Giardia During Pregnancy In A Nursing Mother: Why Are They Dangerous?

2023 Author: Riley Dean | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-11-27 09:15

• 1 Symptoms of infection during pregnancy
• 2 Why are lamblia dangerous for a pregnant woman?
• 3 Causes of Giardia infection during pregnancy
• 4 Treatment of giardiasis in pregnant women
• 5 Prevention of giardiasis during pregnancy

Giardia is called the smallest parasite of the flagellate class. Affecting the digestive organs, lamblia colonies cause malnutrition, provoke pathological disorders of the life support system. Giardia is especially dangerous during pregnancy, lactation.

Symptoms of infection during pregnancy

The early stages of the disease do not have pronounced symptoms, the incubation period can be up to a year. Giardiasis manifests itself in the body of a pregnant woman with an excessive accumulation of toxins released by microorganisms. The main localization of microbes is in the intestines, so the symptoms are associated with the gastrointestinal tract. In addition, signs of neuropsychiatric and allergic disorders are often present. There are two forms of the disease:

Acute, characterized by the following symptoms:

• frequent diarrhea with watery stools;
• a sharp increase in body temperature;
• rashes that appear 5-6 days after the onset of the first symptoms;
• atopic dermatitis, but only in pregnant women prone to allergic reactions;
• a state of general malaise.

The chronic form has the following symptoms:

• biliary dyskinesia;
• high gas production;
• diarrhea;
• headaches;
• general weakness;
• pain in the abdomen.

Finding the first signs of the disease, the expectant mother needs to consult a doctor. Parasites in the body cause toxic poisoning of the esophagus, internal organs and can lead to dire consequences.

Why are lamblia dangerous for a pregnant woman?

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Giardiasis in pregnant women leads to the development of pathologies of the small intestine, can provoke severe forms of allergy. A particular danger lies in the violation of fetal development - toxic substances serve as a source of infections, and the body of the expectant mother is rather weakened and cannot fully resist diseases.

1. Parasites select a large amount of nutrients from mother to child;
2. Giardia affects directly the composition of the mother's blood, reducing the total number of red blood cells, and, consequently, reducing the supply of oxygen to the baby, which can lead to intrauterine pathologies in the development of the unborn baby.

Causes of infection with lamblia during pregnancy

The main cause of infection is lack of hygiene. In order to prevent giardiasis from affecting the fetus, the expectant mother needs to observe personal hygiene. The carrier of the infection can be a pet, a human carrier, sometimes lamblia settle in water.

During pregnancy, you should not often visit public pools, swim in untreated reservoirs. Personal hygiene needs to be even more thorough. You should rinse as thoroughly as possible fruits and vegetables that are not exposed to heat treatment and try to protect yourself from contact with a large number of people.

Treatment of giardiasis in pregnant women

Diagnosis of the disease during pregnancy is carried out only by an experienced specialist. The doctor takes into account not only the symptoms of giardiasis, but also the results of the analysis of feces. As soon as an accurate diagnosis is made, treatment should be started immediately, microorganisms are extremely dangerous to human health, and during the period of gestation, the danger doubles.

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The high risk of teratogenic effects of drugs used for therapeutic purposes makes therapy more cautious. Treatment is usually postponed until the second trimester of gestation or postponed until the postpartum period, when the nursing mother can take medication. In total, there are three stages of treatment:

Destruction of the pathogen of pathology, improvement of the gastrointestinal tract, elimination of toxicosis, support of immunity. A diet is prescribed with the exception of dairy, carbohydrate-containing foods. To consolidate the effect, choleretic, absorbent agents can be prescribed. The goal of this stage is to stop the development and reproduction of lamblia. The period of therapy is from 15 days to the period recommended by the doctor

1. Treatment with antiparasitic drugs: Albendazole, Trichopolum, Furazolidone and others. The choice of medication depends on the age, the characteristics of the mother's body, the type of feeding (artificial, natural). The duration of therapy is determined individually. You should know that all drugs have a direct effect on lamblia and are extremely toxic in composition.
2. Rehabilitation. The stage is aimed at restoring and strengthening the patient's immunity. Vitamin complexes, adaptogens, and enzyme preparations are prescribed. The doctor may require maintenance of dietary therapy.

Prevention of giardiasis during pregnancy

Parasites settle in the body due to lack of hygiene. Prevention of giardiasis during pregnancy implies the following rules:

1. Thorough processing of vegetables, fruits;
2. Control examinations of the patient for the presence of parasites;
3. Limitation of contacts;
4. Disinfection of personal and household items of general use.

The easiest way is to boil all items in a soda solution. Despite the high resistance of the parasites, they die when boiled. Pregnancy and giardiasis are incompatible concepts. Toxic substances affect the mother's body, have a negative effect on the unborn baby. However, despite the great threat, it is quite simple to prevent the disease.

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