Giardia

[mom2boyz]

I wasn't sure where to post this.

Since going gluten free, I've contracted Giardia twice, 3 months apart.  Is this common?  Does it go away after a time?  How did you make it go away?  So far I've managed to avoid antibiotics, because IMO what's worse than Giardia is antibiotic resistant giardia...  I've been taking turmeric and oregano oil instead which work very well, but it's still uncomfortable.  I cleaned the entire house with an ammonia solution the first time because bleach won't kill it, and I've been using it at least weekly in the bathrooms and kitchen... but it came back anyway.   Our dog is the only other one that has been infected in our house, and I'm pretty sure I'm the one that gave it to her, not the other way around .

[kareng]

3 minutes ago, mom2boyz said:

I wasn't sure where to post this.

Since going gluten free, I've contracted Giardia twice, 3 months apart.  Is this common?  Does it go away after a time?  How did you make it go away?  So far I've managed to avoid antibiotics, because IMO what's worse than Giardia is antibiotic resistant giardia...  I've been taking turmeric and oregano oil instead which work very well, but it's still uncomfortable.  I cleaned the entire house with an ammonia solution the first time because bleach won't kill it, and I've been using it at least weekly in the bathrooms and kitchen... but it came back anyway.   Our dog is the only other one that has been infected in our house, and I'm pretty sure I'm the one that gave it to her, not the other way around .

If you aren’t taking medicine for it, maybe you aren’t actually rid of it ?  Maybe you just pushed it down a bit and it has gained strength and come back?

did a doctor test you for giardia? 

[mom2boyz]

Yes, the first time the doc checked, no for the second, the second I just recognized the symptoms (yellow feces with floating fat on top of the water) and started adding turmeric to my food and taking the oregano oil.  I'd be all about taking the antibiotics if I was throwing up or had a fever, but I don't/didn't.  They use hefty antibiotics for it (because it's a parasite, not a bacterium) which can lead to renal complications, as far as I'm concerned it's not worth it to me unless I really need them.  

I'm wondering if I've been carrying the giardia around, or my family members are carriers. 

[stev3gomez]

Are you drinking well water? It's highly probable that your drinking water supply is contaminated. Cryptosporidium and giardia are hard to get rid of from a water supply, since they are mostly chlorine resistant. UV water disinfection may be necessary.

Check the article below from Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

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[knitty kitty]

Zinc deficiency seems to play a part in Giardia infection.

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Seems zinc is needed for a proper immune response.  Giardia causes malabsorption of vitamins (A and D, B12, folate) and minerals (zinc and iron).  Supplementing with zinc may help your body's immune response to fight this parasite.

Hope this helps.

[mom2boyz]

No well water.  It could be the city water, but I've come to the conclusion that it's a combination of my impaired gut, stress (highly emotion teen in our house left me without sleep last week),  plus I was sick with a cold about a week or two ago, my immune system has probably not been well.  Then there's my family.   My youngest has a habit of eating couch food and my husband has no problem eating week old leftovers.  Plus, I have to remind everyone to wash their hands, they don't do it on their own.  I figure the giardia is probably not going to just go away.  So I'm going to maybe take the oregano oil for a week or two longer this time to give my gut a chance to heal before it infects me again, sprinkle turmeric on everything I eat for the next year or so, and eat a probiotic food with each meal.

[lyfan]

"Since going gluten free, I've contracted Giardia twice, 3 months apart.  Is this common? "

I would hazard a guess, because I try to keep up with all the findings from REPUTABLE sources (Mayo Clinic, yes. NIH, yes. Outbrain.com, hell no!) that there is no causal relationship between going gluten free and contracting giardia.

Giardia is a parasite and gluten does not keep you free of it. Your water source, even municipal water systems, can be tainted with it. If you have a dog, they drink street water and pond water, then if they kiss you...they can transfer whatever was in the water. There are all sorts of simple physical mechanisms that can infect and reinfect you with parasites, like giardia. But no one has ever brought up any relationship between giardia and going gluten-free.

Your average gp or er doctor would probably be the wrong one to go to for this. You want a doctor who specializes in parasites, in third world type diseases, someone who understands the disease vectors and how you are getting re-infected, assuming you ever cleared out the initial infection. You need a professional to verify when and IF you do clear out the infection in the first place.

"When you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras." You got an infection. Nothing to do with your diet, unless perhaps the giardia came from some tainted gluten-free product.