The three most commonly prescribed medications used to treat Giardia infection are:
- Metronidazole (Flagyl)
- Tinidazole (Tindamax)
- Furazolidone (Furoxone)
I'm so confused, I'm not sure if I lost my horse or found a rope.
A single dose of Tinidazole will cure giardiasis.Originally Posted by Connie
Again, thanks for all the replies. When water sources are clean I feel very comfortable with the Steripen which I use exclusively when hiking the whites but again,
the source is clean.
Both systems have their pros an cons I guess.
Regards,
hazmat
I have the 2L Sawyer and love it. Think I need about 7 min to filter 2L.My problem is remembering to STAY HYDRATED. With the 2L in my pack and the sip tube ready--I am ready.I want to remember on Mar 1st that it's important to stay hydrated in the cool weather too. Have a great hike and God bless!
I had giardia, but I got it at City College "food service".
There was only one treatment medicine.
There was one, in Canada, considered "effective" but illegal in USA.
Giardia is spread by beaver AKA "beaver fever" by turtles by humans "wash your hands" and by "I don't know what else". It doesn't mean all beaver, all turtles, all humans are "carriers" or have the giardia organism.
Giardia is the "back story" why people go upstream to look. Then, people said, look upstream for dead animals.
I look over a water source for deciding prefilter, and/or, filter alone, or, filter plus: UV treatment. If no UV, then Micropur.
If I went to an area "new to me" I would ask the forest ranger for the district.
Nowadays, maybe forest service on the internet. If near towns, or, agriculture ask public health.
Last edited by Connie; 12-19-2014 at 23:00.
I really like the Sawyer squeeze. Light, simple, fast, have to remember to sleep with my "squeeze" when frigid out.
On the giardia front, had it confirmed once, Dr prescribed Tinidazole 500mg, took 4 at once. GONE.
I carried the Steripen on my first few backpacks. What stopped me doing so (I switched to a pump filter) was not temperature or whether the water was hazy. It's that the water sources were too shallow to fill a Nalgene so I could put the Steripen in there.
For those trips, I borrowed pumps from my fellow backpackers. Then I got my own and haven't had a problem getting whatever water I needed.
Its usually simple to use your cook pot, or even a ziplock, to collect water from trickles. Trickles far too shallow to pump.
Last edited by MuddyWaters; 12-21-2014 at 10:11.
004.JPGWhen it's coming right from the source, no treatment for me. I've been drinking from this spring for almost 30 years w/o any problems....
Sleep on the ground, rise with the sun and hike with the wind....
I used a steripen on my AT thru hike the entire way. Found out early that it did not like below freezing temperatures, so I made sure to treat before going to sleep. Used lithium batteries and bought the filter/funnel to use for murky water. Only used it once or twice then sent it home. Never really had a problem finding clear water sources. I used the Sawyer squeeze on my LT thru and found that much simpler.
More walking, less talking.
Well, I'm a big fan of the Sawyer (I own/use both the std. size and the mini), but for AT use, thanks to great advice on Whiteblaze, I became a convert to Aqua Mira, and wouldn't consider anything else personally. Light, easy to use, it's no-brainer for me.
For the same reason AM works great along the AT, seems like the steripen would as well, but pals of mine that use the steripen tend to call it the "Swear-i-pen" because it fails so often. It's also heavier and requires batteries. no thanks! A 3-oz AM kit lasts a full month, and of course becomes more like 1-oz or less towards the end of that month. Seems like the lightest solution out there except the no-treatment method, which due to the high quality along a lot of the AT is a reasonable one as well, at least for ground spring water sources.
The quality/clarity of the water along the tail has been fantastic, so really, all I care about on the AT is killing as many little buggies as possible. Out west (in CO and on the JMT, for example), the water quality has been less good so have used the Sawyer in order to filter out the other impurities for better taste.
I have not been to the AT in GA/TN/NC, but I do know that the thru hikers I met in VA all complained that the water sources were mostly nice and clear until they got to VA, where there were fewer springs and they were more likely to be filtering from larger streams in the valleys.
Flagyl is an anti-parasite, different than an antibiotic.
I'm thinking of replacing my Sawyer once there's no chance of freezing, just in case it did freeze. Geez they are less than $20 at walmart. Replacing is cheap insurance. Also thinking of hanging it from a string around my neck, that way it's closer to my skin and stays warmer than sitting in a pocket.
Flagyl (metronidazole) is an oral synthetic antiprotozoal and antibacterial agent, l-β-hydroxyethyl)-2-methyl-5-nitroimidazole.
Most people who use that method and don't get sick will say yes, definitely.
Most people who use that method and get giardia or cryptosporidium or campylobacter will emphatically answer no.
To me it makes more sense on several levels to focus on prevention rather than treatment.
I had giardia 1.5 years.
I went to an Internist MD, my General Practicioner MD, another Internist MD he referred, etcetera.
I recommend the public health clinic that knew what to do: the right medicine at the right dose.
If you get giardia, that is my advice. Better advice: don't get guardia.
The ".1 micron filtration absolute" standard protects, unless your immune system is compromized, for example, having an immunity deficiency disease.
Fantastic info everyone!
I'll be taking the big Sawyer and take precautions against freezing. I did not think about the batteries in the Steripen not doing well in the cold also.
Good to hear that most water sources are relatively clean. I hate filtering water from mud puddles!
Later,
hazmat
With all the crazy things I read on this site that hikers think is perfectly okay to do I just had to see if somebody did that. I read that you don't need a tent you don't need a first aid kit you only need a pint of water it's crazy.
I have recently gone to my doctor and said I should have something in my first aid kit. He gave me Metronidazole and Cephalexin Monohydrate but I forgot what that was for. I never go hiking without my steripen. I just don't have the patience for any other technique. Hazmat if you're still reading this I've hiked in the single digits with mine and the batteries have never given me a problem. I would also like to say that the light on it makes a great lantern for when setting up your camp at night.
My eyeglasses have a protective coating against the UV in natural sunlight.
Isn't that light intense UV?
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