Prevent malaria with 7 tips from the Travel Clinic at Singapore General Hospital.
7 malaria prevention tips
If you are travelling to malaria-prone areas, follow these malaria prevention tips as recommended by
Dr Limin Wijaya, Senior Consultant,
Department of Infectious Diseases,
Singapore General Hospital (SGH), a member of the
SingHealth group.
- Take the right type of anti-malarial medicines for the country you are travelling to. The choice of anti-malarial prevention tablets will also need to take into account your medical history, age and other concurrent medications. You must take them daily or weekly, depending on the medication choice, prior to travel and upon return from the malaria area.
- Protect yourself from mosquito bites by sleeping under an insecticide-treated mosquito net.
- Wear socks, long pants, long-sleeve shirts and blouses.
- Spray DEET mosquito repellent onto your clothes and the exposed parts of your skin.
- Make sure the room doors and windows are closed properly and screened with gauze to prevent mosquitoes from getting in.
- Spray the room with an insecticide before entering.
- Pregnant women and young children should avoid travelling to malaria-prone areas.
“It is important to check with your doctor or a travel clinic for the right anti-malarial for the country you are travelling to. Malaria treatment has become more challenging as malaria parasites grow increasingly drug-resistant,” says Dr Wijaya.
The SGH Travel Clinic is run by specialists from the Department of Infectious Diseases. It is a designated Yellow Fever Centre. The team of doctors and nurses will offer comprehensive travel advice and country-specific recommendations prior to your trip.
See previous page for the
symptoms of malaria.
Ref: S13
