Prevent Malaria

Malaria is a disease spread by mosquitoes that leads to fever, chills, and flu-like symptoms. It is a chronic parasitic infection can be deadly if left untreated. The plasmodium falciparum parasite that causes malaria causes about 200 million cases worldwide every year. This includes about 584,000 deaths, mainly among children under five years old in sub-Saharan Africa.[1] About 1500-2000 cases of malaria are reported in the U.S. every year. If you're traveling to a country with high rates of malaria, you can decrease your risk with medication.[2] Taking precautions to keep mosquito bites to a minimum also helps prevent malaria.

Steps

Taking Preventative Medicine

  1. Determine whether you're at risk. If you're traveling to a country with high rates of malaria, it's important to take precautions. Malaria is preventable if you take the right medication before, during, and after exposure to dangerous mosquitoes. The following regions are high-risk:[3]
    • Africa
    • Central and South America
    • Parts of Caribbean Asia, Eastern Europe, and the South Pacific
  2. Schedule a doctor's appointment. If you are visiting one of these places, schedule an appointment with your doctor six weeks in advance of your trip.[4]
    • Start your trip planning early so you can start taking preventative medication before you set out on your journey.
    • As an alternative to your regular doctor, you may schedule an appointment at a travel clinic in your area.[5]
  3. Get a prescription for malaria pills. Talk to your doctor about where you are traveling. He or she can then provide a prescription for medication most effective against malaria in that area.
    • These medications may include Chloroquine phosphate, quinine sulfate, or tetracycline. The type of medicine differs according to where you're going, so it's important to mention every place you'll be.[6]
    • There is no vaccine for malaria. Instead, your doctor will prescribe the same type of medicine used to treat malaria. You'll take it the entire time you're at risk of exposure.
    • Make sure to discuss your other medications and health conditions. These could affect which prescription you're given. For example, you shouldn't take some malaria medicines while pregnant. Others shouldn't be used by people with certain psychiatric conditions.
    • Your doctor or travel clinic attendant should also check whether there are any other diseases that are a risk.
  4. Take the medication as prescribed. The important thing to remember is to follow your prescription exactly. Malaria drugs are only effective when taken as indicated.
    • You need to start some pills at least two weeks in advance of your trip. Others can be started just one or two days beforehand. Some you'll need to take once a day, others several times per day.
    • If you must take a malaria pill once a day, take it at the same time every day.
    • Keep taking the pills for the entire time recommended by your doctor. In many cases you'll need to take the pills for a week or more after leaving the high-risk area. If you do not do this, you may still be at risk of contracting malaria.
    • Follow instructions to prevent harm from side effects. For example, some malaria pills (doxycycline) make you more prone to getting a sunburn. In this case, be sure to use sunscreen to protect your skin.[6]
    • Resistance to antimalarial medications is an increasing problem. Strains of the disease can become resistant if people overuse malaria pills, or if they do not finish the full course of medication.Take the full course as prescribed.[1]

Preventing Mosquito Bites

  1. Choose your accommodations carefully. When planning your trip, try to choose places to stay that have fewer mosquitoes. If possible, stay in screened quarters or quarters with air conditioning.
    • In general, the best areas to stay in are cooler areas away from any stagnant water. Stagnant water serves as a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
    • Stagnant water sources such as lakes or non-running streams are especially prone to mosquitoes.
  2. Use a mosquito net. Mosquito nets are lightweight, tightly-woven nets that keep mosquitoes out of your tent or bed at night.[7] Set the net up over your sleeping area each night before you go to sleep. You can also use them to cover any open windows or doors.
    • Since you may not be able to find a mosquito net where you're going, buy one to take with you when you travel.
    • Get dressed inside your mosquito net in the morning.
    • Make sure to check it regularly for tears. You might want to bring an extra net as a backup.
    • Buy mosquito nets treated with permethrin for the best protection.[8]
  3. Keep doors and windows closed. If possible, you should keep doors and windows tightly sealed while you're indoors.
    • People who sleep outside or are exposed to the outdoors at night are at much higher risk of contracting malaria.
    • You may not be able to close the doors and windows if you're in a very hot, muggy place. Whether you can or not, use a mosquito net over your bed for added protection.[9]
  4. Wear long pants and sleeves. You'll reduce the number of mosquito bites you get if you wear long pants and sleeves while you're out and about during the day.
    • Bring high-quality lightweight clothing that will allow your body to breathe while protecting you from bites.[8]
  5. Use mosquito spray. Choose the mosquito spray that's most effective in the area where you're traveling. Talk to your doctor about your options and to get recommendations. If you have children, consult their pediatrician about what types and strengths are safe for use on children.
    • In almost all areas where malaria is present, DEET is the most commonly used compound. DEET is a chemical compound known as N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide, or just diethyltoluamide. This repellent comes in many different concentrations, from 4% to 100%. However, concentrations over 50% do not provide meaningful added protection.[10] Apply the spray to your clothing and the room where you're staying for best results.[8]
    • Combining insect sprays with permethrin-treated clothing and gear offers the best protection.
    • The Center for Disease Control (CDC) provides guidelines for the use of DEET. Read them carefully before using this product. Improper usage can lead to health problems.[10]
  6. Stay inside between dusk and dawn if possible. Try to plan activities that permit you to be in protected areas between dusk and dawn. The mosquito that transmits malaria is most active at night.[11]

Treating Malaria

  1. See a doctor if you experience symptoms. If you feel sick during or after travel and are worried you were exposed to malaria, see a doctor right away. It's important to get treatment as soon as possible. Early malaria symptoms are generally non-specific,[12] but may include the following:[13]
    • High fever
    • Shaking chills
    • Profuse sweating
    • Headache
    • Vomiting
    • Diarrhea
  2. Get treatment. The medication your doctor prescribes will depend on where you contracted the disease. Other factors, like pregnancy, are also important. Treatment usually means a strict course of medication for an extended period of time.[14] Drugs used to treat malaria include the following:[15]
    • Chloroquine phosphate is the first-line medication for malaria unless there is resistance to the drug. This issue has become common, so your doctor may prescribe something else.
    • Doctors prescribe quinine sulfate and tetracycline in areas with high chloroquine phosphate resistance. Alternatively, your doctor may prescribe atovaquone-proguanil and mefloquine.
    • Sometimes, the infection may require an infusion of medication intravenously. If infected with the parasite P. falciparum, you may take IV quinidine and doxycycline.
    • If the malaria is caused by either the parasite P. vivax or P. ovale, your doctor may prescribe a two-week regimen of primaquine phosphate.
    • Again, early prevention is the best way to protect yourself before arriving in high-risk areas. If your doctor knows you are traveling to a chloroquine-resistant region, he or she may prescribe mefloquine.
  3. Continue monitoring your health after travel. See a doctor right away if you experience flu-like symptoms that could be symptoms of malaria. Even if it’s been awhile since you’ve returned, you could still be at risk.
    • Most cases of malaria become obvious within about two weeks of contracting the disease. But, in some cases symptoms show up much later. The parasite that causes malaria can lie dormant in the body for weeks, months, even up to a year.[16]

Tips

  • Before traveling visit a physician to determine the best drug to take for malaria prevention. Doctors determine preventative regimens on an individual basis. They customize treatment based on the region of travel. Your doctor will take into account many factors that will affect your treatment regimen. Travel medicine clinics are a great source of information and advice.
  • Visit your doctor early if you know you are going on a trip. You must take some medications weeks before you arrive at your destination.
  • Check for mosquitoes already in your mosquito net before going to bed.

Warnings

  • Buy your antimalarial drugs before you travel overseas. People in countries that are at high risk for malaria sometimes sell fake or substandard drugs to travelers.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs094/en/
  2. ↑ http://www.cdc.gov/malaria/about/facts.html
  3. ↑ http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/diseases/malaria
  4. ↑ http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/page/see-doctor
  5. ↑ http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/page/find-clinic
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 http://www.cdc.gov/malaria/travelers/drugs.html
  7. ↑ Domino, F. (n.d.). The 5-minute clinical consult standard 2015 (23rd ed.)
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Domino, F. (n.d.). The 5-minute clinical consult standard 2015 (23rd ed.).
  9. ↑ Domino, F. (n.d.). The 5-minute clinical consult standard 2015 (23rd ed.).
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 http://www.cdc.gov/malaria/toolkit/DEET.pdf
  11. ↑ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Treatment of Malaria (Guidelines for clinicians). Updated July 1, 2013. Available at: www.cdc. gov/malaria/resources/pdf/treatmenttable.pdf
  12. ↑ Domino, F. (n.d.). The 5-minute clinical consult standard 2015 (23rd ed.).
  13. ↑ http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/malaria/basics/symptoms/con-20013734
  14. ↑ http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/malaria/basics/treatment/con-20013734
  15. ↑ Agabegi, S. (2013). Step-up to medicine (3rd ed.). Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
  16. ↑ http://www.cdc.gov/malaria/about/disease.html

You may like

Retrieved from "https://kipkis.com/index.php?title=Prevent_Malaria&oldid=268050"