To : Sara C. Reuning Re : Giardia Nelson's pocketbook of pediatric antimicrobial therapy suggests Furazolidone or metronidazole for giardia infections. Flagyl(metronidazole) is generally preferred in the US today. However, the 2 gm STAT dose is only recommended for vaginal trichonomiasis, NOT other infectious syndromes such as giardia. The TID dosage for 7-8 days is generally required for this syndrome. As to stopping breastfeeding during this exposure to metronidazole, this is only slightly controversial, most clinicians let the mom continue to breastfeed. Following a 250 mg dose TID, the average milk concentration is only 6 mg/Liter of milk, far to low to harm and infant. We know very little about furazolidone, no data yet exists on its concentration in breastmilk. I doubt it is any more effective than Flagyl, with which we have a great deal of experience. Tom Hale