Malaria – Symptoms, Causes, Treatment and Home Remedies

Malaria is a serious infectious disease. It is one of the intermittent fevers which have a tendency to return again and again to haunt the sufferer. The word malaria comes from the italian mala aria, meaning bad air as it was once supposed to be caused by bad air. It is one of the most widespread diseases in the world, especially in tropical and subtropical regions.

Symptoms

There are three main types of malaria, depending upon the parasite which causes it. These are vivax, falciparum and malariae, commonly called tertian fever, quarten fever and the malignant tertian malaria. The most common symptoms of all types of malaria is high fever, which may come everyday, on alternate days or every fourth day. The fever is accompanied by chill, headache, shivering and pain in the limbs. The temperature comes down after some time with profuse sweating. One of the main effects of malaria is anaemia. Other complications of the disease are kidney failure and dysentry.

Causes

Malaria is caused by a tiny parasite called plasmodium. The parasites grow in the liver of a person for few days and then enter bloodstream where they invade the red blood cells. The disease is spread from a sick person to a healthy one by the female anopheles mosquito. She draws a small quantity of blood containing the parasites, when she bites a person who has malaria. These parasites then pass through several stages of development within the mosquito’s body and finally find their way to its salivary glands. There they lie in wait for an opportunity to enter the bloodstream of the next person the mosquito bites. The malaria-carrying mosquito breeds in stagnant water.

The real cause of malaria, however, as in case of other infectious diseases, is wrong feeding habits and faulty style of living, resulting in the system being clogged with accumulated systemic refuse and morbid matter. It is on this soil that the malaria germs breed. The liberal use of denatured foods of today such as white sugar, white flour and products made from them, as well as tinned foods, strong tea, coffee and alcoholic beverages, lower the vitality of the system and paves the way for the development of malaria.

Treatment

Diet is of utmost importance in the treatment of malaria. To begin with, the patient should fast on orange juice and water for 7 to 15 days depending on the severity of the fever. After the fever has subsided, the patient should be placed on an exclusive fresh fruit diet for further three days. In this regimen, he should take three meals a day, at five hourly intervals, of fresh, juicy fruits like oranges, grapes, grape-fruit, apple, pineapple, mango and papaya. Milk may be added to the fruit-diet after this period and this diet may be continued for a further few days. Thereafter, the patient may gradually embark upon a well-balanced diet of natural foods consisting of seeds, nuts and grains, vegetables and fruits, with emphasis on fresh fruits and raw vegetables.

The patient should avoid strong tea, coffee, refined and processed foods, fried foods, condiments, sauces, pickles, white sugar, white flour, and all products made from them. He should also avoid all meats, alcoholic drinks and smoking,

The best way to reduce temperature naturally, during the course of the fever, is by means of cold pack, which can be applied to the whole body. This pack is made by wringing out a sheet or other large square piece of linen material in cold water, wrapping it tight around the body and legs of the patient, (twice round would be best) and then covering completely with a small blanket or similar warm material. This pack should be applied every three hours during the day while temperature is high and kept on for an hour or so. Hot-water bottles may be applied to the feet and also against the sides of the body.

Home Remedies

Certain home remedies have found beneficial in the treatment of malaria. One such remedy is the use of grapefruit (chakotra). This substance can be extracted from the fruits by boiling a quarter of the grapefruit and straining its pulp.

Lemon

Lime and lemon are beneficial in the treatment of quartan type of malaria fever. About three grams of lime should be dissolved in about 60ml of water and juicme of one lemon added to it. This water should be taken before the onset of the fever.

Cinnamon

Cinnamon (dalchini) is regarded as an effective cure for all types of colds, including malaria. It should be coarsely powdered and boiled in a glass of water with alu pinch of pepper powder and honey. This can be used beneficially as a medicine in malaria.

Alum

Alum (phitkari) is also useful in malaria. It should be roasted over a hot plate and powdered. It should be taken about four hours before the expected attack and every two hours after it. This will give relief.

Preventive Measures

The preventive aspect in malaria is as important as the curative one. The best way to protect against malaria is to adopt all measures necessary for preventing mosquito bites. For this purpose, it is essential to maintain cleanliness of surroundings, environmental hygiene and to eradicate stretches of stagnant water. As the mosquito generally perches itself on the walls of the house, after biting a person, it would be advisable to spray the walls with insecticides.

Basil

The leaves of the holy basil (tulsi) are considered beneficial in the prevention of malaria. An infusion of some leaves can be taken daily for this purpose. The juice of about 11 grams of tulsi leaves mixed with three grams of black pepper powder, can be taken beneficially in the cold stage of the malarial fever. This will check the severity of the disease.