Malaria - availibility of preventative medications

No one here takes anti malarials unless they live close to the boarder ror in specific areas honey. Don't worry.

planner wrote:

No one here takes anti malarials unless they live close to the boarder ror in specific areas honey. Don't worry.

My less than pleasant experience of these drugs suggests you shouldn't take them unless you're close to a toilet.
If mozzies are a concern, repellent creams work very well and it's far better not to get bitten than it is to take drugs with very common side effects.

Yes there have over 600 cases in DR this year and those cases in the main have been in two areas; Barahona province near Haiti and Los Tres Brazos in Santo Domingo East hence the specific advisory.

https://listindiario.com/la-republica/2 … res-brazos

You are not likely to go near the poor barrio Los Tres Brazos which is a couple of miles north of Zona Colonial and is low lying wrapped around by the River Ozama.

We dont take anti malaria medication but you should take precautions to avoid mosquito bites due to the prevalence of dengue especially when out of the city.

Now if you lived in Kenya where I once did you definitely take medication for malaria.

Thanks guys. That's been very helpful   

Re mosquito repellent including creams, fabric sprays etc how readily available is it in Santo Domingo?

and if available, how expensive?

You can buy 'Off' both as aerosol and as liquid spray in all the supermarkets for a small price (100-200 pesos) plus various repellents using candles or the green mosquito coils. And a 'tennis racket' will cost you about 300 pesos.

I recall having stayed in hotels in the Zona Colonial with mosquito nets on the bed. Hotel maids have a habit of opening doors and windows and I like to spray the rooms after they have cleaned to rid the space of any mosquitos. Such sprays are also readily available at supermarkets.

I have found (In Indonesia but it sounds like you have exactly the same problems), a good blitzing every time you see more than one or two mozzies keeps them away for days.
I do it as we go out so the smell has disappeared before we return home.

Thanks guys. Great advice and I'll follow all of it 

I've read that certain things can be expensive in the DR and I'm pleased that mosquito repellent is not one of those things.

Mosquito spray is expensive.  Bring it with you.   However only bring repellent with DEET of 22% or higher. The rest just doesn't work.  Also bring raid mosquito and fly spray for your room.

Before going to bed close.up your room and spray it.  Wait a couple.minutes and it's ready.  If you don't have screens and are not up high enough don't open windows at night.

More of a concern here is dengue!  You don't want to get dengue either!

Very useful info
For the spray I have ashtma the spray will affect my breathing is there anything else I can bring with me?
Thks a lot

No, nothing else will actually work honey.

Good day
For the dengue.
same mosquito spray you mentioned is it fine for the dengue too?
Thank you

Yes with DEET,  its the same mosquito that carries malaria, dengue and chikungunya

freeperson - you should investigate the best mosquitos sprays for yourself mindful of your asthma.

All 'Off' contain DEET in various amounts which dictates the time that you get effective protection without the need to reapply. Their products range from 'Deep Woods' which is largely DEET giving 10 hours protection to their more standard products giving 2 hours protection which tend to be more suitable for people with sensitive skin and children. DEET products must NOT be applied under clothing.

Have a look at the 'Off' site to determine if it is suited to you and which product.

https://off.com/en

Studies have found that permethrin is a very effective mosquito repellent used on clothing and is commonly used on mosquito nets. It has been suggested that a good mosquito repellent regime is to use permethrin on clothes and DEET or Picaradin (brand names Sawyer and Avon) on skin - not used the latter but apparently less side effects than DEET and equally effective in tests.

https://sawyer.com/products/permethrin- … treatment/https://sawyer.com/products/picaridin-insect-repellent/

Myself I've used Off products and DEET products from Boots UK when needed. most of the time I don't use any spray on exposed skin and wear shorts most of the time.

Skitter spray is a good idea and evenin rooms at "good" hotels, we bring our Raid for ants and cockroaches because those critters are prevalent everywhere. Not be afraid of as they do fly around even in the best of places. As far as getting shots for malaria, be very careful with that. As several have stated, hardly anyone gets these here avoid going to certain areas. BUT if you do elect,KNOW what you are getting. AVOID anything with MEFLOQUINE - it has dangerous and for many, has lifelong side effects. People react differently but some are affected after a couple of shots, others take more -DO NOT TAKE OR RISK THIS DRUG.......

For those that want to avoid the harsh chemical smell of DEET, there is a natural option which is only effective for 2 hours maximum and is probably less effective than DEET, and that is to use products with a naturally occurring product citronella. A good example is Repel plant based lemon eucalyptus which is a best seller available from Amazon at a low price. Probably good for those with allergies to chemicals.

https://repellentguide.com/mosquitoes/e … itronella/

Citronella is used in candles to repel mosquitos and is partially effective on keeping them away from biting you.

You need to take a whole range of actions if you are determined to avoid mosquito bites; from keeping them out of your living space with closed windows and doors or mosquito screens in place, spraying the room space to kills the insects before retiring or settling down, covering your skin with long sleeved shirts and dresses especially when out after dusk when the mosquitos are most active, spraying those fabrics with mosquito deterrent, covering your skin with mosquito repellent and topping up if the protection period is short and sleeping under mosquito nets which have been sprayed with deterrents.

And don't get paranoid, mosquitos are part of living in the tropics and DR has a very minor localized malaria problem compared to many popular tropical destinations in Africa, Asia and Central and South America.

When I lived in Kenya, with my former wife and two children, we each had a malaria tablet wheel and were on a daily dose of Paludrin (Atovaquone/Proguanil) one full tablet for adults and half for children, and a weekly tablet of Chloroquine. No big side effects with these medications which are less effective these days due to mosquito resistance.

The mosquitos were bad there and we were always conscious of signs of malaria and the need to act quickly because of celebral malaria which can kill in 24 hours and that type of mosquito existed there. We only had one scare with my youngest which involved a rush to hospital and some precautionary medication but he was good.

Lennoxnev. I also worked in Africa 4 years and understood the it was the evening when the chances of getting malaria was higher. I also carried around 3 tablets to take if there was any signs that I might get infected. Frankly I do not understand why I never got it since I also worked in India, Bangladesh and other malaria breeding grounds. I was advised not to go for the immunization shot. This was coming from a Africa doctor. They know how to treat malaria patients.

During my time there over 25 years ago, the options were oral medications but new drugs were being developed which had some bad side effects and I did hear negative reports.

It certainly was not a disease one would have wanted with repeat bouts of fever. I had one local engineer working for me who suffered with repeats.

Quinine was and I believe still is a good remedy. Was added to tonic water by the British when in India and mixed with gin. Hence the earlier name of Schweppes Indian Tonic Water and the now popular drink of gin and tonic.

Thank you so much for all these info
what about this one will it work i think not?
Serene Life PSLUMR8 Plug-in Mosquito Repeller electric plug in should not be same brand but any plug in will work?
the bottom one is from your link
thks a lot

fond this one too
Homemade Mosquito Repellent Recipes
https://repellentguide.com/mosquitoes/h … epellents/

I don't have any faith in electric plug in repellers.

You are trying to stop the mosquito biting you and an electric repeller is localized.

Rather than make your own herbal organic mix without chemicals (DEET) you should settle for branded products that have been tested and do work such as Repel or Cutter lemon eucalyptus spray. eg   

https://www.amazon.com/Cutter-Eucalyptu … B00860Y3DQhttps://www.amazon.com/Plant-Based-Euca … B004N59OFU

And the organic products do work - see attached article including graph showing effectiveness at 2 hours and 4 hours.

https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandso … -and-tonic

I've never thought much about the DEET free products until the question of allergies was raised and after reading about effectiveness and seeing the prices, I am minded to run with products such as the lemon eucalyptus products above.

Of the non-DEET repellents Cutter lemon eucalyptus insect repellent was found particularly effective, it repelled 90% of mosquitoes for the first 2 hours of application and then still gave over 80% protection for up to 4 hours. This performance is comparable to the best of the DEET repellents. The most surprising result from the test was that Victoria Secret Bomshell fragrance gave 80% protection for the first 2 hours - contrary to the common belief that fragrances can attract mosquitoes. The worst performing repellent was infact the Mosquito skin patch, which appeared to offer no protection, though this may have been due to the test set up that was used.

this one: Cutter lemon eucalyptus insect repellent,  we cant find it in Canada on amazon but i found it on E bay Canada

pls can i buy the Citronella  candles  in Lasd Terrenas and how much is it approx
thhs

Do not panic. There is no malaria in Las Terrenas. I get bitten ten times a day and I feel perfectly allright.

Mosquito coils are effective, on sale everywhere. Repellents can be of help in some cases, like sitting in restaurant hoping they bite someone else :-)

The most important is to rest correctly in the night, a mosquito bed net is the only way to keep them away from you. They are available in many shops in the village. Take twine and small eye screws along with you.

Good day
Thank you for the info hope meet soon at LT will be on January 10th
Don't laugh at me but what u mean by:Take twine and small eye screws along with you.

Small eye screws are often very useful to set up the mosquito bed net. Those screws can be used in woodwork, just do not screw them in visible parts to avoid spoiling it.

Ok. Drop me a word when you'll be here.

With regards to prevention of mosquito bites via repellents, despite googling a variety of search terms I've been unable to answer for myself the following question..

Can effective repellents eg
https://off.com/en/product/deep-woods or
https://sawyer.com/insect-repellents/

..be bought in stores in DR? (and specifically) in Santo Domingo?

My attempts to source repellents with 23% DEET (eg OFF Deep Woods), here in Mexico City before flying to Santo Domingo (in 7 days) have failed because:
1) for online purchases, I have no fixed delivery address and
2) mexican stores seem to stock only the 5% concentrations eg https://off.com/en/product/family-care

OR are they only available online?

Yes you can find them here - sometimes - at some stores - but not always!

When I am out later this week I will have a look!

I found out that off mosquito repellent spray can cause eczema and affect breathing specially if you have asthma

Super Pola supermarket in Santo Domingo on Av. Independencia 8km, has a good assortment of mosquito sprays including Off pump spray with 7% DEET which is suitable for children with sensitive skin, Off aerosol with 15% DEET, Off aerosol Deep Woods with 25% DEET, Cutter aerosol with 7% DEET, Repelengue pump action Citronella/Lemon- no DEET but using alcohol as medium https://lam.com.do/index.php?option=com … gory_id=11  and Repelengue pump action citronella/eucalyptus oil and lemon. the various repellents cost just over 300 pesos and near 500 pesos for the Deep Woods. there are plenty f choices for candles and other types of repellents and sprays to kill mosquitos.

You should have no problem sourcing the type of repellent you prefer here in Santo Domingo.

Malaria was the concern in the opening post but it is dengue fever that should be a greater concern especially for those with younger children.

Unfortunately this disease has spread widely in the tropics and one needs to take precautions to avoid being bitten by the Aedes Aegypti mosquito.

As reported in the DR press today, there were a reported 53 deaths from this fever in DR last year and a reported 19,742 cases.

https://listindiario.com/la-republica/2 … -diciembre

Apart from taking precautions to avoid mosquito bites, one should be aware of the symptoms. Rashes, fever and severe headaches are just some of the symptoms.

It is worth stressing that one must not take pain reducing medications that thin the blood because bleeding is also a symptom of dengue and can lead to severe haemorrhaging.

I read that report. We can guarantee there are more cases that are unreported.

Having had dengue - you don't want it. Take precautions!!!!

Hi
so do we need to have the Vaccine for Las Terrenas?

What vaccine??? There is no vaccine

Oh i thought there is a vaccine for Malaria

Nope, medications! And you don't need them.

Yes. The title continues to distract from the main concern. I don't suppose the post could be renamed to "Dengue...  "?

Fair comment. Malaria is a non issue for virtually all expats coming to DR.

But avoiding mosquito bites and the infections they carry not to mention the annoyance/irritations of being bitten is relevant to all expats.

Following the discussion here and investigations as to what is available locally other than Off, I decided to try the Repelengue pump action citronella/eucalyptus oil and lemon spray which I found in my local Super Pola supermarket. For me and my wife, the smell is much more pleasant than DEET sprays and has no skin reaction. More importantly whilst in the campo yesterday it seemed to be effective in deterring mosquitos and other bugs and I was not bitten nor pestered....and there were a few flying around annoying others.

Amid the pandemic, malaria cases in the DR continue to rise

The Los Tres Brazos sector, where there is a focus, registers 90% of cases

https://www.diariolibre.com/actualidad/ … IJ19982497
Amid the coronavirus pandemic , malaria cases in the Dominican Republic continue to increase, with their focus in the Los Tres Brazos neighborhood , in the Santo Domingo Este municipality.

In its latest bulletin, the General Directorate of Epidemiology (Digepi) of the Ministry of Public Health reports 616 confirmed cases of malaria in the country.

The document, which covers epidemiological week 23 and runs from May 31 to June 6, 2020, indicates that the cumulative incidence is 13.33 cases per 100,000 inhabitants .