Lonely Planet™ · Thorn Tree Forum · 2020 |

# Do I really need Malaria Medication for Vanuatu? Country forums / Pacific Islands & Papua New Guinea
johnnytiger 13:47 UTC 13 Aug 2007 | I'll be spending about 2 days on Tanna Island and 4 days on Santo Island in September (also about 3 days on Efate, on which I understand Malaria isnt a problem) After doing some reading about Malaria pills, the side effects sound really horrible.. -Nausea/Diarrhea -Hypersensitivity to the sun (I'm of nordic descent and already burn incredibly easily) -Dizziness/Vertigo -Liver damage if mixed with alcohol -etc etc... I do understand that Malaria IS a factor in Vanuatu and I in no way am trying to downplay the danger of it, but I'd really like to ENJOY my vacation without feeling like crap. Is it enough to slather on DEET Insect repellant? Are there any natural deterrents to Malaria? Someone mentioned that high doses of Vitamin B repel mosquitos. Or if I have to go the medicine route...for those of you who have taken Vanuatu-specific malaria medication, how bad is it? Thanks |
oldpro 19:35 UTC 13 Aug 2007 | Some basic info about side-effects of ANY medication: Listings of side-effects are indications of what MIGHT happen (ie, what has been reported during clinical trials), and usually only happen to a very small percentage of users (otherwise the medication could not be licensed). Such lists do not mean that EVERYONE will ALWAYS experience the side-effects mentioned. Lists of side-effects also do not always indicate the severity, which can vary from one person to the next. Your own reaction ("sounds really horrible") seems based on reading the worst into any side-effect mentioned, and this is simply an error on your part. Standard procedure is to take medication and note if side-effects occur for you. If so, a doctor could suggest switching to a different form of medication. If you experience no side-effects ... then there's no problem, and all your worries on that score are unfounded. | 1
johnnytiger 00:06 UTC 14 Aug 2007 | I do realize that most medicines list "worst possible side effects" and in fact have to do so legally. My judgement is based on what several friends who have traveled to Papua/NG, Cambodia, and several other Malaria ridden countries who have taken the drugs have told me. Also, type in "malaria pill side effects" into any search engine and you'll find an overwhelming amount of personal anecdotes indicating that these drugs tend to make one feel quite awful, often to such an extent that they discontinue use of the medicine and risk possible infection. A medical site I just checked indicated that the Vanuatu malarial infection period is from December to May. Has anyone heard this? | 2
newfie43 03:54 UTC 15 Aug 2007 | We struggled with the same question last year and decided not to take any prevention. But we only spent 3 nights on Tanna, the rest of the time was in Pt. Villa. We were there in second half of September and had no mosquito bites of any kind ( used repellent)- maybe we were just lucky! | 3