Treatment FAQ

how to relieve malaria symptoms before getting proper treatment

by Margret Dooley Published 2 years ago Updated 2 years ago
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Medication

The type of medicine and how long you need to take it will depend on:

  • the type of malaria you have
  • the severity of your symptoms
  • whether you took preventative antimalarial tablets
  • your age
  • whether you're pregnant

Nutrition

What is the Best Drug To Prevent Malaria? There are mainly four medicines used for prophylaxis of malaria. These include chloroquine, mefloqine, doxycycline and a combination of atovone and proguanil. Most of these medications are also used in acute treatment of the disease.

How long will it take to cure malaria?

Natural Remedies for Malaria

  • Ginger. A common and popular treatment for malaria is the use of ginger; fortunately, ginger is easy to access and can be boiled down into a powerful decoction that will ...
  • Garlic. ...
  • Grapefruit. ...
  • Cinnamon. ...
  • Citrus Fruits. ...
  • Fever Nut. ...
  • Holy Basil. ...
  • Orange Juice. ...
  • Warm Water Enema. ...
  • Mosquito Avoidance. ...

More items...

What is the best drug to prevent malaria?

To avoid being bitten:

  • Stay somewhere that has effective air conditioning and screening on doors and windows. ...
  • If you're not sleeping in an air-conditioned room, sleep under an intact mosquito net that's been treated with insecticide.
  • Use insect repellent on your skin and in sleeping environments. ...

More items...

What is the best home remedy for malaria?

How to prevent malaria naturally at home and when traveling?

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How to diagnose malaria?

To diagnose malaria, your doctor will likely review your medical history and recent travel, conduct a physical exam, and order blood tests. Blood tests can indicate: The presence of the parasite in the blood, to confirm that you have malaria. If your infection is caused by a parasite resistant to certain drugs.

What is Act for malaria?

ACT is a combination of two or more drugs that work against the malaria parasite in different ways. This is usually the preferred treatment for chloroquine-resistant malaria. Examples include artemether-lumefantrine (Coartem) and artesunate-mefloquine. Other common antimalarial drugs include:

Is chloroquine a good treatment for parasites?

But in many parts of the world, parasites are resistant to chloroquine, and the drug is no longer an effective treatment. Artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs).

How do people get malaria?

People get malaria when an infected mosquito bites them. A mosquito becomes infected by biting someone who has malaria. The infected mosquito transfers a parasite into a person’s bloodstream, where the parasites multiply. Five types of malaria parasites can infect humans.

How long does it take for malaria to show up?

Malaria symptoms usually appear 10 days to one month after the person was infected. Symptoms can be mild. Some people don’t feel sick for up to a year after the mosquito bite. Parasites can live in the body for several years without causing symptoms. Signs of malaria are similar to flu symptoms.

What happens if a mosquito bites?

When it bites, the mosquito injects malaria parasites into the person’s bloodstream. If it isn’t treated, malaria can cause severe health problems such as seizures, brain damage, trouble breathing, organ failure and death. The disease is rare in the United States.

What is the disease that spreads when an infected mosquito bites a person?

Malaria. Malaria is a life-threatening disease that spreads when an infected mosquito bites a person. The mosquito transfers parasites into that person’s bloodstream. Symptoms of malaria include fever and shaking chills. Malaria is rare in the United States and common in tropical countries such as Africa and Asia.

How many types of malaria can be transmitted to humans?

Five types of malaria parasites can infect humans. In rare cases, pregnant women with malaria can transfer the disease to their children before or during birth. Very rarely, malaria can transfer through blood transfusions, organ donations and hypodermic needles.

What is the best medication for a parasite?

Antimalarial drugs include: Artemisinin drugs (artemether and artesunate). Atovaquone (Mepron®). Chloroquine.

Why is it important to share information about the countries you’ve visited recently?

It’s important to share information about the countries you’ve visited recently so that your provider can clearly understand your risk. To confirm a malaria diagnosis, your provider will take a sample of your blood and send it to a lab to check for malaria parasites.

What is the most reliable method of diagnosing malaria?

Currently, the most reliable technique for diagnosing malaria is, as it was throughout the last century, labor-intensive, relying on highly trained technicians using microscopes to analyze blood smears.

How does malaria affect children?

Malaria has a significant impact on the health of infants, young children, and pregnant women worldwide. More than 800,000 African children under the age of five die of malaria each year. Malaria also contributes to malnutrition in children, which indirectly causes the death of half of all children under the age of five throughout the world. Fifty million pregnant women throughout the world are exposed to malaria each year. In malaria-endemic regions, one-fourth of all cases of severe maternal anemia and 20 percent of all low-birthweight babies are linked to malaria. Scientists are working to better understand how malaria uniquely affects children and pregnant women and to develop new research tools, methods, and products appropriate for these populations.

Is malaria a drug resistant disease?

Over the years, however, the emergence and spread of drug-resistant parasites has contributed to a reemergence of malaria, turning back the clock on control efforts. The need for new, effective drugs for malaria has become a critical priority on the global malaria research agenda.

When to take malaria prophylaxis?

You'll need to take your prophylaxis for the recommended duration before, during, and after your time in an area with widespread malaria transmission. Your need for malaria prophylaxis is still the same if you used to live in the area or if you've had malaria before.

What is the best medicine for malaria?

Many of the same medicines are used to prevent malaria as to treat the disease. Mefloquine is commonly prescribed for treatment or prevention of malaria. Jonny White/Alamy. If you're traveling to a region where malaria is common, there are many different steps you can take to reduce your risk of illness. Your doctor will probably recommend that you ...

What is primaquine used for?

Quinine This drug is used to treat chloroquine-resistant malaria. Quinine is derived from the cinchona tree of South America. Primaquine This drug is given to people with malaria caused by P. vivax or P. ovale to kill immature parasites in their liver. Primaquine is not an option for people with G6PD deficiency.

How long after a trip can you take chloroquine?

Chloroquine should be started for prophylaxis one to two weeks before potential exposure, is taken weekly, and must be continued for four weeks after your trip. Doxycycline This drug is an antibiotic that can also help prevent certain other infections.

Can you take Primaquine with G6PD?

Primaquine is not an option for people with G6PD deficiency. Lariam (mefloquine) This drug has been shown to cause potentially severe psychiatric symptoms in rare cases, and is contraindicated in those with a previous history of seizures or a recent history of psychiatric disorders.

Can you take Malarone while pregnant?

Malarone (atovaquone and proguanil) This drug combination tends to be well tolerated, with few side effects. It cannot be used by women who are pregnant or breast-feeding a small child. Malarone should be started for prophylaxis one to two days before potential malaria exposure.

Can pregnant women take malaria medication?

Age Children will need smaller drug doses than adults, based on their weight. Pregnancy Some malaria drugs aren' t safe to take during pregnancy, or their safety in pregnancy is unknown. But it's crucial for pregnant women to be treated for malaria.

Why is it important to start treatment for malaria?

This is important, as some malaria parasites have become resistant to certain drugs.

Why do you need a combo of malaria medications?

Your doctor may prescribe a combo of malaria medications to help you avoid this drug-resistance problem. The type of drug you’re prescribed will depend on several things, including: The type of malaria infection you have. Your age.

What are the different types of malaria?

The type of drug you’re prescribed will depend on several things, including: 1 The type of malaria infection you have 2 Your age 3 Your physical condition 4 Whether you took medicine to prevent malaria and, if so, what kind 5 Whether you’re pregnant

How long before travel can you take mefloquine?

Mefloquine: Begin taking this weekly drug 2 weeks before travel and continue until 4 weeks afterward. Pregnant women can use it, but people who have a history of seizures, severe heart problems, or psychiatric conditions shouldn’t. Side effects can include dizziness, sleep disturbance, and psychiatric reactions.

Where is malaria most prevalent?

Regions affected by malaria include Sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, parts of Central and South America, and the Middle East. Get details of where you’ll go during your trip. Your chance of getting malaria will vary depending on your activities and where in the country you’ll be traveling.

Can you get malaria if you take a pill?

You can still get malaria even if you’ve taken the pills. But taking them cuts your chances of getting sick by about 90%. The drugs are not a vaccine; there is no vaccine for malaria. Types of Malaria Pills. Your doctor will likely choose the drug that’s recommended for the area where you’re traveling.

Can you take malaria pills while pregnant?

Many of the medicines used to treat malaria are the same ones listed above for preventing it. You shouldn’t take the same medicine to treat malaria that you took when you were trying to prevent it.

How to prevent malaria?

Prevent malaria: Use an insect repellant. Apply an insect repellant to your skin, clothing, and other fabrics, such as blankets. Ask your healthcare provider which insect repellant is best to use. Cover your skin. Wear long-sleeved shirts and pants to keep your skin covered. Sleep under a mosquito net.

How does malaria spread?

Malaria is a disease that is caused by a parasite. It is usually spread through the bite of infected mosquitoes. Malaria can also spread through infected blood products or shared needles.

What medicine is given to kill parasites?

Medicines: You may need any of the following: Malaria medicine is given to kill the parasites that are causing your infection. Acetaminophen decreases pain and fever. It is available without a doctor's order. Ask how much to take and how often to take it. Follow directions.

How to keep mosquitoes out of your house?

Protect your home. Put screens on your windows and doors to keep mosquitoes out. Use insecticide inside your home to kill mosquitoes that come into your house. Remove all standing water around your home. Mosquitoes lay their eggs and mature in water.

How to take medicine if you are allergic to it?

Contact your healthcare provider if you think your medicine is not helping or if you have side effects. Tell him or her if you are allergic to any medicine. Keep a list of the medicines, vitamins, and herbs you take. Include the amounts, and when and why you take them.

How to prevent infection in children?

Prevent the spread of infections: Wash your hands often. Wash your hands several times each day. Wash after you use the bathroom, change a child's diaper, and before you prepare or eat food. Use soap and water every time. Rub your soapy hands together, lacing your fingers.

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Special Populations

Vaccine Development

Drug Development

Diagnostics

Medically reviewed by
Dr. Rakshith Bharadwaj
Your provider will work with you to develop a care plan that may include one or more of these treatment options.
Treatment may vary depending on the age, health condition, etc.
Medication

Antimalarial drugs: To treat malarial infection.

Chloroquine . Quinine sulphate . Hydroxychloroquine . Mefloquine . Atovaquone . Proguanil

Nutrition

Malaria can cause extreme dehydration and so fluid intake is important. There are no foods with proven anti-malarial benefits.

Foods to eat:

NA

Foods to avoid:

Excess intake of tea, coffee and other caffeinated beverages as these can worsen dehydration.

Specialist to consult

Infectious Disease Specialist
Specializes in dealing with the diagnosis, control and treatment of infections.
Primary care physician
Specializes in the acute and chronic illnesses and provides preventive care and health.

Vector Management Approaches

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