Nomad Julia was traveling in Ghana, Africa when she was struck down with one of the most prevalent mosquito borne diseases, malaria. This is her account of what it's like to experience it.
Photo © GettyImages/Eunika Sopotnicka
EDITORS NOTE: Malaria, like many mosquito borne diseases exhibit a variety of symptoms and not everyone will experience each one nor experience the disease in the same way. The symptoms of malaria are similar to other mosquito borne diseases, so it's important to seek medical treatment as soon as you feel unwell so you can be treated correctly.
The symptoms of malaria
On the Friday before the weekend, I traveled to Kumasi with my host aunty. It was a five hour bus drive and I began to feel feverish on the bus but I just disregarded it, thinking I was just hot from spending so much time on the bus. Later that night when we arrived at her partner's family home all I wanted to do was sleep. I had begun to feel sick in my stomach and had developed a headache. So I had dinner and then fell asleep straight after. During the night, I felt extremely hot and felt dizzy when I stood up. I was so hot that my host aunty Angela had to pull her hand away after holding my head for 3 seconds. I told her she could fry an egg on my face if she wanted.
It was then that they said I had malaria.
How to treat malaria
I feel so very lucky to have traveled to Kumasi because Angela's partners dad is a medical doctor so I had treatment the very next morning. I was jabbed in the bum just after I took my breakfast, which I only had one spoonful of because I had lost my appetite. The doctor also gave me some dissolvable tablets that I took for the next 4 days after. That same day I went to church with the family from 10am till 3pm (church usually goes from 9 till 1) and by the end of it, I was falling asleep on Angela's shoulder because the medicine had kicked in. My muscles also felt very weak that it was difficult to walk without feeling dizzy, tired or wanting to throw up. As soon as I got home I had lunch and fell asleep, I slept for 16 hours.
The next day
In the morning I felt almost perfectly normal, it was such a nice feeling to not feel dizzy or nauseous when I stood. I was so appreciative of my body's ability to fight back. The doctor gave me another injection the next morning because he said he wanted to make sure it was all out of my system, especially because I was traveling back home the next morning.
I think I was so so lucky to have mine treated straight away because millions die each year from malaria, and I know that the symptoms get worse as time goes by.
Find out more about how to avoid this disease via our travel health article on malaria.
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