Giardia is a unicellular parasite that lives in the human small intestine. The disease in which they become infected is called giardiasis. The causes of invasion may be different. Any person is susceptible to infection, regardless of age or gender. However, before talking about the causes of infection and treatment methods, you should understand how lamblia look and how dangerous they are.
Appearance of Giardia and stages of development
Giardia is a small size (about 0.13 microns) parasites that can survive and develop in the human body. They were discovered in 1681 by Anthony Van Levenguk. Professor Lambl studied them, whose last name gave the name to this species. Giardia parasitize in the small intestine, gall bladder and bile ducts. A study of giardiasis revealed that the development cycle of these parasites is divided into two stages: autonomic (active) and cystic (dormant). At the first stage of the pear-shaped form, the lamblia is actively mobile, has 2 nuclei and 8 flagella, with which it moves. The anterior end of the body of the parasite is wide, rounded, and the tail (posterior) is pointed. On the surface of the body of the lamblia, you can notice a suction disk, thanks to it it is attached to the epithelial cells of the intestinal wall. In the middle of the parasite’s body, two supporting axiostyle threads can be seen dividing it into 2 completely identical halves, each of which has a core. Giardia cytoplasm is transparent. The back and tail are covered with a cytoplasmic membrane. At the cystic stage, the lamblia has an oval shape. The cytoplasm contains a folded flagellar apparatus and 4 nuclei (rarely 2). A study of giardiasis of liquid or semi-liquid feces of a sick person showed that sometimes the parasite can be at an intermediate stage of precysts.
Lamblia Life Cycle
- Cysts enter the human body.
- They reach the duodenum, where 2 trophazites are formed from each cyst.
- Giardia multiplication occurs in the duodenum or jejunum.
- When moving to the colon, the next stage begins - cystic.
- Trofazites and cysts exit the body with feces.
Outside the host organism, only cysts survive.
Giardiasis: causes
Infection can occur in several ways.
- Food. Infection can occur due to insufficient heat treatment of products, 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 perish only when boiling.
- Domestic. Giardiasis can be infected by interacting with dirty household items. It can be toys, dishes, linen, and more. Children at risk of biting their nails are at double risk .
Giardiasis, the causes of which are unwashed or improperly processed foods, is most rare. 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, a classification of the disease is derived:
- asymptomatic giardiasis (giardiasis);
- severe form of the disease;
- intestinal form, manifested by enterocolitis, duodenal dyskinesia, duodenitis, etc.
- hepatobiliary, manifested by cholecystitis, biliary dyskinesia.
Symptoms of acute giardiasis
Pain with giardiasis is nonspecific, which often makes diagnosis difficult. Most often, the disease is asymptomatic, however, in order to learn how to get rid of giardia, it is necessary to study its most likely manifestations.
Giardiasis can occur in acute and chronic form. In the acute course of the disease, which is most often observed in children and lasts a maximum of 7-10 days, vitamin and enzymatic deficiency develops. As a result, the process of absorption of beneficial substances 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 causeless increase in body temperature;
- nausea;
- fatigue;
- enlarged spleen, lymph nodes, liver;
- coughing attacks;
- allergic rashes on the skin;
- persistent blood eosinophilia.
Children 7-15 years old, infected with giardia, often fall 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, treatment of the acute form due to the inability to quickly diagnose is rarely done. 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 rarely done. As a result, doctors most often have to deal with a chronic form of the disease.
Symptoms of chronic giardiasis
This form of the disease is, as a rule, recurrent in nature. Symptoms are as follows:
- lack of appetite;
- violation of the general condition of the body;
- language overlay;
- change in the shade of the skin;
- peeling around the mouth;
- unstable chair;
- neurotic disorders;
- bloating.
In preschool children, 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, together with the intestines, damage to the liver and pancreas often occurs.
Diagnosis of the disease
According to experts, even if a person has the symptoms described above, before you think about how to get rid of giardia, you need to make sure that the infection really happened. For this, doctors prescribe laboratory tests. The patient is offered to first pass the feces to Giardia. Using this study, specialists determine the presence of parasitic cysts in the body. To confirm the diagnosis, the patient is additionally prescribed a blood test, because in case of infection, characteristic antibodies will be observed in it. In addition, duodenoscopy can 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, parents should prepare for serious and sufficiently long treatment. The course of the disease must be controlled by the attending physician, self-medication in this case is very dangerous. There are several ways to treat giardiasis in children: medication, homeopathic and herbal medicine. However, regardless of the method chosen, the treatment regimen is the same and it consists of 3 stages:
- preparation for treatment;
- main therapy;
- body rehabilitation.
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 use of carbohydrates, especially sugar, must be limited or, if possible, completely eliminated. At this stage, the doctor can also prescribe enterosorbents, choleretic drugs, enzymes.
The second stage includes antiparasitic therapy. The doctor prescribes drugs that have the property of acting directly on the giardia. Due to the increased toxicity of these drugs, the duration of this stage should not exceed 10 days. It is also important to remember 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 features of the child's body.
The third stage is also very important. It allows you to normalize the work of the digestive tract of the child, to eliminate the side effects of drugs and the effects of lamblia. Of particular importance during this period should be given to the diet. From medications prescribed multivitamins, probiotics, enzyme preparations.
Treatment of giardiasis folk remedies
Along with the use of medicines, one must not 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 of dry twigs of linden are crushed, put in a heat-resistant dish and set on fire. The resulting ash is ground into powder, sieved and divided into 7 equal parts. It is necessary to eat it twice a day, carefully stirring each part with 10 g of natural honey and drinking 150-200 ml of warm boiled milk.
- 1 tbsp. l chopped celandine herbs are boiled in a liter of homemade milk for about 15-20 minutes, after which they are removed from the heat and allowed to cool. Slightly warm broth is filtered through cheesecloth. Take on an empty stomach 0.5 l per day for several doses. The first serving should be 150 ml. The course of therapy is 5 days.
- With giardiasis, a tincture of vegetable oil, beets and horseradish will be an excellent assistant. For its preparation, raw beets and horseradish need to be grated and mixed in equal amounts. The resulting mixture is poured with vegetable oil (1: 1), mixed and insisted for at least 3 hours. Consume 15 g for 10-15 minutes before the main meals.
- 25 g of dried birch leaves are brewed in a thermos of 750 ml of boiling water and insisted for about 20-24 hours. Adults use 1 cup of ready-made infusion; 70-100 ml are enough for children. After treatment, it is recommended to lie down for 15-30 minutes with a warm heating pad on the stomach. Treatment in this way is quite long and is 6 months.
- The next collection consists of 4 tbsp. l dried mint leaves, 3 tbsp each. 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 a course of treatment, it is necessary to make 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. Then pour them with boiling water and let it brew. When the mass has cooled, it is filtered. The liquid is cleaned in a cool place and used for drinking, replacing it with water.
- 1 tsp lumbago is brewed with a glass of boiling water, put in a water bath and heated for another half hour, not allowing to boil. After the set time has passed, 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 adults, the rate is doubled. The use of infusion is contraindicated in jade and gastritis.
- In equal parts, take celandine grass, repeshka and centaury, alder cones, birch buds and rhizomes of the blood crust. 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 drug 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 become infected with giardiasis, it is enough to follow simple hygienic standards: wash fruits and vegetables, boil drinking water, wash your hands regularly and take tests. After communicating with pets, it is also necessary to wash your hands thoroughly, as they can also be carriers of infection.
Despite the fact that giardiasis is not a disease that can threaten the life of the patient, it can undermine the body's defenses and disrupt the functioning of some organs. Timely intake of special antiparasitic drugs can protect a person from developing 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, the development of gastritis and duodenitis are possible.