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
malaria,
meaning bad air as it was once supposed to be caused by bad air. It is one of the most wide
spread 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
malaria, commonly called tertian fever, quarter fever and the malignant
tertian
malaria. The most common symptom of all types of
malaria is high fever, which may
come every day, 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
anemia. Other complications of the
disease are kidney failure and
dysentery.
Causes
Malaria is caused by a tiny
parasite called plasmodium. The parasites grow in the liver of a
person for a few days and then enter the 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 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 seven to fifteen days depending on the severity of the fever. The
warm water enema should be administered daily during this period to cleanse the bowels. 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, grapefruit, 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 fever, is by means of the
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 right round 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 been 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.
Lime and lemon are beneficial in the treatment of quarter type of
malaria fever. About three
grams of lime should be dissolved in about 60 ml. of water and juice of one lemon added to it.
This water should be taken before the onset of the fever.
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 a pinch of pepper powder and
honey. This can be used beneficially as a medicine in
malaria.
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.
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.