All you need to know about Malaria

All you need to know about Malaria

What is Malaria?

Malaria is a fatal disease which is transited through the bite of an infected female anopheles mosquito that carries the Plasmodium parasite. Once you have the parasite in your body, your red blood cells start to get contaminated, and you might show the following early symptoms:

· Feeling cold with shivering

· Fever and headaches

· Vomiting

· Seizures

· Sweats

· High body temperatures

· Tiredness

These early symptoms of malaria are so common that when people recognise them, they look for medications without visiting a doctor. In case one ignores these symptoms, the disease can become severe and portray the following critical symptoms:

· Impaired consciousness

· Deep breathing and respiratory problems

· Organ dysfunction

Treatment

Malaria treatment and prevention aims explicitly to neutralise the Plasmodium parasite from the bloodstream. According to the World Health Organization, artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) is the universally accepted treatment of uncomplicated malaria.

When ACT is combined with other malarial drugs, it reduces the concentration of Plasmodium parasites in the bloodstream. ACT can be taken through injections or orally in tablets.

But every year, research institutions keep on coming with new malarial treatment because the Plasmodium parasite keeps on mutating and becoming resistant to malarial drugs. There are tons of other malaria treatment drugs, and you should consult your doctor to know the appropriate medication suitable for your immune system.

How can you prevent Malaria?

Despite advances in the medical field and worldwide awareness, malaria is still a fatal disease that takes millions of lives annually. There are no present vaccines against malaria, but you should aim to protect yourself from the mosquito bite.

You can consider the following preventive measures:

· If you are a frequent traveller, it is advisable to take preventative anti-malarial drugs.

· You should also consider personal protection by sleeping under a mosquito net.

· Environmental management is also a critical step to prevent mosquitoes from breeding.

Despite recent medical improvements and awareness, it's been challenging to eliminate the condition because of the short-term factors that can trigger it including emotions, stress, and lack of physical activity, drugs, and much more. In some instances, the malarial medication may not eliminate the parasite due to resistance to drugs.