Availability Of Anti-malarials In Thailand

[VickyD]

Hi,

I'm coming to Thailand in May and will be visiting places along the border with Cambodia and Laos, which I'm led to believe are areas prone to malaria. Is is possible to buy doxycycline over the counter in Thailand and is it quite cheap?

Thanks

[Maestro]

Doxycycline is available in Thailand under about 20 different brand names, over the counter. I don’t know about the price, but if you do not buy an imported brand it should be quite cheap.

--

Maestro

[lopburi3]

It is also often fake, especially when sold as prophylaxis as most Thai would only take for treatment in a hospital setting. It is also not effective for all malaria and I would not use anything for just visiting except DEET repellent as these drugs can mask and delay proper treatment - not to mention resistance and adverse reactions.

[Naam]

It is also often fake, especially when sold as prophylaxis as most Thai would only take for treatment in a hospital setting. It is also not effective for all malaria and I would not use anything for just visiting except DEET repellent as these drugs can mask and delay proper treatment - not to mention resistance and adverse reactions.

i second that. e.g doxycycline is known to cause irreversible eye problems when taken as prophylaxis over an extended period of time. i would recommend to carry "FANSIDAR" and only take it when catching malaria.

i have lived in Africa for several years and cured several times malaria with Fansidar (after one day relief of symptoms and malaria gone in max three days). of course i am talking about the less dangerous "malaria africana" (prevailing in South-East Asia) and not the very dangerous "malaria tropicana".

hope i got it right without mixing it up

[Sheryl]

The malaria here is resistant to Fansidar and has been for many years. The recommended treatment is artesunate, either alone or in combination with mefloquine.

No prophylaxis is recommended and transmission is limited to areas you would be very, very unlikely to spend the night in. The Thai towns near the Cambodian and Lao borders do not have any transmission; you would have to actually camp out in the jungle at night, which is a bad idea for all sorts of reasons.

I lived and worked for 6 years on the Thai-Cambodian border, neither I nor any of the hundreds of other relief workers ever took prophylaxis and none of us ever got malaria, because we left the camps (which were malarious) before dark and there was simply no transmission in the towns nearby.

Mosquito repellent is a good idea, of course, especially since it will also help prevent dengue (which is endemic in the towns) and Japanese b encephalitis.

[tim armstrong]

Hi,

I'm coming to Thailand in May and will be visiting places along the border with Cambodia and Laos, which I'm led to believe are areas prone to malaria. Is is possible to buy doxycycline over the counter in Thailand and is it quite cheap?

Thanks

I agree with all the cations about doxy. I worked in East Timor for 4 years, which has one of the highest rates of malaria and dengue fever inthe world. Luckily never got anything. Many of my colleagues On doxy did get malaria or dengue. But I used tropical strength Rid - with high% of DEET. Also used vitamin B12 daily- it acts like garlic - the mozzies dont like the smell. Other preventatives - dont use scented deodorants, shampoo or perfume - unless Tea tree products. Eat less red meat, and try to stay inside for an hour after rain has stopped. Otherwise have a great holiday

[sabaijai]

There are differing opinions. Some medical professionals here say doxycycline is quite effective against malaria infections in mainland SE Asia. Google for 'malaria' and 'doxycyline' for more detail.

Of course no medication gives you 100% protection against malaria so the main thing is to wear repellent, long sleeves, etc.

If you seek more info check websites of WHO and CDC.

How It Works

Doxycycline is an antibiotic that slows down or kills the parasites in blood that cause malaria. Doxycycline does not destroy the Plasmodium (P.) vivax and/or P. ovale parasites that may remain in the liver.

You take doxycycline as a tablet (orally).

To prevent malaria, you take doxycycline 1 to 2 days before you travel to an area where malaria is present, daily while you are in the area, and daily for 4 weeks after you leave the area.

Why It Is Used

Doxycycline is used to prevent malaria:

In chloroquine-resistant areas (where chloroquine is no longer effective against the parasite) when you cannot take mefloquine (for example, because of side effects).

If you will be travelling in certain areas of Thailand.

How Well It Works

Doxycycline is effective in the prevention of malaria.

Side Effects

Side effects of doxycycline are common and include:

Stomach upset and nausea.

Diarrhea.

Vaginal yeast infection (yeast vaginitis).

Sensitivity of the skin to sun exposure (severe sunburn) and of the eyes to light (photosensitivity).

Side effects may be relieved if you take the medicine with meals.

See Drug Reference for a full list of side effects. (Drug Reference is not available in all systems.)

What To Think About

Do not use doxycycline if you are pregnant. It is not used for children younger than age 9 because it may stain their teeth

from BC Health Guide.

[cruciate]

Generally, it is not recommended to use antimalarial prophylaxis in Thailand. As Khun Sabaijai said, no drug is 100% protection. We can see patients get malaria while taking antimalarial drug such as mefloquine, doxy or even malarone.

Although doxycycline has some activitiy against malaria, we never use it alone for treatment of malaria. We have to combine it with more effective drug such as artesunate. And now artesunate combination therapy is the standard treatment of P. falciparum infection.

[Lickey]

I came to Thailand with a good supply of doxy, and sure enough as previous posts suggested, it can cause diarhhea, premature sunburn ect, in my first month i had a bad dose of the trots, you know, sit on the throne, a noise like a flock of starlings taking off and finished!! after 4 days of this went to docs, had blood tests ect, he told me to stop the doxy, there was no risk of malaria in this area, {60k from Laos border in NE Thailand} so i stopped the tabs, felt better in a few days, but still the mossies took my blood, Ive found a really good reppelant, its a blue and white packet containing 2 wipes, about 10bht, use 1 a day in the evening about 5pm, this really works well, contains deet and other stuff, and of course the electric tennis racket to check bed ect, nets over bed, pethedrine to add to washing machine [if you can find it here!! anybody know where to get this?? } this is supposed to be good for 6 washes or so, and of course, keep covered up, light colored clothing and no smellies, Good Luck!!