I was diagnosed with malaria in Ghana years ago but i'm not sure if i still get. what can i do?

until recently it seemed it was benign but lately, on weekends after especially hard work weeks, i get really fatigued, semi-feverish and dietetic. i don't want to take medicine if i don't need it because i thought the meds were unhealthy, plus i don't know how to be sure i'm feeling malaria. what should i do?

It is a rare occurrence, but it is entirely possible to have a malaria relapse after a period of months or even years have passed since being in the malaria area / country. And even if you took the prescribed medications during your stay and for the requisite time following your return, they do not prevent relapses of infection caused by certain strains of the parasite that have a persistent liver phase. In the unfortunate event that you do develop a relapsing case of malaria, it can be easily treated by suppressing the acute symptoms with chloroquine and then eradicating the liver infection with a medication called primaquine. This medication is more toxic and has more adverse effects than chloroquine, especially in individuals with an inherited deficiency in the blood enzyme G6PD that can be easily screened for with a simple blood test prior to treatment. If you are of the opinion that you may be suffering from a relapse, you would be advised to seek the appropriate tests which should be arranged through / by your doctor.
I add a link with details about malaria

http://www.hmc.psu.edu/
healthinfo/m/malaria.htm


Hope this helps
matador 89

Alan,

Yes, it's true that you can suffer with the malarial symptoms if they were never eradicated in the first place. Is it possible for you to get anti-malarial meds where you live now. It is exceptionally inexpensive here (like $4 or so) and the course of treatment is about 3 days, but I'm sure in the US it would be more money. A simple blood test could confirm the disease in you. In Ghana any lab could do it for about $3, but in the US, you'll probably have to arrange for the blood test through Quest or something like that.

Good luck, I feel your pain, I've had malaria a few times myself.

Barb