Giardia
More Articles Related to HealthNo matter how crystal clear water may appear, it could be contaminated with harmful microorganisms. Drink a few drops of such water and the survivor could expose himself to a wide variety of diseases, some of which could adversely affect his chances of surviving whatever situation he is in.
One of the most common causes of disease from drinking water is a nasty little intestinal parasite named Giardia intestinalis or Giardia lamblia. Commonly referred to as “Giardia”. Once ingested into the body, Giardia takes up residence in the intestines and causes diarrhea and other symptoms known as giardiasis (GEE-are-DYE-uh-sis).
Symptoms of Giardia
Some people who are infected with giardia have no symptoms, but they are still carriers of the parasite. However, for many people giardia can lead to dehydration and nutrient loss which can be a serious problem especially in a wilderness survival situation.
A giardia infection commonly shows the following intestinal symptoms:
- Diarrhea
- Gas
- Feces that have a greasy look and tend to float
- stomach cramps and upset stomach
- Nausea
Symptoms of giardia typically occur one to two weeks after being infected. Healthy people generally exhibit symptoms of giardia infection for two to six weeks.
One thing is certain for the wilderness survivor: avoiding giardia and contracting giardiasis is of paramount importance.
How Do You Get Giardia?
The Giardia parasite lives throughout the world in all climates and conditions.
The feces of animals and humans infected with giarda contain millions of giardia parasites. When an infected animal defecates, its giarda organisms are released into the environment and wait for additional unsuspecting hosts. This means water, soil, food, or anything that the feces of people or animals infected with giardia may have come in contact with can infect you if you do not follow precautions.
This is one of many reasons why it is important that you wash your hands frequently, especially after each bowel movement. If the person who touched that door knob in the restroom did not wash his hands after a bowl movement, you could have his giardia cysts on your hands. Should you somehow ingest them you too could become infected.
For wilderness survivors, the most common means of contracting giardia is by drinking contaminated water. Animals such as beavers, muskrats, moose, deer and many others commonly defecate in or near water. This serves to spread the giardia parasite to other animals throughout the area.
Unfortunately, people are also to blame for the spread of Giardia. Many outdoors enthusiasts do not understand even the basics of proper human waste disposal and will often relieve themselves close to sources of water that other people and animals rely upon for survival.
Sources of Giardia
- Recreational water including swimming pools, Jacuzzis, water fountains and any source of outdoor water.
- Uncooked or unpeeled food.
- Contaminated objects including door knobs, restroom fixtures, diaper pails, toys, and anything that comes in contact with humans or animals.
Preventing Giardia
Suspect any water that has not been disinfected as being contaminated. Proper water disinfection includes one or more of these methods:
- Water Filters can remove giardia cysts if the absolute pore size of the filter is one micron or less. Unfortunately many commercially available water filters are unable to meet this requirement, so be careful when choosing.
- Boiling water will kill the giardia parasite, and is possibly the best method for making water safe to drink. Heat the water to a rolling boil and poor into a clean, disinfected container. Do not wash the water container with untreated water, or it may re-infect the water you have prepared. Do not overboil the water or you will merely be wasting fuel.
- The use of chemicals may not work as well in decontaminating water containing giardia cysts, especially if the water is cloudy with suspended particles. PH and water temperature are also considerations. Commonly used chemicals for water decontamination include iodine and chlorine.
- SODIS (Solar Water Disinfection) is a method that uses plastic PET bottles and the suns rays to kill microorganisms in water. This method works well in the lower latitudes where the suns rays are more direct. A drawback to the SODIS method is that it takes a day or more to produce drinkable water.
However, it must be observed that these methods of decontaminating water must be performed correctly with the correct materials and technique.
In wilderness survival situations, contracting giardia could complicate matters many fold. You will need all your strength, but contracting giardiasis could put you in a sub par condition where you are susceptible to injury and exhaustion. So always use precaution with the water you drink – be sure it has been properly decontaminated.
Northern California
Agree that BOILING is the safe, simple and reliable way to make water safe to drink.
USA
I went to doctor and he said that i might have giardia. I am glad that if i do have giardia I can get rid of it.
NC
As someone who has studied Giardia (and Cryptosporidium) extensively, I just wanted to commend you on including caution with it. Be very careful, especially when using chemical methods, as temperature, pH, solids, and other considerations really do make a large difference in protecting yourself from Giardia.
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KY