I am planning on going to Dakar next month. I will be in Dakar for only two days-would you go on Malarone for that short of time. Thanks!

Anyone? I will probably be staying mainly in and around the hotel. I thought that going over to the island for the slavery museum would have been interesting but am wondering about mosquitoes.

Friends of mine have said that their doctors have said NOT to take as you do more damage to yourself. However, I took malarone last year to India and was okay. Thoughts?

Only in discussion with your physician, can you make this decision.

For me, even if only 2/days, I'd take the tabs (you'd need 11- 2/days before, 2/days in Dakar, 7/days once home), of course, use repellent, wear long pants/sleeves from dusk/dawn.

While there is no inoculation against Malaria, the meds are a preventative should you be bitten and contract... and hopefully, easier to treat. And, remember, you only need 1/bite - malaria is a nasty disease, annually killing over 1/million worldwide.

Sandi is quite correct. I'm an American doctor and I would never tell a patient that one of the common malaria preventives would do more harm than good. Both Malarone and Larium are well tolerated and Malarone has few serious side effects. Your friends are either misrepresenting what their doctors told them or they have other conditions that might cause problems. One of the disturbing things about the internet is that misinformation is spread so readily. I hope most travelers discuss these issues with their doctors (yellow fever, malaria, typhoid) and not rely on Fodor's for accurate information. I have seen some shockingly bad, dangerous information provided in this forum and urge you to speak with your doctor. He does not need to be a travel medicine specialist, all doctors will be able to discuss this with you. Believe me it's not rocket science.
Chuck

Thanks for your responses-I too (being a daughter of an RN) have always been taught to take any type of medical precautions when traveling.I found it strange that my friends(fellow F/A's who do those layovers)choose not to do the pills. I will put in for my stash of malarone. I appreciate your info.

I was in Senegal a few years ago and the one place I really had problems with mosquitos was in Dakar. I took precautions and still managed to get a ton of bites there one evening. I wouldn't risk it.