QUESTION

I do have symptoms of severe malaria. How can I get malarial pills in Holland? I went to the hospital the doctors said nothing is wrong with me which is not true.

ANSWER

If you have the symptoms of severe malaria (high fever, chills, nausea, body aches) then you should go to an emergency room at a hospital immediately.

Malaria infection can be very serious if not treated promptly and with appropriate medicine. You must inform the doctors of your travel and medical history. Malaria is not transmitted in Holland so you must have been infected elsewhere.

Tell the doctors in particular if you have recently (in the past month) travelled to an area where malaria is transmitted (sub-Saharan Africa, South America, some parts of Central America, Haiti, Central Asia, South-East Asia, many of the Pacific Islands). I am certain that if you truly have the symptoms of severe malaria they will not turn you away from the hospital, and especially not if you make it clear that you may have been at risk for malaria.

However, if you have not travelled to malarial areas recently, then it is much less likely you have malaria. However, some forms of malaria can “relapse” after a long dormant period. If you have had malaria previously, and have suffered these relapses, then this is also very important information to tell your doctors.

It is important to take anti-malarial medication only if you have had a blood test to confirm that you have malaria. The symptoms are general enough that they are often mistaken for malaria when they are in fact caused by another disease. Moreover, in most parts of Europe, it is difficult to get malaria medication without a prescription.

It is very important that you visit an emergency room, hospital or your doctor as soon as possible to get tested for malaria and given the appropriate treatment if indeed you test positive for malaria.