A GAVIN and Stacey star has shared their terrifying symptoms after being struck down with a life-threatening illness.
The fan-favourite actor recounted his scary ordeal ahead of the final ever episode on Christmas Day.
Larry Lamb caught the illness after he travelled to Senegal to raise awareness about child poverty.
However, when he returned to the UK he started to develop a severe fever that lasted for months.
Always in good health, the mystery health problem eventually left him deaf in one ear, while mildly in another – and developing tinnitus.
Larry, 77, explained: “It’s been catastrophic. I’m famous for never being ill. But I went into complete physical meltdown. At one point I felt like I was dying. But the real shock was when I realised I couldn’t hear properly.”
The Gavin and Stacey actor eventually learned he had contracted malaria – a potentially deadly disease that is spread to humans through mosquitoes.
Malaria has a host of unpleasant symptoms which also can be brought on by a variety of other issues sometimes causing confusion for doctors.
Symptoms typically take between ten days to four weeks to emerge and can in some cases lie dormant for several months.
Common early symptoms of the life-threatening illness include:
After the early stage symptoms, the condition can become rapidly life-threatening especially if the person infected is pregnant, elderly or very young and is not treated immediately.
Within just hours, the red blood cells cannot carry enough oxygen to the major organs, leaving a person weak and faint.
It can also cause cerebral malaria, where the brain swells, which in turn leads to brain damage and seizures.
The kidneys and liver can also being to fail and a fluid can build up on the lungs meaning it is difficult to breathe.
And if any of these complications crop up and they are not treated immediately, they can be fatal.
Larry continued to the Express: “We were in and out within a week. Back home in north London I felt fine, so stopped taking the Malarone pills.”
He said he “felt as if [he] could die”
Reflecting on his ordeal, Larry added: “It was like the worst hangover I’d ever had.
“For a few days I had a fever which caused me to sweat and then cool again. I couldn’t sleep – I didn’t have the strength to do anything.
“It was hellish. If I was sitting with two or three friends, it was impossible to follow the conversation. I suddenly understood why people with hearing loss can become isolated.
“It was such a strain that I couldn’t always be bothered to keep asking people to repeat themselves. It’s easier to tune out, so that’s what you do.”
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