Giardia analysis: training rules for adults and children

2023 Author: Alfred Shackley | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-21 13:14

Many parasites, including lamblia, are able to live in the human body for a long time, while poisoning it from the inside, but not showing any symptoms. This is their main danger. In addition, the signs of the presence in the body of various helminths are similar to the symptoms of other diseases.

Therefore, something else is often treated, such as a digestive disorder, liver disease, or even a cough.

At the same time, parasites actively coexist in the body and begin to cause various diseases. One of these helminths is giardia - a very common parasite that lives in the human intestine.

They affect everyone, but the immune system of adults is able to cope with small attacks. But in children, this disease occurs very often and is rather difficult to treat.

Giardiasis provoke giardiasis - a disease that requires complex diagnosis and long-term treatment. Due to the vague symptoms, this disease is difficult to determine in the body; special laboratory tests are needed. What analysis do you need to take to calculate giardiasis?

What are lamblia?

Giardia is a small parasite of the flagellate genus. It is thanks to this body structure that they are able to move throughout the body. But the upper layers of the small intestine become their main habitat. These parasites feed by attaching themselves to the intestinal mucosa and sucking out nutrients.

In the small parts of the intestine, parasites deposit cysts, which are excreted from the body along with feces.

The eggs are covered with a hard shell, which provides them with a long life outside the human body:

• Three weeks in feces;
• Three weeks in earthen soil, at a temperature of at least -15 degrees;
• A month in water, at a temperature of no more than +60 degrees.

Giardia can easily enter the human body if hygiene rules are not followed. When eating food with dirty hands, cysts enter the mouth, descend into the intestines and, in the right environment, turn into larvae, and then into adults.

In the human body, these parasites affect many processes:

• Interfere with the digestion process;
• Block the process of breaking down fats;
• Cause irritation of the intestinal mucosa;
• Difficulty stool;
• May cause allergic reactions.

Giardiasis is a very common disease, especially among children. According to statistics, its unpleasant symptoms can be observed in every third child. In order not to bring the body to the development of disease and complications, the analysis can be passed for prevention. What kind of research helps to identify parasites?

Giardia tests

The question of testing for parasites arises when the following symptoms are observed:

• Upset digestive system: diarrhea, bloating, constipation;
• Nausea and vomiting, flatulence;
• Sharp pain in the navel area;
• Lack of appetite and weight loss;
• General weakness, fatigue;
• Skin irritation in the form of allergic dermatitis.

These are the key signs of the presence of parasites in the body, they are especially acute in children.

There are several laboratory methods to diagnose giardia. The main materials for research are the patient's blood and feces.

Methods for diagnosing giardiasis in the body:

• Immunoassay blood test;
• Stool analysis;
• PCR diagnostics;
• Intestine biopsy
• Duodenal intubation (bile analysis).

The first two are considered the most popular, due to their simplicity and availability.

An intestinal biopsy is 100% determined for the presence of lamblia, but it is very unpleasant and expensive. It is used only when it is impossible to determine the exact diagnosis or there is a suspicion of a tumor in the intestine.

Bile analysis is also used in rare cases when giardiasis in the liver and gallbladder is suspected. This is a very painful study, so it is used more for adults, for children only as a last resort. Its decoding allows you to find out if there is lamblia in the bile ducts, but does not give information about their presence in the small intestine.

The PCR test for Giardia is considered a new generation of diagnostics. It is done using a special test system. The material can be several reagents: blood, saliva, feces or bile. The result shows the presence of DNA of pathogenic organisms, its result is 100% reliable.

In addition, this diagnostic method produces results in the shortest possible time. The main disadvantage is that the analysis is very expensive and can only be done in large clinics.

Giardia blood test - how to decipher the results

A blood test is still used today, but it is already considered ineffective. It shows the presence of antibodies to parasite antigens. Since antibodies do not begin to be produced immediately after infection, such a study is considered effective only 10 days after infection. In addition, after Giardia has been removed from the body, antibodies to their antigens remain for about six months. Such a study is prescribed as an additional one. For its implementation, a small amount of venous blood is needed.

Deciphering the results is very difficult, so it should be done exclusively by a specialist. The diagnostic system detects antibodies and summarizes them in groups. The presence of IgM antibodies in the blood indicates that a person is infected with giardiasis. IgA and IgG antibodies indicate the development of the disease and the active fight of the body against parasites.

The enzyme immunoassay for lamblia shows the total amount of active antibodies depending on the norm.

There are three options for results:

• Positive - the total number of indicators is more than one. The person is sick and the disease progresses;
• Negative - the total amount is up to 0.85. The person is not infected;
• Doubtful - the total amount is from 0.85 to 1. The analysis is considered doubtful and a re-examination is required.

Decoding is provided in a special table, but in order to correctly interpret the results, you need to know medical concepts. Therefore, you need to contact a specialist for help.

In order for the results of the study to be reliable, you need to prepare for it:

• Do not eat 10 hours before the procedure;
• Drink only water for a day, no other drinks;
• No smoking;
• Do not drink alcoholic beverages;
• Do not take medication;
• Do not take x-rays;
• Do not get overwhelmed by exercise.

Compliance with these rules will allow the study result to be considered reliable by 95%.

Analysis of feces for lamblia

Today it is the most popular and affordable method for diagnosing lamblia. It allows you to identify traces of infection almost immediately after the entry of helminths into the human body.

The result is influenced by the time from the act of defecation to the examination. If the feces are fresh, no more than 20 minutes have passed, cysts and a mobile form of parasites can be seen in its composition. After more than half an hour, only helminth eggs are found in the feces.

The analysis is done using a microscope. The result is considered reliable only if the procedure is repeated 2-3 times, with a break of three days.

This analysis does not require any special training. Just before delivery, you should not take antiparasitic drugs in a week.

This study has two versions of the results, the decoding of which is simple:

• Positive - the presence of cysts indicates giardiasis;
• Negative - cysts in the feces were not found, the person is not sick.

Giardia research should be done periodically, even if there are no acute symptoms. This is especially true for children, because it is they who are at risk of contracting giardiasis. These procedures are painless and are performed without any harm to the child. Therefore, every three months it is worth going through such a procedure for all family members.