Possible giardia?

[jeremiah j]

Anybody have experience with giardia? I drank some untreated water along th AT in NC last weekend (3/29) and am having symptoms. From reading on the internet it says symptoms should not develop for 7-14 days after ingestion. Maybe I just have a stomach bug. I also ate some sushi 4 days ago and I always worry about possible parasites with sushi. Maybe I am overreacting and will be ok in a days or two. Thanks

[Lone Wolf]

no ****!. raw fish or water. hmmm. most likely to make one sick? :-?

[Tennessee Viking]

Where did you hike and what was the water location? Was there any nearby farms or houses?

[Summit]

The symptoms / affects of giardia are varied and wide. It ranges from "gas pains" to complete debilitation of your digestive system. I don't think it takes as long as you stated to develop. If your condition persists, you should see a doctor. It's not something to gamble with.

[Appalachian Tater]

I would be more worried about the sushi, but if you have GI problems that last more than a day or two it would be a good idea to see a physician.

[Hooch]

no ****!. raw fish or water. hmmm. most likely to make one sick? :-?


I would be more worried about the sushi, but if you have GI problems that last more than a day or two it would be a good idea to see a physician.
I gotta agree with Lone Wolf and Tater on this one. I think you're a lot more likely to have gotten something from the sushi. I like the stuff too, but I'm very particular about where I get it. If you're having pretty bad GI symptoms (nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, cramping, etc), go get the doc to check you out. Better safe than sorry, for sure. You don't want to get to the point where you're too dehydrated to do anything.

[take-a-knee]

You need to provide a stool sample and request what is called a formalin/ether float IIRC, this is done after centrifuging the sample. This is not routine, and most lab techs don't know what the hell they are looking at anyway 'cause parasites aren't typically a problem in the country. There is also a fish tapeworm you can get from sushi.

[highway]

It probably wasn't the water.The incubation period for giardiasis is 1 to 3 weeks after exposure to the parasite. I suspect bad fish:-?

[budforester]

Anybody have experience with giardia? I drank some untreated water along th AT in NC last weekend (3/29) and am having symptoms. From reading on the internet it says symptoms should not develop for 7-14 days after ingestion. Maybe I just have a stomach bug. I also ate some sushi 4 days ago and I always worry about possible parasites with sushi. Maybe I am overreacting and will be ok in a days or two. Thanks

I had that or some other protozoan when I was a kid... it's bad. If your symptoms are mild and you are not losing too much fluid, you might try wait- and- see, but not for long. If you are dehydrating, call now. There should be a doctor or nurse available somewhere in your area. FWIW, since I turned 50, I don't drink questionable water or eat raw seafood... risk is too great.

[saimyoji]

i guess neither. did you wash your hands? :-?

[Appalachian Tater]

i guess neither. did you wash your hands? :-?Question should be, did the person who made the sushi wash THEIR hands?

[le loupe]

Never order the spicy tuna roll- what do you think happens to the old tuna? They cover it in hot sauce.

[jeremiah j]

thanks for the info, believe it or not I had the spicy tuna roll. It wasn't that good. I never felt good about eating sushi and will be awhile before I do.

[Skidsteer]

Nothing wrong with sushi.

Just make sure you cook it thoroughly.

[Tennessee Viking]

If you have sushi and it doesn't taste great, and you feel ill afterwards...its the sushi.

[Lone Wolf]

**** sushi. really. yuppy azz food

[orangebug]

A bit dramatic around here lately. :rolleyes:

First, just what sort of symptoms are you having? How often are you experiencing these symptoms? What else did you eat over the past week? Anyone else report symptoms? Is the sushi place still open. How much brown was under the fingernails of the last person you shook hands with?

Not all that squirts is Giardia.

Take some Pepto Bismol and forget about it unless it doesn't resolve in a day or two. Drink lots of water. Carry some alcohol gel.

[highway]

A bit dramatic around here lately. :rolleyes:

First, just what sort of symptoms are you having? How often are you experiencing these symptoms? What else did you eat over the past week? Anyone else report symptoms? Is the sushi place still open. How much brown was under the fingernails of the last person you shook hands with?

Not all that squirts is Giardia.

Take some Pepto Bismol and forget about it unless it doesn't resolve in a day or two. Drink lots of water. Carry some alcohol gel.

MOST of those squirts is NOT from giardiasis!!

[budforester]

A bit dramatic around here lately. :rolleyes:

First, just what sort of symptoms are you having? How often are you experiencing these symptoms? What else did you eat over the past week? Anyone else report symptoms? Is the sushi place still open. How much brown was under the fingernails of the last person you shook hands with?

Not all that squirts is Giardia.

Take some Pepto Bismol and forget about it unless it doesn't resolve in a day or two. Drink lots of water. Carry some alcohol gel.


Dramatic, perhaps, but without details as you noted, caution would be the best advice. Hopefully, JJ's problem is now just a bad memory.

[TIDE-HSV]

I've had it. I caught it camping on lake on the western side of the Wind River Range, up out of Pinedale. The lake had a 3'-long beaver (sans tail) with a bad attitude and also a bad disease. I was boiling my water, but stupidly rinsing in the lake. In my case, I had watery diarrhea and what felt like heartburn from hell. And it didn't go away like a typical stomach bug. After a couple of weeks, I went in to my doc and they had it cultured. The only thing for treatment then was sulfathiazole for an extended period (no alcohol while on it). As said above, the symptoms are variable with the individual. I know a few other people who've had it, including two GSMNP rangers. We're all a lot more careful about water now. All this, said, my vote would be the spicy tuna roll...

[Bob S]

Never order the spicy tuna roll- what do you think happens to the old tuna? They cover it in hot sauce.


I saw a report on TV several years ago (20-20 I think) about small chicken wings at buffet restaurants. They take day-old chicken wings left over and dip and cover them in barbecue sauce and put them back out on the buffet table the next day. The barbecue sauce masks the fact that the chicken is not fresh.



I have never had barbecued chicken at a buffet since.

[Fly Rod]

After reading this [ http://www.ridgenet.net/~rockwell/Giardia.pdf ] my Hiker-Pro is now just a convenient pump for hard-to-reach or murky water sources. The danger is on the tips uf your (and your buddies) unwashed hands.

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

Have to agree with LW and Hooch - if the symptoms came on less than seven days out, it isn't giardia. Four days out, it likely isn't food poisoning from the sushi either. Most food poisoning develops pretty rapidly. Parasites is a thought, but most of those take more than 4 days to make you sick.

Short term (2 to 3 day) stomach viruses are getting passed around in the Atlanta area - all of my adult grandkids and great-grandkids down there have had them - even though several of them had not been around each other for weeks. Maybe you got exposed to one of those.

You are far more likely to get giardia from your own or your buddy's unwashed hand. Use alcohol gel after going to the cathole or privy and pour any shared gorp into another person's hands or insist they use your alcohol gel before reaching into your bag.

This is info from the source Flyrod cited:

The symptoms of giardiasis vary widely. Characteristic symptoms, when they occur, are mild to
moderate abdominal discomfort, abdominal distention due to increased intestinal gas, sulfurous or
“rotten egg” burps, horrific flatulence, and mild to moderate diarrhea. Stools are soft (but not liquid),
bulky, and foul smelling. They have been described as greasy and frothy, and they float on the surface of
water. Nausea, weakness, and loss of appetite may occur, but fever is uncommon. Studies have shown
that giardiasis can be suspected when the illness lasts seven or more days with at least two of the above
symptoms.
However, most infected individuals have no symptoms at all. In a 1977 incident carefully studied by
the CDC, disruption in the Berlin, New Hampshire’s water disinfection system allowed the entire
population to consume water heavily contaminated with Giardia. Yet only 11 percent of the exposed
population developed symptoms even though 46 percent had organisms in their stools. These figures
suggest that (a) even when ingesting large amounts of the parasite, the chance of contracting giardiasis is
less than 1 in 2, and (b) if you are one of the unlucky ones to contract it, the chance of having symptoms
is less than 1 in 4. But perhaps the most useful statistic is that drinking heavily contaminated water
resulted in symptoms of giardiasis in only 1 case in 9.

[Hikerhead]

You are far more likely to get giardia from your own or your buddy's unwashed hand. Use alcohol gel after going to the cathole or privy and pour any shared gorp into another person's hands or insist they use your alcohol gel before reaching into your bag.

This is info from the source Flyrod cited:

Better yet, don't YOU or your buddies stick your hands into your gorp bag. I always pour it out into mine or someone elses hands. I find myself doing this off the trail now also.

No hands inside the gorp bag should be the rule.

[X-LinkedHiker]

Risky business. Thats all I have to say.

[Smile]

double post :)

[Panzer1]

Go to the doctor and get a test. If its E. Coli its from food, if its giradia, it from the water. Then the doc can prescribe something for it. Otherwise you can't know for sure.

Any other advice you get here is strictly political advice as you have anti-filter proponents vs. the filter proponents. The anti-filter group claims its never the water and the filter group claims its always the water.

Panzer

[dessertrat]

I am guessing more likely the sushi.