How to Treat Giardiasis

Giardiasis is a parasitic infection by the protozoan Giardia lamblia. It is a common diarrheal illness throughout the world and is transmitted through the fecal-oral route or ingestion of contaminated water. Giardiasis has a 100 percent infection rate when more than 25 cysts are ingested, resulting in high carrier rates in day care centers, long-term living facilities and Native American reservations. The following steps will show how to treat giardiasis.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

1. Rehydrate patients with giardiasis by oral or intravenous crystalloid solution. Also, examine close contacts of the patient for giardiasis.

2. Begin antimicrobial therapy to giardiasis in the bowel. Several regimens may be used but some effective alternatives such as atabrine and quinacrine are not available in the United States.

3. Use metronidazole as the preferred treatment in the United States. The cure rate is 85 to 90 percent with dizziness, headaches, a metallic taste and nausea as side effects. The adult dose is 250 mg and the pediatric dose is 5 mg/kg. Metronidazole is given orally for five to seven days.

4. Prescribe tinidazole outside the United States as a first-line choice with gastrointestinal upset as the only common side effect. The recommended adult dose is 2 g and the pediatric dosage is 50 mg/kg. Tinidazole is administered once.

5. Consider quinacrine as an effective alternative with a cure rate of 90 to 95 percent. The recommended adult dose is 100 mg and the pediatric dosage is 2 mg/kg. Quinacrine is given orally for five to seven days.

Resources

• More About Treating Giardiasis

Who Can Help Sponsored

• How to Lose 30+lbs Guaranteed. Try it Free.