Malaria is a dangerous disease that can be as a result of an infection
that is transmitted by mosquito bites. The parasite, once it enters
the bloodstream,
travels and infects blood cells. Symptoms range from simple chills to
a life threatening
coma.
The first and most prevalent
symptom is a fever, accompanied by chills,
headache, muscle pain, nausea, and sweating. While these are common
symptoms for many different illnesses, including the flu, and any
other viral or bacterial infection, it is also
indicative of malaria.
Since these are ordinary side effects, they are often the most
ignored. A slight fever could be neglected with the thought that it's
"just a fever," while in truth it's an indicator of malaria. More
severe than the fever and
chills is jaundice, which is the
inflammation of the liver.
Jaundice is accompanied by
yellowing of the skin, and the
eyes, which is a result of high levels of the bilirubin in the
blood. Jaundice can be the
result of many other illnesses, including cancer, or hepatitis.
Jaundice is, however, one of
the most obvious symptoms of malaria. In the case of malaria, it is a
symptom that can only be treated along with the illness.
Because jaundice needs to be
treated immediately,
diagnostic tests are conducted to determine the exact cause of the
jaundice, and in this process, malaria could possibly
be identified. Seizures are another side
effect of malaria. Some
seizures are unidentifiable, as they result in "staring spells," while
others are accompanied
by spasms, convulsions, or shaking of the body. Seizures
are hard to identify
immediately with malaria, but
only immediate medical
attention can help determine
exactly what is causing the seizures. Anemia may also point to
malaria, especially in areas
where malnutrition is high, as
this can be a result. Anemia is
the condition in which there
are not enough red blood cells in the body. This can be due to
any kind of a dietary
deficiency, so it's hard to
attribute this just to malaria. Finally, comas are an extremely
obvious symptom of malaria.
Comas can also be a result of
anything; for a coma to come
about, the patient has to have
exhibited other symptoms first. Similar to the other side
effects, comas are not
exclusively associated with
malaria. They can be a result of
many other illnesses, and
nothing but a proper diagnostic test can help determine
whether it is truly caused by
malaria. In all these cases, a diagnostic
test normally consists of a
blood test to determine
whether there are any
bacterial, viral, or fungal
infections in the blood. Normally, malaria is easily
identifiable in these blood
tests, and treatment can begin
immediately. In areas without
proper healthcare, however,
this diagnosis and treatment process can take long, and that
is why prevention is the first
step in defeating malaria
Credicts:Borgenproject
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