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