Can Malaria Really Cause Disorientation and Dizziness

 

Malaria is a potentially fatal disease caused by a parasite that infects a specific type of mosquito that feeds on humans. Mosquitoes transmit it. It is characterized by fever, chills, and rigors. It can be dangerous or lethal if not diagnosed and treated promptly.

If you are not exposed to malaria again, your immune system does not remain active for more than a few years. This explains why individuals can live in the tropics for many years without being affected by malaria. People from the tropics who spend several years in another nation, on the other hand, may lose their immunological protection.

Malaria is more likely to cause severe symptoms in those who have never had a malaria infection (such as small children and travelers) and pregnant women.

In regions where there is a high rate of malaria infection, malaria can be spread in other ways than through a mosquito bite, such as through contaminated blood transfusions, transplantation of contaminated organs and shared drug needles. In pregnant women, malaria infection can pass through the bloodstream to the developing fetus, causing low birth weight or fetal death. This is most common with P. falciparum infection.  

How Can I Tell If I Have Malaria?

Malaria is diagnosed using a blood smear and a microscope to see the parasite. Other tests are available, but microscopy is still the gold standard for diagnosis. Malaria is treated using a variety of drugs. Except in extreme circumstances, oral medicines are normally used.

Severe cases might result in organ failure or even death. Travelers are far more vulnerable to severe malaria than residents of malaria-infested areas because they lack the partial immunity that protects people who are frequently exposed to malaria.

Symptoms

Malaria symptoms might appear six to eight days after being bitten by an infected mosquito. They are as follows:

• High fever (up to 105 degrees Fahrenheit) with shaking chills
• Muscle aches
• Headache
• Fatigue
• Profuse sweating when the fever suddenly drops
• Abdominal discomfort
• Feeling faint when you stand up or sit up quickly
• Nausea, vomiting 

If treatment is delayed, more and more severe complications of malaria can occur. Most people who develop these complications are infected with the P. falciparum species.

Malaria: What Causes It?

Malaria is caused by Plasmodium protozoa and is transferred to humans through mosquitoes. Malaria's history demonstrates how difficult it was to discover the disease's mechanism of transmission. When some civilizations analyzed the data available to them, they determined that malaria was caused by filthy air, not recognizing that the same wetlands that produced foul-smelling air also served as great mosquito breeding grounds. The parasite was discovered in the blood of an infected patient in 1880.

Plasmodium has multiple phases in its life cycle, including sporozoites, merozoites, and gametocytes. The sporozoite stage of the organism is transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected mosquito. The parasite enters the bloodstream and finally reaches the liver, where it multiplies by creating merozoites. Merozoites leave the liver to replicate in red blood cells. Young parasites quickly emerge in quest of fresh red blood cells to infect.

Diagnosis and treatment of malaria

Blood samples are used to diagnose malaria. The parasites can be seen under a microscope. Treatment should begin as soon as the diagnosis is made. Almost all patients recover completely.

Malaria anti-malarial medicine is used both to treat and to prevent the disease. The type and duration of medications used are determined by the type of malaria, its severity, and whether or not the patient is pregnant.

Malaria Prevention

People who plan to go to malaria-infested areas should consult their doctor several weeks before departure to ensure that all preventive measures are in place. Malaria risk can be minimized by taking drugs and taking efforts to avoid mosquito bites, such as using DEET-containing insecticides.

Dizziness

Dizziness is a common description for many different feelings. Some people may refer to it as giddiness, or a "dizzy spell." 

Vertigo is similar to, but not the same as, dizziness, and it describes a spinning sensation of a person's surroundings, usually caused by head movement or positioning.

What Are the Causes of Dizziness?

Dizziness can be caused by a multitude of factors. Although doctors may not be able to pinpoint a specific cause of dizziness in certain cases, some causes of dizziness are harmful. The following are some reasons of dizziness.

What Are the Signs and Symptoms of Dizziness?

Dizziness can cause a person to feel faint, close to passing out, weak, nauseated, disoriented, weary, clumsy, off balance, or any combination of these symptoms. The individual may experience movement, spinning, rocking, or whirling of oneself or the environment (possible vertigo).

Often, dizziness is accompanied by other symptoms such as:

• Faintness ("lightheadedness") or actual fainting
• Weakness or tiredness
• Confusion
• Feeling off balance
• Headache or head pressure
• Chest pain or tightness
• Nausea or vomiting

What Is the Outlook for a Person Who Has Dizziness?

• Most causes of dizziness are harmless, and the problem goes away on its own. Sometimes dizziness will be the only symptom of serious disease, the course of which may be life-threatening or be easily treatable.
• Timely and careful evaluation of dizziness offers the best outcome, whatever the cause.
• Sometimes the cause of dizziness may not be immediately found. The affected individual may need the services of a specialist, or very detailed specialized testing to uncover the cause and develop a treatment plan for the person's dizziness.

CAN MALARIA CAUSE DIZZINESS?

Malaria can indeed cause dizziness. The increased susceptibility to malaria and severity of the disease in nutritionally deficient situations is not only a reflection of the immune system's ability to battle infection, but it also has crucial behavioral implications.

Malaria patients frequently experience dizziness, diarrhea, vomiting, and low blood pressure. This is especially true for people who have a weakened immune system or suffer from a chronic illness. Malaria symptoms are likely to be more severe in HIV-infected people.