Malaria is a parasitosis caused by the bite of an infected mosquito. People who have contracted this pathology often develop symptoms such as fever, chills typical of the flu. If not properly treated, malaria could cause serious complications and even death. The following steps will provide a brief overview of the treatment options available to treat this tropical condition.
Steps
Step 1. Find out if you are at risk
Anyone can get malaria. The following is a list of the risk factors that predispose to contracting malaria:
- Living in endemic countries
- Traveling to risky countries
- Blood transfusions (rare)
- Organ transplants (rare)
- Exchange used syringes
- Being exposed to the bites of anopheles mosquitoes infected with Plasmodium falciparum
Step 2. There is no vaccine for malaria
Malaria can be cured with medicines that are hesitant on presentation of a doctor's prescription. The type of medicines to be taken and the length of treatment depend on the following factors:
- Type of malaria
- Age of the patient
- The location of the infected area
- The patient's state of health at the start of treatment
- If the patient is pregnant
Step 3. Know that prevention is the best cure
Tourists traveling to endemic countries should purchase antimalarial medicines before traveling. The recommended medicines are as follows:
- atovaquone / proguanil
- chloroquine
- doxycycline
- mefloquine
- primachine
Advice
- Learn to recognize the symptoms of malaria. Search among the following:
- Fever
- Chills and convulsions
- Headache
- Muscle aches
- Tiredness
- Nausea
- He retched
- Diarrhea
- Anemia
- Jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes)
- Respiratory problems
- The fly that transmits malaria attacks at night. Try to plan your activities so that you are in protected areas between sunrise and sunset.
- Before traveling, find out about malaria-prone countries and take precautions.
- Use insecticides and repellent sprays which include:
- Diethyltoluamide (DEET)
- Picaridin
- Lemon and Eucalyptus Oil or PMD
- IR3535
- Use mosquito nets when sleeping in infested areas.
- When choosing a repellent, look for highly concentrated products for a longer duration of action. For example a 10% DEET can only protect you for a couple of hours. On the other hand, recent studies have shown that the effective concentration of DEET reaches its maximum effect when it is at 50%, higher concentrations do not increase the duration of action.
- If possible, stay in accommodation with mosquito nets or air conditioning.
- Wear clothes with long sleeves.
Warnings
- Infection with Plasmodium falciparum (a type of malaria), if not treated promptly, can cause seizures, confusion, kidney failure, coma and death.
- Buy antimalarials if you are heading to an endemic country. Some misconceptions if you travel to high-risk countries may try to sell you placebo or underdosed medicines.
