Malaria tablets for kids??

[chrissiejames]

Would you go somewhere where you had to give malaria tablets to your kids (mine are only 1 and 2 years old). plus they will need some jabs - hepatitis and typhoid I think. We were thinking of going to Sri Lanka in Feb, but it just seems to mean to put them through that - am I being too soft??!
Thanks
Jude

Is feb the dry season in Sri Lanka? V. few mosquitos in dry seasons in tropical countries in my experience. Also, if you are staying in a resort with screened off sleeping area, mosquitos should not be a bother either. Resorts like this are not normally in mosquito breeding environments. Malaria causing mosquitos bite at dawn and dusk so keep everyone in light coloured long sleeves and long trousers at these times if not indoors. If in mosquito area for brief periods, use insect repellent. It is also recommended to put it on the clothing. These are the most effective ways of preventing malaria. Tablets for some people don't work and can cause v. uncomfortable side effects. HOWEVER, to take these tabs are all up to you. I would not give them to my dd at that age but would take all the precautions above.

Alux - I know of two people who took all the precautions you give, both contracted malaria - one nearly died - once he was stable enough was flown back to the UK to be treated in hospital here, and he spent weeks in intensive care out in Zimbabwe, and several weeks in hospital at home.

It's a risk you can take - but personally I'd give my children malaria tablets when we do finally make it out to Zimbabwe.

I understand that in every malaria country there are free-from-malaria areas, and that at certain times of the year the incidence of the disease will be minor. Having been through the nasty secondary effects of the malaria tablets myself, I believe that if I were in the same predicament as you I may consider another destiny if the trip involved getting into the riskier areas.

We took malaria tablets to go to India, tbh most of the people in our group didn't use them. We all were fine, well, we were a bit worse, after coming back I spent 2 weeks with a constant urge to have a nap, vomiting, with nauseas all the time. If my DH had not had the same effects I would have thought I was pregnant!.

chrissie, there is a difference between deciding to give a 1 and 2 yr old malaria tablets, and actually getting them down their throats. I tried with an 18 mth old - they are just SO bitter and disgusting. I tried everything - in juice, crushed and mixed with neat strawberry jam, in yoghurts - there is just no disguising the taste. I managed to con them down her maybe 2 mornings, and forcibly get them down her 1 other morning - and then no go. She refused to take anything off a spoon/that looked unusually nice/ whatever at all after that!

So that is worth bearing in mind. We were in goa in Jan btw - in the end we realisd that noone else there was taking them so didn't bother.

I went on honeymoon to srilanka in feb, and don't remember taking tablets - are you sure theyw ill need them? Might be worth asking someone who actually knows the area (phone the Sri Lankan High COmmission?) - GPs just get very wide ranging recommendations which aren't necessarily tailored to the time of year etc.

we took my dd 2 1/2 to a malarial game park in South Africa at Easter. We splashed out on Malarone tablets (paediatric ones for her) which were a lot more expensive but none of us had ANY side effects from them at all. They do however taste absolutely digusting and we needed to force them down our dd's throat with her kicking and screaming and hating us for it. She did vomit up a few doses of them afterwards and after we left the area and noticed we hadnt seen any bites on her at all we stopped them. She's been fine since.

Even for adults they are disgusting but worth it cos even though we took them I still panicked when she got a fever afterwards that she had malaria. Thankfully the out of hours doctors here are very understanding!!

as you asked . . .
in the past yes, I'd probably have gone and given the jabs, but now, no probably not. I'd be overly paranoid about the healthcare system in general if anything went wrong and I was never very keen on giving malaria tablets unless necessary anyway.
That said, the hepatitis jabs at least are routine in many countries although I'm not sure if 1 is too young for the hep a jab - have you been told much about its effectiveness on young children?
Do you have your heart set on Sri Lanka?
Sorry - I guess you would have a great time, that's just what I'd do

sorry this is long. If you want to bypass the bumf, go to the last para.

QofQ: that is also the reason why it is a graduated risk. Antimalarial tabs also cause liver damage, just like malaria - taking it for the short term probably not. For young livers, there is no scientific evidence to say how safe they are.

There are several strains of malaria. some more virulent than others. Africa has some of the more medication resistent strains as well as malaria being more widespread among the population but compared to Sri Lanka, I don't have the stats. For your friend to contract malaria may have been inevitable as the tabs don't always work against the strain you may contract. It also depends on the type of environment your friend stayed at in Zim as well as how long and how much exposure to locals who may have been carriers of the parasite and how many mosquitos he she was exposed to.

To simply say that those precautions don't work is too simplistic. I lived in a malaria country for 20+ years and never contracted it and know many people who haven't. I have not once in my entire life taken malaria tabs and neither do any of my friends. OTOH, I do know people, well off, well educated about malaria ones too, who have had the disease because they have lived for long times in malaria countries.

The mosquito is only the vector. If there is a low incidence of malaria in a region, no matter how many mosquitos capable of carrying malaria is out there, they cannot transmit the disease unless they have a blood feed from a person with the parasite and then feed off you.

Would I take a lo to a malaria country? yes. But I would investigate my options carefully. If I feel like I ought to take malaria tabs to be happy there, then I wouldn't take my lo there. As I don't want to take the tabs so I wouldn't give them to my lo either.

I don't think malaria tabs prevent mozzies from biting. Anecdotal evidence however says eating lots of garlic does as it comes out in the sweat glands.

Alux - he was in the area with a risk of malaria for one week. Prior to that he'd been in the capital Harare, which has NO risk malaria at all.

I also knew of other people born and bred in Zimbabwe who never contracted malaria - but members of their family did. I also know lots of people who smoked all their life and lived into their 90's in perfect health, and people who've driven under the influence and been ok........

oh I'll agree with Alux's last post - malarial tablets don't stop the biting - garlic one never worked for me - but Avon Skin-So-Soft Woodland Fresh lotion is a good repellent, alongside all those other bits and bobs you can get

(none of which ever worked for me - but then I got 3 bites in 2 1/2yrs living in Zimbabwe, came home and in my first summer back got 15 bites!! - don't think the Zimbabwean Mozzies like me - althought they've loved DH).

i'm unsure how you can say that harare has no risk of malaria. i've never been there but as long as humans who have had malaria live in a city and the strain of mosquito that can pass on malaria is also there, then there is a risk to a greater or lesser degree. anyway, we stray so i am leaving it here. i agree with you in large parts as going to any tropical country poses some malaria risk hene sensible precautions and which ones you are comfortable with taking.

There are no strains of Mozzies in Harare which can pass on the disease - in fact there's hardly any mosquitoes in Harare at all.