Anti Malaria Medication - Lariam (Mefloquine)

posted by sacah on Dec 7, 2008 travel, medical,

In preparation for going to Vanuatu, I asked my doctor about Malaria, I have had multiple nurses and doctors tell us that if we stay in Port Vila we don't need to worry about Hep B or Malaria, but I still got a Hep B shot because I'd like to visit some of the areas outside of Port Vila. So my doctor recommended we use Lariam (Mefloquine). I had read that some anti-malaria meds had some pretty big side effects, so I asked my doctor if Lariam was the best one to be taking, he was fairly confident it was, so I got it.

My wife went in to get the same tablets and her doctor recommended against Lariam, and after some research it's probably the worst of the anti-malaria meds for side effects, and considering Vanuatu doesn't have any malaria resistant strains, there are 3-4 other tablets we could have taken that would have done the job but been a lot safer.

There are cases I found it had been linked to suicide and mental disturbances lasting months until the drugs were out of your system.

Lariam is used by millions each year and most are safe, but if you have had any mental problems previous, or are prone to any of the many symptoms listed as side-effects I recommend talking to your doctor about other medications that are safer.