It takes about four to six weeks for the disease to run its course, and the treatment is mainly bed rest. Permanent scarring of the liver may result. Parasitic diseases such as amoebic dysentery, giardiasis, and taeniasis. Amoebic dysentery is caused by a microscopic single-celled animal, an amoeba, and the main symptom is persistent, intermittent bouts of bloody diarrhea. Amoebas sometimes spread from the digestive tract to the liver where they form abscesses.
Treatment involves taking specific anti-amoebic drugs, usually for one to three weeks.
Giardia adhere to the intestinal lining, interfering with fat absorption and other digestive processes, and the victim exhibits symptoms of nutritional deficiency. Taeniasis is tape worm, spread by undercooked beef or pork. While it is true that a digestive upset could be due to any of the causes described above, most cases of diarrhea and vomiting are of the turista type, that is, gastrointestinal illness that runs its course in 24 to 48 hours, requiring minimum medication. The treatment described here usually works. At the first sign of vomiting or diarrhea, the patient should stay home and rest, eating and drinking nothing while vomiting is severe.