Lamblia are the simplest microorganisms that parasitize mainly in the small intestine, but with a sharp increase in the number of individuals they can enter the bile ducts and the liver. The appearance of lamblia in the liver gives birth to several pathologies, not fatal, but capable of significantly impairing the quality of life of both the adult and the child. How do parasites get into the liver? How do they look? What symptoms can indicate the defeat of the organ described? Is there an effective treatment against such an infection? Answers in the article.
Causes of Giardiasis of the liver
There are several ways of infection. Ljamblii in an organism of the adult or the child get:
- Orally through dirty hands and the dirty vegetables.
- Contact and household way through close communication with an already infected person( thus, children are most often infected).
- Water by using unboiled tap water, swimming in open water.
Infection of the liver is directly related to the characteristics of the lamblia life cycle. Getting into the intestine, cysts( similar to spores) under the action of bile turn into trophozoite( microscopic organisms, larger than bacteria, but several times smaller than the smallest helminth).This vegetative form actively parasitizes in the intestine, attaching itself to villi of the mucous layer with the help of a sucking disc. The danger of infection with Giardia is that they, consuming parietal juices, consume almost all substances found in the split food. In this case, there are violations in the production of enzymes, in reducing the absorption of carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals. That is why one part of the treatment of infection is of a complementary nature, that is why it is necessary to remove unicellular parasites from the body as soon as possible.
Long parasitic lamblia leads to inflammation of the walls of the small intestine, to the appearance of dangerous atrophic phenomena, which completely upset the basic functions of the gastrointestinal tract. It is these processes in adults and children that cause pathological changes in the liver and in the pancreas. Lamblias themselves, as recent scientific studies have shown, can not be present there. An ideal habitat for the protozoa is hollow organs that communicate with the external environment, such as the small intestine. Under the influence of bile, the trophozoites are converted into cysts - into a form that can not parasitize independently. It only stores genetic information about the species, and serves as a kind of incubator that reproduces trophozoite. The presence of cysts in feces is the main symptom of infection with lamblia. It allows you to give rise to the formation of a treatment regimen.
But prolonged parasitism of lamblia, uncontrolled increase in their number, weak immunity, low level of bile production leads to the fact that trophozoites, which can move in the lumen of the hollow organ with the help of several pairs of flagella, are taken to other organs, where there may be a favorablehabitat. For normal operation, they do not need oxygen, any other special conditions. The warm and humid environment is what is necessary for survival. The bile ducts and liver can provide this.
The lamblia does not live long in the liver, they quickly die, as the body described here completely lacks food for them. But they have a certain mechanical effect on the liver. In addition, the disruption of the gastrointestinal tract, as already mentioned above, also has a negative effect on the work of the main body purification filter. To understand that the infection affected the described body and you need to immediately begin treatment, you can by the characteristic symptoms.
Symptoms of lamblia in the liver
Symptoms of liver damage to Giardia can be manifested in both acute and chronic forms, and may be completely absent. In adults, for example, often a lambliasis of the liver proceeds without bright pathological changes. In children, on the contrary, most often manifest manifest manifestations of infection. That is why the development of the clinical picture depends on many factors: the age of the infected, the general condition of his body, the level of immunity, the presence of other concomitant diseases.
Hepatic lambliasis is always a continuation of the intestinal infection. That is why the symptoms of intestinal diseases appear first. Both adults and children can complain about:
- Decreased appetite.
- Constant bloating.
- Heartburn and eructation.
- Nausea and vomiting.
- Change of constipation diarrhea.
- Stable weight loss.
To such manifestations in advanced stages are often added symptoms of a disorder of the nervous system. The adult patient appears apathy, irritation, weakness weak and fast fatigue, prolonged deterioration of sleep. Children do not eat well and are often capricious. The presence of lambliasis of the liver can indicate headaches, discoloration of the skin, the appearance of allergic reactions in the form of dermatitis, eczema and skin rashes.
Ignoring such symptoms leads to the fact that other internal organs become involved in pathological processes. Such a complication is indicated by the following characteristic symptoms:
- The low-grade fever( 37-37.5 is kept for several days).If there are no symptoms of respiratory infection, you can suspect lambliasis.
- Pain in the right upper quadrant.
- The liver, spleen, and lymph nodes are markedly enlarged in size. Palpation allows you to identify the soreness in the area of the indicated organs.
- Constant bitterness in the mouth.
- Severe lagging of the tongue, yellowing.
In addition to the above symptoms during the course of the hepatic form of giardiasis, some adults and children exhibit signs of a disorder of the hepatobiliary system. They are expressed in the form of the development of such a disease as cholecystitis. Today, the diagnosis of "hepatic lambliasis" among doctors and scientists is a matter of constant controversy. Some believe that lamblia can not parasitize in the liver, others indicate the possibility of the appearance in the description of the clinical picture of the symptoms described above - obvious signs of the pathological processes taking place in the main purification filter. That is why in each specific case a list of necessary diagnostic studies is formed, helping to identify the nature of the appearance of nonspecific symptoms, to reject other serious diseases that can provoke such a symptomatology.
Liver tests in the liver in adults
To determine the presence of lamblia in the liver in adults is quite difficult, so to confirm the diagnosis used to start methods for detecting the intestinal form. How to test the fact of carriage of the simplest flagellate parasites? There are several ways. The most common of them:
- Study of stool for the presence of cysts.
- Blood test for antibodies to lamblia.
- Study of duodenal contents.
Changes in the liver are determined using:
- ultrasound( it shows an organ increase).
- Hepatic assays.
- Biochemical hepatogram.
How is hepatic lambliasis diagnosed in children?
In case of untimely detection of infection in children, the risk of a sharp deterioration in general condition increases. The situation is aggravated by the fact that not every diagnostic method can be used to detect lamblia in the liver. Only for examination of babies over the age of ten can be used and immunological studies, and serological, and copyscopy, and the study of duodenal contents. To diagnose giardiasis in children under 10 years of age, only fecal analysis is used.
The complexity of this diagnosis is that it is possible to identify cysts in faeces if a "warm" feces is collected( collected 2 hours before the study).Making a baby on time to poke hard is difficult. Doing a duodenal study before the age of ten due to the complexity of the procedure is not possible. Changes that ultrasound and liver tests can show are similar to changes in many other diseases, so survey data can not be effective. Therefore, the main aspect of setting the right diagnosis is the extensive experience of the attending physician.
Treatment of lamblia in the liver
When answering the question how to get rid of lamblia in the liver, doctors pay attention to the need for complex therapy:
- Throughout the treatment, the patient is advised to keep a diet that will allow the formation of conditions in which lamblia will find it difficult to normally exist in the intestine( as few carbohydrates as possible and as many proteins as possible).
- At the heart of drug therapy are used drugs that help detoxify the body, stimulate the production of enzymes, stabilize immunity. The course of taking pills is two weeks.
- In the second stage, antiparasitic therapy is performed. Adult patients are appointed Trichopolum or Furazolidone, children recently recommended to give Macmirror. Tablets help to remove parasites and eliminate their pathological effect of internal organs.
- The third stage of lamblia treatment in the liver is devoted to improving immunity, stimulating intestinal motility, restoring normal microflora, and eliminating symptoms of liver damage.
It is important throughout the entire treatment of giardiasis of the liver to continue taking enterosorbents and antihistamines. To accelerate the recovery process help folk remedies( such as beekeeping products, for example).When studying the question of how to treat and withdraw Giardia, it is important to understand that taking these antiparasitic tablets causes mass death of parasites. This process leads to the formation of a large number of toxins. This explains why in the first three days of treatment the condition of adult patients and children is significantly deteriorating.
The indicated circumstance should not disturb anyone. To create an effective and safe treatment regimen and to remove microscopic parasites from the human body is capable only of a doctor. He will be able to assess the real state, explore the polyphony of symptoms and prescribe the right dosage of drugs, pick up the necessary folk remedies capable of restoring the liver, stomach and intestines. They can be used only after the main medication course.