Prevention of Malaria
Prevention of Malaria:
Methods of prevention of Malaria mentioned in various sources
includes those listed below.
This prevention information is gathered from various sources,
and may be inaccurate or incomplete.
None of these methods guarantee prevention of Malaria.
Medications used to prevent Malaria:
Some of the different medications in the possible prevention of Malaria include:
Note:You must always seek professional medical advice about any treatment
or change in treatment plans.
Unlabeled Medications to Prevent Malaria:
Some of the unlabeled medications in the possible prevention of Malaria may include:
Medical news about treatments for Malaria
These medical news articles may be relevant to Malaria treatment:
Malaria Prevention: Book Excerpts
Cure Research for Malaria
The list of research areas and treatments under analysis mentioned
in various sources for Malaria includes:
Clinical Trials for Malaria
Some of the clinical trials for Malaria include:
Latest Treatments for Malaria
Some of the more recent treatments for Malaria include:
Treatments for Malaria
Treatments to consider for Malaria may include:
Prevention of Malaria:
Preventing Malaria in Infants and Children: DPD (Excerpt)
Drugs to
prevent malaria, called antimalarials, are available only by prescription
through a health care provider. Your health care provider will prescribe
your child's antimalarial based on the travel itinerary and medical history.
Some antimalarial drugs are more effective in some parts of the world
than others. In addition, a medical condition may prevent your child from
taking certain drugs. Alternative drugs are available and are discussed
below.
Antimalarial
Warnings and Instructions
- Overdosage
of antimalarials can be fatal. Keep drugs in childproof
containers out of the reach of children.
- Give
antimalarials to children exactly on schedule without missing doses.
- For
young children who cannot swallow tablets, have their prescription
filled at a full-service pharmacy. Your pharmacist will need to make
a special drug preparation for your child to take. The pharmacist
should grind the tablet, weigh each dose, and store the powder in
a gelatin capsule. Plan ahead; it will likely take 3–4 days for
the prescription to be filled.
- Mefloquine,
chloroquine, and Malarone™ taste very bitter. To give your child
the medicine, break open the gelatin capsule and mix the drug with
something sweet, such as applesauce, chocolate syrup, or jelly.
- Buy
antimalarials in the United States before travel overseas. The quality
of antimalarials sold outside of the United States may not be reliable.
Find Out Which Drug
Is Recommended for Your Child
Your child
will be prescribed one of the following antimalarials. Find the drug below;
read the directions for use and side effects. If you have questions about
the drug recommended for your child, call your child's health care provider
or pharmacist.
- Children
traveling to malaria-risk areas in South America, Africa, the Indian
subcontinent, Asia, and the South Pacific should take one of
the following drugs: mefloquine, doxycycline, or Malarone.™
Mefloquine/
brand name Lariam®*
Directions
for use
- Your child's
health care provider will prescribe mefloquine based on your child's
weight.
- Give the
first dose of mefloquine 1 week before arrival in the malaria-risk area.
- Give mefloquine
once a week, on the same day of the week, while in the malaria-risk
area.
- Give mefloquine
once a week for 4 weeks after leaving the malaria-risk area.
- Mefloquine
should be taken on a full stomach, for example, after dinner.
Mefloquine
side effects
Most children who take mefloquine have few, if any, side effects. The
most common side effects in children are nausea and vomiting. These
usually do not require stopping the drug. If your child vomits the drug
within 30 minutes, give the child another dose of the drug (mix with
something sweet, like pudding or applesauce). If he or she vomits after
30 minutes, enough of the drug has been absorbed and you do not have
to give a second dose. Mefloquine very rarely causes serious side effects
such as seizures. Children who have serious side effects should be taken
to a health care provider.
Children
should NOT take mefloquine if they have
- Ever
had an allergic reaction to mefloquine;
- Epilepsy
or other seizure disorders;
- A severe
psychiatric disorder;
- Been
diagnosed or treated for an irregular heartbeat.
- Alternative
drugs for children who cannot take mefloquine include doxycycline or
Malarone.™
Doxycycline
Directions
for use
- Your child's
health care provider will prescribe doxycycline based on your child's
weight.
- Give the
first dose of doxycycline 1 or 2 days before arrival in the malaria-risk
area.
- Give doxycycline
once a day, at the same time each day, while in the malaria-risk area.
- Give doxycycline
once a day for 4 weeks after leaving the malaria-risk area.
Doxycycline
side effects and warnings
- Do
not give to children under the age of 8; teeth may become permanently
stained.
- Taking
doxycycline may cause children to sunburn faster than normal. To prevent
sunburn, have your children avoid midday sun, wear a high-SPF sunblock,
wear long-sleeved shirts, long pants, and a hat.
- Give
children doxycycline on a full stomach to lessen nausea; children
should not lie down for 1 hour to prevent reflux (burping up stomach
acid).
- Alternative
drugs for children who cannot take doxycycline include mefloquine or
Malarone.™
Malarone™
Directions
for use
- Your child's
health care provider will prescribe Malarone based on your child's weight.
- Give the
first dose of Malarone 1 or 2 days before travel to the malaria-risk
area.
- Give Malarone
once a day in the malaria-risk area.
- Give
Malarone once a day for 7 days after leaving the malaria-risk area.
- Give the
dose at the same time each day with food or milk.
Malarone
Side Effects and Warnings
Although side effects are rare, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and
headache can occur. Malarone should not be taken by infants weighing
less than 11 kg (24 lbs). Malarone should not be taken by
patients with severe renal impairment.
- Children
traveling to malaria-risk areas in Mexico, Haiti, the Dominican Republic
and certain countries in Central America, the Middle East, and Eastern
Europe should take either chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine
sulfate as their antimalarial drug.
Chloroquine/
brand name Aralen®*
Directions
for use
- Your child's
health care provider will prescribe chloroquine based on your child's
weight.
- Give the
first dose of chloroquine 1 week before arrival in the malaria-risk
area.
- Give chloroquine
once a week, on the same day each week, while in the malaria-risk area.
- Give chloroquine
once a week for 4 weeks after leaving the malaria-risk area.
- Chloroquine
should be taken on a full stomach, for example, after dinner, to lessen
nausea.
Chloroquine
side effects
Although side effects are rare, nausea and vomiting, headache, dizziness,
blurred vision, and itching have been reported. Chloroquine may worsen
the symptoms of psoriasis.
- Chloroquine
is sold in the United States in tablet form only.
- In foreign
countries, drug companies sell chloroquine as a syrup. Parents should
consult the local pharmacist for the correct dosage of chloroquine.
Hydroxychloroquine
sulfate/ brand name Plaquenil®*
Directions
for use
- Your child's
health care provider will prescribe hydroxychloroquine sulfate based
on your child's weight.
- Give the
first dose of hydroxychloroquine sulfate 1 week before arrival in the
malaria-risk area.
- Give hydroxychloroquine
sulfate once a week, on the same day each week, while in the malaria-risk
area.
- Give hydroxychloroquine
sulfate once a week for 4 weeks after leaving the malaria-risk area.
- Take hydroxychloroquine
sulfate on a full stomach, for example, after dinner, to minimize nausea.
- Hydroxychloroquine
sulfate may be better tolerated than chloroquine.
Hydroxychloroquine
sulfate side effects
Although side effects are rare, nausea and vomiting, headache, dizziness,
blurred vision, and itching have been reported. Hydroxychloroquine sulfate
may worsen the symptoms of psoriasis.
Prevent Insect Bites
Protect your
child from mosquito bites. Have him or her wear long-sleeved shirts and
long pants; apply insect repellent to exposed skin. Mosquitoes that transmit
malaria bite between dusk and dawn. Use insect repellents that contain
DEET.
When using
repellent with DEET, follow these precautions
- Always
use according to label directions.
- Use only
when outdoors and wash skin after coming indoors.
- Do not
breathe in, swallow, or get into the eyes.
- Do not
put on wounds or broken skin.
- The concentration
of DEET varies among repellents. Repellents with DEET concentrations
of 30% to 35% are quite effective, and the effect should last about
4 hours.
Travelers
who will not be staying in well-screened or air-conditioned rooms should
use a pyrethroid-containing flying-insect spray in living and sleeping
areas during evening and nighttime hours. In addition, travelers should
take additional precautions, including sleeping under mosquito netting
(bed nets). Bed nets sprayed with the insecticide permethrin are more
effective. In the United States, permethrin is available as a spray or
liquid to treat clothes and bed nets. Bed nets may be purchased that have
already been treated with permethrin. Permethrin or another insecticide,
deltamethrin, may be purchased overseas to treat nets and clothes. (Source: excerpt from Preventing Malaria in Infants and Children: DPD)
Facts About Transfusion-Transmitted Malaria: CDC-OC (Excerpt)
Malaria can often be prevented by the use of antimalarial
drugs and the use of personal protection measures against mosquito bites.
Anopheles mosquitoes bite during nighttime hours, from dusk to
dawn. The risk of malaria depends on the traveler's itinerary, the
duration of travel, and the place where the traveler will spend evenings
and nights. (Source: excerpt from Facts About Transfusion-Transmitted Malaria: CDC-OC)
Malaria Treatment: Book Excerpts
Prevention Claims: Malaria
Information on prevention of Malaria comes from many sources.
There are some sources that claim preventive benefits
for many different diseases for various products.
We may present such information
in the hope that it may be useful,
however, in some cases claims of Malaria prevention may be
dubious, invalid, or not recognized in mainstream medicine.
Please discuss any treatment, discontinuation of treatment,
or change of treatment plans with your doctor
or professional medical specialist.
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