Which anti-malaria works best?

I had malaria, the local doctor (who looked really uneducated) prescribed 3x2 tablets Hylofantrine, six hours between each other and then that's it. So far it looks like it worked pretty well since I had malaria for only one day, which is actually quite abnormal. What kind of anti malaria do you figure works best?

If you have a good medication it is quite possible for the symptoms to decrease in the first day; however you should still have a medicine regimen to follow for a few more days.

Most of the drugs for malaria are actually based on quinine, since it works so well. The one that we were given for symptomatic malaria with Peace Corps was called Malarone. This is taken in a dosage of 4 tablets the first day, and then you will feel better. But you still need to take 4 tablets the next morning, and on the 3rd day, before you have completed the regimen.

Unfortunately, this is how so many of the drug resistance problems begin. In the 3rd-world countries -- from my own experience -- many people believe that if you feel better then you are cured. So many people will then sell the remaining amount of the medicine for profit, that on chronic illnesses like malaria the doctors have given up on providing enough medicine to completely cure a person.

Be careful with this! You can't judge the local doctor's education by looks, but if he only prescribed medicine for one day then it's not any medical regimen I've ever heard of. Go to another doctor if you are worried about this; returning, drug-resistant malaria is definitely no picnic!

Okay, I looked it up (see links). You should be taking this medicine again after 7 days; it doesn't sound like your usual but that should be enough to counter drug resistances.

Good luck!

I read in a book on the history of quinine that all of the synthetic anti-malarials become ineffective over a short period of time, but that quinine has worked against malaria for all the centuries since it was discovered. That convinces me quinine, for all its unpleasant side effects, is the most effective; the malaria parasite can't develop a resistance to it.

However, I am *not* a doctor. If you are not comfortable with the doctor you saw, the best thing you can do is locate a doctor you are comfortable with, and talk to them. They can help you to figure out what the best medicine is for your situation (and, if my answer makes sense to you, you could at least discuss it with them).

There are 4 main types of malaria. Which drugs work best depends on which one you've got.