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Medications
You can take medicines called antimalarials to prevent and treat malaria. Malaria is a very serious disease, and its presence in many regions of the world is well known. So if you are traveling to an area where malaria is present, it is important to consider taking medicine before you travel, while you are in the area, and after you return home to reduce the risk of infection. Which medicine you take is based on:
- The country or areas in which you will be traveling.
- The resistance of malaria parasites to certain medicines in the area where you will be traveling.
- Your health condition (for example, you are pregnant, elderly or young, sick, or have immunity or resistance to malaria).
- Your ability to swallow medicine.
It is important to know which species of parasite is present because serious complications may develop rapidly in a person who is infected with Plasmodium (P.) falciparum. Drug treatment is based on:
- The species of parasite. If you are infected with P. falciparum, life-threatening complications can develop rapidly. Infection caused by one of the other three species of malaria is rarely life-threatening.
- The density of parasites. If the percentage of red blood cells infected (parasite density) is over 5%, treatment may include medicines given directly into a vein (intravenously, or IV) rather than medicine taken by mouth.
- Your health condition. You are at higher risk for developing complications if you are pregnant, elderly, very young, or have a weak immune system. Different medicines may be prescribed for people in these groups.
- Drug resistance in the geographic area where the infection occurred. For instance, in many areas P. falciparum is resistant to the drug chloroquine.
During medication treatment of malaria, your doctor may sometimes do daily blood smears to follow the course of the infection. Most medicines for malaria are ones you take by mouth, but you might get intravenous (IV) medicines if there are complications or your condition worsens. If there are no complications, your fever will clear in 36 to 48 hours, and most parasites will disappear from your blood within 2 or 3 days.
Medication therapy and treatment continue to change as medication resistance increases and new medicines are developed.
Medication Choices
There are several medicines for preventing and treating malaria.
Medicines to prevent malaria
A doctor or local health department can consult the CDC for specific treatment guidelines for your travel destination. Standard medicines for preventing malaria include:
- Chloroquine. Start treatment 1 to 2 weeks before you travel to areas where malaria is present. Continue to take it weekly during travel in areas where malaria is present and for 4 weeks after you leave these areas. You can take chloroquine to prevent P. falciparum and P. vivax infections in areas where medication resistance to chloroquine has not been confirmed.
- Mefloquine. Start treatment 1 to 2 weeks before you travel to areas where malaria is present. Continue to take it weekly during travel in areas where malaria is present and for 4 weeks after you leave these areas. Do not take mefloquine if you have a history of active or recent depression or other psychological conditions.
- Doxycycline. You can take doxycycline if you cannot take mefloquine. Start treatment 1 to 2 days before you travel to areas where malaria is present. Take it daily during travel in areas where malaria is present and for 4 weeks after you leave these areas. Women who are pregnant and children younger than age 8 should not take this medicine.
- Primaquine. You take primaquine to prevent relapses of P. vivax and P. ovale. Take primaquine for 2 weeks after you leave the area where these parasites are present. (You should be tested for glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency before taking primaquine.)
- Malarone. Malarone is a combination of two antimalarial medicines (atovaquone and proguanil). Malarone is taken to prevent malaria caused by P. falciparum.5 Adults need to take one tablet daily 1 or 2 days before they enter an area where malaria is present and continue taking it daily throughout their stay. Then you take it for 7 days after returning home.
Medicines to treat infections
WebMD Medical Reference from Healthwise
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