Antimalarial tablets and ITP

I have had ITP for a number of years and it is stable but chronic. I now wish to take antimalarials for a holiday to Belize and Guatemala. My haematologist has given me the information that all antimalarials depress bone marrow platelet production but given no clinical decision. Has anyone else taken chloroquine and what have the effects been?

Many of us take Plaquinel which is a variant - for suppressing lupus and other auto-immune conditions. Apparently some people have platelet reactions to the quinine drugs and others don't. My platelet counts are not affected by plaquenil.

You are right to be concerned, you will probably end up balancing the risks - chance of malaria versus chance of platelet reaction.

Years ago, before I had platelet problems, I was on plaquenil and I was going to Brazil. My doctor researched whether I could take the anti-malarial drug and he concluded NO, I stayed on plaquenil though which may have had some preventative effect. Bottom line, I didn't get malaria.

Do you respond well to prednisone if your counts are down? If you decide to take the anti-malarial you could take along prednisone in case you get symptoms of low platelets.

Erica

Hi. My count is fairly constant at 45 and in the UK, with no symptoms, we don't treat so I have no experience of other drugs. Thanks for the benefit of your experience.

I'm like Erica - I take Plaquenil (antimalarial) and have had no problems with it. I've actually been in remission since starting it (coincidence, other factors involved).

Hi. I have just been to see another haematology specialist who has prescribed Proguanil. She said that had a lower riskthan chloroquine. Hope she's right.

People are either sensitive to quinine or they aren't. Hopefully you are in the majority who are not affected. Good luck!

Hi!

I went to Kenya in November 2009 and had to take malaria pills (mefloquine) I was there for 7 weeks and I was on prednisone at the same time (20mg). It didn't seem to affect my platelet count, however I did end up getting malaria.. (so much for the pills). But my husband said that because of the pills it only lasted 1 day, thank goodness. I did the ivig treatment a week before I went to make sure my count stayed high.

Also, I went to a travel clinic here in Canada and they recommended the malaria pills.. However, after I got malaria and talked to a local pharmacist, they said that those pills have not been used in Kenya for some time. So maybe double check when you get to your destination that those pills DO work in the area.

We are going to Africa again at the end of this year and I'm thinking I'm just going to get the pills there.

When our son [not an ITPer] went to India he had to take 2 different malaria pills - if I remember right one was started before he went and continued about a week after he returned, the other pill was taken just while he was in India. However his school in Hong Kong gave us a sheet with a list of immunizations they needed for the trip.

This seems to be a pretty good site.
wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/list.aspx

Hey! DO NOT take it. My husband developed ITP as a result of takinig plaquenil which has quinine.

DO NOT

Only a select few are sensitive to quinine. Most people with ITP have no problems with it. People with Lupus and ITP have little choice in the matter, and I'd rather take the risk than contract malaria. If your doctor is okay with it, you have to trust that.

Physician prescribed Quinine 300MG to treat malaria.It is in a class of medications called antimalarials. Quinine medication killing the parasites that cause malaria. It can cause little side effects such as headache, dizziness, sweating, and stomach pain. This medication gives better result.