Carol I have just had a look my tablets they cost 50 rupees for 10 proguanil and 10 rupees for the malaclor pk of 10 you just tell the chemist how many you want hope this helps you ....colleen

Thanks for the help! I'll think of you when I'm soaking up the sun and feeling ill from the malaria tablets!

Have to say frequentfryer we have took the ones you want to get for years and have never been ill in any way lets hope your the same ... ...colleen

We always take the malaria tablets you want and have never had any problems, but we always take them before we go to bed (just in case of any side effects!!!) Paula

OK - thanks for that. Need to go and pack now - I can't wait!

temp sticky for newbies to Goa

Hi Hope someone can help me
We are off to Goa for our second visit this december and cant wait
When we were their last time we were recomended to take some malaria tablets bought over in Goa - I think thay may have been ones you take once a week. My partner took these and was fine and had no problems. I took the usual ones advised by my doctor and they didnt agree with me at all. Can anyone advise the name of the best ones to take and how often you take them ? Assume these can only be purchased in Goa ?
many thanks in advance
Lou

HI LOU
I presume by your screen name that you live in BOLTON [could be wrong maybe your surname] when are you going as we are there in 3 weeks and would be more than happy to get some for you , as you need to take them before you go MALARONE is the most common one i think
NEIL

hi
the most common ones are chloroquineand proguanil ,can be bought over the counter in boots

Last time we went to Goa, I'm sure for my two week holiday, I ordered 16 tablets. 1 two days before and 1 a day while there. This year, however, my boyfriend has been given 23 on his prescription. Two before hand, 1 a day while we are there and 1 a day for 7 days after.

Does anyone know why it has changed? And how many have you ordered?

Thanks.

If you got a prescription off your doctor ask him/her why the change, comments here are not professional advise, you may go to Goa and never be bitten by a mosquito, you could be bitten 100 times and be ok, or you could be bitten once and get malaria, so you need to take the best advise possible by professionals

Certainly seem to be more mosquitoes about this year - I got a lot more bites than last year so it's a case of fingers crossed.

I'm taking Malarone. Started taking them two days before travelling given our arrival time in Goa to be sure they'd have started to be effective.

When in the UK we're taking tablets with a milky drink or cornflakes in mid-afternoon, so that when in Goa we could take them with our evening meal.

The good news is we've had absolutely no side effects at all.

The bad news is they are expensive - Boots charged £60 for twenty four tablets. I had a stroke of luck though as my doctor didn't seem at all familiar with Malarone - he prescribed me the child dose..... When I pointed this out he wrote me a new prescription for the correct dose....... on an NHS prescription form! It caused much shaking of heads at the pharmacy but bless them, they dispensed them for me for the price of an NHS prescription!

You were lucky getting them on prescription, SteveK Ive bought 25 Malarone at a cost of £62.50. I was worried about the side effects so thought I would spend that little bit more. Hope it pays off !

I am going in 2 weeks (YIPEE!). Never been before. I am now starting to get into the panic mode and worrying about this, that and everything. Can someone tell me whether all hotels/beach huts have mosquito nets as a matter of course? Im paranoid now that I am going to get bitten! Also what is the best insect repellent to buy and is it better to buy here or out there?

Many thanks

jennyt

I've not seen inside many hotels but none of those I've seen had mosquito nets - though they were air conditioned rooms. If you have an air conditioned room, make sure you keep it cool/cold enough to keep the mosquitoes out. We didn't keep the room particularly cool this trip and got the odd bite in the room.
If you can, take a knock down fly spray with you and give the room a good dose on arrival. if in doubt spray it each evening, as twilight is when the majority of mosquitoes become active. Fly sprays are readily available in Goa but if you take one with you it's ready for immediate use without having to go shopping.

The only beach hut I've used had a mosquito net though it was poorly designed and I didn't have a lot of faith in it.

As for insect repellents - the locally produced Odomoz seems quite effective and is cheap and readily available. I used that or a 50% Deet spray on exposed skin in the evenings - I didn't bother during the day if we were in the coastal areas but would if travelling inland, especially in the south of the state where day flying mosquitoes are more prevalent. I sprayed my clothing with Deet as well the day I went horse riding.

The recommended practice is to spray your clothing with 100% deet to avoid being bitten through it. I don't normally bother but on our last night in Goa I got several bites on my back (through a shirt) whilst dining out, so perhaps I should follow the advice in future!

Take sensible precautions to avoid being bitten and you should be fine. There is malaria in Goa but it's far from endemic and historically has been associated with the migrant workers who lived and worked in poor conditions. Many visitors take no precautions at all and come to no harm, but that's not a course of action that can be recommended.

Thanks for that SteveK. Need to get the knock down fly spray and the deet spray. Im assuming Boots or somewhere sell it?

Only 10 days to go.....

hi
go to travelpharm on the internet they will deliver in time,brand name repel,100% deet for clothing,55% for skin,....you do not need to bring fly or bug spray get it from local shop or supermarket when you get here they are open late best brand is called Mortein costs rs 155/- for425ml spray

Hi

hubby just had a shock!! he went in to the chemist to pick up our prescription for our malaria tablets and they wanted £184 !!! we are only going for 3 weeks!!

not sure what type they were, i still have some from last time that we could take, can i easily get them in cavelossim???

thanks

jane

Were they Malarone?they are really expensive,&you don,t really need that type for Goa.the others are Proquinal&something else think it begins with a c you take them for about a week before you go all the time your there & when you come home (can't remember how long)
We went to the Gambia a couple of years ago &like you i nearly keeled over when it came to paying,could of had another holiday with what we payed

i will have to talk to hubby and find out,
i told him to tell the doc its the same ones as as last time, but i didnt pay that price for them!! mind you i think he is so shocked he has lost the power of speech !!