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Slithery Things: Part II

Parasite: "Any Organism living in or on any other living creature and deriving advantage from doing so, while causing disadvantage to the host." BMA Complete Family Heath Encyclopaedia. Last time we discussed how we get parasites and what the symptoms are. Let's now find out what the common parasites are, how we get rid of them and how can we prevent them from coming back.

Roundworms include threadworms, pinworms and hookworms: These are cute little buggers and resemble earthworms. They are the most common intestinal parasite, are most often spread through the soil and are commonly found in our cats and dogs. Rethink that kiss your pet thing, please, although I have a cockapoo who LIVES to catch me off guard and dart her tongue in my mouth . . . Roundworms are the most common worm infection world wide and is probably. the one I am finding in you. It is also the little moving (or not) white thread that you may find in the toilet when we begin the killing of your parasite.

Pinworms demand their own paragraph: These are the most common worms in children and parents of small children. They live in the intestine and resemble threads about 1/4 inch in length. They love to come out and play around the anus at night, so if your anus itches at night, then you probably have pinworms. Here's a test to find out: When you feel the itching, affix a piece of Scotch tape on your anus, leave it there for awhile then rip it off - and see if you have any small white wiggly worms moving around on the tape! (With kids, you can just look.)

Then we have the class of parasite called Protozoa: This includes Giardia, Cryptosporidium, Blastocystis hominis, and Trichomonas, the most notorious of this class. Except for Trichomonas which is an STD and shows up in the vagina and urethra, protozoa most commonly lodge in the upper small intestine and are often spread by food or water, pets and day-care centers. Giardia has been misdiagnosed as "failure to thrive" syndrome in children. These protozoa have been found in 39% of our drinking water and are invulnerable to chlorination, the main water-treatment method. This is why I yell at you to NOT drink city or well water without filtering it first because you can avoid most protozoa by filtering, esp. with a reverse osmosis system which is quite inexpensive at Costco or Home Depot.

Blastocystis hominis demands its own paragraph, too: Once thought to be a harmless yeast, this microorganism is now believed to be a potentially dangerous intestinal parasite. But this is the parasite that is yeast loving and sugar loving, so when you have this one, you may crave sweets, bad carbs, are always hungry even if you have eaten and have symptoms of a yeast infection as well. When viewed through a Darkfield microscope, you can see the blastocystis encircled by the fungus, candida albicans In this case, we need to handle not only the parasite but the yeast as well.

Then there are the Rickettsia and Chlamydia family which we can lump together as parasites, although the treatment protocol is a bit different. Rickettsia is a parasitic micro-organism which resemble bacteria, however in true parasitic form, they are only able to replicate by invading the cells of another life form. Rickettsia are the parasites of ticks and lice and are easily transmitted to us. Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever is a type of rickettsial disease. Usually we treat this type of parasite not only with antiparasiticals but antibacterials, too.

Chlamydia is a strange thing: It is a unique bacterial parasite, intermediate in size between viruses and bacteria, so it's tiny. But since chlamydia can't produce their own ATP (cell fuel), they colonize the host cytoplasmic cells to get their energy. Chlamydia is more susceptible to natural anti-bacterials and antibiotics. The chlamydia I find most in my patients is C. pneumoniae, which is mostly silent. Research shows that those of us with C. pneumoniae are more likely to have a stroke, heart disease and even Alzheimer's disease, so when I find it I always suggest that you rid yourself of it, even though you may be asymptomatic. It takes awhile to eradicate it.

A word about laboratory testing for parasites: Gary Null and I don't think it works and I find that there are a lot of false negatives: "The detection of parasites in the body cannot always be effectively achieved by examining stool samples, since parasites fasten themselves to the mucosal surfaces of the intestines and are thus able to avoid the stream of waste exiting the body."The Complete Encyclopedia of NATURAL HEALING, by Gary Null, Ph.D. Muscle testing is the best way, in my opinion.

So now that you have tested positive on one or many of my parasite-protozoa-rickettsia-chlamydia vials, How do we get rid of these invasive and opportunistic things? I have four antiparasiticals on my shelves that I use either singly or in combination. We may never know exactly what kind of parasite you have, but it doesn't really matter, if we can match you up through muscle testing to the appropriate supplements and you take them as directed for as long as you need to, usually 4 to 8 weeks, but sometimes longer.

1. Juglans Nigra Artemesia from Eclectic Institute: A cinnamon flavored glycerite compound, it contains black walnut green outer hulls, artemesia absinthium or wormwood flower and leaf, thyme leaf, cascara sagrada,cinnamon and quassia wood. Not too bad tasting and the supplement I use the most. Kids will take it.
2. Paradex from Progressive Labs: A capsule, it contains black walnut husks, artemesia, pau D'arco, odorless garlic and pumpkin seeds. A well tolerated and effective supplement.
3. Articin from Thorne: A capsule, it contains a huge dose (500 mg. per capsule) of artemesia annua or Sweet Annie. It is a very mild anti-parasitical and seems to be the one I personally test for most often.
4. Wormwood Complex from Standard Process: A tablet, this is the Big Gun, the one I bring out for super parasites or a resistant infestation. It contains stemona root, black walnut green hulls, wormwood and clove. Sometimes this can make you feel grody, but it really works.

I will often also give a dose of Berbercap which is Thorne's strong Oregon Grape, Undecyn, Thornes anti-fungal containing undecylenic acid and grapefruit seed extract and very often I will have you take Thorne's Herbal Bulk (psyllium, bentonite, prune powder and apple pectin) and even Thorne's Herbal lax (senna and cascara sagrada etc. ) if you have a particularly constipating parasite.

How do we keep the parasites from coming back? It's not easy once you have had them. In fact, Herman Bueno M.D., a well known specialist in tropical medicine and parasites has said that "Most people still believe that using the anti-parasitical drugs will "cure" the problem once and for all. Reality indicates differently. They are with us forever, waiting only for the time when immune resistance is low and they can proliferate with ease." Unfortunately, my experience, not only with myself but with my patients, has shown this to be true.

It's sometimes an ongoing effort just to keep parasites from coming back. First of all, I usually have to address the leaky gut that they have caused and there are several protocols for this, too long to go into here. I also may have to stir up your digestive fire with enzymes - both stomach and pancreatic - so that you can digest (kill) the interlopers as they enter your digestive tract. Other times I suggest that you take a daily prophylactic squirt or two of Jug Art or a couple of caps of another anti-parasitical.

I will also suggest taking a dose before dinner out at a restaurant whether it's the Flagstaff House or Target's deli, and esp. if you are a regular sushi eater. Restaurants usually lack ideal sanitary conditions and restaurant workers - both kitchen and the wait staff - do not ALWAYS wash their hands after leaving the bathroom despite all the fervent and large-typed signs in all the food prep establishments. Furthermore, restaurants tend to hire non-indigenous people who have a different intestinal terrain than we do. The comfortable parasite they have had since birth may be our diarrheic Waterloo!

And, please, I have to say this even though you will probably won't like it: Don't sleep with your cats and dogs and try your hardest to avoid having them lick you in the face. Change the cat litter in the most sanitary way possible and make sure your pets are healthy. If they seem under the weather, take them to the vet.

Lastly, if your bowels aren't quite right? Come in right away. Don't wait for weeks just waiting and hoping and crossing your fingers, for things to straighten up. The longer you wait, the longer it will take to clear up.

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