Giardia In Adults - Symptoms, Diagnosis And Treatment

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Giardia In Adults - Symptoms, Diagnosis And Treatment
Giardia In Adults - Symptoms, Diagnosis And Treatment

Video: Giardia In Adults - Symptoms, Diagnosis And Treatment

Video: Giardia In Adults - Symptoms, Diagnosis And Treatment
Video: Giardiasis 2024, March
Anonim

Giardia in adults is a parasitic disease. Giardia harm the body, causing intoxication with its vital activity. You can get infected with giardiasis by contact-household, food, and also water. Diagnose the disease with blood or feces tests, as well as using a specific diagnostic method.

Giardiasis is a disease that affects the bile ducts of the liver and the upper part of the

human small intestine. The frequency of infection with giardiasis in children is an order of magnitude higher than in adults. In children, this is caused by a lower threshold for personal hygiene control and is often found in preschool children.

Treatment of lamblia in adults
Treatment of lamblia in adults

Also, a key factor in the disease in children in preschool age is nutrition, which is represented mainly by liquid food and is carried out with the help of parietal digestion, i.e. by hydrolysis of small molecular substances by microvilli by intestinal epithelial cells (enterocytes).

Giardia in adults - is a parasitic protozoa from the class of flagellates that feed heterotrophically, ie ready-made organic compounds in the body. Giardia is a parasite that is found in all mammals, including humans.

The life cycle of lamblia is divided into two stages:

  • vegetative stage or trophozoite: it is an active, mobile, pear-shaped form that multiplies under favorable conditions by binary division of the vegetative form in the small intestine. On the surface of the front part of the body there is a special suction disc with the help of which the parasite is attached to the microvilli on the membranes of enterocytes, which form a brush border and hydrolyze 80-90% of the substances supplied with food by parietal digestion.
  • cyst stage: in lamblia, it performs the function of protection and distribution. The formation of cysts occurs with a high level of bile secretion in the liver, the general condition of the digestive system against the background of fasting or a special diet. The accumulation of cysts occurs in the distant part of the small intestine, the colon and cecum. Further, cysts with feces are excreted into the environment.

The content of the article:

  • 1 Ways of infection with lambiosis in adults
  • 2 Diagnosis of giardiasis in an adult
  • 3 Signs of giardiasis in an adult
  • 4 Giardiasis of the intestine in an adult
  • 5 Diet for giardiasis in adults

    • 5.1 What is not recommended for adults with giardiasis
    • 5.2 What an adult needs to eat with giardiasis
  • 6 Treatment of giardiasis in adults

    • 6.1 The first stage of treatment of lambiosis in adults
    • 6.2 The second stage of treatment of lambiosis in adults
    • 6.3 The third stage of treatment of giardiasis in adults
  • 7 What doctor treats giardiasis in adults

Ways of infection with lambiosis in adults

Before figuring out how to cure giardiasis, you need to figure out where the lamblia comes from. This is a very important point, because in order to say goodbye to them forever, you need to understand where to expect threats.

Treatment of lamblia in adults
Treatment of lamblia in adults

With any route of infection, microorganisms enter the intestines when a person is inattentive to their own health. Every day people have to take up various objects, use them, eat different foods, swim, drink - and everywhere they are constantly found with cysts.

To protect yourself, it is enough to wash your hands and food. This method most often perfectly protects against various types of parasites.

Also, giardiasis is often carried by pets and outdoor animals. After talking with them, you also need to remember about water and soap.

Giardia cysts can appear in the following ways:

  1. contact and household: it involves ignoring the simplest rules of personal hygiene. We are talking about washing hands and everything that can get into the mouth (dishes, toys, etc.);
  2. aquatic: giardiasis appears when unboiled water is used - from a tap, a well, natural reservoirs. You should forever forget about "drinking from the hoof", as such liberties often go sideways. Of course, no one becomes a kid, but Giardia in adults and children has to be treated regularly;
  3. food: with a high probability, a person will never know what giardiasis is, if he always thoroughly wash food and do not forget about heat treatment. This, of course, takes some time, however, treatment for lamblia in adults requires a lot of effort.

Diagnosis of giardiasis in an adult

Giardia in adults. It is very difficult to detect the presence of parasites in stool or blood with standard diagnostic methods. Therefore, there is an already established scheme for carrying out diagnostic measures, with the help of which giardiasis disease in adults is effectively detected, and treatment is selected.

At the first stage, the upper intestine is examined using a probe, the contents of the stomach are also studied in parallel with the first stage, the feces are analyzed, cysts should be detected in it.

In addition, there is a specific diagnosis that detects antibodies to parasites in the blood plasma. This is how the diagnosis is clarified in case of dubious results of the previous stages of diagnosis and as the selection of the optimal means for the treatment of adults.

Since with giardiasis there is an incubation period in which the analysis will be clean, this diagnosis is carried out four times with an interval of one week; one of the most modern methods is intertest. After cleansing the intestines, parasites are found on the threads in a sick person.

Signs of giardiasis in an adult

Giardia in adults. Despite the broad clinical picture of giardiasis, it is very difficult to establish this diagnosis, since most of the symptoms are nonspecific and can be a manifestation of a host of other diseases. It should be noted that in more than half of the cases, the disease may be asymptomatic. In this case, a person is a carrier and is also contagious to others.

Mastering the human body, lamblia secrete waste products that are toxic to our body. Intoxication, which develops against this background, is accompanied by an increase in body temperature to 37-37.5 °, an increase in tonsils, lymph nodes, and frequent concomitant infections.

Untreated acute form of giardiasis becomes chronic. At the same time, all the signs of the acute stage remain, but allergic manifestations and signs of reduced immunity come to the fore.

Keratosis and xerosis are often signs of the chronic stage of giardiasis. The first manifests itself as inflammatory spots on the shoulders, which over time become crusted or flaky, and the second is accompanied by peeling of the heels in winter and autumn.

Allergy manifests itself in the form of dermatitis and urticaria. They are rather difficult and persist for a long time. Development of asthmatic bronchitis and bronchial asthma is possible. A distinctive feature of allergic reactions in this disease is the ineffectiveness of antihistamines and the absence of visible causes of allergies.

Stomatitis develops, the skin on the palms and feet comes off in layers. Signs of intoxication persist. The liver is affected, which is detected not only by digestive disorders, but also by yellowing of the skin, more often the upper part of the body.

Treatment of lamblia in adults
Treatment of lamblia in adults

The female body is especially susceptible to this helminthic invasion. This is due to the fact that, due to the physiological characteristics of a woman, her hormonal background is constantly changing. To a large extent, this applies to pregnant women. An unstable level of hormones entails a change in the severity of immunity, which is a favorable condition for the invasion of the parasite.

To identify the symptoms of giardiasis in women, you need to pay attention to the following manifestations: disruptions of the menstrual cycle; vaginal discharge, pain in the lower abdomen, indicating inflammation of the genitals; disorders in the work of the kidneys.

Signs of giardiasis in adults are manifested in the form of the following syndromes:

  • dyspeptic: manifests itself in almost 100% of cases. It is characterized by damage to the intestines, liver and includes the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, belching, decreased appetite; pain in the abdomen around the navel, less often in the liver. Increased with eating; weight loss; increased gas production, bubbling in the intestines; bitter taste in the mouth, increased salivation; at the beginning of the disease, the stool is liquid and foamy, more frequent - up to 8 times a day. Then it becomes thicker, with admixtures of fat; lack of vitamins demonstrates itself as a violation of the structure of the nail plates, hair loss, dry skin; impaired absorption of nutrients causes pallor of the skin, cracked lips, wounds in their corners;
  • neurotic syndrome: has the following manifestations: fatigue, nervousness; headache; mental disorders, nightmares, insomnia; feeling of anxiety, emotionlessness; vegetative-vascular dystonia; weakness, decreased performance;
  • allergic syndrome: can act in the form of catarrhal phenomena - cough, runny nose, as well as rashes on the skin and even the development of bronchial asthma.

Giardiasis of the intestine in an adult

Giardia in adults. Giardia begins its parasitic path in the human body from the small intestine. They get there in the form of cysts, shed their shell and turn into an adult. 1 cyst produces 2 vegetative forms.

First, the process is localized in the initial section of the small intestine. Here pathogens begin to actively divide: up to 1 million lamblia can fall on 1 cm². Then they pass into other areas of the intestine, as well as into the duodenum. Moving individuals, getting into the intestine, cling to the villi of the epithelium, which lines its walls.

This is a very good place for the parasite, because it is through the villi that all nutrients are absorbed: proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, microelements - that is, everything due to which the human body lives and functions. Giardial worm takes it away, sucking it off with its flagella.

An infected person becomes dangerous to others 10-20 days after infection. The most infectious person is during the period of absence of manifestations of the disease, since the work of the intestines is getting better and lamblia is actively developing in it.

The above process is accompanied by swelling of the intestinal mucosa, its atrophy, nerve damage, and the development of pathogenic flora. These changes "dictate" the symptoms of intestinal giardiasis: abdominal pain, bloating, stool disturbance, nausea, dysbiosis.

Giardia, not adhering to the villous epithelium, pass into the final part of the intestinal tract - the large intestine. Here, with good peristalsis, they again turn into cysts, covering themselves with a protective film. But with diarrhea, this reincarnation is disrupted, and unprotected organisms, entering the environment, are quickly destroyed.

Diet for giardiasis in adults

What is not recommended for adults with giardiasis

Giardia in adults. First of all, it is necessary to completely abandon any sweets, confectionery and baked goods containing sugar, fatty creams based on butter, margarine and cream. You will also have to remove sugar, honey, jam, chocolate, sugary drinks from the table.

You should not eat sweet fruits (pears, grapes, persimmons, bananas, peaches, melons) and berries, as well as juices from them. Drinking black coffee is not recommended as it can have a negative effect on digestion.

It is not recommended to use semolina, as it is rich in carbohydrates, albeit complex, and it is better to remove potatoes and beets from vegetables for a while.

Milk contains lactose - milk sugar, in addition, it can lead to increased gas production in the intestines, so it should also be excluded from the diet.

Porridge should be boiled in water, without adding whole milk. It is recommended to remove foods rich in starch from the diet. These include semi-finished products (sausages, sausages). To ensure peace of the inflamed mucous membrane of the gastrointestinal tract, vegetables rich in coarse fiber (white cabbage, radishes, radishes, etc.), legumes, bran, muesli should be removed from the diet.

Also, you should not eat smoked meats, pickles, caviar, canned food (even homemade), mushrooms, spices, horseradish, mustard, hot ketchups and sauces, fresh onions and garlic. For a while, you will have to give up fatty foods (fatty meat, fish, lard, butter).

What an adult needs to eat with giardiasis

Giardia in adults. The diet must be balanced, therefore, the presence of proteins, fats and complex carbohydrates is mandatory in the diet. It is necessary to eat low-fat meat and fish dishes, soups cooked in low-fat meat or vegetable broths. It is also allowed to eat seafood such as shrimp, crabs, mussels, squid.

Treatment of lamblia in adults
Treatment of lamblia in adults

Cereals serve as a source of complex carbohydrates for the body. It is necessary to eat cereals daily, cooked in water from buckwheat, oatmeal, barley, rice, wheat and other cereals. Vegetables and fruits are an irreplaceable source of vitamins and minerals. They can be eaten both fresh (salads or mashed potatoes), and boiled, baked or stewed.

Salads should be seasoned with vegetable oils or sour cream. With giardiasis, sour vegetables and fruits are very useful, they can be consumed if there are no other diseases for which they are contraindicated.

It is recommended to eat citrus fruits, kiwi, sour apples, as well as berries containing a large amount of pectin and natural acids (lingonberries, cranberries, viburnum, chokeberry, currants, blueberries, etc.).

Also, fermented milk products must be present in the diet. It is necessary to regularly eat low-fat cottage cheese, kefir, yogurt, fermented baked milk, unsweetened yogurt, sour cream. In most cases, giardiasis is accompanied by intestinal dysbiosis, therefore it is very useful to consume fermented milk products, additionally enriched with bifidobacteria and lactobacilli.

Treatment of lamblia in adults
Treatment of lamblia in adults

Attention should be paid to the drinking regime. You need to drink at least 1.5-2 liters of liquid per day (if there are no restrictions due to other diseases). Water should be drunk only boiled, it is allowed to use black tea (without milk), compotes, jelly, fruit drinks, freshly squeezed juices, herbal teas. Sugar should not be added to drinks; sweeteners can be used if necessary.

Treatment of giardiasis in adults

Giardia in adults. Treatment in adults is carried out in 3 stages:

  • improvement of intestinal activity, elimination of toxicosis, increased immunity;
  • antiparasitic drug treatment;
  • strengthening the defenses, creating conditions that prevent the reproduction of lamblia.

The first stage of treatment of giardiasis in adults

The first stage lasts no more than 2 weeks and includes the following treatment:

  • diet: impairing the reproduction of lamblia (limiting refined carbohydrates, an abundance of fiber and lean meals);
  • improvement of bile outflow: (choleretic herbs and drugs: immortelle, corn silk, febihol, etc.);
  • enterosorbents: to remove signs of toxicosis (Polyphepan, Enterosgel, Polysorb, activated carbon);
  • antiallergic drugs: (Loratadin, Diazolin, Cetrin, Desloratadine);

    enzyme preparations to improve digestion (Mezim-forte, Creon or Pancreatin).

The second stage of treatment of giardiasis in adults

Treatment of lamblia in adults
Treatment of lamblia in adults

Giardia in adults. At this stage, the intake of antiallergic drugs, enzyme preparations and sorbents continues.

Depending on the specific drug and treatment regimen, the duration of antiparasitic therapy can range from several days to a week or more. In some cases, the standard scheme provides for a repeated course after 1–2 weeks.

The second stage consists in taking drugs that act on the simplest:

  • Metronidazole (400 mg three times a day for 5-10 days);
  • Ornidazole (one-day or 5-10-day courses of taking the drug);
  • Fazizhina (course of treatment 1-2 days, 1 tablet 0.5 g 4 times a day);
  • Albendazole (0.4 g once a day for 5 days).

The third stage of treatment of giardiasis in adults

The third stage is designed to consolidate the achieved result and includes the following within 2–3 weeks:

  • anti-lambliasis diet;
  • multivitamins, adaptogens;
  • enzyme preparations;
  • probiotics (Bifiform, Bifidumbacterin, Linex, etc.).

What doctor treats giardiasis in adults

Giardia in adults. Due to the stronger immunity, adults tolerate the invasion of lamblia more easily than children. The disease is often latent in them, without pronounced or with mild symptoms.

Treatment of lamblia in adults
Treatment of lamblia in adults

Many patients do not consider a slight discomfort to be a sufficient reason to see a doctor. This, by the way, gives serious grounds to assume that the actual scale of infection with lamblia exceeds the officially recorded ones.

The subclinical nature of the disease does not mean that it can be ignored and not treated. Rather the opposite. The likelihood of complications even increases. Invasion in adults often occurs with pathologies of the biliary tract and liver.

Treatment of invasion is carried out in public and private clinics - general and specialized, in infectious and gastroenterological departments.

Which doctor treats giardiasis in adults? Since the disease primarily affects the intestines and causes indigestion, patients more often turn to a gastroenterologist, therapist or hepatologist than to an infectious disease specialist.

It doesn't really matter. All doctors work closely with each other. Any of them, having studied the clinical picture and seeing the possibility of giardiasis, will send the patient for tests or to a doctor of the required specialization.

Find out more:

  • Giardiasis (lamblia) in adults - signs, symptoms, treatment
  • Giardia symptoms - signs and treatment regimen in adults
  • Giardia in the liver: how to remove giardia from the liver
  • Giardia: what is it, how it manifests itself and how to treat it

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