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Malaria has become an increasingly common infection in young children in the previous few years. It is spread by mosquitoes biting an infected person following which if they bite your child, the child may develop the disease. Even though malaria is a treatable disease, serious symptoms can occur at times. It is best that you protect your child against the infection. There are a couple of easy precautions which you can follow for protecting your child. Given below is a list of precautions which you should follow:
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General Precautions
Since malaria is spread by the bite of mosquitoes, the best way to prevent development of infection in children is to protect them against mosquito bites.
Most mosquito bites occur after dark and as such extra precaution should be taken at that time. There are several easy precautions which when followed regularly can go long way in preventing the infection:
- You should ensure that your child is wearing protective clothing. Long sleeved clothes which cover the arms and the legs of the child are protective. Having less exposed surface area of the skin means that the mosquitoes have less area to bite.
- You should use coils or vaporizer inside the house which stop the spread of mosquitoes.
- You should apply mosquito repellent which contain active ingredients like DEET or IR3535 on the exposed skin of your child. Do not apply or spray the repellent directly on the face of child. While using mosquito repellent you should be careful that you should not use a repellent containing oil of lemon eucalyptus and PMD in children under 3 years of age.
- You should make sure that your house has protective net covering the windows and the doors. These nets should be closed by closed by dusk.
- You should not allow water to gather in places because such stagnant water is the breeding ground for mosquitoes which spread the disease.
- You can also use a bed net while sleeping. Using net especially those with insecticides such as permethrin prevent mosquito bites at night.
Chemoprophylaxis
Chemoprophylaxis is using drugs or medications to prevent the development of infection. If you are travelling with your child to an area which has malaria as a common disease and risk of infection is greater in that area you should consult your doctor who will give you some preventive medicine before travel.
Such medicine is generally taken for 2 to 3 weeks before travelling and up to 4 weeks after travel. The type of medicine, dose and exact schedule for your child will depend on the age and can only be given by your paediatrician.
Vaccination
WHO approved the vaccine for malaria in October 2023 for use in children who are at high risk for development of infection. This vaccine is given from around 5 months of age in 4 doses. You can check with your health care provider if the vaccine is available in your area and you can give your child the vaccine to prevent malaria infection.
