Did you know you could have malaria and not be sick?

Yep, you read that right.

That was my story last Thursday when I bumped into my friend who I've known since our days at the Botany and Microbiology department of the University of Ibadan.



She told me how her husband who is a consultant orthopaedic surgeon, recently opened a diagnostic centre in the estate and asked me to come around for a free blood test.

Who doesn't like free stuff, lol.

And then she took me into Kennexx Diagnostic Centre on 721 road, Festac Town, Lagos.

First, she measured my blood pressure; blood pressure is measured in millimetres of mecury.

Using a digital blood pressure meter, we got a systolic (maximum) pressure reading of 131mmHg and a diastolic (mimimum) pressure reading of 81mmHg.

She said I was fit, to my delight.

NOTE:
If, while monitoring your blood pressure, you get a systolic reading of 180 mm Hg or higher OR a diastolic reading of 110 mm HG or higher, wait a couple of minutes and take it again. If the reading is still at or above that level, you should seek immediate emergency medical treatment for a hypertensive crisis.

Source: American Heart Foundation

The random (which meant I had a meal that day) blood sugar test read 85. That was also very good.

For the majority of healthy people, normal blood sugar levels are: Between 4.0 to 6.0 mmol/L (72 to 108 mg/dL) when fasting. Up to 7.8 mmol/L (140 mg/dL) 2 hours after eating, according to Diabetes.co.uk.

Then Malaria and Typhoid tests came and it was a co-infection, positive for both; in fact, ++ for malaria.

Global statistics show that typhoid affects 17 million people annually and malaria affects a billion people every year.

That headline should have read "Did you know you could have malaria and not be sick (yet)?"

My body had been giving me signs. I'm thankful  for a having great immune system and I woke up that morning with a nagging headache. It had been like that on and off for a couple of days and that particular morning, I stayed in bed for about 45 minutes after to allow the headache go down.

In fact, based on a suggestion from another friend, I knelt down and let my forehead touch the ground. It worked for a bit to alleviate the headache.

The tests helped me see where the problem arose from.

Since then, I've treated myself for malaria with a full dose of Lonart malaria and treating the typhoid with Ciprotab 7-day dose.

That sense of wellbeing has increased and I'm staying away from all things mosquitoes as much as possible.

Keep listening to your body, people, it speaks to you.

Also make time to visit Kennexx Diagnostics  in Festac before the freebies are over, lol. And even if the phase is over, their prices are affordable for every test you're interested in.





Mosquito Image Credit: Times of India