10 Symptoms of Malaria
Symptom #10: Convulsions
While most patients with malaria experience fever and chills, some may experience convulsions. This is more likely to occur in infants and young children. Convulsions are violent and uncontrollable shaking movements of the body. This occurs when body muscles contract and relax alternately. Convulsions are usually accompanied by other symptoms like dizziness, anxiousness, headaches and a fainting feeling.
A convulsing patient may also get an unpleasant taste in the mouth, may lose control of the bladder, bowel and get rapid eye movements. When convulsions or seizures occur, it is possible that this is cerebral malaria. However, central nervous system infections, and hypoglycemia should be discarded as well. Furthermore, antimalarial drugs (i.e. chloroquine, quinine, mefloquine and halofantrine) may also trigger convulsions. This is one of the more serious malaria symptoms especially when it happens to a young child. Note that malaria is a deadly disease that should not be ignored. The patient should therefore be taken to hospital without delay.
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