Malaria Prevention and Treatments start at home:
The first step of malaria prevention and treatment starts with you from your home. This Anti-Malaria month, 2024 we pledged that everybody will be aware of the various malaria prevention and treatments. But before all, let us understand the disease malaria in brief and its various causes.
What you will get in this Article:
- Malaria: What All You Need To Know
- How To Spot Malaria Symptoms And What To Do If You Have Them?
- The Quickest Way To Diagnose Malaria
- Malaria prevention and treatments
What is malaria? – An Intro
Malaria is a disease that is caused by tiny parasites called protozoa. Four different kinds of protozoa can cause malaria in humans: P. falciparum, P. vivax, P. malariae, and P. ovale. These parasites get to humans by female mosquitoes of the genus Anopheles. However, they can also get into human bodies through needles or receiving transfusions of infected blood. Symptoms of malaria include high fever, chills, headache, anemia, and enlarged spleen. P. falciparum is the most dangerous kind of protozoa and can cause fatal complications.
What’s The Best Way To Cope with Symptoms Of Malaria?
Malaria symptoms include Fever, chills in the body, feelings of discomfort, body aches, headaches, feelings of nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain, breathing issues, diarrhea, and cough. One of the Malaria prevention and treatments includes self-awareness of the disease. Visit a doctor as soon as you realize that you have any of the symptoms mentioned above. Avoid places that have high mosquitos or avoid traveling to countries that have no control over the mosquito rate.
The Malaria Transmission and Diagnosis – How It Works And Why It is Important
A mosquito can become infected with malaria by biting a person who has the disease. If that mosquito then bites someone else, it can transmit the disease to them. The parasites that cause malaria can stay in the liver for a long time before causing symptoms. If a mosquito bites someone who has malaria, the mosquito can become infected with the parasites and spread them to other people.
The mosquito becomes infected when it bites someone who has malaria and takes in some of their blood. A week later, when the mosquito bites someone else, it injects them with the malaria parasites from the first person’s blood. Other ways that people can catch malaria are from exposure to infected blood, including from a mother to her unborn child, through blood transfusions, or by sharing needles used to inject drugs.
Preventive Measures for Malaria
The first step in protecting yourself and your family from the virus is to keep mosquitoes away. Clear any sources of stagnant water, indoors and outdoors, as they can be places where mosquitoes breed. Since mosquitoes are more active at night, try to stay away from areas where they are often found, like fields, forests, and swamps, from dusk to dawn.
If you travel to an area of the world where malaria is common, your doctor will probably prescribe a medicine to prevent you from getting the disease. You may decide to take or not take the medicine based on its possible side effects, how often you have to take it, or whether it is safe to take during pregnancy. If you do get malaria, your doctor will decide how to treat you on the basis of what place you got the bite, what kind of parasite is causing your malaria, and how severe your symptoms are.
Wear pants and long-sleeved clothing that are light-colored and comfortable as mosquitoes can bite through tight synthetic clothing and are attracted to dark colors. If you have malaria, it’s important to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes. People who travel to areas with malaria are usually advised to take preventative anti-malarial drugs.
Malaria prevention and treatments: Get all the knowledge
Malaria prevention and treatments are important to understand. One can easily take care of themselves and also of their families if they are aware of the treatments that one should get after getting malaria. The four main factors that guide treatment for malaria are the type of Plasmodium parasite causing the infection, the patient’s clinical status, the expected drug susceptibility of the parasite based on where the infection was acquired, and the patient’s previous use of antimalarial drugs. A list of medicines to treat Malaria can be checked on the WHO portal they have mentions a lot of medicines according to various regions. The drugs prescribed for malaria are:
Artemisinin-based combination medicines are each tailor-made to fight malaria parasites in new ways. They all contain three unique drugs that combat the parasite’s impacts on your body in different ways.
Final Takeaway
Malaria Essentials: To keep out any mosquitoes, stay clear of danger zones–particularly fields, forests, and swamps–from dusk to dawn. These are the essential malaria preventions and treatments that you can begin at your home. Always remember that just one bite can take you closer to your death. Stop Mosquitoes, Stop Dengue, Stop Malaria
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. What is Malaria in Simple Words?
Ans. During malaria, parasites in infected mosquitoes transmit the disease to humans through bites. They multiply in the liver and then infect red blood cells, causing symptoms such as fever, chills, headaches, and fatigue. Malaria can be life-threatening in severe cases.
Q2. How Should We Prevent Malaria?
Ans. The most effective way to prevent malaria is to use mosquito nets, insect repellent, and antimalarial medications, while to treat malaria, medications are usually used to kill blood parasites.
Q3. How Does Malaria Spread?
Ans. When an infected female Anopheles mosquito bites you malaria gets spread in the body. It enters the human host’s bloodstream. The parasite can multiply once it enters the body as it multiplies. Similarly, when the infected mosquito bites another person it spreads the disease.
Q4. How Can We Prevent Malaria?
Ans. Several measures can be taken to prevent malaria. Such as wearing long-sleeved clothing, wearing insecticide-treated bed nets, and using indoor residual spraying. Also, you can take antimalarial medication if traveling to endemic areas. Remember to drain stagnant water where mosquitoes breed, and seeking prompt medical treatment for symptoms are also essential preventive measures.
