Malaria tablets - question for fellow travellers to Southeast Asia and Latin America?

I am going on a gap year and am planning to spend about half a year in Asia, Southeast Asia and South and Central America. However, depending on which malaria tablets you take, you can only take them continually for up to between 2 and 6 weeks I think. That would be a bit of a problem if I am going for several months. What alternative protection is available? Personal experience advice welcome...

thanks a lot in advance

Quite right,LOL's doctor. There are no vaccinations/innoculations or other injections available to prevent malaria. As a serving soldier in the Far East I took Paludrin tablets for nearly three years. It is also called Proguanil. One was taken with breakfast,and signed for,every morning. If going on local leave,tablets to cover the period were packed. The standard drug for many years was Quinine,originally obtained from the bark of the Cinchona tree,but now manufactured synthetically. Aymara and Chechua indians in South America were known to chew the bark every day,and malaria was very rare amongst them. Eventually the active anti-malaria ingredient,quinine, was isolated,and was made available as a very bitter drink called Tonic Water. Thousands of gallons of it were sent to India for the huge number of British troops and civil servants there,in the days of the British Raj. It was pretty horrible to drink until somebody discovered that gin made it quite pleasant,and the gin and tonic was born,which became a staple evening drink,and a pleasant way to take your medicine, first in India and then in other malaria-ridden areas with large European,and especially British, populations,as people got posted around and the word spread. Quinine and Proguanil are still available,but there have been reports of mosquitoes,or rather,the Plasmodium parasites they carry which cause malaria, developing a resistance to Proguanil, in some areas. However,a number of more modern drugs,about a dozen in all, are now available. Many of them are taken from a week before you go until one or two weeks after you come back. Your local clinic or GP will be able to advise on the best type for you,and any other inocculations/vaccinations you may need,if you tell them which areas you will be visiting. It can be quite expensive if you do not qualify for freebies. My total bill was £73 which covered me for trips to India,Africa, Peru, and Chile. Money well spent. A bit of useful info is on these.Clicking on 'Treatments' in the second link shows a lot of info including a list of the anti-malaria drugs currently available. ... http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Ant4Kqjii8ASdtw4EDOs9QUhBgx.;_ylv=3?qid=20090209003423AA8c40f&show=7 ... http://en.diagnosispro.com/disease_information-for/malaria/16260.html .... To avoid getting bitten make sure you cover up in the evenings. Long-sleeved shirts or blouses,and slacks,not skirts. Mosquitoes don't come out in daylight,but plenty more bitey/stingey things do,so be aware. You can get mosquito coils,also called elephant coils(a brand name) which are normally green-coloured,and burn like a slow fuse. Burning one in the room,often under the bed at night,keeps mossies and other insects away. After the second night you get used to the strange aroma. Some have quite decent perfumes incorporated to make life more pleasant. They are very cheap,and obtainable from shops and stalls in almost every town or village in the Far East and in India. A mosquito net may be useful for you,but they can be akward to use if no facilities are available to drape them properly,which means leaving nowhere,absolutely nowhere,for the mossies to get through,or they will,and then the effort of draping the net is wasted. Nets need to be treated with an anti-insect spray to be effective against very small flies,like the Sumeria fly,which can cause huge swellings with a single bite. The net also has to be draped wide enough so no part of you touches it while you are sleeping,or you'll get bitten through it. Anti-histamine creams and tablets are a must-have to relieve the stings and bites you are bound to suffer through the trip,but check first which ones are suitable for you. Piriton,for example,sometimes gives people very bad reactions,even causing fainting or sudden collapse (an anaphylactic,ie an extreme allergic, reaction....). Phenergan is amongst the safest and is used in a lot of baby preparations in small doses. There are insect-repellent creams available from outdoor shops like Blacks,Millets or Cotswold,and almost-insect-proof luggage is available from Nomad,a Dutch company which makes tents,sleeping bags,rucksacs and other bags,of very high quality. They are used by medical missionaries and long-term expeditions all over the world. My Nomad pack is a rucksac when I'm walking,and a suitcase at airports and ferry terminals,with the straps zipped away in a seperate compartment. The Nomad travel site is very useful. http://www.nomadtravel.co.uk/pages/insect-borne-diseases ......searching the site will show all their products,and some good travel advice. There is a 65-litre holdall on the site at the moment which has rucksac straps which zip away,for £30,which is very cheap for a Nomad..... http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AlBk5AR13f0KZCIbY6cNjTshBgx.;_ylv=3?qid=20081201101730AAFd3zg&show=7 ...I had a link to 'Womens Travel' on here but unfortunately it does't seem to be working now. I'll do some digging around.......ok,sent an email to Nomad,and found this as well,...... http://www.gonomad.com/womens/0903/women-adventure.html

a friend of mine says you can get an injection for it but my doctor says thats nonsense