Can anyone help? We are going to East Africa with a four year old and 16-month old, and I have been given such conflicting advice on Lariam that my head is spinning. I don't want to harm my children with the tablets, but obviously I don't want them to get malaria either!
Is Lariam safe for a 16 month old? The leaflet in the packe t says not for children under 14, my doctor said give her a quarter tablet, and the cdc says give her half of that! What have other people heard/done?
I feel a bit safer about the 4 year-old, but just to be on the safe side, what has anyone else heard/done?
I'm not so worried about the famous psychological side-effects as permanent damage that the tablets might have on a small infant.
Please help!!
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Hi Emma
I have had problems finding out what to give my children aged
4 and 6. I did a lot of reading, asked 3 doctors and posted
questions on the Thorn Tree. I have finally found that the
following seems to be OK.
We will be using Lariam.
My little girl who is 4 and weihgs 18.2 kg is to have a
quarter of a tablet once a week.
My boy who is 6 and weighs 22 kg is to have half a tablet
once a week.
We will start taking them 2 weeks prior to departue, so we
can detect any potential side effects before we go. (Only
very few people suffer from any kind of side effects) We will
take them until 4 weeks after we get back.
Please don't take my word for it! Check with doctors that are
used to dealing with Malaria. However, I have done enough
research to feel comfortable giving my children Lariam.
Happy travels!
┼sa
If it helps, our three kids, 11, 8/9, and 5/6, took Larium
during our three-month backpacking trip to east Africa last
year. Like the wise poster above we tried it out beforehand
to ensure there were no side effect problems. We had none.
We also split the dose, taking it twice a week. That
miminmized the side effects I believe. The traveller's
health people here approved that idea, but you might want to
check with your own.
All this should be fine for your four year old, but I have
no idea about a 16-month-old. By the way, despite everything
our six-year-old (two kids had birthdays during the trip)
came crashing down with malaria a day after we left Zanzibar
and arrived in Harare, Zimbabwe. Even if you take the stuff
you can still get it. He responded well to treatment but it
was very scary. Good luck, I'm sure you will have the time
of your life if you just get this straightened out.
Hi Emma!
There is actually a much better alternative to Lariam,
which can have very serious sideeffects - even if you take
it only once - there has been recent reports on such cases
here in Denmark.
The new drug, which is called Malarone, has only very mild
sideeffects and is more efficient than any other drug -
even against the serious Falciparum malaria. Check it out!
Henrik