substitute for Lariam?

Alvitr

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Joined
Aug 4, 2007
Messages
146
Location
Afghanistan
I have been taking Lariam for the past month and a half and is seriously looking for a better substitute to it. I have been taking it before but didn't have the problems with it at all then as I have now.
Not just because its messing me head and sleep up - I really only need it when at the outposts, Id rather take something I could start take cpl of days - a week before visiting the higher risk areas.
When got it on prescription I was told it was the drug to go with for the particular area, however if there is something with less sideffects, I would really like to take something else. So those with more knowledge...?
 
Might have to be takin it myself soon, I doubt their is any thing with the same protection..
 
Depends on the area you are in and what strains of malaria are prevalent there. In Afghanistan I had to take Lariam, but it messed me up, so the docs put me on doxycyclin whcih I had to take once a day.

I'm not a fan of Lariam and its use by our government. Flight crews are not allowed to take Lariam, but the "average" folks are? Something doesn't jive there.
 
It fucked up some of Our Guys in Liberia and [SIZE=-1]Ereatria. A Sgt from my Unit has started his now before he deploys to Chad.[/SIZE]
 
I'm not a fan of Lariam and its use by our government. Flight crews are not allowed to take Lariam, but the "average" folks are? Something doesn't jive there.

They stopped giving it to the servicemen here to stop the barfights ;)
j/k it just dont affect your mood and attitude in the best ways but yes they are not to keen on giving the "avarages" anything else.
The shite seem to attract the bugs here even more to you too.
 
Depends on the area you are in and what strains of malaria are prevalent there. In Afghanistan I had to take Lariam, but it messed me up, so the docs put me on doxycyclin whcih I had to take once a day.

I'm not a fan of Lariam and its use by our government. Flight crews are not allowed to take Lariam, but the "average" folks are? Something doesn't jive there.

Question, does Afghanistan have malaria? I had thought that was found in the tropical areas. Never occured to me there was malaria in Afghanistan. Learn nothing new every day I guess...
 
Question, does Afghanistan have malaria? I had thought that was found in the tropical areas. Never occured to me there was malaria in Afghanistan. Learn nothing new every day I guess...

It does. I don't have the numbers but there were numerous reported cases of it among service members that didn't take their meds. there was even a study done on it several years ago.

Lariam is the devil.
 
It does. I don't have the numbers but there were numerous reported cases of it among service members that didn't take their meds. there was even a study done on it several years ago.

Lariam is the devil.

Interesting, thanx.
 
I know a couple guys that have come home with malaria from that shithole. ;) And that's literally where the mosquito's hang out. I had to take Lariam when I was there and it messed with me as well, wonderful [SIZE=-1]Mefloquine Monday's. :rolleyes: Some of the other guys were prescribed Primoquine because they couldn't take Mefloquine. Here's some info I got from the CDC website, might help. :)

[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]
[/SIZE]Drugs to Prevent Malaria (antimalarial drugs) If you will be visiting a malaria risk area in Afghanistan, you will need to take one of the following antimalarial drugs: atovaquone/proguanil, doxycycline, or mefloquine (primaquine in special circumstances and only after G6PD testing).
Note: Chloroquine is NOT an effective antimalarial drug in Afghanistan and should not be taken to prevent malaria in this region.
Malaria risk area in Afghanistan: Risk April-December in all areas at altitudes below 2,000m (<6,561ft)
 
hahahaha, when I was in Astan, most of us forgot to take ours...as well as the pink ones afterwards :D
 
I remember you weren't supposed to drink while taking it as well. lol, I had my 2 beer/per day, hourly when I'd go down to the German or Dutch messes. ;)

That didn't stop the Orish while in Eretraia !!;)
 
[SIZE=-1]Liaison Teams?[/SIZE]

Commo geeks I believe, we were all at the Multinational Bde HQ; we didn't talk much about what we did, just a lot of joking around and beverages. Good bunch of guys, I can't remember the blokes name though; I've been looking through my stuff to see if there's a picture some where but he's a ghost. lol
 
Won't help you now but I thought it was a bit ironic and interesting to read.

Sea cucumber 'new malaria weapon'
Sea cucumbers could provide a potential new weapon to block transmission of the malaria parasite, a study suggests. The slug-like creature produces a protein, lectin, which impairs development of the parasites.
An international team genetically engineered mosquitoes - which carry the malaria parasite - to produce the same protein in their gut when feeding.
The PLoS Pathogens study found the protein disrupted development of the parasites inside the insects' stomach.



Ultimately, one aim of our field is to find a way of genetically engineering mosquitoes so that the malaria parasite cannot develop inside them
Professor Bob Sinden
Imperial College London
Malaria causes severe illness in 500 million people worldwide each year, and kills more than one million.
It is estimated that 40% of the world's population are at risk of the disease.
To stimulate the mosquitoes to produce lectin, the researchers fused part of the gene from the sea cucumber which produces the protein with a gene from the insect.
The results showed that the technique was effective against several of the parasites which cause malaria.
Lectin is poisonous to the parasites when they are still in an early stage of development called an ookinete.
Usually, the ookinetes migrate through the mosquito's stomach wall, and produce thousands of daughter cells which invade the salivary glands, and infect a human when the mosquito takes a blood meal.
But when exposed to lectin the ookinetes are killed before they can start their deadly journey.
Work left
Researcher Professor Bob Sinden, from Imperial College London, said: "These results are very promising and show that genetically engineering mosquitoes in this way has a clear impact on the parasites' ability to multiply inside the mosquito host."



You would have to get the modified version to become the predominant species, and that has never been done in any setting before
Dr Ron Behrens
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
However, he said much more work still had to be done before the technique could be used to curb the spread of malaria.
"Although the sea cucumber protein significantly reduced the number of parasites in mosquitoes, it did not totally remove them from all insects.
"At the current stage of development, the genetically modified mosquitoes would remain dangerous to humans.
"Ultimately, one aim of our field is to find a way of genetically engineering mosquitoes so that the malaria parasite cannot develop inside them."
Professor Sanjeev Krishna, an expert in malaria at St George's Hospital Medical School, London, said new treatments for malaria were vital, as there was some sign that the parasites which cause the disease were developing resistance to the current artemisinin drugs.
He said: "This is a very important first step in developing a potential new way to control this infection."
Dr Ron Behrens, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said the technique showed promise in theory - but he warned that introducing genetically modified mosquitoes could be fraught with practical difficulties.
"You would have to get the modified version to become the predominant species, and that has never been done in any setting before," he said.


Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/7155398.stm

Published: 2007/12/23 00:02:01 GMT

© BBC MMVII
 
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