How To Prevent Malaria

With monsoons came another season of dengue and malaria. According to news reports, malaria cases are much higher this year as compared to last year. Mosquito breeding in and around the houses, schools, workplace etc. is the main reason for spreading this disease. This fever was once called marsh fever as it affected people around marsh lands. The word malaria is derived from two Italian words ‘Mala and Arayu’. Mala means bad Arayu means air. People used to think breathing bad air caused malaria until Ronald Ross discovered the malarial parasite in Anopheles mosquito. Before we know the remedies it is important to know what malaria is and how it affects human beings.

Malaria is an infectious disease caused by parasites which infect red blood cells, weakening the human body. The symptoms of malaria are high fever with shivering, pain and sweating. Children are prone to catch this disease quite often as their resistance power is comparatively low. Malaria parasites need humans to complete their life cycle. As soon as they enter the human body they enter liver and start breeding there. This takes few weeks or months for the parasites to breed. During this phase the person looks healthy and normal. This phase is called dormant phase. The person affected gets fever only when this plasmodium enters blood cells from liver and multiplies the numbers there and breaks the host cells to enter the new blood cells. After confirming malaria by taking the blood sample and testing it, medicines are given accordingly. Rather going into the details about the reasons and causes we better talk about how to prevent malaria and if affected how to treat without side affects. Here are some remedies which can prevent the disease.

Precautionary measures to avoid Malaria

■      These mosquitoes usually appear after the dusk. We have to be careful at this time. Use mosquito nets, coils, spray, odomass, etc.

■      Wear full sleeves to prevent mosquito bites.

■      Most important is to keep the surroundings clean. Do not allow litter or garbage accumulate near your house or stagnant water to collect anywhere. Mosquitoes breed in stagnant water.

■      Drain out coolers and mop them dry. Add temephos granules distributed free by the MCD to coolers that cannot be emptied.

■      Spray kerosene oil or petrol on stagnant water.

■      Create awareness amongst people to cover water tanks etc.

■      Avoid eating unhygienic food on roadside dhabas.

■      Eat freshly-cooked food and do not use food items prepared long before. Avoid eating fruits cut for more than two hours.

As the saying goes prevention is better than cure taking precaution is better. Here are some natural remedies to cure and prevent malaria:

■      Crush 10 tulsi (holy basil) leaves and add one spoon of honey. Take this continuously for six days. You can get rid of malaria and this can be taken as preventive measure too.

■      Add 3 gm of sonth (dry ginger) and 3 gm of pippal to one glass of water and boil till it is reduced to ½ glass and drink. This reduces the fever in malaria.

■      Take seven leaves of holy basil and seven pepper pods and chew them to gain fast recovery from malaria. Take this three times a day. This is also one of the preventive measures.

■      Less expensive nutritive diet like leafy vegetable, chana-boiled water, lot of liquids and fruits help improve resistance power to fight against malaria parasite. It is good to drink fruit juices such as orange and grape and drink lot of water.

■      Cold water fomentation helps bring down the fever.

■      Add little honey, pepper powder and cinnamon powder to a glass of water and bring it to boil. Drinking this concoction when it is little warm helps effectively in the treatment of malaria.

■    Take one glass of water and add one inch ginger piece crushed and about three spoons of raisins and bring it to boil. When water is reduced to half put off the flame and let it cool. Drinking this solution once a day gives relief from malaria.

By Nibhanapudi Suguna