When you go to an area shown as having risk of malaria, do you panic every time you're bitten or do you hope that you got bitten by a safe mosquito and wait until you get symptoms to panic? I will be taking malaria drugs, spraying with DEET (30) and will have my own mosquito net (altho most places I'll be staying claim to have their own). BTW, I'll be in Cairo, Nairobi and Tanzania (Mt. Meru, northern circuit safaris and Zanzibar) in September.

Doesn't matter you take prophylaxis or not: If you are bitten you can't change it but hope for the best.

Cover7spray/cream - take all precautions available and don't worry or freak out.

Should you get symptoms - it's time to react. But don't ruin your trip by worrying over things you cannot change and which most probably won't occur!

When you return to your home country and get flu like symptoms later on: tell you Doc that you traveled Africa!

Happy travels!

SV

I panic because I know the next week after being bitten I will be focused on desperately trying not to scatch.

With prophylactics, Malaria is not really foremost in my mind.

I get bit all the time, and no, I never worry. I faithfully take the malarone, and I figure for $5/pill, it will do what it says!

Mossies love me everywhere I go, so I am so used to putting on my eau-de-deet every day, it's almost common place now! Some of the little towelettes they leave you as amenities though are not as strong as the OFF towelettes you can sometimes find here.

If you read thru the trip reports you'll read many comments of NOT having seen/heard/bitten by mossies. Doesn't mean they're not about, but they bite between dusk/dawn when it's cool to cold. Mossies don't like cold or wind, so you're usually safe.

It is still important to take your malaria meds and use Deet on exposed skin when outdoors. And it's usual to have your room sprayed when you go out for dinner. Be sure not to spray on your pillows and bed linens.

Be prepared, but don't worry about this.

I don't remember one person on these boards ever reporting getting malaria (though I haven't read every word!). Even the Malarone isn't guaranteed 100%, but neither is anything in life. Long sleeves/pants, mossie nets, DEET + pills, and remembering that you have to be bitten by one type of mosquito, and a female at that, and you will probably put it out of your mind.

It's not a question of panic, it's simply a question of observing all the reasonable precautions that are available.

Also, people love to quote the fact that the anti-malarial pills aren't 100% effective. What gets lost in the conversation is that they are very very effective. Do be sure to take them as directed by your travel doc.