| Dear Linda
According to a study by Trop med Europe, an infectious disease specialist, people on short trips to India who take simple precautions such as wearing appropriate clothing, use mosquito nets and insect repellants then the odds of being infected by malaria are very small indeed.(1) So small in fact that malaria tablets for trips to India are no longer recommended as the drug side effects versus risk don’t warrant it. A manager of a well-known adventure travel agency had never heard of anybody who had caught malaria on the sub-continent since he has worked there. He concurred that even though there is a small risk he didn’t think it was anything like as great as the pharmaceutical companies would have us believe.(3) The Homoeopaths of old and some more modern day practitioners, myself included, recommend that people who don’t want to or who are unable to take drugs can take the potentised remedy Malaria Co 30 instead a week before going and once a week while abroad continued each week for a month on return. If traveling in a high risk area China 6 should be taken every day in between the weekly dose of Malaria Co. While this is not strictly homoeopathic and as yet is not supported by scientific research, over the past 25 years none of my patients taking this alternative prophylaxis have suffered from malaria. Africa has the highest level of malaria infections in the world and the homoeopaths over there recommend this regime for visitors to the country presumably for good reason.(2) Prevention is always better than cure so to avoid being bitten in the first place burn citronella oil in your bedroom and rub a light oil mix of lavender, lime and Ti tree onto your skin before sleeping. Mossies don’t like the smell but most humans do so fortunately you won’t be avoided by your fellow travelers as well. Our Medical herbalist recommends taking a few drops of Neem tincture in water twice daily while traveling and in the event that you do get bitten dab calendula tincture with a little Ti tree oil added. This will reduce swelling and itching and help prevent infection taking hold. Enjoy your holiday.
References: 1) Health Medical, Independent 3rd July 2006 2) Homoeopathy in Practice Spring 2006 3)Travel News 8th July 2006 Best of Health |
