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[pct-l] giardia



>> the treatment for giardia is not an antibiotic, since the >>problem is not bacterial in origin. Barb

On Fri, 04 Jun 1999 14:40:16 -0700 Brick Robbins 
writes: 
>I am not a doctor, or even an RN, but the statement above is >in error: 
>The cause of the disease GIARDIASIS is the Protazoic Cyst >Giardia Lamblia. This IS treated with anitbiotics, namely >Flagyl (generic name metronidazole) 

Flagyl is NOT an antibiotic. It is a trichomonacide and an amoebacide, which means in lay terms basically, that it "kills stuff like protozoans, which are wee parasitic animals" :-). An antibiotic, on the other hand, works against bacteria, which are entirely different organisms. 

Giardiasis can be defintively confirmed by the presence of the cysts encapsulating the protozoa in a stool sample, which is not a difficult thing to provide if you have classic symptoms of the parasite infestation - pardon the bad joke. 

Antibiotics and amoebacides are quite different drugs and their treatment protocols are different as well. I haven't checked the websites you posted, but hope those public sources do not confuse the two as you have done. Self-diagnosing stomach upsets as "giardia" without wet-smear confirmation could well result in unnecessary exposure to toxic drugs like Flagyl (if the cause is not the cyst-encapsulated protozoans) or a useless and harmful course of antibiotics (if a bacterial infection is not present). 

Please talk to your doctor about any confusion you may have about bacteria, cysts, amoeba, or antibiotics. General information websites are not the best source for medical information. 

Hike in safety and good health,     Barb




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