Giardia is a waterborne parasite that can cause an infection known as giardiasis in the intestinal tracts of its host. This parasite is found in water around the world but thrives in unsanitary conditions and untreated water. This does not mean that having access to treated water from your local municipality will eliminate the risk since the parasite can survive in treated water, city water, wells, and swimming pools; however, having access to clean water is the first step in disease prevention.
Exposure happens primarily through water, but patients can also contract the parasite through eating food that was prepared with water that has active parasites. Giardia can also be transmitted from person-to-person contact as the giardia parasite can be present in stool and transmitted through unsanitary conditions or through common everyday contact, such as diaper changing of infected infants, or through lack of good handwashing hygiene. People at greatest risk for exposure are those with no access to clean water. Further at-risk groups include children who often are in the early stages of learning personal and handwashing hygiene; those who care for young children are also at greater risk as well.
Giardiasis is a treatable infection with different prescription drugs that kill the parasites. It is important to seriously evaluate the signs of giardiasis and seek treatment because of the complications that can occur with severe and long-lasting cases of giardiasis, such as weight loss and failure to thrive among children due to chronic diarrhea as well as the risk to all populations for complications due to severe dehydration.
1. Abdomen Pain
Abdomen pain is one of the most common symptoms of giardiasis onset. Most people who have been exposed to the giardia parasite do not begin to show symptoms until a week to ten days after exposure. Abdomen pain may present itself as a sudden cramp that eases or it may present itself as a series of chronic, ongoing cramps with varying levels of pain. When visiting the doctor to test for giardia infection, the doctor may examine the person by pressing on their abdomen to test for any tenderness or sensitivity due to the infection. Abdominal pain may also be linked to the onset of other digestive symptoms.
For many patients who contract the giardia parasite and do not realize it or do not seek or have access to treatment, the parasitic infection can and will run its course over the span of anywhere from two to six weeks. In some cases, however, the parasite can linger for months or, more rare, for years, and cause ongoing abdomen pain as well as other symptoms. This pain can be debilitating for the patient; additionally, the ongoing pain and the chronic symptoms that are seen in long-term giardiasis can cause health complications, especially for patients such as young children who are still actively growing.
2. Diarrhea
The second most common symptom of giardiasis onset is diarrhea which can be accompanied by abdominal cramping. The risks associated should be taken seriously given the risk of dehydration to the patient. For patients suffering from giardiasis who are young children, dehydration can lead to complications that require hospitalization in order to maintain proper hydration. Dehydration caused by giardiasis is also a serious concern for patients in hot climates with no access to air conditioning as the heat and temperature can compound the seriousness of the dehydration. Upwards of 60%-90% of patients who contract giardiasis will experience diarrhea.
3. Belching
Because of the manner in which your body reacts to the infection of the giardia, one symptom of giardiasis infection can be a rapid onset of increased belching that accompanies abdominal discomfort or churning. This symptom can be prolonged and also more odorous than a normal belch as the patient’s body seeks to rid itself of the abdominal gas that is a side effect of the immune system fighting the giardiasis infection. Belching may also be uncomfortable and painful as the patient’s abdomen cramps and their intestinal tract reacts to the giardia infection. The odor that accompanies the belching may have a vague sulfurous smell to it similar to rotten eggs.
4. Bloating
Bloating is a common symptom of giardiasis infection as the body reacts to the parasite and gas is produced as a by-product. This symptom may be painful and may make the patient uncomfortable and unable to find relief. Due to the gas causing the bloating, patients who experience this symptom should expect to have noisy bowel sounds, belching, and flatulence. The flatulence may be painful or may be followed quickly by the onset of other symptoms. Bloating may also visibly distend the abdomen of the patient; a patient seeking medical care should expect their physician to check their abdomen for distension as well as for tenderness due to the bloating.
5. Fat in Stool
The giardia parasite within the small intestine of the patient can impact the ability of the small intestine to absorb fat and other nutrients from the patient’s food. This malabsorption can have long-range effects on the patient. One effect is the presence of a high concentration of fat in the patient’s stool. The stool of giardia parasite infected patients can appear greasy or fatty; it may float on the surface of the toilet water and not sink due to the fat content. Malabsorption of nutrients such as fat can lead not only to fatty stools but can cause the patient to lose weight if the infection is not treated in a timely fashion.
6. Indigestion
In the early stages of the onset of giardia infection, a patient may be subjected to a sense of having a churning, rocking stomach and a feeling of great unease in their stomach. This symptom may be simply uncomfortable, causing a roiling and churning in the gut; this symptom may also progressively become painful and be the precursor to the onset of other symptoms. Patients who experience indigestion with giardia infection may have an upset stomach for the duration of the infection and this symptom may linger even after treatment for giardia infection as the digestive tract heals itself from the inflammation caused by the infection.
7. Nausea
Along with indigestion and a sense of a churning stomach, patients who contract giardia parasitic infection may find themselves overwhelmed by a sense of constant nausea that cannot be easily subdued. Even after treatment to kill the parasite, some patients may experience a sense of chronic, long-term, mild nausea as their digestive system heals. This symptom may be triggered by the sight or smell of food or it may simply be a chronic and day-long sense of being nauseated that plagues the patient and makes them food averse. This symptom may also be a precursor symptom that warns the patient to expect an onset of stomach purging.
8. Vomiting
As the symptoms of giardiasis increase, from abdominal pain to churning of the stomach and indigestion, to nausea and an overall sense of gastric distress, patients may also experience the onset of vomiting. While most patients will experience diarrhea with giardia infection, vomiting is less common but can cause many of the same complications. Patients who experience long bouts or chronic vomiting with giardia infection are at greater risk for dehydration and the complications associated with dehydration. These patients are also at greater risk for weight loss and loss of needed nutrients, a factor that can be particularly harmful to small children with giardia.
9. Fatigue
The wide range of symptoms caused by giardia can leave a patient feeling greatly fatigued due to the gastric distress caused by the infection and the symptoms which can sometimes be sudden and explosive in nature, particularly vomiting. As the patient deals with the symptoms of gastric distress to their system, the patient becomes both dehydrated and loses important calories and nutrients needed from food that is lost through those symptoms. The loss of energy for the body via food and its calories coupled with the greater dehydration can leave patients fatigued and lethargic while the parasitic infection is active.
10. Loss of Appetite
Patients suffering from giardia parasitic infection suffer from a wide range of symptoms that cause havoc on the digestive system. The onset of these symptoms that cause the patient gastric distress can create a vicious cycle for the patient wherein they actively lose nutrients and calories they need due to the symptoms but have no appetite for eating any food that might help to defray or replace that calorie and nutrient loss. Overall, giardiasis infection causes symptoms that often make patients food adverse, such as indigestion, nausea, and stomach purging. In severe cases of giardiasis, patients may need hospitalization to receive IV therapy for nutrients and hydration.
