In Reply to: Gardia?? posted by geckogirl on Tuesday, 3. March 2009 at 12:47 Bali Time:
Giardia is caused by parasites and Bali Belly by bacteria. Symptoms are different tho both affect the gastrointestinal tract. When living in Java, three of my family got giardia and needed treatment. My husband waited till he lost 23 pounds and then went for the treatment. Duhhhh!! You can easily show a negative result for giardia as the verification sample for lab test must be under 4 hours old or the organism does not show up. The meds to treat giardia are unpleasant in side effects and even in Bali meds for parasites require a doctor's prescription. We have giardia here in Canada tho we call it "Beaver Fever" as people get it from drinking untreated water from some lakes or streams that beaver inhabit and presumeably carry the parasite.
I got both a parasite (tho not giardia) and Bali Belly during our time there over this past Jan. and Feb.- unusual. A pharmacist there after hearing the details of symptoms stated that my fever was a good indication of a parasitic infection. It cleared up on its own but the bacterial one needed Cipro to knock out.