Its 12:46 am, you are fast asleep and most probably dreaming away to glory. The A/C is set on a comfortable 24o C, with you buried under your comforter when suddenly you hear a faint buzzing which refuses to go away, no matter how much you swat away!
That’s when you feel a tiny prick and the buzzing fades away, but after a week’s time you are found buzzing with fever and shivering with cold. The doctor’s prognosis – It’s Malaria! “Now, how did this happen?” you wonder as you recuperate. Well, remember the buzzing and the subsequent prick? It was a mosquito, a female one that too, which bit you leading to Malaria.
To begin with, what is Malaria?
Malaria is caused due to a parasite known as ‘Plasmodium’, which is delivered into our bodies when female mosquitoes belonging to the Anopheles sub-type of the Mosquito family, bites us. The parasite on entering the body, travels to our liver making it a head quarter for itself, where it multiplies and then begins infecting the red blood cells.
The symptoms of Malaria are fever, cold chills, shivering, head ache, muscle ache. Certain symptoms typical to Malaria are a bout of fever, chills and sweating that repeat themselves every 2 days or so. What makes Malaria so deadly is the fact without timely intervention by means of medication and rest, it can go on to disrupting the blood supply to vital organs which can turn fatal!
How do I prevent/protect myself from getting Malaria?
The best way to protect oneself from Malaria is by following the ‘A, B, C and D’ of prevention!
- A stands for Awareness of the risk
The mainstay of any prevention program is always ‘Awareness’. Being aware of the fact that Malaria could happen to anyone, right from infants to old people is as important as timely medication.
Awareness means knowing about factors such as what could cause Malaria, when and what medicines to take in case you suspect symptoms of Malaria – in case you are travelling, how to protect yourself from Malaria and so on. Moreover awareness regarding Malaria should also stretch to encompass your environment i.e. knowing about how and if your environment can cause Malaria. For e.g. Mosquitoes are known to find stagnant pools of water ideal breeding grounds which should be cleared away so as to keep Malaria at bay. Remember ‘prevention is better than cure’.
- B stands for Bite Avoidance
Malaria relies on the mosquitoes bite to spread! So having knowledge of how to avoid getting bitten by the Anopheles Mosquito is more than half the battle won against Malaria. The best way to keep the mosquitoes at bay is to cover up your body with clothing as much as possible, especially parts like arms, legs and the neck. Another method of protection from the mosquito is spraying a good insect repellant over your body; many such products are available in the market.
Other than the above mentioned methods of bite avoidance, staying indoors between dawn and dusk also works as mosquitoes are known to be most active during these hours of the day. So does using nets to cover your sleeping arrangement so as to keep the mosquitoes out.
- C stands for Chloroquine phosphate
Chloroquine phosphate is the most preferred and trusted medicine when it comes to treating Malaria. First discovered in 1934 by Hans Andersag, it was only in the year 1974 that we saw Chloroquine being used to treat Malaria! Chloroquine is a popular drug choice as it is effective against the 4 types of the Malarial Parasite.
The medicine however has a nasty list of side effects such as Diarrhea, Headaches and blurred vision if you use it to treat Malaria. Moreover the strains of the malarial parasites have been found developing resistance to this medicine, making it less effective than before in recent times. Still it remains a popular drug choice for treatment.
Diagnosis is a very vital cog in the fight against Malaria. Proper and timely diagnosis of Malaria can save many a lives as it paves way for an apt medical treatment, which if delayed can prove to be fatal to the patient.
Constant fever with chills and sweating are symptoms enough to warrant a visit to the doctor who can then proceed with the diagnosis.
Malaria – A tale of shocking numbers!
With the entire world observing World Malaria Day on the 25th of April, 2010, it is quite sad to see that over 3 billion people worldwide still remain at risk of Malaria, especially in developing countries such as India and other countries such as South Africa which has a high occurrence of Malaria cases. Malaria accounts for over 1 Million Deaths worldwide, every year; deaths that could have been easily avoided, had there been basic awareness and timely diagnosis.
But now that we know how to protect ourselves from Malaria, let’s vow to Beat the Bite this ‘World Malaria Day’!
