There is a convenient classification of infection, which can provoke lamblia - unicellular parasites that enter the human body through dirty hands, use unwashed vegetables and fruits, drink unboiled tap water. It was formulated in 1998 by Russian scientists Shabalova and Staroverova. Studying the manifestations of infection, they identified an acute and chronic form of lambliasis.
Mechanisms for the development of Giardiasis have been well studied. Infection occurs when inside the gastrointestinal tract there are more than ten cyst-immobile forms of Giardia, within which, for the time being, up to the time, four cores rest. Cysts have a fairly strong shell, it is not afraid of the effects of acids, so the cysts safely survive the effects of gastric juice and, along with partially digested food, go further into the duodenum.
Here, under the action of bile, the cysts transform into trophozoites - into the vegetative form of lamblia, which actively parasitizes in the small intestine. The process of degeneration of cysts into trophozoites is called an incubation period. It lasts from one to four weeks. Right after it begins the acute phase of giardiasis. The period of vivid clinical manifestations lasts from five to seven days. It always flows like an acute intestinal infection. The similarity of the signs makes it difficult to formulate the correct diagnosis. Therefore, an experienced doctor, before drawing up a treatment regimen, will prescribe several diagnostic studies that will help him confirm or refute acute lambliasis. These are:
- Stool analysis for cysts.
- Blood test for antibodies to lamblia.
- Study of duodenal contents.
Positive responses to the listed diagnostic procedures indicate that the cause of the ailment are giardias. To make an accurate diagnosis helps and careful collection of an anamnesis of the disease.
Symptoms of acute giardiasis
Strong giardiasis in adults can be asymptomatic, which is why starting treatment is small when it is possible in the early stages of infection. In children up to fourteen years most often diagnosed is the described phase of the disease. A strong lambliasis with bright manifestations occurs when a large number of simple flagellar microorganisms settle in the intestine of a sick person( up to one million square centimeters).
Symptoms that most often appear during the acute course of the disease:
- Diarrhea, which develops without dehydration.
- Constant nausea, which can lead to short-term vomiting.
- Loss of appetite.
- Intestinal swelling, severe flatulence.
- The temperature may rise to 37-38 degrees.
- Occasionally there is a rash, similar to skin rashes, arising from rubella.
- The indicated manifestations pass in a week. Once strong diarrhea passes, the process of cyst release begins. A person becomes contagious to the people around him.
Acute lambliasis in children
It is noticed that in children of different ages a strong giardiasis shows itself in different ways:
- Children of kindergarten age do not have constipations for acute lambliasis, they have a mushy stool that worries repeatedly throughout the day and night. In a significant part of infected children, there is another characteristic feature - allergic reactions in the form of exudative-catarrhal diathesis.
- Students and adolescents complain of general weakness, bad sleep, fast fatigue, persistent headaches and mild dizziness during a period of acute giardiasis. The rapidly developing intestinal infection in adolescents is almost always accompanied by vegetative-vascular dystonia.
If you find one or more of the above manifestations in yourself or your baby, you should immediately seek medical help. What kind of doctor is it necessary to make an appointment? To the gastroenterologist. If there is no such doctor in the clinic, then the therapist or the family doctor can examine the infected person.
Specialists pay attention to the fact that acute lambliasis has the same manifestations as any other intestinal infection, in many patients it does not manifest itself in any way, therefore the acute phase very quickly passes into a chronic form. From the acute phase, it is characterized by less vivid manifestations, a change in the processes of remission and a return of periods of exacerbation.