If you swim in freshwater rivers, streams or lakes in the summer months, drink untreated water or travel to parts of Pacific Rim or Africa for a holiday, you may pick up something you failed to see. While some parasites are asymptomatic, others can prove quite damaging inside a few weeks of taking up residence inside you. In several cases, surgery is an option to help in eliminating some organisms. Medicines rarely help because it is already too late and the drugs are so harsh that you suffer from the after effects. Prevention is the key: wash your hands and nails before you prepare or eat meals, wear shoes outside, cook your food thoroughly. This is just for starters.
Nematodes (the worms) Often referred to as nematodes, worms are the most diverse of all critters. Over 28,000 have been described and over 16,000 of those are parasitic. They’re adaptable and have been discovered in all climates.. They know no geographical or economic boundaries. Parasitic types include hookworms, pinworms, whipworms and roundworm.
1. Anisakiasis is a parasitic infection of the human gastrointestinal tract caused by the consumption of raw or undercooked seafood containing larvae of the nematode Anisakis Simplex. The harmful presence of an anisakid worm is regularly misdiagnosed for the symptoms of regional enteritis or an inflammatory bowel condition.
2. Blood Flukes: The World Health Organisation (WHO) considers infection by this trematode (also called a flatworm) second only to malaria in terms of the number of people infected. It gets into the human host through the skin of people that come into contact with infested waters; once inside they live in human veins. Several species of blood flukes affect humans, mainly in Asia and Africa. Freshwater snails are the main intermediate hosts. The damage to the human body is dependent upon the location of the blood fluke within the body (lungs, liver, and so on.).
3. Hookworm: The hookworm is a parasitic nematode that lives in the small intestine of many mammals, especially humans. There aren’t any precise symptoms or indicators of hookworm infection. Panting, fever, coughing and chest pain will sometimes be experienced by people who’ve been exposed to really the eggs. Dysentery, vomiting nausea, vomiting and constipation can happen early or in later stages too, although digestive symptoms tend to improve with time.
4. Pinworm: This pinworm is a common human abdominal parasite, particularly in children. Infection usually occurs as a result of ingesting pinworm eggs, either through contaminated hands or fingernails, contaminated foods, or less commonly, water. The main symptom includes itching in and around the anus and around the perineum.
5. Roundworm: (Ascaris lumbricoides) cause Ascariasis in humans. Although infected humans can remain asymptomatic for long periods, a heavy worm invasion may cause nutritional deficiencies which are occasionally lethal. These include obstruction of the bowel, the bile or pancreatic duct by a ‘knot’ of worms. Symptoms are varied and can include gluten intolerance, tumours and lethargy.
6. Tapeworm: Once anchored to the host’s colon wall, the tapeworm absorbs nutrients through its skin as the food being digested by the host flows past it. Tapeworm infection is caused by ingesting food contaminated with tapeworm eggs or larvae or by eating undercooked beef, pork or chicken. Many people with intestinal tapeworm infection display no symptoms but act as carriers.
7. Toxocariasis is a helminthic, zoonotic infection of humans due to the dog or cat roundworm. Transmission of Toxocara to humans is usually through accidental ingestion of infective eggs. Flies that eat feces can spread Toxocara eggs to surfaces or foods. Eating undercooked sheep, rabbit or chicken can also cause infection.
8. Whipworm: A roundworm, that causes trichuriasis when it infects the large intestine. Infection happens once again through accidental consumption of eggs, which frequently are found in dry products such as rice, beans and grains. They’re found more frequently in hotter regions.
10. Entamoeba Histolytica : Cysts survive outside the host in soils, water and on foods, particularly under damp conditions. Entamoeba Histolytica is also found to be passed on by way of anal-oral sex. Symptoms can include severe dysentery, bloody diarrhoea, abdominal pain,weight loss, fatigue, and amoeboma. The latter might be mistaken for a carcinoma in the right lower quadrant of the stomach.
11. Giardia: If you drink unfiltered water or eat contaminated food this tiny fellow will find its way into your small intestines. Eight thousand giardia can fit onto a pinhead. Symptoms can include diarrhoea, excess gas, stomach or abdominal cramps, upset stomach and/or nausea. Weight loss and dehydration can happen, which can sometimes be harmful if not treated right away.
From a family of Clydeside Scots, Graeme was born and brought up in Hong Kong. He lived for 35 years there, as well as in Borneo and Indonesia. Intrigued by the way in which the different Asian cultures approach their health and wellbeing, he studied aspects of Traditional Chinese Medicine and became familiar with many other time-honoured healing methods, from the traditional Jamu herbal medicine healers of Java to the body balancing mechanisms of Jin Shin Jyutsu, from Japan. Together with his wife Phylipa, Graeme runs Resources For Life, a natural health business in Chichester, West Sussex. Much of what is available on their website has origins steeped in ancient wisdom.
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