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[pct-l] More Giardia dizinformatzia

>A side note on Giardia that I was told by an Emergency Room Doctor
>(Boots), when he was sectioning part of Ca.
>
>People can drink water that has Giardia and not feel the effects.  This
>is because the human body can build up a resistance to Giardia, as well
>as many types of worms.

 I think you misunderstood the good doctor, in a casual conversation.
People can drink water that has giardia in it, and still not catch giardia.
This can happen because you picked part of a giardia-infected lake that has
few organisms, so your bottle didn't get any in it. (Important lesson--
there is a place in a given body of water, where you are MORE likely to get
infected). Or, you can drink water that has giardia in it, but not get
infected, simply because the cysts passed through you, or were digested.
This can happen, but is relatively uncommon-- giardia is quite efficiently
infectious. In either case, it is easy to misconstrue this even as "being
resistant to giardia".

Medical science, in fact, knows of NO cases of resistance to giardiasis.
Life-long giardia infection is common in the third world. More than 80% of
these persons continue to have bouts of giardia symptoms off and on, for
their entire lives. Many persons of the tropics do not even know what an
American means, when one describes firm stool, stool without mucus, or days
without symptoms of belching or indigestion. However, it is certainly true,
that the nature and severity of the illness does change over years of
infection in a given individual. But most of "getting used to giardia" is
in the head, not in the gut or immune system. Having bouts of diarrhea and
missing work due to GI illness is normative behavior, in the Third World.

>Think of the people living in third world
>countries that do not get sick drinking water that would knock most of
>use off our feet.

 People living in the thirld word are RAVAGED by the polluted, infectious
water that they drink. It is one of the greatest causes of their shortenned
life-spans. When they drink a new bug, they get sick, just like we do.

>If you had a doctor run test to see what is living in
>your stomach, you would find all kinds of little nasties, and Giardia is
>one of them.  If you did have Giardia, great, you will not have to worry
>about it, that much.  But if you don't have it...

If you had a doctor examine your stomach, he WOULD NOT find all kinds of
nasties. If he did, they should be treated. You WILL NOT ADAPT to them,
unless your idea of adaptation is to happily blow foul diarrhea a few times
a night.

>If you want to try and build up a tolerance to Giardia, go out and get
>it.  Then nurse maid yourself back to health, but do not take the drugs
>that kill it.  Over time your body will lean how to adapt to it.  The
>problem is that you are going to be very sick for quite awhile, so I
>would not recommend doing this.  It is easier to pump the water and not
>worry about it.
>
>The Ravens PCT '96
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