Symptoms Of Malaria

One of the most common symptoms of severe malaria can be prostration. If this symptom is being experienced by a person then he/she needs to be admitted to the hospital immediately for emergency treatment. The appearance of this symptom in an individual is an indication that he/she might be suffering from malaria that may have affected the brain of that person.

If a person is suffering from malaria then mild jaundice is fairly common as it can be observed in n 22 to 42 percent of the cases. If the eyes or the skin of the patient appear to be in yellowish color then he/she might have jaundice. Jaundice appears in the majority of the cases where a patient is suffering from severe malaria. Accumulation of bilirubin in the blood stream leading to the development of jaundice is an evidence of dysfunction of a vital organ like liver.

One of the most common symptoms of malaria is anemia. This symptom develops in a patient suffering from malaria due to hemolysis. The degree of anemia is associated with parasitemia. If a person is suffering from an abnormal bleeding disorder then this condition of anemia can be aggravated. If a person experiences this symptom then his/her red blood cells are destroyed, there is dysfunction of the bone marrow, and accelerated destruction of non-parasitised red cells. A person should visit the doctor immediately if this symptom appears.

If a person is suffering from severe malaria then he/she might experience some respiratory distress like shortness of breath. This symptom can appear due to either pulmonary oedema or anemia. If a person has a lactic acidosis and secondary respiratory tract infection then the condition the patient worsens. If a person is suffering from pre-existing cardiovascular disease then it might further complicate the things.

If a person is suffering from a severe malaria or cerebral malaria then he/she might experience multiple convulsions. There can be more than one convulsion which may push the patient into unarousable coma. This condition can also occur when a patient is hypoglycemic. When such patients suffer from malaria the doctor first administers dextrose immediately. Multiple convulsions should not be taken lightly as they are an important indicator for cerebral malaria.

If a patient is suffering from malaria then he/she might pass a stool that contains blood in it. It is one of the most common symptoms of severe malaria. The stool will also be inclusive of epithelial cell debris, mucus, and pus. As per WHO if a patient suffering from malaria suffers from diarrhea then it is indicating a severe diarrhea in which the mortality rate is very high

Muscle pain is a fairly common symptom in Malaria. This symptom can be experienced by a person during prodromal period as well but most of the times these are ignored. This makes the diagnosis of malaria even more impossible due to shortage of peripheral parasitemia. If a person is suffering from the condition of recurrent malaria then this symptom might be the only symptom experienced by a person.

If a person is suffering from malaria then it can lead to severe complications. As malaria is caused by a parasite, so if small blood vessels that reach to the brain gets blocked by the parasite filled blood cells then it might lead to swelling in the brain. It might also cause severe brain damage. This type malaria can lead a patient into the state of coma.