What is Giardia?
Giardia or giardiasis is the medical term for the infection of the intestines, which is characterized by watery diarrhea, nausea, abdominal cramps, and bloating. This type of intestine infection is caused by a microscopic parasite called Giardia lamblia which best survives in water. Giardia infection is contagious and can be transmitted through contact or food.
Symptoms and Treatment of Giardia
Giardia has characteristic symptoms that usually appear ten days after the parasite has entered the intestine. The most frequent warning signs of this type of intestinal infection are upset stomach, diarrhea, loss of appetite, as well as nausea, vomiting, and pain in the abdomen. Sometimes, dehydration and loss of weight happen as a consequence of giardia.
Doctors usually prescribe an antibiotic Flagyl to treat giardia, which has to be used three times a day for about 10 days. Apart from this antibiotic, Albenzazole, metronidazole, and furazolidone can also be very effective when a person suffers from giardia.
Home Remedies for Giardia
Certain home remedies can help to treat giardia successfully, such as garlic, goldenseal, black walnut, wormwood, worm seed, pumpkin seeds, and grapefruit seed extract. Garlic can be very effective in fighting against Giardia lamblia, as well as against some other intestine parasites, and it can be consumed as garlic cloves, or in the form of capsules and tablets. Goldenseal is an herb that contains an active substance called berberine, which is very good for treating intestinal infections caused by Giardia lamblia.
Black walnut and Wormwood are two herbs that are proven to be effective remedies for intestinal parasites. Black walnut is consumed as a juice, while wormwood is best as a tea, liquid extract, and in the form of capsules. Worm seed tea and pumpkin seed juice are very good for the cleansing of the intestines, but grapefruit seed extract is also very good in fighting against intestinal parasites.
- Worldwide, Giardia lamblia infection is a major cause of diarrheal illness in humans. The prevalence rates of the disease range between 2-7 in developed countries and 20-30% in developing countries where overpopulation, poor water supply and poor hygienic conditions are associated with the feco-oral infection.
- In-vivo effects of dichloromethane extracts of ginger and cinnamon in doses of 10 and 20 mg/kg/day separately were studied on 30 experimentally infected albino rats divided into 6 groups (5 rats each). Plant extracts were started on the 6th day post infection for 7 successive days. The study was evaluated by fecal cyst and intestinal trophozoite counts, histopathology, scanning and transmission electron microscopic examinations of the small intestinal mucosa.
- Ginger and cinnamon caused reduction of fecal cyst and trophozoites counts. Histopathology, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) after exposure to each extract revealed evident improvement of intestinal mucosal damage produced by G. lamblia infection and direct structural injury to the trophozoites. However, these results were more obvious after exposure to cinnamon extracts.
It is recommended to avoid using coffee and alcohol during giardia, as well as refined foods and refined sugar. The foods that are the best for this condition are raw garlic, pineapple, papaya seeds, and a lot of vegetables, for example, carrots and potatoes.
Foods rich in vitamin A, vitamin C, beta-carotene, and zinc are highly recommended. Moreover, probiotics and turmeric are very good for treating giardia, though they can also be successfully treated with some other natural cures, such as oregano, propolis, barberry, and gentian, as well as anise olive leaf and thyme.
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