What should you know about malaria prevention?

Malaria is spread through the bites of infected mosquitoes. Risk depends on where you travel, the season, your accommodation, and the local malaria pattern. Protection is still needed when taking preventive tablets because medicine does not replace measures that reduce mosquito bites.

A travel clinician can review your destination, medical history, pregnancy status, medicines, and the length and style of your trip. They can then advise whether malaria prophylaxis is suitable and explain when and how to take it. Do not share tablets or use leftover medicine from an earlier journey.

Use an insect repellent as directed on exposed skin, wear long sleeves and trousers when practical, and choose accommodation with intact screens or air conditioning where available. Sleep under an insecticide-treated bed net if the room is not well screened. Follow product instructions, particularly when applying repellent around children or alongside sunscreen.

Arrange a travel health consultation before departure, allowing time to start any recommended medicine. Take preventive medicine exactly as prescribed and ask what to do if you vomit, miss a dose, or develop side effects. Continue bite-avoidance measures throughout the trip and keep a record of the countries and dates visited.

Seek medical advice promptly for a fever during travel to a malaria-risk area or after returning from one, even if you used repellent and took preventive medicine. Chills, sweating, headache, unusual tiredness, nausea, or muscle aches can occur with malaria, but symptoms vary and may resemble other illnesses.

Tell the clinician about recent travel and the areas visited before discussing other possible causes. A blood test may be needed, and early assessment matters because malaria can become serious. Seek emergency help for confusion, difficulty breathing, fainting, seizures, severe weakness, or inability to keep fluids down.

Ask which preventive medicine, if any, fits your destination and health history; when to start and stop it; how to handle a missed dose; and which symptoms require urgent assessment. Mention pregnancy, plans for pregnancy, allergies, kidney or liver problems, and all medicines or supplements you take.