THE topic of the tropics: Malaria

When people heard I was coming to Ghana for a year, I got many many questions about malaria. Did I know if it was a concern here? [yes, I knew that yes, it is].  Had I gotten vaccinated for it? [no, there's no vaccination].  Was I going to die? [this is a slight exaggeration]. What could I do to protect against it? [bug spray, mosquito nets, anti-malarials]

Now the first two of those preventions methods were totally fine (and mandatory) for me.  And many thanks to the input of Emma and Mrs. Lochery for recommending a DEET-free and very pleasant smelling bug spray (well, lotion) that I love!

But I had a thing about anti-malarials.

I don't like medicine. I don't like taking pills. At all. Just ask my mother. I don't like it because I find it hard to remember and somewhat unpleasant.  And I also don't like it on a more philosophical scale because, most of the time, I'm never really sick enough to truly need medicine. And so I'd hate to use it now, and then when I'm older, frailer, with a weaker immune system, realize that I've been popping too many pills my whole life to get any effectiveness out of them. 


So for me, the decision about anti-malarials was a tough one. I had support on both sides:  my sister (among others) was convinced I would get  malaria and die if I didn't take them, whereas some former coworkers who had lived in similar climates with the same risks were confident that they weren't necessary. 


Long story short... I brought 3 months worth of anti-malarials with me. I took my Malarone religiously for my first month. Then the climate started to dry out, I stopped getting bit by as many mosquitos, and I decided I would rather save them for the rainy season (summer) when there were many more mosquitos around. 

And then I got malaria [we think]. And then I got better.

My experience with malaria was really quite mild.  I had a fever and was really achy and tired. And that's about it. I lounged around in bed for 2.5 days, took my medicine like a good patient, and recovered. But I never saw a doctor, never actually made sure that my blood tested positive for malaria. Here in Ghana, they don't really do that.  Because malaria is usually the more dangerous/painful of the fever-causing possibilities, they start treating for that immediately. And while it's not a perfect solution (especially to those of us who much prefer to know exactly what is wrong with us) it definitely worked out for the best. I didn't have to go anywhere to get looked at, which is fantastic, because all I wanted to do was lay down. 


I'm happy to say that I feel pretty fully recovered now (I first started feeling sick Tuesday night)... I just have a good excuse not to go jogging for a few more days =)