File :-(, x, )
Malaria and Malaria Meds Anonymous
/fit/izens of the Globl South, I am in need of your halp!

In a few weeks I'll be travelling the Great Lakes Region in Africa for a month and a half. I've been to West Africa twice before and took an anti-malarial prophylactic called Malarone (Atovaquone).

I wasn't very keen on taking it since I was basically running to the bathroom after every meal, and it did cause some fatigue, nausea, and dizziness. I'd like to avoid this, especially since I've invested a lot of time into getting fit and healthy this past year.

The only other drug available is Lariam (Mefloquine), which according to fda.gov:

"people taking Lariam occasionally experience severe anxiety,feelings that people are against them, hallucinations (seeing or hearing things that are not there, for example), depression, unusual behavior, or feeling disoriented. It has been reported that sometimes, in some patients, these side effects continue after Lariam is stopped. Some patients taking Lariam think about killing themselves, and there have been rare reports of suicides. We do not know if Lariam was responsible for these suicides."

Ok, so I definitely don't want Lariam either. So my question is: does /fit/ter have malaria? How bad is it? How bad is the malaria in the Great Lakes Region? Are there any other ways I can increase my chances of not getting bit (other than obvious ones of sleeping under a net and staying indoors at dusk/dawn)?

addendum: i'm aware of the irony of me not wanting to take malarone because it'll ruin my workout gains of the past year because malaria will no doubt do the same; but I plan on living/working in Africa anyways, and I can't keep taking anti-malarials forever anyways.
>> Anonymous
Dude. Know what causes hallucinations, unusual behavior, disorientation in more than 1 case out of 10,000, and also fever, brain damage, coma and some strains death in 20% of cases? Malaria. Just take the fucking pills.
>> Anonymous
How about don't go live in a fucking shithole in Africa? Barring that logic, eat a fuckton of garlic.
>> Anonymous
>>382267

not fucking necessarily. and didn't i write already that i plan on living and working there, and I can't take the malaria pills for the rest of my life? yeah, i think did actually....

>>382271

yeah, I'll just be like you who stayed in his hometown, got married, bought a house (oops), got a nice little boring career and kids, and will never get to see the world. Sounds fucking great. Just go an hero yourself you lazy, boring slob
>> Anonymous
Worry about AIDS, not malaria. Have fun not having sex with peace of mind ever again.
>> Anonymous
>>382284
Well, are you going to live there the rest of your life? If not, moot point. If yes, you should still take the better drug as long as you like since either is better than malaria. And if you've already decided you want malaria then why ask /fit/?
>> Anonymous
>>382284
Africa=World? Enjoy your aids and fail.


Evolution time!
Sickle cell anemia, a lethal condition when expressed fully, is most common in people of African decent. It is however a recessive gene that can display incomplete dominance. I.E. if you are heterozygous for sickle cell, you won't have the condition that kills you, but you will be slightly different. This difference makes you resistant if not immune to malaria. Without this resistance, you're going to catch malaria.

So, Op, have you been tested as a carrier of sickle cell? Probably not, and you probably aren't a carrier, so you probably shouldn't live in Africa for the rest of your life surrounded by mosquitoes that carry malaria. Kind of like how polar bears shouldn't live in Ecuador, it's just not meant to be :(
>> Anonymous
>>382292
Hey i have that.
>> Anonymous
/fit/ used to actually be a good place to get relevant information on various shit. now it's like /b/ with only one meme. you guys are fucking useless.
>> Anonymous
>>382271
this
why would anyone want to go to niggerland?
>> Anonymous
>In a few weeks I'll be travelling the Great Lakes Region in Africa for a month and a half.
Enjoy being killed and raped. The worst thing you should be worried about is the hordes of angry niggers.Why the fuck would you want to live in africa anyways?

Are you a filthy libfag? Aid workers in africa deserve to be killed, they are part of the problem. They are scum.
>> Anonymous
Cool. Are you into limnology? If so, what aspects are you into? I know there's lots of seismological stuff you can do since it's like a half-graben or something, but there's so much other cool stuff too, like the cichlid radiation or the unique nutrient dynamics. *sigh*

Anyways, from what I hear you don't really need to worry about the malaria when you're just visiting. There's some heavy duty bug spray over there plus you'll likely be sleeping under a net. I heard about this one pesticide that binds to clothing, and it kills the shit out of everything in its radius. Fucking godlike.

It's when people are over there long term that precautions eventually break down and folks get bitten.
>> Anonymous
drink a shit load of tonic water
>> Anonymous
I've had Lariam when I was in Peru.
I did hallucinate a little bit, but it was just some chicks standing on the bedside table and then flying out through the ceiling, thinking I'd shouted "Guys, I just hallucinated" and then going back to sleep.

What I actually shouted was "I'm banging for a shit." In the middle of the night in a room with about 5 other people there.

Shit was good, take Lariam.
>> Anonymous
>>382345

er, no, i'm in the conflict resolution field. I'll be going there to study methods of reconciliation between opposing sides in some fight.

thanks for your answer though, only sensible one actually. it was also my impression that, with the proper precautions, the risks of contracting malaria was low. thanks again