Key Points
- A healthcare provider can prescribe medicine to treat Giardia infections.
- You may not need medication to recover from a Giardia infection.
- If you have diarrhea, drink plenty of water or other fluids to avoid dehydration (loss of fluids).
How to get treatment
If you have diarrhea or other symptoms of a Giardia infection, discuss treatment options with your healthcare provider.
Many prescription medications are available to treat Giardia infections. Your medical history, nutrition, and whether you have a weakened immune system will affect how well prescription medications work for you. Therefore, it is important to discuss treatment options with a healthcare provider.
Recovery
Avoid dehydration
If you have diarrhea, drink a lot of water or other fluids to avoid dehydration. Infants and people who are pregnant may be more likely to become dehydrated from diarrhea caused by a Giardia infection.
Dehydration can be life-threatening for infants
You may not need medication
If you do not have symptoms, you may not need medication for your Giardia infection.
If you start having symptoms, even if they do not include diarrhea, talk with a healthcare provider to see if they recommend treatment.
You and your healthcare provider may also consider treatment if many of the people you live with are sick. Even if you do not have symptoms, your poop can still spread Giardia while you have a Giardia infection.
A healthcare provider may also recommend treatment if you live with someone who is pregnant. This is because if you spread Giardia to someone who is pregnant, they will not be able to take the most effective medications to treat it.
If you have a weakened immune system
If you have a weakened immune system (for example, due to illness such as HIV), your symptoms may last longer. Your healthcare provider can prescribe medications to help reduce the amount of time symptoms last.