Malaria is a lethal disease that is caused by parasites. An infected female “anopheles mosquito” caring “plasmodium” parasite, transmits the disease by biting people and thus make them infected and once it is inside the body.
It travels to the liver to mature than bloodstream and infect red blood cells, thus showing symptoms after a few days from being infected.
Commonly it is found in tropical and subtropical climates because it is easy for them to live in that environment and according to WHO in the year 2018, there were approximately 228 million cases reported in 91 countries.
However, it is curable and preventable.
WHATS IN FOR ME?
- WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT SYMPTOMS OF IT?
- HOW IS IT CLASSIFIED?
- WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT SPECIES?
- HOW CAN IT KILL YOU?
- WHAT CAN YOU DO TO PREVENT IT?
- SOME COMPLICATIONS OF THIS DISEASE.
- WHAT CAN YOU EAT TO STAY HEALTHY?
- CONCLUSION
- FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT MALARIA.
WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT SYMPTOMS OF IT?
Paroxysm, a cyclical event of sudden coldness succeeded by shivering fever and sweating, which occurs every 2 days mostly as a result of P. vivax and P. Ovale infection.
In addition almost continuous or recurrent fever every 3 days (36-48hours or less) as a result of P. malaria and P. falciparum infection.
These are some common symptoms of it that take around 10 days to 4 weeks to develop, following the infection.
- High fever.
- Headache
- Diarrhea
- Vomiting
- Joint pain
- Sweating
- Shaking chills
- Nausea
- Severe Anaemia
- Organ failure
HOW IS IT CLASSIFIED?
It is classified into 2 forms by the WHO i.e. Severe and uncomplicated.
It is a severe stage when the following criteria are present:
- Breathing problems
- Inability to feed
- Shock
- Hemoglobin in the urine
- Organ failure especially kidney
- Reduced consciousness
- Pulmonary edema
- Convulsions
- Hemoglobin less than 50g/dL
- Low blood pressure
P. falciparum infection ( like cerebral malaria with worst neurological symptoms) mostly causes severe stage and in addition, is medical emergencies that lead to a high mortality rate, and Intravenous use of Antimalarial drugs is recommended for treating complicated or severe stages of this disease.
With oral medication, it may be treated.
WHAT ARE THE SPECIES?
In humans, this disease is caused by 5 parasite species. Two of them are P. falciparum and P. vivax. above all these two poses the greatest threats to human beings moreover the other 3 types of species are P. ovale, P. Malaria, and P. Knowles (normally infects animals).
HOW CAN IT KILL YOU?
It must be treated as soon as possible else it possesses a great threat to people’s life.
Moreover malaria can increase the mortality of Tuberculosis patients.
But when the required drug is unavailable or even if the drug is given, and if the parasite is resistant to that drug, then it infection tends to develop into Anaemia, hypoglycemia, or cerebral(severe stage).
Here the capillaries which carry blood to the brain get blocked therefore as a result Life long learning disability, kidney failure, coagulopathy, shock, coma, and death can be caused by it.
Are you at risk?
There are some population groups that are at more risk as compared to others.
- Firstly Children below 5 years of age
- Secondly Pregnant women
- Thirdly Non-immune migrant
- Fourthly People having HIV/AIDS
- Finally Travelers
These particular groups should be taken special care in order to protect themselves from this deadly infection.
WHAT CAN YOU DO TO PREVENT IT?
It can be prevented by taking certain drugs and by using protection measures against infected mosquito bites.
If you are traveling to a risky area where this disease is common then you must consult your doctor in advance and take preventive drugs if necessary also in the case of travelers from different countries may get a different recommendation.
Protection from mosquitoes
- Using mosquito net while sleeping at night.
- Wearing a long-sleeved dress and full pants while you are out at night.
- Spraying repellent on clothing as a result mosquitoes will stay away.
- Moreover, using mosquito killers at home.
- Subsequently draining standing water.
- Spraying insecticides.
- Moreover, there are many ways to stay safe and healthy.
SOME COMPLICATIONS OF THIS DISEASE.
There are more than a hundred (100) countries where it is found. Mainly in tropical and subtropical regions also including Pacific islands, Central America, South America, Africa, and Asia, some parts of the Middle East, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic.
CDC has mentioned certain complications of severe stage commonly with P. falciparum infection they are:
- Jaundice, due to the loss of red blood cells (RBCs)
- Liver failure
- Kidney failure
- Mental confusion
- Coma
- Convulsions
- Death
WHAT CAN YOU EAT TO STAY HEALTHY?
A nutritious balanced diet providing the well maintained fluid balance is equally important for health as well as patients that consist of vegetables, pulses, cereals, fish and chicken stew, milk, dairy products, fruits, honey, etc.
Orange juice is very good as it contains Vitamin C.
It helps in boosting immunity, and also reducing fever.
Fenugreek seed is also a perfect home remedy.
By soaking the fenugreek seeds in water overnight and drinking the water on an empty stomach as a result it helps in reducing weakness and boosts immunity.
CONCLUSION
To sum it up I would say that even in today’s medically malaria advanced world malaria is a major issue for deaths of many people across the world.
To be safe and stay healthy you must know about the disease and problem, so in this blog, I have shared some information about what is malaria, its symptoms, causes, prevention, food that is good for you, and shared other important points to know if you are at risk and much more.
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT MALARIA.
Children under the age group of 5 are most commonly affected by it. Therefore it is very important to be careful with children.
No, it is not caused by any virus or bacteria and it is caused as a result of Plasmodium parasites.
No, at present there is no vaccine discovered that can protect us against the lethal disease however, it can be cured a moreover it can be prevented too.
Antimalarial medication further reduces the risk of getting infected by it by approximately 90%.
Around 1 million to 2 million people die every year due to it. Most importantly in Africa, 90% of deaths occur.
Plasmodium falciparum is the most dangerous type of this disease. It’s a unicellular protozoan parasite.
No, it is not possible completely to treat malaria without any proper medical treatment. As a result, it can cause fatal disease if treated otherwise.
No, it is not a contagious disease, in other words, you cannot get infected from it through any physical contact.
However, it can be transmitted from one person to another by blood transfusion and organ transplant.
Firstly a person can get infected by it more than once in his life.
Therefore always precautions must be taken while traveling to malaria-prone areas and also from getting mosquito bites even if you are at home.
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