How can malaria be treated during pregnancy?

Question

Hi doctor,

I am six weeks pregnant and have had a fever, chills, headache, diarrhea, muscle, joint pain, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain for the past five days. I took a few tests, which showed that I am positive for malarial infection. I would like to know how malaria can be treated during pregnancy and what medications need to be taken. Will it affect my baby, and is it safe to take antibiotics during pregnancy?

I am worried, please help me.

Answer 1

Hi,

I hope this helps.

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I read your query and can understand your concern.

Quinine and Clindamycin are the recommended medications to treat malaria during the first trimester of pregnancy. And I suggest you take tablet Quinine monotherapy. However, you may have side effects such as tinnitus or fullness in the ears, resulting in poor compliance and the risk of recrudescence while taking the tablet Quinine. Therefore, artemisinin-based combination treatments (ACTs are the first-line therapy for treating uncomplicated malarial infections) are recommended during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy, and it may soon be recommended as an alternative to tablet Quinine during the first trimester of pregnancy.

I hope this helps.