Although malaria can be a deadly disease, illness and death from malaria can be prevented. Even if you grew up in Nigeria where malaria is common, you still need to take precautions to protect yourself. Here’s how;
- Use a mosquito repellent on your skin and spray your sleeping environment. The best repellents contain diethyltoluamide (DEET) and you can get them in sprays, roll-ons, sticks and creams
- Sleep under an insecticide-treated bed net
- Take an anti-malarial medicine. Researchers have found that taking anti-malaria tablets throughout the year or seasonally when malaria is most prevalent is effective
Awareness is key to surviving malaria
It is important to be aware of the symptoms of malaria and seek medical help immediately if you experience any of them. For most people, symptoms begin 10 days to four weeks after infection but some feel ill as early as seven days or as late as one year later. Malaria can even recur. The disease develops and worsens very quickly so it is best to get treated as soon as you can. Here’s what to look out for;
- Fever
- Flu-like symptoms
- Chills
- Headache and muscle ache
- Tiredness
- Nausea and vomiting
- Jaundice (yellow colouring of the skin).
