Malaria tablets (antimalarials) lower your risk of catching malaria when you travel to areas where it is common, such as parts of Africa, including countries like Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau and São Tomé and Príncipe, Asia, and Central and South America, including the Amazon region. The right tablet depends on where you are going, how long you will stay and your health. With Global Health, adult travellers can request malaria prevention tablets online in Portugal. You complete a secure questionnaire, a licensed doctor reviews your answers, and if treatment is clinically suitable the doctor issues an electronic prescription that you receive in your Global Health account and can use at any pharmacy in Portugal. If it is not suitable, the doctor explains why and suggests what to do next.
What is included
- A review of your travel plans and medical questionnaire by a licensed doctor
- A prescription for antimalarial tablets suited to your destination, if clinically suitable
- An electronic prescription in your Global Health account, which you can use at any pharmacy in Portugal
- Written advice on when to start and stop the tablets and how to avoid mosquito bites
- Secure messaging with the doctor about your request
The request fee covers the doctor's review. The medication is paid for separately at the pharmacy. This service does not include travel vaccines, which need a travel clinic.
Who this service is not suitable for
Our doctors cannot safely prescribe malaria tablets online if you:
- are under 18
- are pregnant, planning a pregnancy during or soon after your trip, or breastfeeding
- have epilepsy or have had seizures, or have a history of depression, anxiety or other mental health conditions (some antimalarials are not safe for you, so you need a full assessment)
- have serious kidney or liver disease, or a weakened immune system
- take blood-thinning medication or medicines for epilepsy or heart rhythm problems
- have a complex itinerary or are travelling at short notice and also need vaccines
- feel unwell with a fever now, especially after recent travel
If any of these apply, please book a video consultation with a GP or visit a travel clinic so a doctor can assess you properly.
How it works
- Complete the questionnaire. Answer questions about your destination, travel dates, general health and any medication you take. It takes about five minutes.
- Doctor review. A licensed doctor reviews your answers against current travel health guidance and may message you if more information is needed.
- Prescription issued. If treatment is suitable, the doctor issues an electronic prescription that you receive in your Global Health account and can take to any pharmacy in Portugal.
Request your tablets well before you travel, as some need to be started up to a few weeks before departure.
What is malaria?
Malaria is a serious and sometimes fatal infection caused by a parasite spread through the bites of infected mosquitoes, which mostly bite between dusk and dawn. Malaria is not transmitted in Portugal, but travellers returning from affected countries are diagnosed with it every year. Symptoms usually start between one week and a few weeks after a bite, but can appear up to a year later.
Symptoms of malaria
Early symptoms are like flu: fever, sweats and chills, headache, muscle aches, tiredness, and sometimes vomiting or diarrhoea. Without prompt treatment, malaria can quickly become severe and affect the brain, kidneys and blood.
Types of malaria
Several types of parasite cause malaria. The most dangerous type is common in sub-Saharan Africa and can become life-threatening within days. Other types can stay dormant in the liver and cause illness months later.
Malaria prevention: the ABCD approach
Travel health guidance recommends four steps:
- Awareness of risk. Find out whether malaria is present where you are going and how high the risk is.
- Bite prevention. Use an insect repellent containing DEET, cover your arms and legs after dark, and sleep under an insecticide-treated mosquito net or in a screened, air-conditioned room.
- Chemoprophylaxis. Take the right antimalarial tablets exactly as prescribed.
- Diagnosis. Get urgent medical help for any fever during or after your trip.
Malaria tablet options
There are several types of prescription antimalarial tablets. They work by killing the parasite in the blood or liver before it can cause illness. No tablet is 100% effective, so bite prevention is still essential. Your doctor chooses a tablet based on the malaria risk at your destination, how long you will be away, your other medicines and your health.
- some tablets are taken daily, starting a day or two before you travel and continuing for one week after you return
- some are taken daily, starting a day or two before travel and continuing for four weeks after you return
- some are taken once a week, starting up to three weeks before travel and continuing for four weeks after you return
Take every dose at the same time each day or week, and finish the full course after you come home, even if you feel well. Stopping early leaves you unprotected against parasites picked up near the end of your trip.
Side effects and safety
Most people take antimalarial tablets without problems. Possible side effects include nausea, stomach upset, headache and diarrhoea, depending on the medicine. Some can make your skin more sensitive to the sun, so use a high-factor sunscreen. Some can rarely cause vivid dreams, anxiety, low mood or sleep problems. Taking tablets with food often helps. Stop and seek medical advice if you develop a rash, mood changes or any symptom that worries you.
If you develop a fever or flu-like illness within a year of returning, especially in the first three months, get urgent medical care straight away and tell the doctor where you travelled. Do not wait to see if it settles. If you are very unwell, confused or drowsy, call 112.
When to see a doctor in person
Visit a travel clinic if you need vaccines, are going on a long or complex trip, or are travelling with children. See your family doctor if you have a long-term condition that may affect which tablets are safe. For non-urgent advice you can call SNS 24 on 808 24 24 24. You can also meet our doctors or see all online prescription services.