Posts Tagged ‘malaria’
Treatment of Malaria
Duration
With proper treatment, the symptoms of malaria usually disappear quickly if treated within two weeks. With proper treatment, the symptoms of malaria usually disappear quickly if it heals within two weeks. After repeated exposure, patients will become partially immune and develop a mild illness.
Treatment
Malaria is treated with antimalarial drugs and measures to control symptoms, including medications to control fever, anticonvulsant medication when it is necessary to take, fluids and electrolytes. The probability of developing cirrhosis depends on the severity of the disease and response to treatment. The most commonly used drugs are chloroquine, quinidine (Cardioquin, Quinaglute Dura-Tabs, Quinidex Extentabs, Quin-Release), the atovaquone (Mepron), proguanil (sold as a generic), mefloquine, clindamycin (Cleocin) and doxycycline. Read the rest of this entry »
Antimalarial Drugs
The four most commonly prescribed antimalarial drugs in the U.S. when a person travels abroad include:
Chloroquine (Aralen): This is the most commonly prescribed antimalarial drug in countries where there is no antibiotic-resistant strains (Haiti, Dominican Republic, parts of Central America, Egypt and some Middle Eastern countries). This medicine is taken once a week for one to two weeks before travel and continue to take the four weeks after we returned from the trip. Most people tolerate the drug well this decision and only a few patients have nausea, itching, blurred vision and headaches. You can minimize these symptoms if you take this medicine after meals. Read the rest of this entry »
Prevention of Malaria
Researchers are working to create a vaccine against malaria. He discovered a vaccine that is partially effective because it decreases the likelihood of developing symptoms of malaria in children in Mozambique. This vaccine has some side effects and is not used en masse, however, other vaccines are being studied. Vaccination is expected to become an important tool to prevent malaria in the near future.
One way to prevent malaria is to avoid being bitten by a mosquito, according to the following strategies: Read the rest of this entry »
Malaria: Symptoms and Diagnosis
Symptoms
The symptoms of malaria begin six to eight days after the bite of an infected mosquito. These include:
- high fever (up to 105 degrees Fahrenheit [40.5 degrees Celsius]) with severe chills
- heavy sweating when the fever goes down
- fatigue
- headache
- muscle aches
- abdominal discomfort
- nausea and vomiting
- lightheadedness when standing or sitting Read the rest of this entry »
What is Malaria?
Malaria is a parasitic infection caused by a single cell that enter the bloodstream through the bite of the Anopheles mosquito. These parasites, called Plasmodium, are at least five species. Most human infections are caused by Plasmodium falciparum or Plasmodium vivax. Several parts of Plasmodium parasites remain inside the human body for most of their life cycles, while another part remains in the mosquito.
During the period of the life cycle passing within humans, Plasmodium parasites infect and multiply within cells of the liver and blood cells. Some infected red blood cells burst due to the large number of parasites within them. Many other infected cells are destroyed by the spleen and liver that filter and remove from circulation the old or damaged red blood cells. The Plasmodium parasites in the bloodstream, and together with the irritants that are released from red blood cells cause the symptoms of malaria. Read the rest of this entry »