Giardia and acne: is there acne on the face due to giardiasis?

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Published: 04/19/2019

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Giardiasis, or giardiasis, is a parasitic disease that develops as a result of damage to the liver and small intestine by the protozoan tiny creatures Giardia. One of the manifestations of the disease is skin rashes. Despite the fact that rashes due to giardiasis are quite rare, they have pronounced symptoms and require immediate treatment.

It is quite easy to become infected with Giardia. They affect anyone who does not comply with hygiene requirements and can parasitize the human body for a long time. At the same time, they can live peacefully, develop and be passed on to others. There are many ways for Giardia to enter the body, the most common of which are:

1. Sick person or pets, such as a cat, dog, etc.
2. Contaminated water, food, toys, household items.
3. Failure to comply with hygiene rules through contaminated hands.

Anyone can become infected with giardiasis, but it mainly affects children from 2 to 5 years old who attend preschool institutions.

Another reason why rashes may appear is treatment with antiparasitic drugs, which provoke the active manifestation of parasites outside.

Why do rashes appear?

Unpleasant skin rashes, acne and pimples can appear in both adults and children of different ages. There are several reasons for this phenomenon; first of all, this is due to the active life of parasites, the release of many toxins harmful to humans, poisoning the patient.

Giardia and acne on the face are associated with a violation of the microflora of the gastrointestinal tract, which in any case negatively affects the digestion process. The situation is aggravated by poor nutrition, non-compliance with the diet, low-quality and carbohydrate foods, as they significantly improve the existence of protozoa.

As a result, all food that enters the stomach:

• poorly digestible;
• poisons the body.

When the digestive tract organs do not function properly, a powerful shock occurs, which contributes to allergic rashes on the skin.

Doctors can see the symptoms of giardiasis even with the naked eye; in the first stages, the patient’s skin becomes simply pale. As the disease worsens, the skin acquires a dirty flesh-colored hue.

In teenagers and young adults, pimples from Giardia often appear on the face, causing acne. Small pimples appear on the body in young children; they are often confused with various dermatological pathologies.

What is Giardia in children

Giardia are parasites that inhabit the small intestine, gallbladder, and duodenum, which lead to disruption of the microflora of the gastrointestinal tract. Such microscopic helminths are especially dangerous for the liver, as they contribute to the gradual destruction of this valuable organ. If a child has Giardia, they can be found in the feces, with which they are partially excreted. Externally, cysts (protozoa) look like small white worms and are characterized by increased activity. If the parasites are not killed in time, the symptoms manifest themselves with double intensity.

What causes lamblia in children?

The cause of the disease may be an environmental or social factor, and infection occurs more often in people with weakened immunity and a tendency to pathological processes in the digestive system. Giardia appears in children in the intestines through the oral cavity, and moves all the way to the stomach. There they feel a favorable environment for further development and spread - giardiasis progresses. The routes of transmission of pathogenic infection are as follows:

• upon contact with toys, contaminated dishes, and everyday items;
• in case of eating unwashed berries, fruits, vegetables;
• in the absence of boiling water;
• with earth, sand;
• through mother's milk during breastfeeding.

How does giardiasis manifest on the skin?

Experience shows that the majority of patients with giardiasis are children, since their immune system is not strong enough and is not able to protect against the negative effects of parasites.

Protozoan microorganisms cause various allergic reactions.

Dermatosis

Such skin rashes can be called the most common in the presence of Giardia in the body. The rashes do not have pronounced symptoms, but with inadequate therapy or its absence, they can recur again and again.

The disease is severe, the patient complains of a burning sensation on the skin, it is accompanied by severe itching, the integument dries out and bursts. Dermatosis on the face rarely occurs; the skin is usually affected:

1. under the knees;
2. in the groin area;
3. in the elbow bend.

Acne causes a sick person a lot of discomfort and significantly reduces the quality of life.

Strophulus

This type of rash often changes color; towards the end of the pathological process, acne acquires a pink-brown tint. Each pimple has a small blister at the top, no larger than a needle pin.

The pimples are very itchy; if the patient scratches the blisters, a bloody crust forms. In the absence of timely treatment, the disease becomes chronic. A big mistake is stopping treatment; if the rashes disappear suddenly, they can just as quickly appear again.

Hives

Giardiasis causes small blisters, filled with clear liquid inside. Acne is very itchy and prevents a person from sleeping at night or working during the day. Due to the fact that rashes appear and disappear suddenly, many people treat them negligently and do not pay any attention. The danger of urticaria is that in children it will cause angioedema, which often leads to death.

Blepharitis

This complication occurs on the eyelids, and infected patients suffer from the sensation of a foreign object in the eyes.

In the evening, foamy fluid comes out of their eyes.

Symptoms of rash manifestations

Giardia can lie in wait everywhere and it is difficult to protect yourself from them. They can affect a huge number of people, but symptoms usually appear in only a few.

The rash with giardiasis has the following characteristic signs:

• unpleasant appearance;
• itching;
• rapid spread of rashes;
• lesions can reach large sizes.

In addition to skin rashes, symptoms such as:

• diarrhea;
• aching abdominal pain, most severe in the navel area;
• bloating, gas formation;
• general malaise, weakness;
• drowsiness, loss of attention;
• pain in the head, dizziness.

When will acne end?

The named skin diseases caused by Giardia appear both during complications and during drug therapy with antiparasitic drugs. All medications are toxic; they contain toxic substances that are absorbed into the blood, causing severe allergic reactions.

The itching will not stop until the person is completely cured of the parasites. The sooner the course of treatment begins, the sooner the unpleasant manifestations of giardiasis will end.

Doctors note that a person may experience pseudo-allergy when a pathological process is observed that is very similar to the clinical symptoms and conditions described above. The main difference between such processes and an allergic reaction is the absence of an immunological stage of development.

However, only a doctor can identify the etiology of such changes in the body.

Giardia in children - treatment

If the disease is established, antiparasitic therapy takes place, aimed at the speedy extermination of the parasitic flora. Treatment of Giardia in a child should be prescribed exclusively by a knowledgeable doctor, taking into account the patient’s age category. Otherwise, you can only increase the signs of intoxication in the body and cause complications dangerous to health. In the photo on the World Wide Web you can actually see what Giardia can look like, but using dubious advice from incompetent people in terms of treatment is strictly contraindicated.

How to treat giardiasis in children

If the germs are not removed, the symptoms of the characteristic disease only intensify. However, before removing Giardia from a child, it is necessary to find out to which synthetic components of drugs the hypersensitivity predominates in the little patient’s body. For example, a baby’s immunity is not fully formed, so the pediatrician advises to abandon “chemistry” altogether and use mainly folk remedies. In general, the treatment regimen for lamblia in children is as follows:

• antiparasitic therapy to kill microbes;
• symptomatic treatment based on symptoms;
• taking antihistamines to treat rashes;
• enzyme therapy to restore intestinal microflora;
• therapeutic diet to reduce the activity of pathogenic flora;
• vitamin course.

How to treat Giardia in children

Taking medications involves the presence of several pharmacological groups at once, which only enhance the therapeutic effect and ensure a speedy recovery. Photos of parasites are shocking; parents are even more frightened by the complications they can provoke. Therefore, it is important to treat lamblia in children in a timely manner. Otherwise, the first to be “under attack” is the mucous membrane of the gastrointestinal tract, followed by the liver, and biliary dyskinesia should not be ruled out. Effective treatment of giardiasis in children includes the use of the following medications:

1. Antiparasitic drugs for helminths: Trichopolum, Tiberal, Nemozol, Furazolidone, Metronidazole, Ornidazole, Albendazole, Macrimore, Mepacrine, Tinidazole.
2. Enterosorbents for removing Giardia waste products: Polysorb, Enterosgel, Smecta.
3. Antihistamines against itchy skin rashes and signs of allergies: Fenistil, Tavegil, Suprastin.
4. Bifidobacteria: Simbiter, Biogaya, Bifidumbacterin, Linex, Biovestin, homemade live yoghurts.

Giardia in children - treatment with folk remedies

It’s one thing to see in a photo what Giardia can look like, and quite another to experience unpleasant body symptoms. Alternative medicine recipes implemented at home can enhance the effect of medications. If Giardia is diagnosed in the feces of children, treatment with folk remedies is possible using the following methods, according to the prevailing symptoms:

1. Tampons with vegetable oil at night are an effective method that reduces the activity of helminths and paralyzes them. Supplement such treatment with diet (for example, eat more dried fruits), antihistamines.
2. If it is possible to recognize Giardia in children, the symptoms and treatment are interrelated. If you prepare an aspen decoction (2 tablespoons of raw material per 500 ml of boiling water) and give it to your baby for 10 days, the signs of giardiasis quickly disappear.
3. To eliminate symptoms, you can give tea from birch buds, pre-infused in a water bath. The treatment is safe at any age; the patient soon forgets what the symptoms of Giardia look like.

Diagnostics

It is possible to determine the exact cause of acne and find its connection with Giardia only in laboratory conditions.

For diagnosis, it is customary to use one of the methods (they are sometimes used together): duodenal intubation, stool analysis, blood testing, interotest.

If a patient self-medicates using drugs and folk remedies, it is almost impossible for him to have a normal effect on the parasites. To prescribe adequate therapy, it is important to establish:

• the presence of Giardia;
• degree of infection of the body.

Using duodenal intubation, the contents of the upper intestines are examined. Analysis of feces shows the presence of parasitic cysts and vegetative forms. One stool test is not always enough; it is usually necessary to take 5 samples of material every week.

A serological test helps to detect specific blood immunoglobulins; in addition to this, the following is carried out:

1. general and biochemical blood test;
2. coprogram.

Another modern study is the interotest, which involves swallowing a special capsule with a nylon thread. When the capsule shell dissolves, Giardia will begin to occupy the thread and will come out with it during bowel movements.

After which the thread is examined for the presence of parasites.

Routes of infection

Giardiasis is transmitted exclusively through the fecal-oral route. You can become infected through unwashed hands, dirty water, or by eating food that contains cysts.

The source of infection is the infected person. At the same time, he can only be a carrier of pathogens, and no clinical manifestations bother him. A person becomes infectious 7-13 days after the germs enter the body.

• Contact and household route of infection. Children's giardiasis most often occurs as a result of this type of infection. The pathogen enters the body through dirty hands and toys. Often people become infected when they do not wash their hands after visiting the toilet, etc.
• Through the water. There have been cases of infection after a person drank dirty water, including unboiled tap water.
• Through food. You can become infected if you eat unwashed raw vegetables and fruits.
• Pathogen carriers can be insects and domestic animals. Therefore, children can get sick when there are pets in the house, since the pathogen is transmitted through contact with cats and dogs.

Diet for giardiasis

Since giardia and acne on the face occur due to digestive problems and poor nutrition, eating large amounts of carbohydrate foods, it is important to exclude easily digestible substances in the diet of a patient with giardiasis.

What should you give up? It is prohibited to consume any types of sweets, baked goods, confectionery, and sweet carbonated drinks. You cannot eat hot spices, sausages, milk, smoked meats, pickled and salty foods. Such food once again irritates the mucous membranes of the digestive tract and seriously aggravates the course of giardiasis.

To minimize the likelihood of acne and other skin rashes, it is recommended to create an acidic environment in the stomach:

• acidify food;
• consume a lot of fermented milk products.

Such restrictions cannot be called too stringent, since a person has access to a large amount of food that increases acidity. It is especially useful to eat fresh berries for giardiasis and acne on the face; they contain a large amount of pectin. Natural sorbents precipitate toxins and pathogenic microorganisms, after which Giardia is easily removed.

If the body is affected by Giardia, it is necessary to thoroughly heat-treat the dishes: stew, boil, cook in a double boiler. Take food in small portions at least 4-5 times a day, and exclude fried foods completely.

A sick person must adhere to a diet for at least 3-4 months, if he also monitors hygiene to prevent re-infection; giardiasis goes away even without the use of medications.

Nutrition helps normalize the microflora of the digestive tract, because giardiasis almost always occurs with intestinal dysbiosis.

General information

More than 250,000 people are infected every year around the world. It is typical that children get sick more often. Only about 35% accounts for the adult population.

The disease was first described by D. Lyambel back in 1860. Since then, it has been named in his honor.

The causative agent of giardiasis is the protozoan unicellular parasite – Giardia. There are about 50 different types of them. They have special suction cups that allow them to be securely attached to the villi of the small intestinal mucosa. Giardia feeds on the entire surface.

They have two forms of life - cysts and vegetation. Once in the human body and reaching the small intestine, Giardia is absorbed and begins to multiply quickly and in large quantities. As a result, both forms are formed at once. All new forms from the intestines come out along with feces.

However, being outside the human body, vegetation does not live for even a few hours. Cysts are more adapted to exist outside the body. They can remain viable for almost 3 weeks in an aquatic environment.

High temperature has a detrimental effect on cysts. When heated, they die instantly. In order not to get sick, you need to know the ways of contracting giardiasis.

Period of pathology development

Once in the body, Giardia may remain invisible. If symptoms appear, then most likely the parasites have been in the body for the last 7 to 21 days.

The incubation period ranges from a week to three. Of course, in this case, the pathology will begin to manifest itself in the form of unpleasant symptoms, which were described above.

By contacting a doctor in a timely manner, you can get a competent approach and cure for Giardia.

If this is not done, the pathology spreads to other parts of the body, worsening the person’s condition.

Another difficulty lies in the fact that giardiasis manifests itself almost in the same way as measles, Andrews syndrome or punctate keratosis.

Rashes with giardiasis are presented in the form of small pimples and urticaria. listen to the opinion of an experienced parasitologist or infectious disease specialist.

Once the diagnosis is confirmed, you need to immediately begin a treatment course.