While I was deployed, I took the drug mefloquine for protection from malaria. Could this drug have any long-term effects on my health?
Some U.S. troops were given the drug mefloquine to protect them against malaria. Mefloquine has been known to cause mild side effects including vivid dreams and mild psychiatric symptoms. There have also been reports that in some soldiers this drug has caused some more serious psychiatric symptoms such as anxiety, paranoia, hallucinations, depression, thoughts of suicide, and impaired thinking. Because the battlefield is a stressful place to begin with, these kinds of symptoms can be triggered by something other than mefloquine. Nevertheless, if you have any of these symptoms and you feel that they began while you were taking mefloquine, it’s a good idea to report this to your physician so that your individual situation can be evaluated.
