When to Seek Medical Care

When to call the doctor

Contact a doctor for appropriate diagnosis and treatment if your symptoms are consistent with giardiasis, if symptoms last despite treatment, or if any new symptoms develop.

When to go to the hospital

• Profuse watery diarrhea with dehydration
  
  
  • Signs and symptoms of dehydration in adults include being thirsty, feeling weak, decreased urination, no saliva or dry mouth, no tears, fast heart rate, and light-headedness.
    
    
  • Children with dehydration may also get irritable or sleepy.
  
  
• Passing many small-volume stools with blood or mucus
  
  
• Fever greater than 100.4°F (38°C)
  
  
• More than 6 unformed stools in 24 hours
  
  
• Illness longer than 48 hours
  
  
• Diarrhea with severe abdominal pain in anyone older than 50 years
  
  
• Diarrhea in anyone older than 70 years
  
  
• Diarrhea in people with weakened immune systems such as those with AIDS, people receiving chemotherapy, or transplant recipients