Malaria is a human illness caused by parasites named genus Plasmodium that are transmitted by the bite of the female Anopheles mosquito. The parasites attack the red blood cells, leading to periodic fever and other symptoms.
The bite of the female Anopheles mosquito (most commonly found in Africa) can lead to the transmission of one of the four Malaria pathogens to humans. The parasites cause an acute febrile disease, with the fever occurring in a fixed rhythm (e.g. fever, no fever for 2 days, fever). Malaria can vary in seriousness and may even lead to death.
As mentioned above, an infection with Malaria can happen mainly in Africa, caused by the bit of the Anopheles mosquito, some cases are also reported in Asia. Sometimes it happens, that airport employees get infected by a mosquito that has been transported with the cargo. Fever occurring in a fixed rhythm is common, but some patients only experience slightly increased temperature. Additional symptoms are aching head and limbs, abdominal pain, weakness, spontaneous nose-bleeding or small punctual bleedings from the skin. In severe cases, acute symptoms may occur that require immediate intensive care treatment, such as pulmonary oedema with shortness of breath and coughing, or kidney failure.
It is important to inform the doctor, when a fever occurs following travels to Africa. The symptoms are initially very unspecific, so that the doctor can’t make the right diagnosis immediately, and unnecessary time may pass until the correct treatment can be started. Testing the blood for parasites can confirm Malaria, and further blood tests can determine the disease’s severity. Because of the often serious or even fatal course of disease, the patient will be immediately admitted to hospital and treated with anti-malaria drugs. If you are planning a trip to Malaria regions, you should consult your doctor about the various prophylactic measures, and may bring the necessary medicine along. If treated early, the mortality rate of Malaria is only <1%, but too late or not treated Malaria leads to a mortality rate of about 20%!
Several years of work in academia, medical practice and finally commercialization make it possible to provide an end-to-end process to help users to “find the appropriate medical help based on their present symptoms”. Below you will find a short explanation, showing you which part of the platform will help you best in finding the appropriate medical support.
Proceed as follows to enter your current symptoms.
Click on the appropriate body part on the picture. Select one/multiple symptoms corresponding to your complaint.
You can also add symptoms by typing your medical complaint in the search box and selecting the best matching suggestion.
Note: Your information will be kept anonymously.
Once you have selected all applicable symptoms, click the “analyze disease pattern”-button.
Accordingly, you will get a list of possible diseases and matching doctor categories who can further help you.
You can inform yourself about the possible diseases by reading the related information. But you can also return to the previous step and add more symptoms or delete already added ones to further narrow down your disease pattern.
Click on the desired doctor category to find a doctor who can help you.
If you are logged in with your profile, you will be displayed the appropriate doctors in your area. Otherwise you can enter an address in the “address” field and you will be displayed a doctor’s list around that specified address.
You will receive further information about the displayed doctors when you press on “details”.
Online bookable doctors in your area will be indicated with the notation “Book appointment” or “Book externally”, additionally they will be displayed on top of the list for your convenience.
Click on “Book appointment” to start the online appointment booking process with the desired doctor.
Please select an available appointment. “Green“ appointments are booked directly. “Red“ appointments need to be confirmed by the doctor.
Enter your general personal and health information.
Enter your present medical symptoms.
Enter your mobile phone number to identify yourself and you can finalize the appointment booking.
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