Malaria Prevention

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Malaria Prevention
« on: October 20, 2006, 04:09:32 PM » by DawnsEarlyBirds

I wasn't sure where to park this subject, so I put it in the vaccination file. Huh

We have friends who recently went to Papua New Guinea as missionaries. Before they left we talked about malaria prevention. We know other missionaries who use garlic, blackwalnut hulls and wormwood as preventative (as so far have not contracted malaria.) I know parasite cleanses use bl. walnut, wormwood and cloves. However, there are warning that women who are pregnant and nursing should not use certain of these herbs. And the friend in PNG is nursing a rather new baby. Does anyone have any suggestions for what they could use?

My research shows nothing for malaria prevention herbally. And what I find about malaria is that it is a blood born parasite, not an intestinal parasite that is referred to in all the parasite cleanses I have found. Does anyone know any more that would be helpful? The friends in PNG tried the malaria medicine you could get but are having terrible side effects and have stopped using it.

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Re: Malaria Prevention
« Reply #1 on: October 20, 2006, 05:14:30 PM » by boysmama

Ughh... malaria can be sooo nasty. The best prevention is to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes Wink

I know sleeping in insect-free rooms or under mosquito nets really really helps. I wore long sleeves and socks after dark and stayed aware of my hands and face/neck. Still got a few once in awhile...

As far as treatment... I know the meds can be awful. Maybe I can check with some missionaries in Africa to see what they are currently using. I know the felt they had found some better/safer meds. I was treated once with chinchona bark - I should say overdosed- and that was as bad as the one med....

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Re: Malaria Prevention
« Reply #2 on: October 20, 2006, 05:23:09 PM » by chopchop

Nasty bit of business..............speaking from experience Sad

Ineffective Herbs, The Malaria and the drugs! Cry

I'll be watching this post for something more successful than I am aware of.
I am state side now, but may be glad for info for future use.

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Re: Malaria Prevention
« Reply #3 on: October 20, 2006, 06:09:36 PM » by KristenA

hmmmm... I don't have any experience with this. But these two things might help:

Tansy
Would tansy help for the toddler?
It is an herb and is an insect repellant (for the mosquitos).

Sleeping under treated mosquito nets. I have a friend who spends summers in Africa working in a net program. She says that treated nets need to be re-treated or replaced about every 6months-1 year. The nets shouldn't cost more than 5-10$.

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Re: Malaria Prevention
« Reply #4 on: October 20, 2006, 06:15:03 PM » by amazonmama2five

DawnsEarlyBirds,
If your friends could make some Vinegar of the Four Thieves that will help. We have been in Brasil 6 years, have never taken malaria meds, and have never had malaria! However, my DH and I both contracted DENGUE last January. It was his 2nd time and my 1st. It is not pleasant to say the least. The nickname is "bonebreak fever" and I never understood this name until January. I did not leave my bed for three days.
According to the Brasilians, Dengue is a city disease and Malaria is more in the country. Do your friends live in town or interior? It is easiest to get bit by a diseased mosquito during sunrise and sunset. If they could dowse themselves in the Vinegar solution at these times it would benefit greatly. Also eating lots of onions and garlic helps too. I heard a theory that I am very interested in trying out: If one eliminates white flour, white sugar and processed foods the mosquitoes lose interest---it is the sugar in our blood that draws them. Isn't that interesting?
We took the Vinegar to Family Bible Camp last February and hardly got any bites. It is in the middle of nowhere----literally. My DH kept a spray bottle with him all the time, it was cute.
Well, I hope this has helped you,
Lisa

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Re: Malaria Prevention
« Reply #5 on: October 20, 2006, 06:21:48 PM » by amazonmama2five

Another thought..........for anyone who has never had the privilege Huh

of sleeping under a net, it is hot and stuffy. Even in an airconditioned room. We did the net thing for about 2 weeks and then got rid of them. It was not my cup of tea.
Just my .02
Thanks

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Re: Malaria Prevention
« Reply #6 on: October 20, 2006, 06:52:59 PM » by healthybratt

My research has shown me that Black Walnut does not actually kill parasites in the sense that a pesticide might kill a bug or a herbacide might kill a germ. What it actually does is create a high oxygen content in the tummy and blood stream. Alot of parasites especially the microscopic ones are anaerobic which means they can't survive in an oxygen rich environment. So if you can recreate this oxygen rich environment by some other means, then you should be able to mimic the effects of black walnut. This is merely speculation on my part and I'm not aware of anything specific that you could use, but I'm sure I've seen such products advertised on the web.

For the parasites who don't have an aversion to parasites, some recommend figs and/or raw pumpkin seeds to help rid the body of parasites.

This is all just thinking out loud, but maybe it will help with your search.

~hb

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Re: Malaria Prevention
« Reply #7 on: October 20, 2006, 09:09:22 PM » by DawnsEarlyBirds

I did just read an article that the World Health Org. is going to "allow" the use of DDT in areas of high malarial infection. This is a good thing, as DDT is not the evil of evil chemicals it has always been billed to be by environmentalists. Good news for many in third world countries. It amazes me how many millions of people die each year of malaria! If it was prevalent in this country you know they would spray whatever it took to get rid of it! In NH they are spraying mosquitoes because 3 people died of Eastern Equine Encepalits last year. Just 3 people, while millions die in Africa each year.

I have found some more info about sweet wormwood, from which artemisinin is extracted for use in treating malaria. It's a lengthy article, but if you are interested:
northeastherbal.org/articles/articleartemisinin.htm

I will let them know about the vinegar of the four thieves, they may want to try that instead of constant bug spray. Thanks!

HB, I am still wondering how this would work, but it is interesting info about the oxygen ...... but as far as the figs or pumpkin seeds, I still think those would be good for intestinal parasites, but how about blood born?

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Re: Malaria Prevention
« Reply #8 on: October 20, 2006, 11:49:56 PM » by healthybratt

Quote from: DawnsEarlyBirds on October 20, 2006, 09:09:22 PM

HB, I am still wondering how this would work, but it is interesting info about the oxygen ...... but as far as the figs or pumpkin seeds, I still think those would be good for intestinal parasites, but how about blood born?

Not sure, because I don't know if they work the same way as Black Walnut. If they oxygenate the blood, then they would work for both, but if they are poisonous to the little critters, it may not work for both.

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Re: Malaria Prevention
« Reply #9 on: October 22, 2006, 08:05:39 PM » by DawnsEarlyBirds

HB, I envy your revolving icons, or whatever those dancing, winking, thing-a-ma-jiggies that appear at the bottom of your posts. Cheesy

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Re: Malaria Prevention
« Reply #10 on: February 04, 2007, 08:15:48 PM » by Kati*did

Someone else mentioned artemisinin, and I saw this letter from the following website with this information:

http://www.whatreallyworks.co.uk/start/qanda.asp?article_ID=1394

Quote

Alternative to malaria medication (12 Sep 2004)

Question:
My son is travelling to Asia as part of his gap year but does not want to use conventional malaria medication, which makes him feel sick. Is there a herbal alternative we can suggest he uses?
V. Thompson by email
Answer:
As someone once remarked to me when I similarly complained that malaria tablets make me feel sick, malaria would make me a whole lot sicker. That said, I no longer use the conventional medication when I travel to high-risk areas, but instead use a Chinese herbal remedy that has proved strikingly effective against this disease.

The remedy is artemisinin, (an extract from the plant artemisia), the widespread use of which proved highly effective during an epidemic of malaria in Vietnam during the early 1990s when it reportedly cut the death rate by 97%.

In America, the new Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has now given 11 countries funding to purchase this herbal remedy and told another 34 countries to drop their applications for older drugs, including chloroquine and sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine, and switch to artemisinin.

I have to stress that most conventional practitioners will insist your son is taking a huge risk if he refuses the conventional anti-malarial medication but since the remit of this page is to consider alternatives, artemisinin is well worth investigating if he is determined to take this route.

Another site listed some other possible methods for prevention and alternatives to meds.

Quote

Prevention

The best preparation for a trip into a malaria area is a month or two of a very good diet prior to arriving there. As the sugar in the body seems to attract the Anaopheles mosquitoes it is a good idea to reduce the use of refined carbohydrates, sweets drinks, pastries, alcohol, hydrogenated fats, easy snacks, fast foods, dairy products and coffee. The diet should consist mostly of organic protein with a lot of fresh vegetables. Hot spices seem to repel the mosquitos hence increasing your intake of hot spicy foods for several months prior to departure might be a good idea.
Clean and detoxify yourself and strengthen your immune system. If the immune system is working well, malaria and other bugs will find a less attractive terrain.

Repellants
Prevent mosquito bites by wearing long sleeved shirts and long pants and by using mosquito repellents particularly between dusk and dawn as mosquitoes tend to be more active in the evening or night-time.
The natural 'Essential Aromatherapy oils' repellants are: Grapefrut oil extract (Citricidal), Lavender oil, Rosemary oil, Cedar oil, Eucalyptus oil, Lemon oil, Artemesia "white sage"oil, Yarrow oil and other oils like "Thieves" (from Young Living Oils) are very good suggestions. You must apply the oils several times during the day and therefore it is imperative that you calculate the amount to bring appropriately
Note: (If you were using homeopathic remedies, the use of aromatic oils would destroy the effects of your homeopathic remedies).

Natural Alternatives in the Prevention and Treatment of Malaria:

ARTEMISIA ANNUA General Information about Artemisia Artemesia annua, (sweet Annie or sweet wormwood) is a bitter herb that is both a prophylactic and for treatment of malaria. Because malaria microbes have begun to develop a resistance to the commercial drugs which have been used to treat malaria for many years, these drugs are becoming less effective, and increasingly often fail to cure the disease. The plant Artemisia annua has been used for many years by the Chinese to treat malaria. This plant is as successful in treating malaria as the conventional drugs, and without having any of the unpleasant side-effects. Prevention. In order to achieve adequate antimalarial plasma concentrations it is advisable to administer two oral doses of 500 mg per day.

For those people interested in the details on how Artemisia annua works in the treatment of Malaria, here are some scientific data in small print:

It goes into a very lengthy explanation here that is worth reading at:
http://subud-health.org/sh/page_sh_malaria.html

Quote

PROTEOLYTIC ENZYMES
Proteolytic enzymes are valuable in the case of malaria, because the invading parasite is a protein. Through the proteolytic activity of the digestive proteases they will find the parasite and kill it. There are many formulations comprised of different enzymes from different sources. They are without any toxicity whatsoever and considerably cheaper than the other antimalarial treatments.

TPP PROTEASE TPP Protease is a proprietary blend of highly active proteolytic enzymes with a wide range of pH stability....

TPP ANTIOXIDANT
TPP Antioxidant is formulated to control the free radicals that affect the hydrophilic and hydrophobic activity of various molecules...

PROTEASE 375K It is a uniquely strong combination of proteolytic enzymes to promote systemic balance...

MULTIZYME
Multizyme is a digestive support product that contains digestive enzymes and pancreatin necessary for the proper breakdown and absorption of proteins, carbohydrates, sugars, and fats....

It tells more about how these all work with malaria on the site I posted above.

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Re: Malaria Prevention
« Reply #11 on: February 04, 2007, 09:18:31 PM » by SC

If he is determined to avoid conventional treatments, he might consider using organic apple cider vinegar as a tonic with all of his meals.

Quote

Apparently the added potassium maintained the body chemistry in a state which prevented invasion of the body by destructive microorganisms

p.92 Folk Medicine by D.C. Jarvis, M.D.

Note: In addition to potassium, organic ACV contains other trace minerals and elements useful to the human body. It has a balancing effect on the body's pH that makes for an inhospitable environment for fungus and unwanted microorganisms.

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Re: Malaria Prevention
« Reply #12 on: February 05, 2007, 09:27:18 AM » by dara

I have a friend who drank a cup of Papaya leaf tea every day for malaria prevention while spending 6 months in Ghana West Africa, in an area where malaria is very common. She forgot to take it with her on a week long trip there, and got malaria. When she got back, she started taking it again, and didn't get it again the rest of the time. It worked very well for her.

« Last Edit: June 12, 2008, 09:23:26 AM by dara »
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Re: Malaria Prevention
« Reply #13 on: February 05, 2007, 10:25:00 AM » by Kati*did

Quote from: dara on February 05, 2007, 09:27:18 AM

I have a friend (Sarah) who drank a cup of Papaya leaf tea every day for malaria prevention while spending 6 months in Ghana West Africa, in an area where malaria is very common. She forgot to take it with her on a week long trip there, and got malaria. When she got back, she started taking it again, and didn't get it again the rest of the time. It worked very well for her.

I just looked up Papaya Leaf Tea and found this really interesting compilation of informal "research" -- or rather, a paper put together based on questioning lots of missionaries as to how they use it and if it seems to work. It seems that you can use etiher fresh or dried papaya tea. They don't know if there is actually something in the leaves that helps, or if it is the bitterness that sweated onto the skin that the mosquitoes don't like. A couple of the missionaries they talked to said that they actually used the tea to help a person get well when they had malaria. Anyway, it's a good article to read. It was put together by ECHO:

http://www.echotech.org/network/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=576

This is another really great article written in the publication Homeopathy In Practice. One of the things it mentions that I've also read elsewhere is that it is vital that your liver be clean and working efficiently. One of the ladies in this article mentions that if your liver is slow and clogged, mosquitoes are going to flock to your skin. Another doc on the internet mentioned that a good liver and clean blood stream are not only the best ways to prevent malaria, but also to fight it if you get it.

http://www.a-r-h.org/Publications/Journal/sampleArts/Malaria%20Prophylaxis.pdf

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Re: Malaria Prevention
« Reply #14 on: February 24, 2007, 03:41:45 PM » by chrysalyde

Hello,
My husband is going to Mali for 10 ten days and I am finding all this info on malaria very interesting. Could someone tell me where to find the recipe of the Vinegar of the Four Thieves ? Also, I have another dumb question. Is malaria transmitted only through mosquito bites or can it be transmitted from one person to the other ? Just to know if the whole family should be prepared against it for when my husband comes back (though I do hope he doesn't get it) ?

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Re: Malaria Prevention
« Reply #15 on: February 24, 2007, 04:27:32 PM » by healthybratt

Quote from: chrysalyde on February 24, 2007, 03:41:45 PM

Vinegar of the 4 Thieves Scroll down to fiind the recipe.

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Re: Malaria Prevention
« Reply #16 on: February 24, 2007, 04:53:40 PM » by boysmama

Quote from: chrysalyde on February 24, 2007, 03:41:45 PM

Is malaria transmitted only through mosquito bites or can it be transmitted from one person to the other ? Just to know if the whole family should be prepared against it for when my husband comes back (though I do hope he doesn't get it) ?

Only through mosquito bites! It has to be a certain kind of mosquito too.

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Re: Malaria Prevention
« Reply #17 on: March 06, 2007, 05:03:27 PM » by the herbalist

Quote from: DawnsEarlyBirds on October 20, 2006, 04:09:32 PM

I wasn't sure where to park this subject, so I put it in the vaccination file. Huh

Don't know the safety status on Sweet Annie for pregnant and nursing mothers but it is an effective anti-malarial and preventive. Generally it is safe to continue taking a "dangerous" herb when pregnant or nursing if the mother was taking it on a regular basis before. Remember that even the "dangerous" herbs are safer than the medications. One plus with nursing and taking anti-malarial herbs, the baby will get some of the herb and be protected as well. Much easier and safer than giving it to the baby directly.
A note on the wormwood, a liver toxin is released when wormwood is extracted into alcohol therefore when using wormwood avoid taking it in tincture form. Capsules are great.

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Re: Malaria Prevention
« Reply #18 on: March 06, 2007, 05:12:35 PM » by the herbalist

Quote from: amazonmama2five on October 20, 2006, 06:15:03 PM

DawnsEarlyBirds,
I heard a theory that I am very interested in trying out: If one eliminates white flour, white sugar and processed foods the mosquitoes lose interest---it is the sugar in our blood that draws them. Isn't that interesting?
Lisa

Yes, it is an interesting theory, I believe there is something to it. Also even if such a person still gets bitten they have a bigger chance of not contracting the malaria. High levels of zinc, are also said to repel mosquitos. Isn't it interesting that one of the herb/foods highest in zinc, is ginger, a tropical plant. Just a little tidbit from Rosanna

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Re: Malaria Prevention
« Reply #19 on: March 06, 2007, 05:20:55 PM » by the herbalist

Quote from: DawnsEarlyBirds on October 20, 2006, 09:09:22 PM

Interesting that they should try that again. Despite numerous failed mosquito eradication spraying programs they are going to try it again. Doesn't sound like good news to me. The people who live in those areas will be more susceptible to disease than before and in a few years the mosquitos population rebounds, next time resistant to DDT. Why not pass out Artemisia annua (Sweet Annie) seeds and teach the people how to plant it and consume a little everyday. While they are at it they could hand out some vegetable seeds as well and close down the coke and junk food vendors. It is sad to see people in third world countries who can't afford a proper meal paying out their last pennies for something that depletes their undernourished bodies even more. Well, enough of my rambling, Had to add my two cents on a topic I am very concerned about.

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Re: Malaria Prevention
« Reply #20 on: August 30, 2007, 10:01:45 PM » by mommie

Not sure where to post this, but my MIL is looking for a good probiotic to take along with her anti-malaria meds...they will be in India for about 10 days. THey will be on the go a lot and unable to refridgerate anything. I was thinking TTU??? Any ideas?

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Re: Malaria Prevention
« Reply #21 on: August 31, 2007, 12:03:28 AM » by Wing

I took a homeopathic malaria medicine called Demal 200 from Blue Turtle Remedial Sciences. Since it has no side effects whatsoever, it is safe for pregnant/nursing women and babies 1 day old. I went on a mission trip in Kenya and got bitten a lot. We walked hut to hut in the middle of no man's land (first time many of the people had seen a white person) and spent the night in mosquito filled tents. I never had any problems with malaria, and I can't tell you if it had anything to do with the medicine or not, but the peace of mind was worth it. This medicine claims 100% effectiveness in treatment and prevention. Also it is not legally sold in the US. I had to order it from London. It is a spray, does not have to be refrigerated.

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Re: Malaria Prevention
« Reply #22 on: June 12, 2008, 08:47:05 AM » by SarahK