Today's haiku

[conuly]

The creeping worry
Scared even of my own thoughts
Parasitic dread


So, once again I am forced out of my apathy to ask... if parasites often show no symptoms, how do you know? Would it be incredibly embarrassing and weird to just go to the doctor and ask "Hey, check me out for worms because THEY DON'T ALWAYS SHOW SYMPTOMS????" I'd only have to do that one time, right?

Comments

[sparkofcreation.livejournal.com]

I think you're only supposed to go if you've been somewhere that you'd be likely to catch one from? Like swimming in a swamp in South America or something?

[xianghua.livejournal.com]

Well... there's OTC homeopathic stuff that is supposed to rid one of parasites. (I'm a bit dubious; black walnut is effective but the dosage is TINY) Try that?

[conuly]

I used to have a lot of cats who were, I'm sorry to say, not very well taken-care-of medically. Does that count?

[sparkofcreation.livejournal.com]

TBH I don't know whether cat parasites can be transmitted to humans or not. Most cat illnesses can't though, I do know that.

[conuly]

Toxoplasmosis can.

[conuly]

Sorry - this just periodically has me freaked.

[rachelkachel]

I don't know if this really helps, but if they show no symptoms, does it really matter whether you have them?

[conuly]

YES.

Just... yes.

[brownkitty.livejournal.com]

Will acting as if you have them and getting treatment make you feel better even if you have no proof of having them?

[azarias.livejournal.com]

YES. MOST EMPHATICALLY.

(Also, oh thank *supernaturalpowerofchoice I'm not the only one who gets freaked by this.)

I've been told diatomaceous earth, the food-grade kind, is a good preventative. Must acquire.

[tsukikage85.livejournal.com]

Don't we all have parasites?

[ser-kai.livejournal.com]

You can't get worming tablets over the counter at the chemist? I regularly worm every animal(including humans) at my place.

Anyway, everyone has parasites of some sort. Generally, you only worry if you have too many (when your butt will start to itch pretty fiercely/ you'll have dead worms in your pants in the morning) or something like tapeworm.

If you can't get the meds, there are herbs that will kill them but I wouldn't really recommend going that route.

[elenbarathi.livejournal.com]

Yes, intestinal parasites are very common, especially in small children who live closer to the ground and stick their unwashed fingers in their mouths more often, but anyone can get them. They're not usually transferred from pets or other people, but in some cases they can be.

The first line of defense, as with most communicable diseases, is hand-washing (with soap and water) and keeping hands away from the face. It's a good idea to wear gloves while gardening. Always wash your fruits and vegetables (http://www.stretcher.com/stories/00/001127b.cfm) well.

No, it's not true that going to the doctor to be tested once would fix you up. The tests apparently aren't very reliable. I wouldn't recommend using pharmaceutical poisons (worming tablets) on your own - first because they are poisons, and it's not beneficial to kill off a few mostly-harmless worms at the price of damaging your liver or other vital organs; second, because the worms have evolved, and (like head lice, gonorrhea, etc.) have become increasingly resistant to the pharmaceutical poisons.

If you want to go that route, go to a real doctor, get all the tests, take every last pill of your prescription as directed, then go get re-tested to see if it worked. Otherwise, you're just gambling blind, ingesting substances that are definitely toxic to you but may not be toxic enough to the worms (if you actually have them) to kill them. What does not kill them makes them stronger, which is how we got resistant strains (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&newwindow=1&safe=off&q=anthelmintic+resistance&btnG=Search) in the first place.

The herbal route is much easier and safer, and does not create the problem of resistant strains. There are commercial preparations you can buy, but they're pricey and not necessarily all that great. Fortunately, you don't have to buy them; you can just buy foods. Here are some of the foods worms hate:

Cloves
Garlic
Pumpkin seeds
Black walnuts
Coconut and coconut oil
Rosemary
Thyme
Ginger
Aloe vera juice or gel

Diatomaceous earth is great if you're planning to do the full-on fast-and-cleanse routine; otherwise all it's going to do is give you a terrible case of cramping diarrhea, and probably won't disturb any worms you may have in the slightest. Trying to do a full-on fast-and-cleanse while caring for small children is just setting yourself up for failure; I don't recommend it. However, cleaner intestines would be a much less hospitable environment for parasites, and you don't have to disrupt your life to achieve that.

Twice a day, drink a spoonful of psyllium seed husk (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&newwindow=1&safe=off&q=%22psyllium+seed+husks%22&btnG=Search) in a big glass of water with a little cranberry juice (unsweetened 100% juice) added. Cut back or (preferably) cut out refined carbohydrates and oils, especially corn-based. Eat as many raw or lightly-cooked fruits and veggies as possible. And drink water: half your body-weight in ounces is considered optimal, thus a person who weighs 200 lbs. should be drinking five 20-oz. glasses of water a day.

That's about it. The happy news is that if you do all this, after a month or so you're going to look and feel way healthier, whether you had any worms to begin with or not. Enjoy! :)

[sparkofcreation.livejournal.com]

I think you're only supposed to go if you've been somewhere that you'd be likely to catch one from? Like swimming in a swamp in South America or something?

[xianghua.livejournal.com]

Well... there's OTC homeopathic stuff that is supposed to rid one of parasites. (I'm a bit dubious; black walnut is effective but the dosage is TINY) Try that?

[conuly]

I used to have a lot of cats who were, I'm sorry to say, not very well taken-care-of medically. Does that count?

[sparkofcreation.livejournal.com]

TBH I don't know whether cat parasites can be transmitted to humans or not. Most cat illnesses can't though, I do know that.

[conuly]

Toxoplasmosis can.

[conuly]

Sorry - this just periodically has me freaked.

[rachelkachel]

I don't know if this really helps, but if they show no symptoms, does it really matter whether you have them?

[conuly]

YES.

Just... yes.

[brownkitty.livejournal.com]

Will acting as if you have them and getting treatment make you feel better even if you have no proof of having them?

[azarias.livejournal.com]

YES. MOST EMPHATICALLY.

(Also, oh thank *supernaturalpowerofchoice I'm not the only one who gets freaked by this.)

I've been told diatomaceous earth, the food-grade kind, is a good preventative. Must acquire.

[tsukikage85.livejournal.com]

Don't we all have parasites?

[ser-kai.livejournal.com]

You can't get worming tablets over the counter at the chemist? I regularly worm every animal(including humans) at my place.

Anyway, everyone has parasites of some sort. Generally, you only worry if you have too many (when your butt will start to itch pretty fiercely/ you'll have dead worms in your pants in the morning) or something like tapeworm.

If you can't get the meds, there are herbs that will kill them but I wouldn't really recommend going that route.

[elenbarathi.livejournal.com]

Yes, intestinal parasites are very common, especially in small children who live closer to the ground and stick their unwashed fingers in their mouths more often, but anyone can get them. They're not usually transferred from pets or other people, but in some cases they can be.

The first line of defense, as with most communicable diseases, is hand-washing (with soap and water) and keeping hands away from the face. It's a good idea to wear gloves while gardening. Always wash your fruits and vegetables (http://www.stretcher.com/stories/00/001127b.cfm) well.

No, it's not true that going to the doctor to be tested once would fix you up. The tests apparently aren't very reliable. I wouldn't recommend using pharmaceutical poisons (worming tablets) on your own - first because they are poisons, and it's not beneficial to kill off a few mostly-harmless worms at the price of damaging your liver or other vital organs; second, because the worms have evolved, and (like head lice, gonorrhea, etc.) have become increasingly resistant to the pharmaceutical poisons.

If you want to go that route, go to a real doctor, get all the tests, take every last pill of your prescription as directed, then go get re-tested to see if it worked. Otherwise, you're just gambling blind, ingesting substances that are definitely toxic to you but may not be toxic enough to the worms (if you actually have them) to kill them. What does not kill them makes them stronger, which is how we got resistant strains (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&newwindow=1&safe=off&q=anthelmintic+resistance&btnG=Search) in the first place.

The herbal route is much easier and safer, and does not create the problem of resistant strains. There are commercial preparations you can buy, but they're pricey and not necessarily all that great. Fortunately, you don't have to buy them; you can just buy foods. Here are some of the foods worms hate:

Cloves
Garlic
Pumpkin seeds
Black walnuts
Coconut and coconut oil
Rosemary
Thyme
Ginger
Aloe vera juice or gel

Diatomaceous earth is great if you're planning to do the full-on fast-and-cleanse routine; otherwise all it's going to do is give you a terrible case of cramping diarrhea, and probably won't disturb any worms you may have in the slightest. Trying to do a full-on fast-and-cleanse while caring for small children is just setting yourself up for failure; I don't recommend it. However, cleaner intestines would be a much less hospitable environment for parasites, and you don't have to disrupt your life to achieve that.

Twice a day, drink a spoonful of psyllium seed husk (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&newwindow=1&safe=off&q=%22psyllium+seed+husks%22&btnG=Search) in a big glass of water with a little cranberry juice (unsweetened 100% juice) added. Cut back or (preferably) cut out refined carbohydrates and oils, especially corn-based. Eat as many raw or lightly-cooked fruits and veggies as possible. And drink water: half your body-weight in ounces is considered optimal, thus a person who weighs 200 lbs. should be drinking five 20-oz. glasses of water a day.

That's about it. The happy news is that if you do all this, after a month or so you're going to look and feel way healthier, whether you had any worms to begin with or not. Enjoy! :)