Preventing Giardia Spread?

[EternallyCynical]

So, I dunno if this is exactly the right place for this, and this might be something of an odd question, but I've had a stomach bug for a week and a half or so now and I went to the doctor today, they gave me an antibiotic for it but didn't ask for any testing. My mom thinks I might have picked up giardia, since the symptoms are pretty exact. I don't know for CERTAIN that its giardia, since again, the doctor didn't want to test, but I'm worried about the possibility anyways. Even if its not giardia, I don't want to pass ANY kind of GI bug onto my chinnie if I can avoid it! Right now I've just kind of been minimizing contact and making sure I wash my hands really well both before and after doing anything with him. I know giardia typically passes through contact with contaminated feces/water..... other than just practising good hygeine is there anything else I can do to prevent passing anything on to my chinchilla? He's not showing any signs of having picked it up - eating, drinking, and pooping normally, and his weight hasn't gone down (it typically fluctuates between the mid-740g mark and low 750g mark, it hasn't gone above or below this normal range) so even if he's an asymptomatic carrier, its not bothering him right now. Any advice'd be appreciated I can't dump my mum with all the work looking after him, she's got enough on her plate!

 

[seachin]

Whenever I am sick regardless of how it is spread I wear nitrile or latex gloves and a dust mask. I'm not sure I would be so quick to call it giardia as there are many intestinal parasites that have similar symptoms. Definitely continue washing with warm water and soap for a good length of time.

 

[EternallyCynical]

All right. I've got a big box of disposable gloves hanging around that I use when dying my hair, so that's not an issue. I'll have my mum pick up some masks if she can asap. Its true that it could be a bunch of things, but with anything especially GI I'm super paranoid about spreading stuff, and with how exact the symptoms are to giardia infestation, I'd really rather be safe than sorry.

 

[hyperzuzik]

You could give your chins probiotics and something to strenghten their immunity (I give a sirup for babies). If your chin has a strong immunity system it shouldn't catch anything

 

[EternallyCynical]

Mmmh :/ I don't have any probiotics lying around, let alone anything I know is safe for chinnies..... as far as I know, he's never been sick despite his previous owners being less than educated on chin care, and when I took him in the vet said he was in great shape, no heart troubles, nothing. But I've only had him since October so I'm really only assuming.... I don't know just how strong his immune system is :/

 

[seachin]

You can just get powdered acidophilus from the drug store and sprinkly a tiny bit on his pellets a few times a week. GI health is crucial for chins.