What are the symptoms of giardiasis?

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Diarrhea is the most common symptom experienced by people suffering from giardiasis. Other common symptoms include abdominal cramps, gas, nausea, and bloating.1

If you have giardiasis, you may notice symptoms about a week after being infected, however, some people don't notice symptoms for up to 25 days.1,2 Other people may be asymptomatic, meaning they have the disease but don't notice any symptoms at all.

Giardia symptoms normally last anywhere from 2 to 6 weeks.1 However, they can vary from person to person, and they may depend on the amount of contaminated matter ingested, the length of time you've been infected, and a number of other factors.

Common symptoms of giardiasis1

  • Diarrhea
  • Abdominal cramps
  • Gas
  • Nausea or upset stomach
  • Bloating
  • Greasy stools that tend to float
  • Dehydration and weight loss

Complications of giardiasis

Giardiasis has been associated with other gastrointestinal disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome, and in fact, it may be misdiagnosed as IBS.3,4 Giardiasis has also been linked to other health complications such as reactive arthritis and urticaria/pruritus or other skin disorders.5-7

  1. Giardia Infection [Internet]. CDC; 2004 [accessed 2008 July 10]. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dpd/parasites/giardiasis/2004_PDF_Giardiasis.pdf
  2. Giardia: Drinking Water Fact Sheet [Internet]. United States Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water; 2000 Sept [accessed 2008 Jul 10]. Available from: http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/criteria/humanhealth/microbial/giardiafs.pdf
  3. Stark D, van Hal S, Marriott D, Ellis J, Harkness J. Irritable bowel syndrome: a review on the role of intestinal protozoa and the importance of their detection and diagnosis. Int J Parasitol. 2007 Jan;37(1):11-20. Epub 2006 Oct 12.
  4. Grazioli B, Matera G, Laratta C, Schipani G, Guarnieri G, Spiniello E, Imeneo M, Amorosi A, Focà A, Luzza F. Giardia lamblia infection in patients with irritable bowel syndrome and dyspepsia: a prospective study. World J Gastroenterol. 2006 Mar 28;12(12):1941-4.
  5. Yoder JS, Beach MJ; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Giardiasis surveillance--United States, 2003-2005. MMWR Surveill Summ. 2007 Sep 7;56(7):11-8.
  6. Mahmoud MS, Salem AA, Rifaat MM. Human giardiasis as an etiology of skin allergy: the role of adhesion molecules and interleukin-6. J Egypt Soc Parasitol. 2004 Dec;34(3):723-37.
  7. González-Gay MA, Cereijo MJ, Aguero JJ, Sánchez-Andrade A, López Roses L. [Reactive arthritis and infestation by Giardia lamblia] Rev Esp Enferm Dig. 1991 Oct;80(4):269-70.

About Giardiasis

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