Giardia ~ what a trip

mira4bai4

Recently I surfaced after having suffered for 6 weeks with Giardia, pesky little cysties.

So if you feel bloated, suffer from dyspepsia before and after consuming anything, throw up all and sundry, have a good variation of constipation and slops, lose muscle tone; then consider Giardia as a cause. This is of course not just a problem here in India but almost anywhere in the world where water is consumed in 'various' forms.

The cure is almost as bad as the problem, Phlogenzyme, good for shifting the cysts, good for nausea, good for constipation and good for making it difficult to pee. I went to the Fortis hospital, just up the road to have one of their full on health checks for INR 3,000 well worth the effort and got a few scripts for a couple of minor grievances that were lurking besides the Giardia. 3 of the medications gave nausea as a side effect, what a trip, did not function well for 7 days on that lot.

So beware, take care and get them cysts out o' there.

lotus blossom

sorry to hear about your troubles mira4bai4. have you been able to trace it back to it's origins?

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mira4bai4

err yeah, India, hands, glass, more than likely the water with a little animal poop in it. In the heat everyone hands you a glass of water, to survive you just drink, it's Russian roulette, get sick if you don't and get sick if you do.

Nick-H

Oh dear, sorry to hear about this.

Would advise anyone to be discerning about accepting glasses of water! Best if it comes from your own (or a freshly opened) bottle...

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New-South-Welshman

Yeah true, number one rule of food and drink in India. Buy it in a bottle.

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mira4bai4

For many practical reasons the bottles are really not a go. From my experience I would have to carry about 3 litres of chilled water to get me through the day. Yep that's only 3 1 litre bottles x 7 x 4 x 12 = 1008, too much plastic in one year and when one goes into a bank, a retail shop, a restaurant, an office of a business associate is it cool to bring out your warm bottle of sterile water and say thanks but no thanks. Most places that I visit use UV water filters so this helps.

I drink chai offered in most premises that I visit and much of this chai comes from the street chai wallah and that could be a worry if one was so inclined to think that way. But I am really more worried about handling the money as that carries more bugs than anything else but shall I wear rubber gloves, not an option.

So to function it is essential to take the risks and keep the immunity levels boosted as high as possible, no other choice really as far as I can see in living here.

jgv

I had giardia 3 years back. I lost 16 kilos in 2 months. Ended up on Metradazinole to get rid of the pesky buggers.

Never been as sick in my life.

I was soo careful in India too but giardia survives on surfaces too so it's hard to escape.

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mira4bai4

It really is important to stress that if you are in any country area, whether it is in pristine NZ, Aust, Africa, South America, North America, Asia, India, pretty much anywhere in the world giardia is present, such is life.

Nick-H

Try what we do...

buy your water in 20 litre cans and refill your bottle before you go out each time. You can carry a 2 litre bottle. (I'm assuming, of course (you say you are living here) that you are staying in one place.

And yes, it is cool to produce your own bottle! Amazing how many Indians will be unwilling to drink the water in someone else's house.

Ultimately it is, of course, a purely personal decision, and yes, there are other ways of catching disease as well as the water, but your experience seems to shout: drink only bottled water!

mira4bai4

Nick, as I ride a bike 95% of the time, carrying one litre is heavy enough let alone 2 with all of the stuff I need to carry on a day into town. I really dislike carrying stuff; helmet, shoulder bag and water and every time you meet someone or want to do something you have to put everything down to do the meet and greet. Going into a shop you have to off load everything at the door, find a place in an office to lay your stuff so that you can talk. Bah Humbug, 'tis all to much every day to go through.