Phil

We are planning a trip to Vietnam next month.
I was wondering if malarial pills are really necessary.

Thanks in advance.

David

According to the Vietnam embassy no vaccinations or pills are suggested for visiting.

Kathie

Whether anti-malarials are needed depends specifically on where you are going. And while no vaccinations are required, you'd be wise to have routine traveler's vaccinations (which include boosters, as approproate, for tetnaus & diptheria, polio, etc) of typhoid and Hep A (and B if you have risk factors). Read all about it at www.cdc.gov

Sarah

We took Larium (Brand name) Malaria pills for our trip to Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos and had no unpleasant side effects. Think these pills are a good precaution.

Kathie

Please do your research before you go. There is larium-resistant malaria in this area of the world. The two options (IF you need anti-malarials) are doxycycline and malarone.

www.cdc.gov

Alan

Hi, Phil!
You should be asking the experts a question as important as this... and, certainly, the Vietnamese Embassy are not experts on vaccinations needed for foreigners! When we did our trip,our doctor said that if we planned to spend our whole holiday in Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi, we probably wouldn't need any vaccinations; however, for villages (especially around the Mekong) or travelling in the delta, he advised us to take everything on offer. He's probably an old fuddy-duddy, but it's better to be safe than sorry! One mosquito could have a devastating effect on the rest of your life!

surfergrrrl

I was just prescribed doxycycline at the travel clinic for a trip to Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam because there are Larium resistant strains, particulary on the Thai/Cambodian border. The side effects are minimal, and probably less onerous than a case of malaria. You should definately talk to a professional at a travel clinic (NOT your GP) about it because they will have the most up to date info about malaria. BTW, if you are on birth control pills, doxycycline reduces its reliability... which my GP told me, not the travel clinic doctor, so you should also visit your GP before going to make sure all is working fine. The cdc website is good, also very up to date.

John

It is wise to take malaria pill when in malaria areas. The best ( check withyou doctor) is Malarone. Side effect are head ache and GI pain, upset. Take all your Hep. A&B shots. Keep up all other vaccinations. Doxycycline when taken keep out of the sun(In Viet Nam?). Just spent 1 month incountry and had no problems.

jhm

Doxycycline was the answer for me - as long as you have sunblock on, you'll be fine (and if you are in the Mekong, you should be wearing long sleeves/long pants anyway). Having been to the Mekong, I have to say that I was VERY glad to have been on antimalarials.