Monthly Malaria!!!

Dr Caleb Bibbi Oluranti, Please l want to know this now and still tell me what to do about it l always having malaria every month l eating every well and taken tablet for it. please tell me what to do that can sustained for 6 month or forever. Please reply to me thanks. Remain blessed UMB, Benin City Dear UMB, Your complaint is one that is increasingly becoming rampant and I have the pleasure to reveal the approach to it that we have found very successful. About half a dozen factors come to mind when folks complain of frequent malaria at times like these in our clime: 1.Chloroquine Treatment Failure:divided into at least 3 or 4 subtypes. Most of us in Nigeria grew up learning that the drug of choice to treat malaria is chloroquine. Not any more!!! The bugs that cause malaria, known by the family name Plasmodium have about 4 brothers-- "Ovale", "Malariae" , "Vivax" and of course, the much dreaded "Falciparum"; the "firstborn" and toughest among them. This Falciparum Plasmodium or more correctly, Plasmodium falciparum causes chloroquine --resistant malaria. Even if one used all the correct doses of chloroquine, if the bug causing this particular episode of malaria is already chloroquine --resistant, then the result will be CTF. 2. The dosage of chloroquine -- even when people try to use it is generally incorrectly apprehended. For the avoidance of doubt; of course, it is 4, 4, 2 -- or 2, 2 1-- that is 4 tabs daily for 2 days and 2 tabs the third day, all taken at once each day; or half the dose for children from about 12 years up. Most folks trying to treat malaria never complete the dose--and that, with a drug that is getting increasingly less effective on account of parasite--resistance! Of course, they are going to get malaria again and again!!! So, that's another cause of CTF!!! 3. Injection Chloroquine. A subdivision of this type of factor is when doctors/health professionals give patients injection chloroquine to treat malaria--which is a faux pas-- never to be done.Excepting where the patient is vomiting. Injection chloroquine stays in the blood for only 6 hours; tablet forms stay for 28 days!!! 4. There is a fourth cause of CTF --the peculiarly Nigerian factor that Dr Mrs Dora Akunyili has been trying to fight so impressively-- and that is the faking of the drug itself. Most people do not understand the philosophy of faking. The drugs are tampered with or made to incorrect specifications-- containing maybe 20%, 70%, 90% or even 0% of the active ingredient; in this case, chloroquine. Of course this contributes to CTF also. 5.There is another Nigerian factor that I have learnt to develop a high index of suspicion for. And that is the Agbo (concoction) factor--- many Nigerians know--and correctly too-- that certain herbs --like the neem plant (dogoyaro); lemon grass and so on can be used to treat fevers. Of these I am also aware; but I think failure to get well follows on the incorrect application of dosages and duration of treatment --not to talk of method of preparation--- of the needed concoction. So a lot of people are trying to use herbs and not getting it correct and find themselves still suffering malaria. 5. But suppose it is no longer malaria -- or it was not even malaria in the first instance? It could be malaria or any of what I call the "Fifteen Funny Fevers" that a doctor must keep in mind when tackling a persistent fever of unknown origin. Is it typhoid--like above? Or a viral infection? All fever is not malaria. Malaria, Typhoid and Septicaemia (bacterial blood poisoning) should be the 3 in the first league. After which the doctor should list the Viral Fevers-- the general ones that cause debility or Flu-like symptoms of catarrh and so on; Hepatitis and the Upper respiratory tract infections-- pharyngotonsilitis, bronchitis, bronchiolitis. The enteric fevers--"younger brothers" to typhoid should never be forgotten. Then, of course should come the childhood--associated Pneumonia, Measles and Meningitis. That's at least all of ten. The ladies should not be forgotten with their PID (Pelvic Inflammatory disease), Upper (Pyelonephritis) and lower UTI, Cholecystitis ( or Gall Bladder infection) TB--Tuberculosis -- takes the rear. Now, the God--help--me truth is that you could be suffering any of these diseases --and more --Lassa Fever, Chronic Grumbling Appendicitis, --name it. You see, many diseases come up with a fever and it gets so confusing --but that is the job of the doctor. To have a high index of suspicion of certain diseases and ferret them out of their hiding places in your body by the appropriate interviewing, examination and investigations. 6.It is becoming more clear that some patients will benefit from a boost to their immunity when they begin to have too frequent bouts of malaria/typhoid or other fevers and I have found the simple solution a times is just to boost their immunity using the appropriate nutritional supplements --especially in high doses. I have found this to be highly effective in these types of cases. My advice to you is see a highly experienced doctor who will do a thorough check on you to get to the root of your complaints. Cheers PS Nobody uses ordinary Chloroquine to treat malaria anymore; what is used is Artemisinin in combination with any older ant-malarial-- maybe chloroquine or camoquine or fansidar or halofantrine or quinine etc. we call this new approach, Artemisisnin Based Combination (ABC) therapy and though this question borders on just chloroquine, even today with ABC, the truths outlined in this write -up are useful still