Symptoms and Treatments of Giardiasis

Giardiasis is an infectious disease caused by the Giardia lamblia parasite. It mainly infects the small intestines and can cause cysts that may infect others. Contaminated food and water are the most common transmitters of the infection. Person-to-person contact, during sexual intercourse or in hospitals, is also possible. The disease is fairly misunderstood and symptoms that indicate it could be overlooked as something more minor. However, the sooner giardiasis is diagnosed, the easier it is to treat.

Diarrhea

When giardiasis is in its beginning stages, most people complain of diarrhea for a prolonged period. Of course, diarrhea can happen because of spoiled food, but giardiasis causes diarrhea to last for a couple of days non-stop. The stool is exceptionally watery and profuse and can often smell foul, unlike a natural odor. In this case, the best treatment would be to take some probiotics to stabilize the digestive tract. The intestinal flora will be severe damage, and you need natural bacteria to strengthen the bowel to be able to get through giardiasis. It’s not something you want to take lightly.

Dehydration

Most people only center around the intestinal symptoms of giardiasis, but there is no much more to this dangerous disease. Due to excessive diarrhea, your body will start losing fluids rapidly, which can lead to many conditions. Weakness, fatigue, a broken-down immunity, and even death are all possibilities. When faced with this particular symptom, it would be in your best interest to lay in bed and drink a lot of water. It’s always recommended that you force yourself to drink a lot of water. There is no telling how bad can diarrhea get and how much more water you’re going to lose. It’s better to be safe than sorry.

Weight loss

Of course, losing a lot of your bodily fluids and having parasites feeding on your food will take a toll on your body weight. Naturally, this leads to even more problems, with some of them being weakness, frail bones, an inability to walk and several others. The weight loss rate depends on the person’s organism. Eating carb-rich, bland foods are the most effective treatment here. Having meals constructed from bread, toast, potatoes, cereal, and crackers will fill your body with carbohydrates, a much-needed source of energy. Be sure to avoid greasy, fried and spicy foods – they will wreak havoc on your irritated guts.

Constipation

Most of us are used to connecting giardiasis with diarrhea and excessive stool passing, but it can gravitate towards the other end of the intestinal spectrum. Due to an inability to eat and parasites eating your food, you will not be able to pass stool at all. Because of this, people often doubt that they have giardiasis. When dealing with constipation, the ideal treatment would be a balanced mix of a bland diet and probiotics, along with mild laxatives prescribed by your doctor. Self-treatment with medication is not recommended, and you should always seek advice from an expert.

Appetite loss

In addition to the problems with diarrhea and constipation, giardiasis can take an even worse toll on the body. Because of all the strain, you feel and the constant stress on both the esophagus and the intestines, an appetite loss is imminent. This can be a dire situation, especially when you need to eat more than ever. An excellent way to combat a loss of appetite is to eat small, but frequent portions of carb-rich foods. After you’re done with the meal, you should wash it down with a few sips of a sports drink. These beverages contain a lot of electrolytes and can help you restore the energy that you need to eat.

Abdominal pain

Obviously, giardiasis takes a high toll on the esophagus and irritates the bowels like nothing else. Due to this irritation, you may be left with a feeling of pain whenever breathing or eating. This pain can also cause other problems with walking, sleeping and other daily activities. When dealing with this particular symptom, you should consult your doctor about coping with the pain. According to most accounts, conventional pain relief remedies may irritate the stomach even further. Some natural remedies may solve the problem better, but nothing should be taken without the doctor prescribing it to you.

Bloating

Excessive activity in your stomach area will often cause a lot of gas. The main reason for this is the improper digestion of food and the movement of parasites in the bowels. Because of this, you may feel extremely bloated and full of gas all the time, which results in excessive discomfort for anyone suffering from giardiasis. Usually, proper treatment for bloating would be probiotics with some conventional anti-parasitic medications. The combination of the two is sure to eliminate both the source of the symptoms and the symptoms themselves.

Insomnia

Because of the pain, the bloating and other symptoms, you can feel unease when you’re trying to fall asleep. This symptom leads to further health problems, as your ravaged body needs more sleep than ever. A sleeping pill is a great way of combating this instance, but you should consult your doctor. Not all medicines are made the same way – some can irritate your stomach further and cause even more problems than there were initially.

Blood in the stool

Excessive passing of watery stool can damage the walls of your intestines. As a result, blood vessels get ruptured, and you’re left with wounds on the inside of your intestines. When passing stool, you might see a reddish color, regardless if it’s fluid or solid. Additional pain may occur in these situations. The key to eliminating this symptom is going easy on dairy products and spicy food for a substantial amount of time. The wounds will heal by themselves, and you won’t have additional problems if you treat them the right way.

Dizziness

One of the first symptoms other than diarrhea is dizziness. Due to a loss of water and parasites being active inside of you, you will feel weaker than usual, with added lightheadedness. If not paid attention to, you can faint and injure some parts of your body. The best way to deal with any dizziness is to alarm your doctor immediately. He will be able to connect the dots and test you for parasites. Along with your knowledge, it might be the thing that saves you from additional discomfort.