Malaria Punta Cana
Dec 6th, 2016, 06:56 AM
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Malaria Punta Cana
Hello -
Taking a family trip to Punta Cana at the end of the month and CDC recommends taking preventative meds for Malaria. My wife is very concerned (she tends to be a worrier) - both with the risk of Malaria and side effects of the meds (reports of hair loss, both online and people she's talked to)
We are trying to weigh the risks, any advice is appreciated.
We'll be in Punta Cana, staying at the Majestic Elegance resort
Thanks!
Taking a family trip to Punta Cana at the end of the month and CDC recommends taking preventative meds for Malaria. My wife is very concerned (she tends to be a worrier) - both with the risk of Malaria and side effects of the meds (reports of hair loss, both online and people she's talked to)
We are trying to weigh the risks, any advice is appreciated.
We'll be in Punta Cana, staying at the Majestic Elegance resort
Thanks!
Dec 16th, 2016, 07:14 AM
#2
My daughter lived in La Romana for a month in May and did not take the malaria drugs. She was prescribed the drugs but started them a few days before and did not like the way she felt.
She used bug spray religiously and was in some pretty outlying areas where there is no mosquito spraying. At the time, there was more concern about zika. She even slept with bug spray on because she was not in a resort with sealed tight windows. Her apartment had open windows in the bathroom so they had mosquitoes.
She did see a travel doc and since she was there for a month and going to outlying areas, he recommended taking the malaria meds. He said she should be more concerned with preventing zika and dengue which is more common there.
I think most who travel from the US to the DR for a week do not take malaria drugs. It is up to you though. If there is a cdc recommendation to use the drugs, then it is there.
Get the Hepatitis A shot for the whole family. Do not drink the tap water whatsoever! You will get diarrhea. Only drink bottled water.
She used bug spray religiously and was in some pretty outlying areas where there is no mosquito spraying. At the time, there was more concern about zika. She even slept with bug spray on because she was not in a resort with sealed tight windows. Her apartment had open windows in the bathroom so they had mosquitoes.
She did see a travel doc and since she was there for a month and going to outlying areas, he recommended taking the malaria meds. He said she should be more concerned with preventing zika and dengue which is more common there.
I think most who travel from the US to the DR for a week do not take malaria drugs. It is up to you though. If there is a cdc recommendation to use the drugs, then it is there.
Get the Hepatitis A shot for the whole family. Do not drink the tap water whatsoever! You will get diarrhea. Only drink bottled water.
Dec 17th, 2016, 05:19 AM
#3
We have been to Punta Cana and it would never occur to us to take malaria drugs unless we were planning on camping out in the jungle. If you are staying at a resort, most of them spray for mosquitoes.
Dec 18th, 2016, 05:06 PM
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Malaria is only a sporadic nuisance in the DR and usually only during a bad hurricane season. I've not read of any recent problems. Other mosquito borne illnesses are much more prevalent and worrisome to me. (Dengue, Zika, etc.) But I've taken malaria prophylactics twice and suffered no ill effects at all. Having said that, they affect everyone differently.
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