Mailing List Archive Mailing List Archive
Hi, Ace, in my neck o' the woods, lariam is a commonly-prescribed prophylactic for malaria. i would imagine that a lot of visiting divers are on it while they're traveling in this region. is it safe? well... i do remember a divemaster friend of mine recounting an incident on board a live-aboard a few years back. a group of americans flew in for a multi-day dive cruise. i'm not too sure of the time frame involved but sometime during the early part of the cruise, a female diver started exhibiting what my friend descibed as shock-like symptoms while on the boat. she became totally catatonic. they initially thought she was bent and immediately evacuated her. at the hospital, she was diagnosed as having had an allergic reaction to her malaria medication, lariam. she was lucky that she didn't get the reaction while she was diving. keep in mind that this is all 2nd-hand info but i do suggest telling your friend to consult a hyperbaric doctor and an infectious disease expert as well. on the other hand, imagine the pain: steel spikes being relentlessly hammered into your forehead and the part of your spine between your shoulder blades 2x a day for several days - and you know that this intensity of pain will come again same time tomorrow morning and later in the afternoon. imagine chills in a room that's 30 C warm. imagine 41 C fevers while puking your guts out. 8 kg weight loss in one week. man, these tropical diseases sure are a blast. it isn't only malaria you've got to be on the look-out for; there's also typhoid (that one's a real beaut), hepatitis and some other esoteric illnesses. hope this helps. safe diving! m.g. ebro At 08:10 AM 4/11/00 +0300, ANDREW MCALPINE wrote: > List, > A diving Buddy is off to Papua New Guinea in June for a diving > break, (Long awaited) and the World Health Org only recommend > Lariam/mefloquine as a malaria prophylactic. Question is . . . . > > does taking this medication contra-indicate diving? > > Any help/advice would be appreciated. > > Ace McAlpine > >-- >Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'. >Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'. > -- Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'. Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'.
Navigate by Author:
[Previous]
[Next]
[Author Search Index]
Navigate by Subject:
[Previous]
[Next]
[Subject Search Index]
[Send Reply] [Send Message with New Topic]
[Search Selection] [Mailing List Home] [Home]