Giardiasis is a fairly common disease in both adults and children caused by protozoan microorganisms. Lamblias lead a parasitic lifestyle at the expense of a person or an animal.
They enter the body in the form of cysts, in an inactive form and begin to multiply, as soon as they get into comfortable conditions for them. The incubation period is one to two weeks.
The causes of lamblia in children
The cause of infection with lamblia in children is the failure to observe basic hygiene rules, namely: dirty hands, unwashed vegetables and fruits, dirty water. Also, peddlers of cysts (which for a long time retain viability in the environment) are flies.
Giardia in children under the age of one year can move from a sick mother to a child through milk and dirty hands.
In kindergartens and schools, the incidence of lambliasis reaches 70%. If your child has a habit of gnawing nails, pens, and all that is in his hands, then he has a great chance to catch lamblia.
The danger of lambliasis is that giardia feeds on substances intended for normal human activity. Especially it is dangerous in childhood, when the development of the body. The child receives less nutrients, and its growth slows down. The baby has an appetite, an allergic reaction, because in the course of his life lyamblias release the products of their vital activity into the child's body, causing intoxication.
Until recently, it was believed that lamblia settled in the liver, bile ducts and even in the blood of children. But recent studies have refuted this, and found that parasites live only in the small intestine.
Lamblias: Symptoms in Children
The signs of lamblia in children include abdominal pains - mostly around the navel, less often in the liver. The pain is of a periodic nature, not dependent on food intake. One of the main symptoms is an unstable chair - from constipation to diarrhea. In the feces, mucus is visible to the naked eye. Bloating and belching do not always indicate infection with lamblia.
Diagnosis of Giardiasis is very problematic. Because they can be detected at a certain stage of development. To diagnose a feces study is prescribed for the presence of lamblia cysts, but, as a rule, such analysis turns out to be of little informative.
To date, the most accurate method for detecting cysts of lamblia in children is bioscopy of the duodenum, but this procedure is very painful. The newest is an enzyme immunoassay, when antibodies to lamblia are detected. However, it must be remembered that they can be identified only three weeks after infection. Since the diagnosis of lamblias is not easy enough, several types of studies are prescribed to most likely put or deny the diagnosis.
How to cure lamblia in a child?
Diet in the treatment of lamblia in children plays a big role. It is necessary to exclude products containing carbohydrates. And this:
- sweets (sweets, chocolate, cakes, honey, cakes);
- carbonated drinks;
- whole milk;
- sausage, sausages;
- bakery products;
- fried foods, conservation.
It should be included in the diet of the child more sour-milk products, berries and fruits, because the acid has a harmful effect on lamblia.
Antiparasitic drugs for lamblia, recommended for children, appoint a doctor. They must be taken in parallel with enterosorbents, anti-inflammatory drugs and digestive enzymes to normalize the digestion in a child.