ok ill take them , better to be safe then be sorry hey, i just hope i dont get bad side effects as this is my first trip over seas, any advice you can give me?

In the unlikely event you do experience side effects, stop taking the doxycycline. If the effects persist even after that, then go to see a doctor. But in all likelihood you'll be fine - and having a whale of a time!

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I hope your right mate :) i cant wait to see all the awesome stuff ive planned

Ok so I started taking them and they make me feel hung over so I dont think ill continue taking them....plus lots of people are telling me the areas im in arnt high risk so might stick to good old bushmans insect lotion

No worries man...

Here's a few tips for everyday mozzie protection... as I said before, cover up skin from dusk through til dawn, as the biters are nighttime predators mostly. Cover any other areas of skin with DEET - if you haven't got it already I would buy it in Thailand, as it's likely to be cheaper. I always go to the nearest Boots Chemist in Bangkok and pick up a silver bottle of tropical-strength DEET-based mozzie lotion. (There's a couple of Boots on the Khao San Road if you're staying there, otherwise they are in the main areas like Sukhumvit/near Paragon/Siam Square).

If you get time though, visit Boots in the UK and try to pick up one of these - they cost just over a fiver:



The idea is when you get a bite and it starts to itch, you zap the skin around the bite with this thing, which delivers a tiny, tiny electric shock. It apparently deadens the nerves around the bite, stopping the itching. I swear it works... I don't think it's a placebo, anyway!

As a result your bites will heal faster as you won't be scratching them (which deadens the nerves also) and potentially making them bleed and even scar.

Get one before you leave... you'll find others borrowing it off you as soon as you tell em what it is!

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Not sure if we have those zappers....the bushmans I got has 80% deet in it...will that be good? My friend in phuket thinks im crazy for taking these meds as she reckons I wont get malaria in phuket,chiang mai,chiang rai and bangkok

I second that recommendation. I was told to get one of those 10 years ago after finding out that the little bggrs find me particularly tasty. So much so, my wife doesn't need to wear repellent - they don't even notice her as they speed past on their way to me!

The zapper has worked for me, but JIC I carry hydrocortisone cream too.

One further recommendation - Boots also carry a repellent called Autan Plus which contains Icaridin (picaridin in 'mercan) which was developed as an alternative to DEET - Icaridin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I find it as effective as DEET without the amazing pong and the tendency to dissolve expensive sunglasses.

Thanks - sounds good, I'll give it a go!

Sorry jgarner - I thought you were a pom!

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My latest travels: Shikoku Pilgrimage

haha no not me, im not a pom , full aussie mate