Symptoms:
Chills occur for several hours, followed by drenching sweats every 1-3 days.

Cause:
There are four types of parasites which are introduced into the bloodstream by the anopheles mosquito. If the disease becomes chronic (recurrent), it results in general debility, anemia, and an enlarged spleen.

Severe cases can be very debilitating. An especially deadly form is called blackwater fever. The skin takes on a yellow tint and the urine becomes progressively darker in color. Few people survive three attacks of blackwater fever.

This disease generally occurs only in tropical climates, but it can and does occur in the United States as well.

Treatment:
• Call a physician.

• There are two primary ways to treat malaria:

• One way is by taking quinine. This is an extract of the bark of the cinchona tree. Quinine will generally eliminate the malaria, but a mild to severe hearing loss may also result.

• The other way is to give hot and cold water treatments to the person. This takes work. The result is equally good, but no hearing loss results.

• During the fever, give cold applications (cool wet sheet packs, sponge him off with cool water, etc.). During the chills, give him hot applications (hot packs).

• Give goldenseal tea.