Quinine Quinine Quinine is a medication used to treat malaria and babesiosis. This includes the treatment of malaria due to "Plasmodium falciparum" that is resistant to chloroquine when artesunate is not available. While used for restless legs syndrome, it is not recommended for this purpose due to the risk of side effects. It can be taken by mouth or used intravenously. Malaria resistance to quinine occurs in certain areas of the world. Quinine is also the ingredient in tonic water that gives it its bitter taste. Common side effects include headache, ringing in the ears, trouble seeing, and sweating. More severe
Malaria used in areas where malaria is common as of 2012, due to their complexity. Malaria is classified into either "severe" or "uncomplicated" by the World Health Organization (WHO). It is deemed severe when "any" of the following criteria are present, otherwise it is considered uncomplicated. Cerebral malaria is defined as a severe "P. falciparum"-malaria presenting with neurological symptoms, including coma (with a Glasgow coma scale less than 11, or a Blantyre coma scale less than 3), or with a coma that lasts longer than 30 minutes after a seizure. Various types of malaria have been called by the names below: