Symptoms of giardiasis in adults and children, treatment
Giardiasis is an infectious pathology caused by giardia, the protozoa that parasitize in the small intestine. The disease is common in Asian, African, and Latin American countries. But giardiasis cases are also diagnosed in Europe. Therefore, timely diagnosis of giardiasis in children and adults is extremely important.
Another name for the disease is gardenias.
Species of Giardia. Causes of giardiasis
There are two forms of existence of Giardia:
- mobile (vegetative);
- immovable (cyst).
The vegetative adult Giardia has 4 pairs of flagella and a special suction disc, with which it "sticks" from the inside to the intestinal wall.
Intestinal giardia infection occurs as follows:
- when consuming products infected with cysts and water. Most often, these are fruits, vegetables and berries that have not been thermally processed;
- due to lack of hygiene (dirty hands or some household items).
Having entered the digestive system, giardia are immediately directed to the small intestine, where they irritate the mucous membrane, causing its inflammation. If they get into the large intestine, they lose mobility and transform into cysts, which are excreted with feces.
Cysts are characterized by a high level of survival - they are able to survive:
- in soil conditions - up to 21 days;
- in water - up to 35 days.
Symptoms of giardiasis in adults and children are similar, but often the disease passes without any symptoms and can be diagnosed accidentally, against the background of another disease.
Children are most often affected - mainly at the age of 1-4 years. They often suck fingers on which giardia has accumulated.
Symptoms of chronic giardiasis and its acute form
Clinical symptoms of giardiasis:- aching pains in the epigastrium (upper part of the abdomen) or around the navel;
- dyspeptic phenomena;
- skin disorders;
- disruption of the general state of the body (signs of chronic giardiasis).
Dyspeptic phenomena
Characteristic are:
- abdominal bloating;
- grumbling in the intestines;
- nausea;
- disruption of secretions - in the form of alternating constipation and diarrhea.
Disruption of the general state of the body
Signs:
- general weakness;
- quick fatigue and deterioration of working capacity;
- causeless irritability;
- appetite deterioration;
- regular headaches;
- low quality of sleep.
When such symptoms appear, the patient should hurry to see a doctor, who will determine how to treat giardiasis in a specific case.
Complications
Giardiasis threatens with the following complications:
- gastritis is an inflammatory lesion of the gastric mucosa;
- duodenitis – inflammation of the mucous membrane of the duodenum;
- digestive disorders in the small intestine;
- impaired absorption in the small intestine.
The choice of means for the treatment of giardiasis depends on the presence of complications.
Disturbance of digestive processes, which has been prolonged, is dangerous because the body does not receive enough nutrients, all organs and tissues suffer.
Diagnosis of giardiasis in children and adults
Laboratory research methods are the most informative in the diagnosis of giardiasis:
- coprological examination - when examining feces under a microscope, giardiasis cysts are detected in it;
- study of the contents of the duodenum - during its study, vegetative, active forms of giardia are detected;
- serological diagnosis (the so-called blood test for giardiasis) - after 12-14 days from the moment of infection, specific antibodies are detected in the blood.
Treatment
Giardiasis is treated with conservative methods. There are three stages of conservative treatment.
The first stage
Purpose:
- diet therapy - cereals, various dried fruits, various types of vegetable oil;
- detoxification measures - intravenous administration of saline solutions, glucose, protein preparations;
- taking choleretics and enzyme drugs to improve digestion;
- increasing the body's immune response;
- application of enterosorbents.
The second stage
The giardiasis treatment scheme is as follows:
- antiparasitic pharmaceutical products - trichopol, tiberad and others;
- antihistamine drugs - to reduce the body's sensitivity to giardia toxins;
- enterosorbents.
The third stage
The goal is to strengthen immunity and prevent the pathogen from multiplying. The appointments are as follows:
- cereals, baked apples, fermented milk products;
- improving the body's immune forces - in particular with the help of pharmacy multivitamins;
- to improve own microflora - probiotic preparations.
Side effects
The effect of antiparasitic agents leads to mass death of giardia and intoxication of the body. Therefore, it is advisable to:
- detoxification therapy;
- wash with mineral water.
Prevention
The prevention of giardiasis is based on:
Diet for giardiasis
Dietary nutrition is extremely important in the treatment of giardiasis. You should use:
- boiled meat;
- from dairy products - kefir, cheese and cottage cheese;
- from vegetables - cabbage, carrots;
- from berries - lingonberries, cranberries.
Diet for giardiasis is aimed at worsening the reproduction of giardia. More information about nutrition with this disease can be found on the pages of our site Dobrobut.com.
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