Malaria doubts
It’s Monday, one week to go, and I still feel the ache in my arms from the jabs.
I’m not sure if work got to me or the jabs messed it all up a little more - one thing is certain, nasties send me bonkers. I know that from bitter experience.
I marched up to Trop Med and waited my turn, to explain that I lose it when I take drugs. The nurses looked kindly at me and I couldn’t help wonder how much they thought I was making it up… “What about alcohol?” (Well that’s ok! But strange things do happen that I’d rather not describe for them)…
- I know when to take it and when not to. Same with caffeine. I know when to take them to my advantage. I use that. With things like jabs and malaria tablets, I can’t choose when to take it. That’s why I’m concerned.
-We’ll call the doctor.
The doctor explained that nobody could force me to take anything, and at the end of the day, it was my decision.
My decision was to spend £12 on 4 Malarone tablets, to try them and, more to the point, to show willing! As if anyone needed my willingness.
Malarone is the latest and dearest form of Malaria prophylaxis. There are less reported side effects. At £3 a tablet, my trip would set me back by £130.
I walked out, clutching my zipped plastic bag with the little white cardboard box inside…. My body saying ‘no way, girl, no way, you’re not going to swallow that!”
But, at least I went and saw.
Later that day, more research begins.
It seems homoeopaths don’t agree. From what I gather from my quick scan through googled pages, orthodox homoeopathy treats the person, as usual, and doesn’t advocate any prevention treatment.
I decide to go with my intuition, and stumble on a page that feels right.
Demal 200. I speak to the UK distributor, in Southport. He tells me malaria tablets are only prescribed in the rich Western world… He couldn’t get them, working in Malaysia as an engineer, and his colleagues told him about this product. It was so good he became a distributor.
Weighing everything, I decide that’s the product I want to go with, plus a second to deal with viruses, in particular dengue fever.
Tamil Nadu is not a hotspot for malaria. One page shows a dramatic drop. It’s pink on the hotspot map. The more I look, the more products feel the right way to go.
As for the Malarone, I may as well flog it on eBay. But till I do, it’s free to a good home.