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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.
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.
Some of the unlabeled medications in the possible prevention of Malaria may include:
These medical news articles may be relevant to Malaria treatment:
The list of research areas and treatments under analysis mentioned in various sources for Malaria includes:
Some of the clinical trials for Malaria include:
Some of the more recent treatments for Malaria include:
Treatments to consider for Malaria may include:
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.
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.
Directions for use
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.
Doxycycline
Directions for use
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).
Malarone™
Directions for use
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.
Chloroquine/ brand name Aralen®*
Directions for use
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
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.
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
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)
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)
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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