Why anti-malarial are one of the most essential medicines that should be in your travel bag

What is Malaria?

Malaria is a parasitic disease that is spread through the bite of mosquitoes. These infectious parasites are microscopic and live in female mosquitoes are transferred to a human through their bite. Malaria can be fatal if the treatment is not started as soon as possible. The treatment fights the infection before it can become deadly.

What are the symptoms of Malaria?

The most apparent Malarial symptoms include high fever, shivering and sweating. The beginning of Malaria starts at the onset of shivering and fever. It can lead to muscle pains and headaches. Other symptoms also include headaches and flu-like symptoms.

The symptoms of Malaria may look like other illnesses, but a simple malarial diagnostic test can provide better results.

Malaria and Travelers

Malaria has been one of the most common diseases diagnosed in travellers. Travellers returning from the Tropics, Middle East and Asia are prone to fever, and most of these cases are ruled as Malaria. Travellers returning from Africa are more inclined towards a diagnosis of Malaria.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, most cases of Malaria are due to the particular parasite known as Plasmodium falciparum. P. falciparum causes a severe level of Malaria and has more chances of being fatal.

Travellers are at a higher risk because they do not protect themselves from mosquitoes and don't practice precautions.

Be aware of the risk

Before you take off for your vacation, do your research and be mindful of how prevalent Malaria is in the country you wish to visit. Malaria is commonly widespread in most tropical and subtropical countries, and if you're visiting one, you're at a higher risk. Malarial risk can vary from country to country, as some take great precautions against it, but others don't. Malarial risk also varies by the weather. Certain climates are more appropriate for the breeding of mosquitoes. The time of the year that you are travelling to a particular country will determine the increase or decrease in malarial risk.

Preventive measures

The first point of prevention is avoiding getting bitten. It might seem like a difficult task, but it is your best bet at avoiding a Malarial infection. There are a few points and practices you should note that you can follow to prevent mosquito bites.

A mosquito bite can be dangerous at any given the time of day, but Malarial mosquitoes venture out into the open after the sun goes down, so you should be more vigilant at night.
Covering up your body allows little access to mosquitoes. If you're travelling to a hot climate opt to wear lightweight, full-length clothes which will help you shield from not only mosquitoes but other insects too.
As a traveller, you can never be too cautious, so it is best to carry an insecticide spray or mosquito repellant lotion with you that you can use on any exposed part of your body such as arms, neck and feet.
If you can carry an insecticide with you, then spray it in your lodgings to ward off any hidden mosquitoes that may venture out at night.
If you are a camper, then it is advised that you carry a mosquito net with you. It is very lightweight and easily portable. It will save you from many unwanted insects and mosquitoes.

Cure of Malaria

Malaria can be treated and cured completely with the help of different medication. As a traveller, you should always carry anti-malarial medicine with you, in case of an emergency or need. Most travellers do contract Malaria because they do not follow the preventive measures, or they do not follow a preventive drug regimen suggested by their physicians.

Anti-malarial drugs are used for both, treatment and prevention. You can visit your physician and get a prescription for anti-malarial preventive medicines if your destination has a higher risk of malaria. Most anti-malarial drugs target the symptoms and effects of malarial infection.

Immediate diagnosis of malaria is essential to devise the appropriate treatment and decrease the chances of a life-threatening case. The treatment of the infectious blood stage of Malaria is critical as it can develop into a fatal situation and is caused by all types of malarial mosquitoes.

Risk assessment, mosquito bite prevention and anti-malarial drug usage should be discussed with physicians.

Anti-malarial drugs

The diagnosis for Malaria and the medications used can vary for every case.

Things that you should keep in mind when getting anti-malarial drugs or cure are:

Anti-malarial drugs are not 100% effective or protective.
A combination of drugs may be used to cure and prevent malaria.
Any combination of medicines may react disadvantageously to your body.

Anti-malarial drugs can be easily found on registered online pharmacies such as clickpharmacy.co.uk. You only must register with the website to have the medicine delivered to your doorstep.

Click Pharmacy stocks different types of anti-malarial drugs with include Doxycycline, Malarone and Lariam which reduce malarial symptoms.

Doxycycline is made up of the active ingredient doxycycline hyclate that provides protection against malaria found in tropical areas. This anti-malarial drug must be consumed 1 to 2 days before you travel, the throughout your stay at your travel destination and 28 days after your return. This drug is suitable for prevention in high-risk areas.

Malarone is made up of the active ingredients atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride and can be used for general prevention measures and treatment. As a preventive drug, it should be consumed daily during your travelling period and for a week after your return. For treatment, a 100mg tablet should be taken twice a day.

Lariam is made up of the active ingredient mefloquine and can be sued for preventive and treatment purposes. For prevention, the consumption of this medicine should be one tablet every week for 1 to 3 weeks before travelling, and one tablet every week of travel and for four weeks after your return.

Did you find this post useful? Share it with your friends or Pin it for later...