Malaria drugs needed for LA to Miami cruise

[PhillyGirl2]

I hope that someone can help with this but I was just notified that malaria drugs are "highly recommended" for this cruise on June 22, particularly due to the stop in Guatemala. I'm now questioning whether or not I should get off the ship. I have been told by doctors that some people suffer more from taking the pills that taking a chance. We were told to take the drugs when we went to Cambodia and we walked through some pretty dense jungle type areas, just put on mosquito repellent and wore long sleeves. When reading about the different type of medications (on the government website), it really limits who can take these drugs. However, for me it is a matter of taking these drugs and taking the chance of getting severe stomach pains, which is a side effect--who needs this on a 16 day cruise. I'm going to contact my doctor but does anyone have any insight into this situation? Thanks to all who reply--it will be much appreciated.

[crowpro]

We have taken the pills several times on different cruises. Never had any side effects. However, I would not bother to take any pills on the cruise you mentioned.

[newbie60]

We stopped in Guatamala on a SF to NYC cruise in 2013. No excessive precautions except mosquito repellant. Had no problems.

[JACKHAWK]

On the MIA to SFO cruise last month - we decided to skip that port & stayed on the ship.

[Kamloops50]

Malaria drugs are for treatment only not prevent you from getting Malaria.

On this cruise no drugs or inoculations are required. Even tho Panama is a malaria region , the canal zone is well controlled for the mosquito.

 

Have fun on the cruise.

[Mura]

We're just off Marina's Lima-NYC cruise which had one port of call in Guatemala (Santo Tomas). No medications were required or even recommended.

 

Mura

[Toranut97]

We are just back from Tropical Transit aboard the Regatta. Prior to travel, we visited the Travel Clinic at our local hospital which is university affiliated. We had noted the advice on our documents advising malaria prophylaxis for Guatemala.

 

We were prescribed Atovaquone-Proguanil tabs, which were to be taken prior to- during- and following travel as a malaria prophylaxis. We are almost finished with the course of pills and have had no side effects.

 

We also were given Yellow Fever inoculation.

 

Most of the passengers, I believe, do nothing about this and do not worry.

 

We deal with a variety of medical issues that could effect our immune systems. Thus we pursued this with the proper medical authorities in our town.

 

I urge you, if you have any concerns, to speak with your own doctor and not trust random advice (even mine!~) on an internet forum.

 

Donna

[SellaVee]

Malaria drugs are for treatment only not prevent you from getting Malaria.

 

 

From the NHS website in the UK:

 

Antimalarial medication is used to prevent and treat malaria.

 

You should always consider taking antimalarial medicine when travelling to areas where there is a risk of malaria. Visit your GP or local travel clinic for malaria advice as soon as you know when and where you are going to be travelling.

It is very important that you take the correct dose and that you finish the course of antimalarial treatment. If you are unsure, check with your GP or pharmacist how long you should take your medication for.

 

Preventing malaria

 

It is usually recommended you take antimalarial tablets if you are visiting an area where there is a malaria risk because they can reduce your risk of malaria by about 90%.

[hondorner]

We will be visiting many malaria zones on the world cruise, and have chosen to rely on personal prevention -- primarily repellant, but also treated clothing and common sense, rather than malarone. We did take malarone on the Amazon but never saw the first mosquito. We did,, however, get the yellow fever shot, which is good for 10 years.

[LHT28]

Have done the Canal trip 3 times

did not take malaria pills but I would speak to your doctor for your personal situation

 

We were not going into the jungle area but did wear repellant with deet if anywhere near bugs

[PhillyGirl2]

Thanks, my fellow cruise critic colleagues, I appreciate your feedback. I will call my doctor and then make a decision. Oceania "highly recommended it" but so did the cruise line that we took to Cambodia and most people never did and the one couple we met who did, got sick from the pills. I guess whatever we decide to do will be a decision we will have to live with. Again, many thanks, what an awesome group you are!

[Queen of DaNile]

Check out the CDC site regarding malaria information. Panama and Guatemala are considered low risk but consult a Travel Medicine/Infectious Disease specialist (not just a GP) if you have concerns. We have used Malarone in Africa with no side effects but everyone is different. Hope you get good info to make your decision and ENJOY your wonderful cruise!

 

http://www.cdc.gov/malaria/travelers/

[Floridiana]

We have taken Malarone as well, but NOT on our three Panama Canal cruises. In Guatemala, we went to the town of Antigua in the Highlands, not a single mosquito in sight. On a different cruise, we went to the amazing Mayan ruins of Tikal in the Guatemala jungle, no mosquitos either. We always use mosquito repellent with DEET and sometimes long sleeves in 'sand/beige' colors. There are other mosquito born diseases, so we always take these precautions.

Edited May 13, 2015 by Floridiana

[Toranut97]

We have taken Malarone as well, but NOT on our three Panama Canal cruises. In Guatemala, we went to the town of Antigua in the Highlands, not a single mosquito in sight. On a different cruise, we went to the amazing Mayan ruins of Tikal in the Guatemala jungle, no mosquitos either. We always use mosquito repellent with DEET and sometimes long sleeves in 'sand/beige' colors. There are other mosquito born diseases, so we always take these precautions.

 

While I respect your experience and insights, I wonder why we cannot simply accept that a passenger's own medical authority may in fact know what is best for them -- being aware of their special medical situation, ailments, etc?

 

I seek advice of others regarding what to order at Red Ginger --- less in regards to medical care. We are all simply too different, IMHO.

[MaryDG]

We took that cruise in December of this year. Just wanted to add an anecdote: I did not meet any people from the U.S. who had taken malaria precautions but I did meet several Canadians who did. We took a river cruise in Costa Rica & there were skeeters but we used DEET and were fine.

[FlightMedic555]

Malarone is a common anti malarial drug and it has a good likelihood of preventing the possibility of contracting malaria. No drug is 100%. I have taken this for two safaris to Africa but I did not take it on the Miami-Peru cruise that also stopped in Santo Tomas.

 

Obviously defer to your travel medicine physician (I would not recommend you defer to your general practitioner as they do not have the same knowledge base).

 

Mararone can cause significant GI upset and we did a trial of Malarone prior to our safari. We were given a script for 3 pills each that we took once a day a few weeks before our trip. In this way we knew that in our case we were OK and then started the medication regiment before the trip. You don't want to find out during the first couple of days of the trip trip that you have to live in the bathroom.

[Hambagahle]

I lived in Africa for a long time and I had malaria and it is no joke, believe me! However if you do choose to take antimalarial drugs you have to know that you must continue to take them for the entire month or six weeks they are prescribed for, even after you leave the malaria zone.

 

That said I see no point in not taking the drugs and staying on board in the port instead! Mosquitos fly. you get malaria from a mosquito bite. Mosquitos are not asked for their suite cards in order to board... if one chooses not to take the preventive drugs then fine but don't think that staying on board is also a way of preventing malaria...

 

We have been to many countries around the world - the only time my (Swiss) doctor told me to take malaria pills was when we went on safari in Zimbabwe. Ironic that because Rhodesia was where I got malaria in the first place AND in the Zambesi valley as well...