Giardia

Update:  After a little over a day on the medication it seems to be working.  We will likely take off tomorrow and ride south to Puno.

I've been having some ummmm... gastrointestinal distress for a little while.

At first I didn't think anything of it, as we have all had problems down here on more than one occasion.   But this time it has been going on for over 10 days.

I feel fine, just can't venture far from the bathroom unless I am taking Immodium.

So this morning, with no relief in sight, I decided to avail myself of the medical system in Peru to see what the problem was.

I went to the front desk and inquired if there was a clinic or doctor they recommended.  "No problem" was the reply, they could have a doctor dispatched to our hostel if I wanted.

"Umm.. how much" I asked.

"$45 dollars."  For the consult, either if the Doctor comes here or if I go to the clinic.

That's pretty reasonable, so I asked if they could have the doctor come by.  Expecting to see the doctor either in a few hours or tomorrow, I was surprised when they said that the doctor would be here in 15 minutes.

After waiting about 10 minutes, I went down to the front office, and the doctor came through the door a couple minutes later.  She introduced herself, and we went to a private room where she performed a thorough and professional exam including taking my temperature, blood pressure, measuring my O2 content in my blood (we're at 12,000 feet here), and checking my abdomen and chest.

We then discussed the symptoms, and she quickly and efficiently diagnosed me with a case of Giardiasis, which is an infection of the lower intestine caused by the parasite Giardia intestinalis (aka Giardia lamblia).

Luckily, it is quite easily treatable with an antibiotic called Metronidazole (Flagyl), which I will take 3 times per day for 7 days.

I got the prescription from one of the local pharmacies of which there is one about every 20 feet down here.  After the course of antibiotics, I will need to take a probiotic drink for the next 3 days afterwards, as the antibiotic not only kills the bad parasite, but all the good bacteria in my stomach as well.

According to the doctor, she see's 2-3 cases of Giardiasis per week, so she is pretty expert at recognizing the symptoms.

The prescriptions were 53 sols (about $19.00).  I caught a taxi back to the Hostel for another 3 sols (about $1.00).

Total time from when I went and inquired about a doctor till I was back at the hostel with my prescriptions:  less than an hour.

From WebMD:

What is giardiasis?

Giardiasis (gee-ar-die-a-sis with a soft "G") is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the parasite, Giardia intestinalis, also known as Giardia lamblia. It is the most common cause of parasitic gastrointestinal disease; it is estimated that up to 2.5 million cases of giardiasis occur each year in the U.S., and up to 20% of the world's population is chronically infected.