Have you been diagnosed with Giardia?

[the starchild]

stop, you're both right! Its a floor wax AND a desert topping!

i don't think its as bad as its made out to be nor is it a black and white issue. some get it, some don't, some bad, some don't know it.

stop, you're both right! Its a floor wax AND a desert topping!

i meant to say its not this thing out there just waiting to get anyone and everyone drinking any water without treating it. I also meant that some people do get it and its not that bad.

from the article i linked to it seems like its not a matter of: if you got it, you're gonna get real sick. Some people get real sick. some not too sick. some don't get sick. its all grey area, not black and white.

DougPaul, i totally trust giardia got you good as it has many others. I also believe many people have drunk untreated water and had mild cases or no symptoms at all.
I wasn't trying to say that when you get a strong case of it, it ain't all that bad. sounds pretty nasty to me. but you prolly got some resistance now

just proves, if it doesn't kill you, it'll only make you stronger.

 

[skibones]

I was curious to see if there were other ways of contracting Giardia and this is the info I got from the CDC:

The Giardia parasite lives in the intestine of infected humans or animals. Millions of germs can be released in a bowel movement from an infected human or animal. Giardia is found in soil, food, water, or surfaces that have been contaminated with the feces from infected humans or animals. You can become infected after accidentally swallowing the parasite; you cannot become infected through contact with blood. Giardia can be spread by:

* Accidentally putting something into your mouth or swallowing something that has come into contact with feces of a person or animal infected with Giardia.
* Swallowing recreational water contaminated with Giardia. Recreational water includes water in swimming pools, hot tubs, jacuzzis, fountains, lakes, rivers, springs, ponds, or streams that can be contaminated with sewage or feces from humans or animals.
* Eating uncooked food contaminated with Giardia.
* Accidentally swallowing Giardia picked up from surfaces (such as bathroom fixtures, changing tables, diaper pails, or toys) contaminated with feces from an infected person.

So does anyone else bring antibacterial gel or wipes on a trip. I carry them everywhere i go --even backpacking.

 

[jrichard]

One CDC report mentions:

Although community waterborne outbreaks of giardiasis have received the
greatest publicity in the United States during the past decade, about half
of the Giardia cases discussed with staff of the Centers for Disease
Control in the past 2 to 3 years have a
day-care center exposure as the most likely source of infection. Numerous
outbreaks of Giardia in day-care centers have been reported in recent
years. Infection rates for children in day-care center outbreaks range
from 21 to 44% in the United states and
from 8 to 27% in Canada (12,13,14,15,16,17). The highest infection rates
are usually observed in children who wear diapers (l to 3 years of age).
In one study of 18 randomly selected day care centers in Atlanta (CDC
unpublished data), 10% of diapered children were found infected.
Transmission from this age group to older children, day-care staff, and
household contacts is also common. About 20% of parents caring for an
infected child will come infected.

I do use an alcohol gel in the backcountry and those wipes that skibones mentioned elsewhere too.

 

[DougPaul]

So does anyone else bring antibacterial gel or wipes on a trip. I carry them everywhere i go --even backpacking.

I bring hand sanitizer on dayhikes and weekend hikes. For longer trips, I'd just use soap and water.

BTW, there is some emerging evidence that hand sanitizer (active ingredient ethanol) is not as effective as soap and water for getting rid of certain viruses (including the Norwalk virus).

The human hand is a major route for many pathogens. Washing it significantly improves one's chances of avoiding them.

Doug

 

[skibones]

I was told long ago that rubbing your hands together while wahsing was very importatnt to kiil bacteria. Getting soap or gel under the nails is also important. I like keeping my nails short-bacteria can't hide as easily under short nails.

 

[Periwinkle]

Anyone who has answered “yes” to this poll needs to be especially vigilant about answering nature’s call. People who have had giardiasis are more likely to get asymptomatic giardiasis. You don’t want to be a Typhoid Mary on the trail.

Hand sanitizer is a good idea in general, not just for potty stops. Learned this the hard way this spring, when I got conjunctivitis after rubbing my eye with a dirty finger on an overnight trip. Gross. Won't do that again.

BTW, my dogs drink untreated water in the Whites and have never contracted giardiasis. I contracted it on Nantucket (assumed from food-service).

 

[porky]

Periwinkle,

The rule of universal precautions should apply in the backcountry as certainly as in more civilized settings. Anyone of us can carry a communicatible disease without knowing it, and even if we don't, our s**t still stinks. Therefore, *everyone* should be especially vigilant with their waste,
porky

 

[Raymond]

I thought I had it while on a five-day trip along the Pacific Crest Trail back in ’84, but my doctor checked me when I got home and he said I didn’t have it.

I then decided that I must be lactose intolerant. The doctor said no to that, also, but I’m still taking pills to treat it.

It’s interesting that DougPaul’s test came up negative, too.

 

[thuja]

I wonder how many of us would test positive for antibodies against giardia.

The operative question is how many of us are *carriers*. Probably quite a few. Particularly those of us who have been just drinking the water without ill effects for a long time.

 

[DougPaul]

I then decided that I must be lactose intolerant. The doctor said no to that, also, but I’m still taking pills to treat it.

Lactose intolerance is very easy to test for--eat a milk/milk-product free diet one day and the exact same diet the next plus milk. If you get no symptoms on the milk-free day but symptoms on the plus milk day you probably are lactose intolerant. (Symptoms are gas, diarrhea, abdominal swelling within a few hours of consuming lactose.) Since the underlying problem is decreased production of the enzyme lactase, you can be in an intermediate state where you tolerate a small amout of milk, but not a lot. Not serious, not transmissable. Lots of info on the web.

There are other foods that cause similar symptoms due to loss/reduction of a digestive enzyme in some people.

It’s interesting that DougPaul’s test came up negative, too.

My test was a stool test. IIRC, it did not always show the presence of Giardia, even if you are carrying the parasite. IIRC, the parasitic cysts tend to be shed in waves and perhaps my tests occurred between the waves.

Doug

 

[Waumbek]

I thought I had it while on a five-day trip along the Pacific Crest Trail back in ’84, but my doctor checked me when I got home and he said I didn’t have it. I then decided that I must be lactose intolerant. The doctor said no to that, also, but I’m still taking pills to treat it.
It’s interesting that DougPaul’s test came up negative, too.

Giardia infestations can cause lactose intolerance.

 

[DougPaul]

Giardia infestations can cause lactose intolerance.

The two have similar symptoms and the combination could push the quantity of intestinal gas beyond the threshold. (We all produce intestinal gas--if the quantity is small enough there are no symptoms, if too large then we get symptoms.)

The mechanisms seem independent to me--any references?

Doug

 

[Johnnycakes]

For those who have had Giardia, was vomiting one of your symptoms?


Likewise, for those who have had crypto, was vomiting one of your symptoms?