Malaria risks and prevention

Does anyone actually know much about this illness? I've been scouring the web but all I can find is the cause, some symptoms, and the fact that it can be fatal...
My boyfriend is out at sea right now, and they're suspecting he's come down with malaria... He’s docking at the port tonight so they can get him into a hospital. I won't know anything else until tomorrow besides what I already know—just that based on his symptoms, they're leaning toward malaria and such...
If anyone out there knows even a little bit about this and could type out some info, it would honestly mean the world to me...

Did he get his malaria shot?

Look, if it helps at all, the kid is probably young and healthy with a strong constitution. Besides, mortality rates among children are usually higher because healthcare infrastructure in much of Africa is just nonexistent... there aren't enough hospitals to go around.

He only got the yellow fever shot..
What do you think.. if he catches malaria, will they just let him fly back home or is he going to have to get treated over there?
...I'm losing my mind here..

They just left him at the hospital and the ship sailed right on without him... they still haven't said anything officially, haven't confirmed if it's malaria or something else entirely...😢

Can you tell me which country he was actually in? It makes a massive difference whether we're talking about *Plasmodium falciparum* or something like tertian malaria if he even has it at all. For instance, you don't really run into *P. falciparum* in places like Mexico or Guatemala.

granitecrane38 said:Does anyone actually know much about this illness? I've been scouring the web but all I can find is the cause, some symptoms, and the fact that it can be fatal...
My boyfriend is out at sea right now, and they're suspecting he's come down with malaria... He’s docking at the port tonight so they can get him into a hospital. I won't know anything else until tomorrow besides what I already know—just that based on his symptoms, they're leaning toward malaria and such...
If anyone out there knows even a little bit about this and could type out some info, it would honestly mean the world to me...

What exactly are you looking for here? Honestly, there's a pretty good chance they'll pull through, even if it really is malaria... Unless, of course, the infection sat there too long and caused some serious internal damage, but she’d probably already know if things were that bad...

Hey there

Has anyone else here had the absolute pleasure of dealing with *Plasmodium falciparum* malaria?
I finished my treatment about a month ago. I’ve had four negative smears so far, and my blood work looked solid—everything was right where it should be.
But then, two weeks back, things started getting weird. I began getting these sharp pains in my right side/back area and throughout my upper abdomen—left, right, and just above the navel. An abdominal ultrasound came back totally fine, though; all my organs are normal size. But now, my creatinine and glucose levels have tanked. On top of that, my muscles feel exhausted and the circulation in my legs feels off.

Is there anyone in this group who actually specializes in malaria, or has dealt with this specific mess before? I’m basically stuck scouring the internet for answers because my doctor is giving me absolutely zero help.

Best,

Walk me through the timeline of what you were feeling—what hit you first?

Whereabouts did you travel, or rather, where do you think you picked up the bug?

What kind of tests actually confirmed it was malaria?

And what meds did they put you on?

Vomiting, diarrhea, a constant 100.4 fever, feeling totally wiped out, and some mild muscle aches.
Blood tests showed 300 plasmodium trophozoites. Diagnosed with severe malaria.
Got treated with a combo of meds and IV quinine for 3 days. No symptoms for those 3 days besides the fever and night sweats.
This all went down while I was traveling in Africa. I flew back home after those 3 days feeling fine, like nothing even happened. Once I got back to the States, my malaria tests came back negative—three different blood smears, all clear. But they did find malaria antibodies. Otherwise, my blood work looks perfectly normal.

Fast forward two weeks: my creatinine and glucose levels tank, and I start getting this stabbing pain in my upper abdomen—middle, left, right side. Also some stabbing pains in my back, mostly on the right. Went to get an abdominal ultrasound done. Everything looked totally fine and normal size (liver, spleen, kidneys).
Now my creatinine and glucose are leveling back out, but my iron stores have bottomed out. I’m dealing with joint pain in my legs, weakness in my lower muscles, tingling, and ringing in my ears.

The infectious disease specialists basically told me they're done with me and if anything hurts, I should just go see an internist. I'm not even gonna get into what my primary doctor said.

So yeah, that's the short version. 😁

Ugh, that sounds absolutely brutal 🙄

Unfortunately, it can really drag on for a while—you might deal with some general weakness or those weird, migrating aches and pains.

Just make sure you're eating well, staying hydrated, getting plenty of rest, and keeping a close eye on how you're feeling. Definitely stick to whatever instructions the doctors at the infectious disease clinic gave you.

And hey, try not to be too hard on your doctor; malaria is a pretty rare beast here in the States.

This priest has been battling malaria for ages and he’s currently on chloroquine, specifically using the brand name PLANQENIL sourced from Europe.
I'm trying to figure out how to get a hold of him.
Mark Spitz. http://www.ktabkbih.net/info.asp?id=38649

Look, don't come for me if you think this sounds like some fringe wellness nonsense, but I’d personally jump on low-carb and hitting at least a 16-hour daily intermittent fasting window right away.

https://www.iwerliewen.org/news/info...gainst-malaria

Thanks for the heads-up. I actually tracked down some folks who specialize specifically in tropical medicine.

@casualbadger22
That priest probably has a different strain of malaria. You know, the kind where the plasmodium hides out in the liver to dodge the meds, causing those recurring bouts. My strain doesn't play that game; it sticks straight to the blood vessels instead. I had to go through IV quinine treatment, and honestly, I’m probably dealing with some fallout from being hit with that much quinine—it’s definitely not great for you—but hey, it kept me alive.

@placidfalcon
I'm leaning in that direction too.

@velvetmoose9
I've got no beef with the doctor. It was my own fault; I misread the lab results, went down a rabbit hole on Google, and ended up spiraling in the completely wrong direction.

https://malariajournal.biomedcentral...936-016-1673-z

Dropping this here in case anyone ever needs it. It's an eight-year study looking at how people react to malaria meds. Basically, it’s a breakdown of exactly what I'm dealing with right now. 🍿