children in New Irland

Considering the possible side effects of antimalarials would it be just plain stupid of me to put the health of my young children 3 and 6 years of age at risk , let alone the possiblity of them getting malaria because I wanted to holiday in New Ireland . Has anyone had experience with children and malarial prophylatics? What about visiting Vanautu instead for some good snorkelling and friendly locals? Is the malaria situation any different there?
Appreciate any comments

I think the hystery sorrounding the anti-malarials is a bit too much, if they were as bad as some tourists claim, they would never be allowed to be sold in the first place.

I personally always take the dreaded Lariam when going to PNG and recommend it to friends going to similar places, and none of us has ever experienced any of the potential side-effects - or malaria, when taking it.
Back when I didn't take anything, I did catch malaria in PNG (along the Sepik) and can assure you THAT is not a pleasant thing to experience.

Well, if you are determined not to take anti-malarials and want to avoid the risk of catching malaria all the same, you simply won't be able to visit the best countires in Melanesia.
PNG, the Solomons, and Vanuatu all have malaria, even though the risk within each varies from island to island.

You can head for the less traditional/hospitable but malaria-free countries of New Caledonia, Fiji or Polynesia instead.

BTW, though for some reason many posters seem to trust ad-hoc advice from any other unknown TTer (which includes me, of course) more, I would suggest asking such malaria or drug-related Qs at a travel-clinic back home instead.
Professionals regularly working with people going overseas and having access to the latest reports on drugs and malaria are far better positioned to give balanced advice than we are.

Laszlo is quite right - don't ask for advice here - go to a travel clinic. Especially, and particularly, because there are children involved.

Thanks both of you , I will go to a travel clinic.

I hope you will be given advice that still encourages you to visit New Ireland (presumably taking some pills).
One of my favourite islands in the South Pacific so far!

My preferred antimalarial for adults is doxycycline, but it is not recommended for children under 8 (or even 12). It has the added advantage of being a broad spectrum antibiotic.
There is a homeopathic remedy called China 30 or Malaria 30 (one is a prophylactic and the other a remedy). However, these are derived from quinine. I am not sure how effective these actually are, as I think I have some acquired immunity to malaria after fighting a chloroquine-resistant strain in 1994. (I've never had it since, despite living in Solomon Islands for 3 months, and then 12 months, unprotected).

I travelled in the Sepik and New Ireland in January this year and took doxycycline. I travelled with two others who also took that medication and none of us had any side effects. I had read (often) that doxycycline can make one's skin very sun sensitive and increase the likelihood of sunburn. However we did not experience that, despite spending a lot of time in the sun.

Not sure that this expereinece will help you though Familyman, as we were all adults.

I haven't been to New Ireland but have lived, worked and got sick in the tropics (Asia and the Pacific) for the last 10 years. I also have a nearly 2.5 year old. I'm not a paranoid mother as I do take my son with me when I do fieldwork (in tropical forests). But, right now I pick my sites very well with his health in mind. There was a post on malarial regions and kids on the kids branch a while back, which gave a good overview on how people cope with the situation.

Personally, I would not take such a young child to somewhere that is medium to high risk for malaria. Anti-malarials is no guarantee that you or your children will not fall ill and malaria could be extremely serious for young children. I really know very little about New Ireland (although it is on a future wish list!), but I doubt the medical infratstructure is very good. This is another serious concern. Young kids, once ill, can get very sick quickly and I am not comfortable unles I am reasonably close to good medical care. My son was hospitalized on a recent trip to NZ because of dehydration following a virus - this can happen anywhere and it was awful to see my son so sick (and kind-of ironic since we live in India most of the year).

P.S. I think the main island of Vanuatu is Ok for malaria now.

Api - you may well be right, but last I read Port Vila itself was OK for malaria, but not elsewhere on the main island.

I am sure you are right. There was someone a while back wanting to take a youg baby to Vanuatu and I thought it was a bad idea considering Vanuatu was always one of the super high risk places for malaria... then someone said the main island was OK. Not very reliable info, and I wouldn't be suprised if it was just Port Vila that was OK. I think it could be a bit of wishful thinking though since its a small island and malarial mosquitoes can travel....

Vanuatu malaria info

Some years ago I worked in child health care in Rabaul. Kids are vulnerable and can get seriously sick in a very short time with malaria. You definitely needed professional advice on this one.

Thank you everyone , I can not put the kids at risk with such a serious disease ., even though children can take antimalarials. Will put that trip on the back burner .