Traveling with children can be one of the best things a family can do together, especially if that leads to living or traveling abroad. However, this trip to the tropics or subtropics may also mark your children’s first encounter with malaria a potentially lethal infection caused by parasites spread by mosquitoes that now plagues almost half the world’s population. The good news is that malaria can be easily avoided through careful planning and a bit of effort. By following these simple tips, your family will almost certainly have a safe and healthy time together. What is malaria? Malaria is a serious human tropical infectious disease caused by one of the four Plasmodium parasites Plasmodium falciparum, P vivax, P ovale, or P malaria and transmitted by mosquitoes.
1. Understand Malaria Risks
You can plan to protect yourself from malaria before you travel. The mosquito that spreads malaria bites both day and night so the risk can be high all the time. Yet the risk is highest when the weather is driest and warmest, from June to September in the tropics and July to November in the subtropics of Central and South America and Africa. Different areas have different levels of risk. You can check the travel advisories of your government and consult a travel clinic doctor who specializes in travel medicine for the most up-to-date risk information and recommendations for your destination.
2. Visit a Travel Clinic
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that it’s a good idea to go to a travel clinic before you travel, particularly because these are centers where a Travel Medicine Physician and other health care specialists will be able to give you accurate and responsible information about the diseases to which you and your children are vulnerable and about any vaccinations necessary for the region you are visiting and the age of your children. They will be able to prescribe the best anti-malarial for your destination and your children and give you good information and advice about the vaccinations and other health precautions you need.
3. Use Anti-Malarial Medications
Based on your destination, your clinician might prescribe anti-malarial medications to your child to prevent malaria. These medications would kill the parasite that resides in the bloodstream. Your child must take these medications according to the prescription. Meaning if it is a daily dosing medication, you will have to give them the medicine daily without fail following the prescribed schedule. If the medicine is every week or with another regimen, you must ensure they take it as prescribed. You must finish the whole course of the medication, even if your children feel well.
4. Pack Mosquito-Proof Clothing
Parents traveling with their children to malaria-risk areas can also use additional resources to decrease their child’s risk of contracting malaria. Dressing your child in mosquito-proof clothing (long-sleeved shirt, long pants, socks) with close-woven materials helps keep these insects away. Light-colored clothing is ideal, as mosquitoes are more attracted to dark colors. Immediate treatment of outer clothing with insect repellent which includes permethrin, a repellent and insecticide, also helps.
5. Apply Insect Repellent
Insect repellent is your best defense against mosquito-borne disease. Choose a repellent that’s safe for children and preferably contains DEET (N, N-diethyl-meta-toluamide), picaridin, or oil of lemon eucalyptus. Cover exposed skin and clothing, but anything on the face or hands of a baby should avoid the mouth and not get into the eyes or mouth. Use as directed by the label and reapply if your child has been swimming or sweating.
6. Use Mosquito Nets
When staying in places where there is a high risk of malaria, sleeping under an insecticide-treated bed net is very effective. Such a bed net contains insecticide (a chemical that kills insects or makes them sick) that is absorbed by the net and slowly released so that mosquitoes landing on it are killed or hurt and will not stay long enough to bite you or your child. Ideally, all four sides of the net should touch the bed at the top, with the bottom tucked under the mattress so that no gaps remain. In some places, you might have to bring your bed net because some hotels do not provide them.
7. Ensure Proper Accommodation
Stay in accommodations that have sealed rooms and screens on windows and doors. Air conditioning and fans can also help in discouraging mosquitoes because they tend to fly less in cooler environments and moving air. If you are being treated at one of the rustic locations, your sleeping quarters should have mosquito nets, and all windows and doors should be closed securely at night.
8. Avoid Peak Mosquito Activity Times
Mosquitoes that carry malaria are most active at night, between around 19:00 and 07:00. Try to keep your kids indoors at these times, or make sure they are protected when they are outside. Encourage indoor activities at night-time and in the early morning when mosquitoes are most active, and use insect repellent and protective clothing during these hours.
9. Educate Your Children
Make sure that your children understand the role that malaria plays in morbidity and mortality. Explain why they need to wear long sleeves to bed, use repellent when they go out, and stay inside at certain times of the day when mosquitoes are most active. And if they’re old enough, enlist them in the prevention process to ensure that they take the steps they need to to stay safe.
10. Monitor for Symptoms
No matter how much you take steps to prevent it, be on the lookout for malaria symptoms – particularly if your child has sustained mosquito bites – which could include fever, chills, headache, muscle aches, and tiredness. Malaria should always be treated as a serious matter and it’s best to see a medical professional right away if your child is showing any of these symptoms.
11. Practice Good Hygiene
Good hygiene can help too: mosquitoes like nothing better than to bite sweaty skin, so try to keep your child clean and dry. If your child frequently sweats, you can try frequent changes of clothes as well as gentle (and specifically child-friendly) soaps and shampoos.
12. Stay Informed and Prepared
Lastly, keep up to date on any changes in malaria risk or health advisories for the region. Be aware of local healthcare facilities and contacts in the event you need medical assistance while away. Ideally, all of these preparations will allow you to respond swiftly to health issues as they arise on your journey.
When going with children to any area of the world where malaria transmission is present, it’s important to take extra measures to stay safe. This includes learning about the risks of malaria, using anti-malarial medicines, insect repellents, and mosquito nets, and staying up to date on any health alerts in the area. By taking these precautions, you can limit the potential for your children to get malaria, and make it a safer and more enjoyable trip for your family.
