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Tom,
On Tue, 24 Sep 1996, Tom Mount wrote:
> I'm going to the south pacifice and the solomons
> for about a months duration. Shoudl I take medication or not. We will be
> diving in the 60 to 120 meter range and I do not want Malaria but I also
> do not wish to have diving related problems.
I suspect that the number of people who have taken a dose of mefloquin or
doxycycline and then dived to (540 fsw) 180m can be counted on the thumbs
of one foot. So, I cannot give you any real data on the risks, of which
there may be none.
The risk of malaria in the Solomons is not great in tourist areas and low
when on live aboards. Your greatest risk is arriving in a village at
sunset or sleeping overnight in rural/suburban areas.
The US Public Health Service/Centers for Disease Control recommends that
US tourists use mefloquin weekly in these areas for malaria prophylaxis.
Many Infectious Disease specialists, including myself, do not agree and
prefer to use the advice of the people who really know, because they
live/visit there - the Australians. They recommend using doxycycline 100 mg
at bedtime. As I noted this is not without any side effects, but may be more
effective. Two years ago four of us took doxy and dived at Walindi for a
week . None of us got malaria and none of us had side-effects diving to
120 fsw, for what that's worth. That's what I did and I would do it again
and follow the most important advice:
> > (1) Bring your own can of room insect spray and spray
> > your sleeping room just after dusk. (2) Use DEET (at least 60% or more)
> > on your *clothing* in the evening or if you are in
> > the forest. Apply sparingly to your skin and wear
> > long sleeves and long pants. (3) Bring and use a bed net with you,
> > one that has been impregnated with insect repellant. Many sports
> > /travel stores sell these as do mail order houses.
> >
> > If you get sick, get *professional* help. Someone
> > who has actually taken care of a case of "tropical fever"
> > in a tourist before.
Don't dive with strokes; don't get treated by stokes
Sounds like a great trip. Any vacancies to 180 fsw? ;-)
-ph
*******************************************************************
* Peter Heseltine, M.D., F.A.C.P. *
* Professor of Medicine *
* University of Southern California LAC+USC Medical Center *
* Tel: 213/226-6705 1200 North State Street *
* Fax: 213/226-2479 Los Angeles, CA 90033-1084 *
* Eml: heseltin@hs*.us*.ed* USA *
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