Doxycycline as a preventative measure

[Catalyst]

If you take medicine to protect yourself from getting malaria one of the options is to take doxycycline (100 mg. one time per day). Doxycycline is also an effective treatment against chlamydia and other stds, although the recommended dosage is 100 mg TWO times per day (see http://www.cdc.gov/std/treatment/TOC2002TG.htm , or http://www.cdc.gov/std/treatment/4-2002TG.htm#Chlamydia).

 

So if you choose doxycycline as your malaria medication, would you also be protected against the std's that it would be used to treat? Or could you be at greater risk because you are taking a half dose and if you do get something you might not kill it and then you could get stuck with a doxycycline-resistant strain? Should travelers take doxycycline to prevent stds even if they don't expect to be exposed to malaria?

[Guest]

don't take it.

it is not only useless but even dangerous to take malaria prevention.

there are many different strains of malaria, all resistent to different medicaments, so to be rather safe you will have to pump yourself with more pills than are healthy. you might even get an allergic reaction to the one you want to take which could be more dangerous than the malaria itself.

also, taking that prevention means you can still get some form of malaria, but the prevention can mask the desease so you might not go to the hospital right away which could be fatal in case of cerebral malaria.

malaria itself is not very pleasant, but rarely fatal if you have the money and the education to go to the hospital.

 

by the way, very few areas are real danger zones for malaria, such as fresh refugee camps at the border, some warzones across the border, all areas very few tourists actually go.

 

all in all, the risk-use calculation is very much against using any sort of malaria prevention.

[thai3]

 

I have to agree with mr fly on this now, there is too much paranoia about catching malaria. Pills will not stop you getting malaria and I believe can make things worse by masking the symptoms of the more serious types. Rabbies is probably the disease to get medication for in advance.-peter

[llso]

Hi,

 

Doxycycline can make you hypersensitive to the sun. Fly is right there are many different strains and the medication guidelines are always changing. Unless you plan to be spending time in some remote areas I would take the usual precautions such as repellent and avoiding being bitten. Doxy is a good med for some std's but usually requires a long course.

 

 

LL

[rickfarang]

"Or could you be at greater risk because you are taking a half dose and if you do get something you might not kill it and then you could get stuck with a doxycycline-resistant strain?"

 

Your question is an interesting one. If you get a chance to talk it over with someone who is medically qualified in the subject, would you post the answer here?

 

Lacking better advice, I too would stay away from Doxy unless I needed it for something in particular because of the possible side effects.

[Old Hippie]

Fly is apsolutly right on this one. Maalaria meds can cause many nasty side effedts, and aren't worth the risk, unless you are going to a an area identified as a malaria danger zone. As for taking any med with the idea of preventing any stds...bad idea! Just use condoms and hope for the best! then take your ass to a clinic at the first sign of trouble!

[Guest]

>>>unless you are going to a an area identified as a malaria danger zone.<<<

 

even those "danger zones" are often not that dangerous at all. for example there is a refugee camp close to the border where you have malaria cases the whole district or even province is labelled a danger zone even though the malaria is limited to that camp and surroundings only. malaria is very localised here, it doesn't travel far.

 

if, lets say, one has to spend some time in such a camp, not more than a few weeks, there might be a cause to take some pills. then basically one has to find out exactly which strains are prevalent in that place, and to which medicaments those strains are resistent. then one should single out the one really dangerous malaria, namely cerebral malaria, and take only pills against that as taking too many pills at the same time can be more dangerous than malaria.

if though one spends more than a few weeks in such a camp than it is absolutely unadvisable to take any prophilaxis as that could cause more longterm damage than any malaria which is dealt with at the right time. malaria basically in those situations are nothing else than an occupational hazard, everybody gets it once a while.

 

malaria nowadays is a desease from which the poor, the uneducated, and the stupid die.

[Guest lazyphil]

<<malaria nowadays is a desease from which the poor, the uneducated, and the stupid die>>

 

I better take care then!!

 

[Guest]

i didn't mean that, not stupid as stupid, more like stupid as ignorant, emm,..., ehhh,....,..., you know what i mean, common sense and all that... ::

[Guest]

>> if, lets say, one has to spend some time in such a camp, not more than a few weeks, there might be a cause to take some pills.

 

Not really, one single mosquito bite could transmit the disiase. Ok, now we know that you know that there are refugee camps and all these things you like to talk about, but please, unless you're a medical doctor , stop providing any kind of medical information.