Gardiasis is a disease caused by a parasite named Giardia lamblia. If this parasite finds its way to the organism, it can produce an infection in small intestines. People insert this organism through water that may be contamincated by animal excrement. This condition can produce pain in the stomach and diarrhea. Many tourists have complained about these symptoms after a trip, since in some countries one third of population can have giardia parasite in their system. This number is significantly smaller in the United States of America, which is in the range of 3.5 % of population. This bacteria comes from animals and people which come in contact with animals can easily digest it. Because of this, campers and hikers have to be careful in the nature. Gardiasis is a non-viral infection, maybe the number one cause for diarrhea in humans.
If you get exposed to this bacteria, after 9 to 15 days you will start to feel uncomfortable emotion in abdominal area and then nausea. In the next 3 or 4 days you will have small fever followed by pain in stomach, gases, diarrhea and vomiting. These bacteria can be persistent and remain for several months if the condition is not treated. Cases of gardiasis can be very different. Diarrhea can be mild or intense and it affects adults and children differently. Small children usually experience asymptomatic infection. Having this condition can lead to weight lost because of diarrhea and retching. The treatment of gardiasis starts with frequent consumption of small amount of bottled water, fruit juices, broth, soda, sport drinks and soups. Pedialyte can be given only to children. Items such as noodles of wheat, brown rice, crackers, sugar-free cereals, boiled vegetables, potatoes and toast can be introduced to the diet after the first 12 hours of treatment. Nothing that might irritate your stomach should be consumed. Milk, spices and fat are such items. The treatment will involve medications. Which medicine a person will take depends on many variables such as age, weight and even pregnancy. Usually two medications are used for the treatment. Those are Nitazoxznide which can be given to children only with food and Tinidazole.
One more medication exists but it is not usually prescribed because of the side effects. This is Metronidazole. Taking it can cause headache, vomiting, metallic taste in mouth and nausea. Although it has high percent of success, 80 to 95 %, its use can cause dark or red urine. This medication will produce only minimal side effects to pregnant women.
Many home remedies have proved to be very effective with gardiasis. Mix of vodka, garlic and horseradish makes a good home remedy. Before use, this compound must be kept in dark room and shaken from time to time for ten days. After ten days, taking a tablespoon of extracted mixture 2 or 3 times a day will help. This must be done 20 or 30 minutes prior to a meal.
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