Malaria Stopping Ideas by Andy Graham World Traveler
Malaria has been stopped in the USA, Europe and most over-developed countries, it can be stopped in the normal countries, it is possible.
I am Andy Graham; I had malaria in Lome, Togo approximately two years ago. I live constantly with the small worry of catching the malaria parasite again. I am happy I had malaria, I am now sure it is of little danger to me, just an annoying problem. After 15 years of perpetual world travel, and 90 countries, it was nice to relax.
I started this 2013 West Africa trip in Cote d’Ivoire, went to Ghana, then to Togo, and I am now in Benin. I will proceed on to Nigeria, Cameroon, and Gabon etc. all the way to South Africa. I will travel for 1-2 years in malaria prone countries, there is a good chance, I will get it again, but not a worry, I understand malaria, there is no way it is going to kill me.
This is a video of me; Andy Graham getting the treatment to kill malaria in Lome, Togo West Africa.
FIRST - Please do Travel to AIDS or Malaria Countries
I have listened to travelers and tourists talking for 15 years and in 90 countries, and I have never heard of any tourists dying from Malaria. This parasite can be treated and killed easy, you can diagnose the problem, and kill the parasite quickly. Malaria is not really a killer of tourists; it is dangerous for small babies, without the money for treatment, and probably people over 70 years old.
1 Always Diagnose by going to medical treatment.
2. Always take the most effective, over-kill solution to malaria possible, do not just do half measured, kill all the parasites, do not just casually treat.
If you get Malaria or Paludisme as they call it in Francophone countries, you will take the treatment, stop the parasite, and go on with your life. I had malaria, and do not believe there is any residual effects; all the malaria parasites were killed in my body. Making sure you kill all the parasites is the tricky part, I recommend you do three days of an intravenous injection of fluids, and stay quarantined inside a room free of mosquitoes until your blood is cleaned.
AIDS - The chances of you getting AIDS is about the same in the USA as in Africa. If you have a lot of unprotected sex, anal sex, intravenous drug use, unsafe sex as they say, then you can get AIDS in any country on the planet not coming to Africa is sort of silly, downright stupid. It is a tradegy this virus exists, it should be a law that everyone on the planet is tested for AIDS, then those with the virus, should be tattooed, and all potential S-x partners would know in advance the person has the potential to kill you.
The big mystery is how blood is transferred from your sex partner to you, but they tell me mosquitoes cannot be carriers of AIDS.
Every time I get a mosquito bite in West Africa I am a little worried, my goal is not to get bitten, zero bites. I do not take oral medicine precautions; I believe anti-malaria medicine is more dangerous to my body than having malaria.
No mosquito bites is the goal.
This little blood sucking animal, the mosquito is capable of carrying infected blood from one human, to another. And, it stands to reason from an infected animal to a human.
The transfer of infected blood, diseased blood, blood with the either the Malaria or AIDS virus to me, it is a scary thought. I do not care much about Malaria, but if these nasty little things carry AID that is horrible.
AIDS and Malaria Warnings are Everywhere
Aneho, Benin - Photo taken 6 years ago by me, Andy Graham (All photos and videos were made by me, Andy Graham on this page.)
If you travel in Africa, there are signs everywhere warning you of the dangers of AIDS and Malaria.
I AM ALWAYS a LITTLE PARANOID about Malaria!
Mosquitoes scare me to death, but lack of true understanding of AIDS and Malaria cause me more paranoia, the fear mongering is actually worst than reality. In reality, Malaria is easy to treat, and AIDS is easy to avoid, just do not have sex.
Reading travel writers and listening to tourist is like reading a trashy novel, it is pulp fiction, and you need to learn the truth, and avoid listening to the uniformed gossip, and churned fears of the fear mongering world press telling you of the dangers of Malaria and AIDS.
How to get malaria?
Mosquitoes bite you, suck up a little blood, then carry that blood onto another human. If the first one had malaria, then inside the blood would be the malaria parasite.
That is it, if you do not get bitten, then there is no way for the malaria blood to enter your body, the parasite needs mosquitoes.
No mosquitoes, no malaria.
Mosquitoes Live up to Six Months
Information about malaria and mosquitoes is bullet ridden with fear mongering information, one must be careful what you read, or you will be passing around junk science information to others, you will be just a gossip.
But to stop malaria, I must understand mosquitoes, and stop them from biting me, only by stopping them, can I guarantee I am safe. It is the same for AIDS, no sex, no AIDS. But for Malaria, no mosquitoes bites, then no malaria, but it is a habit to ignore mosquitoes, a very dangerous animal to ignore, but in the USA, for all my life, they did not give me malaria, now I must think differently, they are dangerous.
ONE MOSQUITO BITE IS DANGEROUS
Here is a page from About.com, a site owned by the New York Times, and a great source of information on an extreme amount of subjects. Take great care with Wikipedia.org, there are no true fact checkers, a smart person can game Wikipedia.org, while About.com has true editors.
http://insects.about.com/od/flies/a/10-facts-about-mosquitoes.htm
My Ideas on Stopping Malaria
First Priority is FREE Treatment with Quarantine
Immediate free medical treatment given to anyone who contracts the malaria parasite. The person who has malaria, has blood that is full of the parasites, this person cannot be allowed near mosquitoes. This person therefore during the 3 days of treatment, must be quarantined, and kept in mosquito free areas.
I propose, the medicine is given only if the person agrees to live in the mosquito free area for three day. Mothers of infants would also be allowed, but no visitors for three days and all medical staff entering the area would need to wear special clothing.
Note - The partner with malaria are jobs, people live day to day in Africa, if they do not work for 3 days, they have no money for food. This is a big obstacle, they never seem to stop long enough to get proper treatment.
Second Public Information - There are ideas and methods of dealing with mosquitoes that needs stopped. The African, and Americans both pass around this idea that the Africans are tolerant of Malaria, this needs stopped, this idea allows infants to die.
The locals are hot, mosquito nets are horrible, it is like sleeping under a blanket, so instead of stopping all the mosquitoes, they slow them down with fans, and mosquito coils.
Maybe slogans like;
“One Mosquito Bite is Too Many”
"We know you are hot! Fans do not stop mosquitoes completely"
"The most dangerous time of your life, sunrise, and sunset."
- The time when the mosquitos wait for you!
"Drinking Beer and Mosquitoes don't Mix"
Stop the myth that Africans are tolerant of malaria, and they somehow can have it, and not be effected. This myth stops them from getting immediate treatment, or effective treatment, they take half measures, and walk around infecting everyone.
Stop people from using fans against mosquitos, one mosquito bite is too many.
People put this coil inside their room to drive the mosquitoe out, and get smoke in their lungs also. Instead of killing all of the mosquitoe, they just slow them down, and allow infants to die from malaria.
Adults do not die often, it is the children, babies go untreated, because the parents hope, dream, and wish that their baby is not sick, but the baby is sick. They use this type of method to stop mosquitoes, or fans, and the baby get mosquito bites.
This mosquito coil is dangerous, along with fans, they both allow the mosquitoe to exist.
Sterilize Room and Put Screens on windows
I sometimes sleep under my mosquito net, I hate it, it is uncomfortable, hot, difficult to enter, and the thing rips easy, it is a delicate thing to use.
Now, I have taken to taping mosquito netting over all the windows in my room, and alllowing the fan to blow directly on me. I buy insecticides, spray the whole can into my hotel room and kill all the insects, then block all entrances. Sadly, many or most people on the planet use insecticides as repellants, to try to annoy the insects away. They are too cheap, or too poor to try to kill them.
This here is the solution, the whole world must put screens on windows, and use screen doors, and stop this sheet hanging on the door from being used.
Mosquito Net Problems
This is the Mosquito Net I modified, invented, or created to prevent any mosquitos from biting me:
Link to page with lots of photos and information about this Mosquito net.
Please, so not think the foreigners entering or living abroad are smarter than the locals,they are not. But, they normally do have the money to pay to buy the medicines to kill the malaria parasites.
It is absoluted a human mandate, that any human infected with malaria seize to have mosquito bites, and get completed cured. Any infected person is the carrier, the host, the person with infected blood waiting for a mosquito to come. This person must be kept seperated from other until the malaria is stopped.
The biggest chance you ever have of getting malaria, is sharing the same room, the same area as an infected person. Then mosquitos bite him or her, than come for you!
One hour before sunset, and one hour after is a problem time, at this time, the mosquitoes are out in force. This is also the time where people sit together drinking beer.
Ok, malaria can be stopped, if any person who contacts malaria knows enough to get FREE and immediate cure, and stop walking around in public to allow mosquitoes to bite them, and carry on with the problem.
Mosquito screens on door, windows works, mosquito nets, mosquito coils, and fans are half measures, and are not effective solutions.
In a way, the best NGO / ONG would be one that sells, installs cheap screen doors, and window screens. Until it become socially unacccepatble to have anything less than the best.
It is really sad when I enter a hotel that is owned by an American, European, or any foreighner, and the owner does not care enough about me, the client to install screens on the windows, and screens on doors.
Mosquito nets in Hotels is a sign the owner is cheap, and does not care about you!
Andy Lee Graham
HoboTraveler.com
in Natitingou, Benin 2013 West Africa
Mon, 18 Feb 2013 21:27:34
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