Giardia in Humans

Giardia is a unicellular parasite and is found in the intestinal tract within the human body. Presence of giardia in humans leads to a waterborne disease known as giardiasis. Due to the infection, the body loses its ability to absorb fats obtained from the food. This parasite is highly contagious in nature and enters the human body through contaminated drinking water or due to contact with infected fecal matter. It can infect humans as well as other animals. Giardia mostly affect toddlers, small children and pregnant women. It can also get transferred to parents and caregivers of the infected children.

Symptoms

There are many people who do not show any symptoms when they get infected by giardia. Usually, the symptoms of giardia infection are observed after seven days of actual infection take place. The infection symptoms continues for two or more number of weeks. The common symptoms of giardia are abdominal pain, cramps, watery diarrhea without blood or mucous, dehydration, intestinal gas or flatulence , nausea, vomiting, low fever, etc. These symptoms may be intense for one or two weeks and then they become moderate. In chronic cases of giardia, loss of appetite leads to poor nutrition and the infected child may lose a lot of weight.

Treatment

Giardia is diagnosed with the help of laboratory tests of the stool samples of the patients. If there are no signs of symptoms of giardia infection, then treatment in not required. The treatment for giardia infection should start early so that it does not spread and infect other members of the family. Doctors prescribe anti-parasitic medicines to kill the infection causing parasite. The medicines should be continued for 5-7 days. The medicines weaken the parasites and make them less contagious. Some of these medicines have side effects like leaving a metallic taste in the mouth, nausea etc. Some of the giardia medicines are not suitable for pregnant women. So pregnant women with giardia infection should inform their doctors about pregnancy. Never try to treat the giardia infection of a patient with over the counter medicines for diarrhea or abdominal cramps without consulting any doctor.

The medicines should be accompanied by a large amount of fluid intake. This is because excess of water is lost from the body due to diarrhea and vomiting and the patient is prone to dehydration in such a condition. However, stay away from caffeine beverages as such drinks force the body to lose more water. All the medicines need to be taken as per the dose regularly to get rid of the symptoms as early as possible. While undergoing the treatment for giardia, adults should abstain from alcohol as it tend to interact with the medicines and worsen the condition. If a person is living in an infected environment he or she is likely to get the infection repeatedly. In that case, the infection becomes chronic and require a long term treatment.

Proper hygienic habits and living conditions are essential for prevention of giardia in humans. Proper washing of hands is a must after using toilets, changing nappies in children, and before eating. If the drinking water in your home is not safe, then it should be boiled to prevent any infection. Wash the raw fruits and vegetables thoroughly in clean water before cooking or eating them. Make sure you or your children do not drink water from lakes, swimming pools or wells, to avoid this kind of infection. An infected person should not go for swimming as the germs can spread to other people who are using the water.