Four different types of parasites, transmitted by the anopheles mosquito, infect human red blood cells and cause malaria, an intermittent fever characterized by spleen enlargement, anemia, and intermittent fever paroxysms.
SYMPTOMS OF MALARIAL FEVER
The following symptoms and signs are typically associated with a malaria infection:
- Fever
- Chills
- Headache
- Nausea and vomiting
- Muscle pain and fatigue
Various other symptoms could be:
- Sweating
- Chest or abdominal pain
- Cough
Malaria signs and symptoms usually appear a few weeks after being bitten by an infected mosquito, but some types of malaria parasites can lie dormant in our body for up to a year. Some people who have malaria experience cycles of malaria “attacks,” which typically begin with shivering and chills, followed by a high fever, sweating, and a return to normal temperature.
CAUSES OF MALARIA
The parasite that causes malaria, which affects humans primarily through mosquito bites, is a particular kind of microscopic parasite.
Mosquito Transmission Cycle
- Uninfected mosquito-By biting a malaria patient, a mosquito contracts the disease.
- Transmission of parasite-This mosquito can spread malaria parasites to people if it bites them again in the future.
- Once inside our bodies, parasites make their way to the liver, where some can lay dormant for up to a year.
- **Into the bloodstream-**This is when people typically experience malaria symptoms because the parasites mature, leave the liver, and infect our red blood cells.
- Moving on to the next person: If we are bitten by an uninfected mosquito at this stage of the malaria cycle, the mosquito will contract our malaria parasites and may then bite additional people, potentially infecting them as well.
Other modes of transmission
People can contract malaria by coming into contact with infected blood because the parasites that cause malaria affect red blood cells, including:
- pregnant woman to unborn child
- Through blood transfusions
- using shared injection-needle exchange
RISK FACTORS
There are numerous varieties of malaria parasites.The variety that causes the most serious complications is most frequently found in: Living in or traveling to areas where the disease is prevalent is the biggest risk factor for developing malaria.
- the nations of Africa south of the Sahara Desert
- The Asian subcontinent
- Dominican Republic, Haiti, and New Guinea
Risks of more-severe disease
Affected individuals include the following:
- Young children and infants
- Older adults
- traveling patrons from malaria-free regions
- the unborn children of expectant mothers
Malaria deaths occur all over the world and are largely caused by poverty, ignorance, and a lack of access to health care.
Immunity can wane
If you move to a country where you are no longer frequently exposed to the parasite, your partial immunity may disappear. Residents of a malaria region may be exposed to the disease so frequently that they develop a partial immunity, which can lessen the severity of malaria symptoms.
COMPLICATION OF MALARIAL FEVER
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 91 percent of all malaria deaths occur in Africa, with children under the age of five dying most frequently. Malaria can be fatal, especially malaria caused by the type of parasite that is common in tropical parts of Africa.
Deaths from malaria are typically caused by one or more severe side effects, such as:
- Brain swelling or brain damage may result from cerebral malaria, which can also cause seizures and coma. Cerebral malaria occurs when blood cells that are parasite-filled block small blood vessels to our brain.
- Breathing issues: Breathing can be made challenging by pulmonary edema, which is a buildup of fluid in the lungs.
- Malaria can cause organ failure, which can result in the rupture of our spleen, failure of our kidneys, liver, or other organs.
- Anemia can be caused by the damage that malaria causes to red blood cells.
- Hypoglycemia, which can be brought on by severe forms of malaria, can put a person in a coma or kill them.
Malaria may recur
The malaria parasite can persist for years and lead to relapses in some cases. These parasites typically cause milder forms of the disease.
PREVENTION OF MALARIAL FEVER
Mosquitoes are most active between dusk and dawn; therefore, precautions should be taken if one lives in or is visiting a region where malaria is prevalent.
- Wear long sleeves and pants to cover up any exposed skin.
- Spray permethrin-containing products can be used on skin and are safe to use on clothing. Spray permethrin-containing products can be used on skin and are safe to use on clothing.
- Sleeping under a bed net can help protect you from mosquito bites at night, especially if it has been treated with an insecticide.
HOMEOPATHIC MEDICINE FOR MALARIAL FEVER
Recommended when symptoms are worse from exertion or after midnight, from cold and damp, and better by warmth and prefers warm wraps. Helpful when patient feel externally cold but internally hot and burning.There is sweat with fever. **ARSENIC ALBUM-** Best medicine for intermittent fever and chill.Given when fever comes with periodicity every day, every third or fourth day, every fortnight, every six weeks, or even once a year.
**CEDRON-**Useful for recurrent episodes of fever that occur at the same time, with chills in the back and limbs or cold feet and hands, a full, rapid heartbeat, a thirst or a desire for warm liquids, as well as shivering and chill with head congestion.
Given when face is sallow, yellow with enlarged spleen and loss of appetite. Usually recommended “when symptoms worse every other day”
**EUPATORIUM PERF-**Useful for malaria with chill, which is preceded by thirst, great soreness, and aching, as if broken, bones.Useful for scanty sweat, which is accompanied by nausea.Useful for fever paroxysm, which typically begins in the morning.Useful for nausea.Useful for vomiting of bile.
Suitable when the patient is chilly, but he is worse in the sun or from heat. There is violent thirst, increase with fever, and coldness of the body or many body parts. Recommend when there is continuous chilliness. There is also constipation and loss of appetite. **NATRUM MUR **Useful for malaria with morning chill with thirst which appears between 9am and 11am.
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