Comment from: Glenn, 35-44 Male (Patient)Published: July 16
I am a Survivor of malaria strain P.falciparum. First signs were typical cold and flu for a day then a good run for 4 days then a cyclic pattern of recurring symptoms over the next few days in 24hr cycles. Each recurrence was worse than the previous. The lead-in took about 7 to 8days. The symptoms eventually did not give any further relief days and the cycles melded into bad and worse days. Starting now at day 1, the symptoms worsened to lethargy, lack of concentration and shortness of breath along with normal flu aches and pains. A visit to the local medical centre for suspect flu on day 1, routine malaria tests were negative. I am feeling slightly better on day 2, but certainly not functional. I am back to the medical centre on day 3 and doctor was convinced by looking at me, that I had a strain of malaria. More routine tests returned another negative result so back to the lounge room floor. The next day now day 4, I could lay dead still for 4 to 6 hours and only move to go to the toilet. Returning to the floor, my heart rate was at about 160bpm and the energy exerted required a good 4 hour rest again. On day 5 and the third visit to the medical centre, the blood test came back positive and the strain was identified. The doctor sincerely concerned with the strain identified and the duration of my illness. I was medivac'd to Australia. Further medication was given on arrival. Full Recovery took 9 months, but damage was done. For 2 to 3 months I remained on the lounge room floor. During the 3rd and 4th month, I had to train my muscles to walk again at the local shopping centre. By the end of the 5th month I could walk one full length of a shopping centre. A further 4 months passed with daily walks before I was back to normal. By the 12th month I was struck by depression and then spent 3 months working out of it, but that's another story.
Comment from: Malcolm, 55-64Published: September 20
I had malaria in 1980 when I was working in Kenya. I spent six weeks in the hospital and lost a lot of weight, which made me very weak for weeks after. After a few years, I visited Bali. While I was there, I was bitten by a mosquito on the leg and had to have an injection because my leg had swollen up so bad. I had a difficult time walking. I have found over the years that when I get bitten by a mosquito, I get a swelling to the area.
Comment from: Bel-Jozzie SA, 45-54 Female (Patient)Published: August 18
Tomorrow I will get to find out if I contracted malaria! I was in Mozambique years ago not hot, pleasant time to go, but first evening I got bitten! I sprayed my bitten area and rest of the body with "Peaceful Sleep" repellant aerosol. It was the third trip to this part of Mozambique. A week later, not even I got fever blisters on my top lip (almost occupied the whole upper lip). Thinking my immune system is down, just used fever blister cream and it took basically two weeks to recover. Whilst recovering I started getting nauseous. Funny sensation in my stomach did not do well with smells or car trips. Last week Thursday I got up had 1/3 of the cup of coffee, then took my BP medication and I went back to bed, as body was saw (like fever type) chest was sore, (could not even smoke) as I got in I had to get up to go and vomit. There after experienced weird body pains and I was extremely cold, shivers and lower back pains! I could not eat, I just wanted tea, but slept the entire day and night. The next day I thought I had the energy to go back to work, had a bath, but forget it went back into bed. Over the weekend I felt slightly better but the nausea was still there. It is just a weird sensation! You feel you are not right! I feel my eyes are getting blurry and it feels like there is sand in them! I wake up sweaty in the mornings even though it's freezing cold here. Today decided to go to doctor and I described the symptoms to the doc and he asked if I recently visited malaria stricken area! He also noted I had fever blisters- (slight red traces on upper lip). He then told me it sounds like I got malaria! I will get my blood results tomorrow and hope that its still in early stages as I am a sufferer of PKD (Polycystic Kidney Disease) and reading other comments has scared the living daylight out of me. I will comment back with feed back if it was positive or negative.
Comment from: 25-34 Female (Patient)Published: September 17
I contracted malaria after a beach holiday in Mozambique. The first sign was a flu-like ache in my joints, followed by a mild headache, then a fever, which broke some hours later in the night in a torrent of sweat! A severe headache and pain in my shoulders and lower back, along with horrible nausea took me to bed for an afternoon and a night, but I had already started treatment with a drug called Coartem 20/120 (artemether lumefantrine). After that second horrid night, the fevers and chills stopped, but the sweating occurred on and off in milder and milder form until the third day.
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Kidney failure can occur from an acute event or a chronic condition or disease. Prerenal kidney failure is caused by blood loss, dehydration, medication. Some of the renal causes of kidney failure are from sepsis, medications, rhabdomyolysis, multiple myeloma, and acute glomerulonephritis. Post renal causes of kidney failure include bladder obstruction, prostate problems, tumors, or kidney stones. Treatment options included diet, medications, or dialysis.
Diarrhea is a change is the frequency and looseness of bowel movements. Cramping, abdominal pain, and the sensation of rectal urgency are all symptoms of diarrhea. Absorbents and anti-motility medications are used to treat diarrhea.
Headaches can be divided into two categories: primary headaches and secondary headaches. Migraine headaches, tension headaches, and cluster headaches are considered primary headaches. Secondary headaches are caused by disease. Headache symptoms vary with the headache type. Over-the-counter pain relievers provide short-term relief for most headaches.
Chronic cough is a cough that does not go away and is generally a symptom of another disorder such as asthma, allergic rhinitis, sinus infection, cigarette smoking, GERD, postnasal drip, bronchitis, pneumonia, medications, and less frequently tumors or other lung disease. Treatment of chronic cough is dependant upon the cause.
Nausea is an uneasiness of the stomach that often precedes vomiting. Nausea and vomiting are not diseases, but they are symptoms of many conditions. The causes of vomiting differ according to age, and treatment depends upon the cause of nausea and vomiting.
Jaundice is a yellowish staining of the skin and whites of the eyes (sclerae) with bilirubin, the pigment found in bile. Jaundice can be an indicator of liver or gallbladder disease, or it may result from the rupture of red blood cells (hemolysis).
Although a fever technically is any body temperature above the normal of 98.6 degrees F. (37 degrees C.), in practice a person is usually not considered to have a significant fever until the temperature is above 100.4 degrees F (38 degrees C.). Fever is part of the body's own disease-fighting arsenal: rising body temperatures apparently are capable of killing off many disease- producing organisms.
The spleen enlarges if it is asked to do excessive work in filtering or manufacturing blood cells, if there is abnormal blood flow to it, or if it is invaded with abnormal cells or deposits. Symptoms of an enlarged spleen may include weakness and fatigue, easy bleeding, and poor white blood cell function. Treatment of an enlarged spleen is focused toward the cause of the splenomegaly. Surgery may be required to remove the spleen.
Epilepsy is a brain disorder in which the person has seizures. There are two kinds of seizures, focal and generalized. There are many causes of epilepsy. Treatment of epilepsy (seizures) depends upon the cause and type of seizures experienced.
Neutropenia is a marked decrease in the number of neutrophils, neutrophils being a type of white blood cell (specifically a form of granulocyte) filled with neutrally-staning granules, tiny sacs of enzymes that help the cell to kill and digest microorganisms it has engulfed by phagocytosis.
Influenza (flu) is a respiratory illness caused by a virus. Flu symptoms include fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose, headache, fatigue, and muscle aches. The flu may be prevented with an annual influenza vaccination.
Coma is the inability to waken or react to the surrounding environment. The Glasgow Coma Scale is frequently used to measure the depth of coma. Causes of coma include trauma, bleeding, edema, lack of oxygen, poisoning, or hypoglycemia. Prognosis for a patient in a coma depends on the cause of the coma.
G6PD deficiency (Glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase) leads to a condition called hemolytic anemia. Causes of G6PD deficiency is an abnormal gene located in the X-chromosome, therefore, it is more common in males. Hemolytic anemia caused by G6PD deficiency generally occurs after exposure to malaria medications, antiitching drugs, and fava beans. Pneumonia and other infections can also precipitate hemolytic anemia in individuals with G6PD deficiency. Treatment is generally discontinuing the drug or compound treating infection. Blood transfusions are necessary in some individuals.
Fatigue can be described in various ways. Sometimes fatigue is described as feeling a lack of energy and motivation (both mental and physical). The causes of fatigue are generally related to a variety of conditions or diseases for example, anemia, mono, medications, sleep problems, cancer, anxiety, heart disease, drug abuse, and more. Treatment of fatigue is generally directed toward the condition or disease that is causing the fatigue.
Medical shock is a life-threatening medical condition. There are several types of medical shock, septic shock, anaphylactic shock, cardiogenic shock, hypovolemic shock, and neurogenic shock. Causes of shock include heart attack, heart failure, heavy bleeding (internal and external), infection, anaphylaxis, spinal cord injury, severe burns, chronic vomiting or diarrhea. Low blood pressure is the key sign of sock. Treatment is dependant upon the type of shock.
Alpha thalassemia is a disorder in which the alpha globin protein is underproduced. There are two pairs of genes that carry the code for the alpha chains of hemoglobin. When one gene is impaired, that person is in a carrier state and suffers no medical problems. When four genes are impaired, the production of fetal and adult hemoglobin is prevented, resulting in hydrops fetalis and leading to death before birth.
Seizures are divided into two categories: generalized and partial. Generalized seizures are produced by electrical impulses from throughout the brain, while partial seizures are produced by electrical impulses in a small part of the brain. Seizure symptoms include unconsciousness, convulsions, and muscle rigidity.
Travelers should prepare for their trip by visiting their physician to get the proper vaccinations and obtain the necessary medication if they have a medical condition or chronic disease. Diseases that travelers may pick up from contaminated water or food, insect or animal bites, or from other people include malaria, meningococcal meningitis, yellow fever, hepatitis A, typhoid fever, polio, and cholera.
Drug resistance (antimicrobial resistance) is the ability of bacteria, fungi, parasites, and viruses to grow, even in the presence of a drug that would normally kill it (or limit it's growth). Drug resistance is a growing problem, particularly for infections such as MRSA, VRE (vancomycin-resistant enterococci), tuberculosis, HIV, STDs, gonorrhea, flu, pneumonia, malaria, E. coli, salmonella, Campylobacter, which causes diarrhea and gastroenteritis. Learn how to protect yourself from resistance to drugs.
Children's health is focused on the well-being of children from conception through adolescence. There are many aspects of children's health, including growth and development, illnesses, injuries, behavior, mental illness, family health and community health.
PCR (polymerase chain reaction) is a method to analyze a short sequence of
DNA (or RNA) even in samples
containing only minute quantities of DNA or RNA. PCR is used to reproduce
(amplify) selected sections of DNA or RNA. Previously, amplification of DNA involved cloning the segments of interest into vectors for
expression in bacteria, and took
weeks. But now, with PCR done in test tubes, it takes only a few hours. PCR is
highly efficient so that untold numbers of copies can be made of the DNA.
Moreover, PCR uses the same molecules that nature uses
for copying DNA:
Two "primers", short single-stranded DNA sequences that are synthesized to
correspond to the beginning and ending of the DNA stretch to be copied;
An enzyme called polymerase that moves along the segment of DNA, reading
its code and assembling a copy; and
A pile of DNA building blocks that the polymerase needs t...
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I am a Survivor of malaria strain P.falciparum. First signs were typical cold and flu for a day then a good run for 4 days then a cyclic pattern of recurring symptoms over the next few days in 24hr cycles. Each recurrence was worse than the previous. The lead-in took about 7 to 8days. The symptoms eventually did not give any further relief days and the cycles melded into bad and worse days. Starting now at day 1, the symptoms worsened to lethargy, lack of concentration and shortness of breath along with normal flu aches and pains. A visit to the local medical centre for suspect flu on day 1, routine malaria tests were negative. I am feeling slightly better on day 2, but certainly not functional. I am back to the medical centre on day 3 and doctor was convinced by looking at me, that I had a strain of malaria. More routine tests returned another negative result so back to the lounge room floor. The next day now day 4, I could lay dead still for 4 to 6 hours and only move to go to the toilet. Returning to the floor, my heart rate was at about 160bpm and the energy exerted required a good 4 hour rest again. On day 5 and the third visit to the medical centre, the blood test came back positive and the strain was identified. The doctor sincerely concerned with the strain identified and the duration of my illness. I was medivac'd to Australia. Further medication was given on arrival. Full Recovery took 9 months, but damage was done. For 2 to 3 months I remained on the lounge room floor. During the 3rd and 4th month, I had to train my muscles to walk again at the local shopping centre. By the end of the 5th month I could walk one full length of a shopping centre. A further 4 months passed with daily walks before I was back to normal. By the 12th month I was struck by depression and then spent 3 months working out of it, but that's another story.
Related Reading: malaria | flu | depression