this is what the HTD deals with on a daily basis, they do.

Also, when we've gone to malarial areas before, we were advised not to take the normal malaria medications (because of ds's asthma and medication we had to take), but to take Malarone instead. It's more expensive, but you don't have to take it in advance. At the first signs of asthma (cold type symptoms if I remember correctly, might be wrong), you take a high dose. I can't remember exactly now, but they had an in depth consultation with us regarding the pros and cons of certain options. And, to top it all, the jabs we did need was no more expensive than that of a gp or travel clinic.

travel clinic link

Grimma - Egypt at Easter? In April? Have you checked the temperatures?
Cairo is cooler, but if you are thinking of Luxor, expect extremely hot weather. We went on a Nile Cruise in April ( not my choice, I would have chosen January or February ) and we had temps up to 104 deg.
Certainly not advisable for children.

DH made the booking, I assumed he'd checked - he's the one who doesn't like heat (I don't mind 100-ish if its dry)

I will doublecheck forthwith! thanks

Yes do it. I got malaria a few years ago when I went to Nigeria, miscarried my baby and had an awful time. Dr's said I was lucky to be alive.I came back and spent 10 days in a French hospital on a drip of quinine. I will never ever go again without taking medication.

YEs

ps: There are 2 types of malaria. The one I caught the more serious,which does not come back once it has been treated. The other is reoccurent as someone mentioned above but less aggressive - even so both are nasty.

Yes. My friend's husband died of malaria. He was only in his 30s.

Namibia is great and non malarial.

Going with Cosmos (because of Tesco vouchers)