Today one of my favorite students, Tun, was diagnosed with malaria. The poor kid is burning up and there isn't much that I can do for him. We have him on strong drugs and I can only pray that they are the right ones for him to take (the labels are in Thai.) He's being brave as hell.It was surprising how sudden the whole thing was. Tun was in my class and doing his normal good work when he suddenly said quietly "Teacher, I'm cold." I thought at first that he was just trying out the grammar point that we've been working on and I was about to say "Very good, Tun! Who else is cold? Lu, are you cold?" when I noticed that he had his shoulders hunched and his hands clenched between his thighs. I touched his forehead and immediately sent him to bed with two Tylenols. When I checked on him about 30 minutes later, he was wrapped up in the 90 degree Thai heat in a winter blanket.
They got his blood tested and gave him some drugs. The label is in Thai but he only speaks Chan. I assigned a smart Thai-Chan speaking interpreter (Yee) and demanded that he take all the pills and get lots of rest and water.
The thing that I love about Tun is that he really smiles with his whole face. He managed to smile at me when I sent him to his room, smiled at me when I made him wear a helmet to go to the clinic, and then smiled at me when he came back from the doctor, so it really broke my heart when he was too sleepy and sick to smile when I checked on him this evening (although he did manage a small one when I asked for my name to check that he wasn't delirious.) I'll try to get a better picture up of him when he gets better, but until then I hope that you keep him in your thoughts.
As for me, I'm debating whether I should go on antimalarials or not.
Overdosage (taking too much of an antimalarial drug) can be fatal. Keep drugs in childproof containers out of the reach of children to prevent accidental poisoning.
ReplyDeletePurchase your drugs before traveling overseas. Drugs purchased overseas may not be made according to United States standards and may not be effective. They may also be dangerous, contain the wrong drug or an incorrect amount of active drug, or be contaminated.
Halofantrine (also called Halfan) is widely used overseas to treat malaria. CDC recommends that you do not take Halfan because of serious heart-related side effects, including deaths.
You should avoid using antimalarial drugs that are not recommended unless you have been diagnosed with life-threatening malaria and no other treatment options are available.
Most antimalarial drugs are well-tolerated; most travelers do not need to stop taking their drug because of side effects. However, if you are particularly concerned about side effects, discuss the possibility of starting your drug early (3-4 weeks in advance of your trip) with your health care provider. If you cannot tolerate the drug, ask your doctor to change your medication.