Malaria Symptoms And Treatment: Causes, Diagnosis And Prevention
Malaria Symptoms And Treatment – Patients should contact their doctor, who can be tested for malaria if they develop symptoms within a year of traveling to the affected area.
When mosquitoes bite you, they transmit a deadly parasitic disease known as malaria. Mosquitoes introduce malaria parasites into your bloodstream when they bite you. It is not a virus or a specific type of bacteria, but a parasite that actually causes malaria.
Malaria can cause serious health problems such as seizures, brain damage, shortness of breath, organ failure, and even death if left untreated.
Malaria can strike anyone, but Africans get it more often than others. It increases the risk of death for pregnant women, young children and the elderly.
Additionally, complications of this disease are more likely to occur in low-income people who do not have access to medical care.
What Causes Malaria?
A mosquito becomes infected when it bites a person with malaria. Parasites carried by mosquitoes enter the bloodstream of people who bite them and cause malaria.
Parasites grow there. People can become infected with one of five different types of malaria parasites. In some cases, pregnant women with malaria can pass the disease on to their unborn child.
Although unlikely, malaria can be transmitted through hypodermic needles, organ transplants, and blood transfusions.
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Symptoms Of Malaria
The signs and symptoms of malaria are similar to those of the flu. This is about:
- Fever and sweat
- Your whole body was trembling.
- Muscle pain and headaches.
- Fatigue
- Cough, shortness of breath and chest pain.
- Vomiting, nausea and diarrhea
- As malaria worsens (yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes), anemia and jaundice may develop.
Cerebral malaria is the most severe type of disease that can lead to coma. This category accounts for nearly 20% of adult deaths and 15% of child deaths.
When Do The Signs And Symptoms Of Malaria Begin To Appear?
When a person is infected with malaria, symptoms usually begin between 10 and 30 days after infection. The severity of symptoms can vary depending on the type of parasite.
Some people have no symptoms for up to a year after being bitten by a mosquito. Sometimes parasites can doze in the body for years without showing any symptoms.
Depending on the parasite, some types of malaria can recur. The parasite lies dormant in the liver for many years before it enters the bloodstream. When the parasite begins to move, the symptoms resume.
How Is Malaria Diagnosed?
Your doctor will examine you and ask about your symptoms and previous travel experiences. In order for your provider to fully understand your risk, it is important that you disclose information about the countries you have recently visited.
To test for malaria parasites, your doctor will take a sample of your blood and send it to a laboratory. Your doctor will be able to determine if you have malaria and which parasite is responsible for your symptoms through a blood test. Your doctor will use this data to decide the best course of action.
Preventions
Malaria has no vaccine. Malaria precautions include avoiding mosquito bites. Indoor insecticides and aerosols should be sprayed to reduce mosquito populations and stop malaria.
An effective and discreet method of protection against malaria is the use of mosquito nets. Also Insecticide-treated nets are even available, which is the best preventative measure.
Reducing open water runoff and opening up standing water bodies can also help prevent malaria.
Treatment Of Malaria
Malaria can be treated by an infectious disease specialist or by your GP. Malaria treatment must be comprehensive and guarantee the complete eradication of the disease; otherwise, a less severe relapse is possible.
The following information is helpful in diagnosing malaria:
- Recent travel experience
- Fever
- Enlarged spleen
- Low platelet count
- High bilirubin and normal white blood cell count
Malaria is treated with antimalarial drugs. Oral medication can treat simple malaria. Artemisinin is used in combination with antimalarial drugs such as quinine, amodiaquine, lumefantrine, and sulfadoxine.
Also antimalarial drugs are given intravenously for complicated malaria. In children with malaria, blood potassium levels, respiratory disorders and blood sugar levels are specifically monitored.
The Bottom Line
Malaria Symptoms And Treatment – Basically, anyone planning to travel to an area where malaria is prevalent should seek advice on the best antimalarial medication and other preventive measures.
Furthermore, patients should see a doctor, who will likely be tested for malaria if they develop symptoms within a year of traveling to an affected area.
Frequently Asked Questions
What causes people to get malaria?
When the vector mosquito bites you and transmits the parasite, you contract malaria. If infected Anopheles mosquitoes bite humans then malaria is transmitted. Because this particular species of mosquito can transmit malaria.
Why is it important to know about malaria?
In most developing countries, it is one of the leading causes of illness and death, with young children and pregnant mothers being the most vulnerable populations.
What are the 3 stages of malaria?
The first phase lasts 15 to 60 minutes and is characterized by chills and a feeling of cold. The next stage is the warm phase that lasts 2-6 hours, characterized by fever, sometimes reaching 41°C, flushing, dry skin, frequent headaches, nausea and vomiting.
What is one of the first signs of malaria?
Fever and sweat, Whole body shaking with chills, Muscles and headache, Fatigue, Cough, shortness of breath and chest pain, Vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, Anemia and jaundice.