Giardia is a single-celled parasite that lives in the human small intestine. The disease in which they become infected is called giardiasis. The reasons for the invasion may be different. Any person is susceptible to infection, regardless of age or gender. However, before talking about the causes of infection and methods of treatment, you should understand what Giardia looks like and how dangerous they are.
Giardia appearance and stages of development
Giardia is a small size (on the order of 0.13 microns) parasites that can survive and develop in the human body. They were discovered in 1681 by Anthony Van Leeuwenhoek. Professor Lyambl studied them, whose surname gave the name to this species. Giardia parasitizes in the small intestine, gallbladder and bile ducts. A study on giardiasis revealed that the development cycle of these parasites is divided into two stages: vegetative (active) and cystic (rest). At the first stage of the pear-shaped form, Giardia is actively mobile, has 2 nuclei and 8 flagella, with the help of which it moves. The anterior end of the bodyparasite wide, rounded, caudal (posterior) - pointed. On the surface of the body of Giardia, you can see a suction disk, thanks to which it is attached to the epithelial cells of the intestinal wall. In the middle of the body of the parasite, one can notice two supporting filaments-axostyles, dividing it into 2 completely identical halves, each of which has a nucleus. The cytoplasm of lamblia is transparent. The back and tail are covered with a cytoplasmic membrane. At the cystic stage, Giardia has an oval shape. The cytoplasm contains a coiled flagellar apparatus and 4 nuclei (rarely 2). Examination of liquid or semi-liquid feces of a sick person for giardiasis showed that sometimes the parasite can be at the intermediate stage of a precyst.
Giardia life cycle
- Cysts enter the human body.
- They reach the duodenum, where 2 trophasites are formed from each cyst.
- Giardia reproduction occurs in the duodenum or jejunum.
- When passing into the large intestine, the next stage begins - cystic.
- Trophasites and cysts leave the body with faeces.
Only cysts survive outside the host's body.
Giardiasis: causes
Infection can occur in several ways.
- Food. Infection can occur due to insufficient heat treatment of foods, dirty vegetables or fruits.
- Water. This path is considered the most common, since tap, river and lake water contains a huge amount of Giardia. They only die when boiled.
- Household. You can become infected with giardiasis when interacting with dirty household items. It can be toys, dishes, linens and more. Children who bite their nails are at double risk.
Giardiasis, caused by unwashed or improperly processed foods, is the rarest. As a rule, children get sick. The water route of infection is more common, since the same fruits or vegetables are washed with raw water, as a result of which the protozoa enter the body and giardiasis begins.
The causes of the disease are different, but the symptoms of the disease do not depend on the way the parasite enters the body. However, the clinical picture in patients may also vary, since the disease has several classifications.
Disease classifications
Giardia in humans can manifest itself in several ways, depending on this, the classification of the disease is derived:
- asymptomatic giardiasis (giardia carrier);
- pronounced form of the disease;
- intestinal form, manifested by enterocolitis, duodenal dyskinesia, duodenitis, etc.
- hepatobiliary, manifested by cholecystitis, biliary dyskinesia.
Symptoms of acute giardiasis
Pain in giardiasis is nonspecific, which often makes it difficult to diagnose. Most often, the disease is asymptomatic, however, in order to find out how to get rid of Giardia, it is necessary to study its most likelymanifestations.
Giardiasis can occur in acute and chronic form. In the acute course of the disease, which occurs most often in children and lasts a maximum of 7-10 days, vitamin and enzymatic deficiency develops. As a result, the absorption of nutrients by the body is disrupted.
In the acute form of giardiasis, as a rule, there are the following symptoms:
- frequent constipation or diarrhea;
- pain in the right hypochondrium or around the navel;
- frequent unexplained fever;
- nausea;
- fatigue;
- enlarged spleen, lymph nodes, liver;
- coughing fits;
- allergic rashes on the skin;
- persistent blood eosinophilia.
Children 7-15 years old infected with giardia often lag behind in school, often complain of headaches and general weakness of the body, sleep poorly. Since the symptoms of the disease are similar to other diseases, the treatment of the acute form is rarely carried out due to the impossibility of a quick diagnosis. This is also due to the fact that only an analysis for giardiasis can confirm the presence of parasites in the body, but it is done very rarely. As a result, doctors most often have to deal with the chronic form of the disease.
Symptoms of chronic giardiasis
This form of the disease is usually recurrent. Symptoms are as follows:
- lack of appetite;
- violation of the general stateorganism;
- tape tongue;
- changing skin tone;
- flaking around the mouth;
- unstable chair;
- neurotic disorders;
- bloating.
In children of preschool age, the clinical picture may be accompanied by functional disorders of the digestive tract. As a result, the treatment of giardiasis in children, the treatment regimen will primarily be aimed at normalizing the state of the body. In adolescents infected with Giardia, along with the intestines, damage to the liver and pancreas often occurs.
Diagnosis of disease
According to experts, even if a person has the above symptoms, before thinking about how to get rid of Giardia, you need to make sure that the infection has really occurred. For this, doctors prescribe laboratory tests. The patient is offered to first donate feces for Giardia. With the help of this study, experts determine the presence of parasitic cysts in the body. To confirm the diagnosis, the patient is additionally assigned a blood test, since in case of infection, characteristic antibodies will be observed in it. In addition, duodenoscopy may be prescribed. Thanks to this procedure, the contents of the duodenum are checked and all types of lamblia located in it are detected.
Treatment of giardiasis in children: scheme
If the test results confirm that the child has giardiasis, parentsshould be prepared for a serious and long enough treatment. The course of the disease must be monitored by the attending physician, self-medication in this case is very dangerous. There are several ways to treat giardiasis in children: medication, homeopathic and phytotherapeutic. However, regardless of the method chosen, the treatment regimen is the same and consists of 3 stages:
- preparation for treatment;
- basic therapy;
- rehabilitation of the body.
The duration of the first stage is usually 2-4 weeks. The main task at this time is to suppress the reproduction of Giardia and increase the body's resistance. The child during the treatment period must follow a certain diet. The menu for giardiasis necessarily includes the presence of dried fruits, vegetables, cereals, vegetable oil, cranberries, lingonberries. In turn, the consumption of carbohydrates, especially sugar, must be limited or, if possible, completely eliminated. At this stage, the doctor may also prescribe enterosorbents, choleretic drugs, enzymes.
The second stage includes antiparasitic therapy. The doctor prescribes medications that tend to act directly on Giardia. Due to the increased toxicity of these drugs, the duration of this stage should not exceed 10 days. It is also very important to remember about contraindications and side effects. Therefore, the choice of the drug and the treatment regimen should be prescribed only by a doctor who will take into account all the characteristics of the child's body.
The third stage is also very important. It allows you to normalize the work of the digestive tractchild, eliminate the side effects of drugs and the consequences of the life of lamblia. Particular importance during this period should be given to diet. Of the medications, multivitamins, probiotics, and enzyme preparations are prescribed.
Treatment of giardiasis with folk remedies
Along with the use of medical preparations, it is necessary not to forget the ancient methods that have been used for several decades to heal patients suffering from a disease such as giardiasis. Alternative treatment improves the patient's condition, relieves symptoms, and in 1-2 courses allows you to completely cleanse the body of parasites. Of course, before using any herbal preparations, you also need to consult a doctor so as not to harm the body. So, how to treat giardiasis folk remedies.
- 300 g dry linden twigs are crushed, placed in a heat-resistant dish and set on fire. The resulting ash is ground into powder, sieved and divided into 7 equal parts. It must be eaten twice a day, thoroughly stirring each part with 10 g of natural honey and drinking 150-200 ml of warm boiled milk.
- 1 tbsp l. chopped celandine herb is boiled in a liter of homemade milk for about 15-20 minutes, after which it is removed from the heat and allowed to cool. Slightly warm broth is filtered through gauze. Take on an empty stomach 0.5 liters per day in several doses. The first serving should be 150 ml. The course of therapy is carried out for 5 days.
- With giardiasis, a tincture ofvegetable oil, beets and horseradish. To prepare it, raw beets and horseradish need to be grated on a fine grater and mixed in equal amounts. The resulting mixture is poured with vegetable oil (1: 1), mixed and infused for at least 3 hours. Consume 15 g 10-15 minutes before main meals.
- 25 g of dried birch leaves are brewed in a thermos with 750 ml of boiling water and infused for about 20-24 hours. Ready infusion adults consume 1 cup, children need 70-100 ml. After treatment, it is recommended to lie down with a warm heating pad on your stomach for 15-30 minutes. Treatment in this way is quite long and is 6 months.
- The next collection consists of 4 tbsp. l. dried mint leaves, 3 tbsp. l. dill seeds, calamus roots, tansy, corn stigmas and 1 dess. l. carnations. To enhance the hepatoprotective effect of the drug, it is recommended to add 2 tbsp. l. milk thistle. All components are ground into powder, mixed and consumed in 0.5 tsp. three times a day for a month. Additionally, ascorbic acid is used. After completing the course of treatment, it is necessary to conduct a medical examination, and if necessary, repeat the course after 2 weeks.
- To treat children from giardiasis, overripe cucumbers are taken, chopped and poured into a 3-liter glass container. Next, pour them with boiling water and let it brew. When the mass has cooled, it is filtered. The liquid is removed to a cool place and used for drinking, replacing water with it.
- 1 tsp lumbago is brewed with a glass of boiling water, put in a water bath and heated for another half an hour, not allowing to boil. Byafter the allotted time, the infusion is removed from the fire, cooled and filtered. The finished product is given to the child in 5 ml every 3 hours. For the treatment of adults, the rate is doubled. The use of infusion is contraindicated in nephritis and gastritis.
- In equal parts take celandine grass, agrimony and centaury, alder cones, birch buds and burnet rhizomes. Everything is crushed and mixed. 2 tbsp. l. the resulting dry mixture is poured into a thermos and brewed with 500 ml of boiling water. Insist 7-10 hours. The finished product is taken 70 ml three times a day. The full course of therapy is 1-2 months, depending on the course of the disease.
Complications of giardiasis and its prevention
In order not to get giardiasis, it is enough to observe simple hygiene standards: wash fruits and vegetables, boil drinking water, wash hands regularly and take tests. Wash your hands thoroughly after interacting with pets, as they can also be carriers of the infection.
Despite the fact that giardiasis is not a disease that can threaten the patient's life, it can undermine the body's defenses and disrupt the functioning of some organs. Timely intake of special antiparasitic drugs allows you to protect a person from the development of infection and avoid complications of giardiasis. In case of severe intoxication, deterioration of the skin, disruption of the digestive tract, inflammation in the small intestine, development of gastritis and duodenitis are possible.
