Malaria

I had an easy idea about getting malaria, thinking “may be I should experience once now that I’m in Malawi” But hey, NEVER AGAINA! Fever, vomiting, body ache, dizziness, ear-ringing… My first experience with malaria was nothing but awful. I don’t want to get it ever again.

I just got discharged from hospital yesterday afternoon. I was hospitalized for 2.5 days.
It all started on last Thursday when I started to feel pain in my joints and back. I thought it was just muscle sore. The following day, the body ache was pretty much all over the place. Especially my palms and back of my feet were giving me strange feelings and pains. I started to feel fever. It was only 37.1 around 11am. I went to bed to rest. By 1pm, my fever went up to 38.5. By 5pm, it was over 40 and I was half unconscious, at which point I was sent to hospital. As soon as I got to the hospital they took and temperature and blood test for malaria that obviously showed positive. They gave me an injection to relieve the fever and transferred to the emergency room. After that I was moved to ward room where I spent two nights vomiting and vomiting and vomiting.

My malaria level was only 1 out of 5 (5 being deadly) but because I was taking malaria prevention pills so consistently that normal quinine medicine wasn’t strong enough to kill what was inside of my body. So the combination of high fever and strong medication caused me nausea and I had to throw up constantly. Oh, it was a nightmare. And quinine medicine blocks your ear as though you have ear plugs in your ears. I was not hearing properly. On 2nd day, the blood test still showed positive. So I had to stay one more terrific night. On 3rd day at last, the testing showed negative and I was given an option to go home. Doctor recommended me to stay one more day as my fever still persisted but hell no, I wanted to go home and take shower and be with my friends.

Today, I feel much better but still am suffering from fever over 38. Pain killer pills are doing the work but I’m still not well yet. I just hope I won’t get it ever again… ever EVER!!!