Chagas Disease, Kissing Bug, Parasites, Vegetables

I often hear “disease starts with inflammation”!   No it doesn’t.  Ask the question, “Why do I have inflammation?”  “Where does it come from?”  It is because there is a toxin of some type that the body cannot deal with or is in the process of dealing with.  In this world we have a lot of possible toxic voluntary and involuntary “choices”.

As an example, an individual may come in contact with a parasite that uses a living person or animal as a host.  A parasite consumes your resources and creates waste (a toxin) that your body must deal with.  The Triatome (kissing) bug recently came to my attention. Known as the insect “vector” for Chagas disease is a major killer in Latin America.  The Triatomine Beetle is the American version of trypanosomiasis, the carrier for the parasite trypanosomes.  This is similar to the disease carried by the tsetse fly in Africa causing sleeping sickness. 

The normal venue for these beetles is a secretive nocturnal life in the cracks and holes of substandard housing or in any outdoor/indoor environment including doghouses, chicken houses, woodpiles, etcetera.  They like to bite faces, suck blood, and defecate leaving the parasite.  The area itches, is scratched, and unknowingly rubbed into mucous membranes of the eyes, nose or mouth.   Other possible transmissions is thru blood transfusions, organ transplantation, and the ingestion of food contaminated with the parasite.  How much of our food comes from Central or South America?

With the world’s mobile population, you can disregard the old textbook world parasite prevalence maps.  There are currently hundreds of thousands of immigrants from Latin America living in the U.S. 

The worst possible impact is a massive enlargement of the heart causing sudden death (cardiomyopathy).  Have you ever heard of a dog suddenly dying in the kennel?  The scary part is that most are symptom free.  Mild symptoms include fatigue, fever, headache, diarrhea and vomiting.  There may also be a swollen eyelid on the side of the bite.

If you are at risk for parasites (blog), consider Verma Comp, Vermasode, and Verma HP.  A preventative for pets is diatomaceous earth(blog) dusted in the kennel.

Stay Well!

Parasites?

                                                         Hook Worm (hook like) Mouth

At one time the image of the Southern “redneck” was viewed as a person poorly clothed, barefoot, lazy and of poor intelligence.  Some were thin with large abdomens and poor muscle development.  This was the Southern anemia caused by hookworms that enter the body as larvae thru the skin of bare feet.  They then enter the blood stream, migrate to the lungs, up the trachea and are swallowed to the digestive system.  The parasites feed on our blood.  They mate in our intestines and produce thousand of larvae that are passed on thru feces.  This was an illness of poor hygiene, clothing and the lack of adequate facilities.

In this day and age, little thought is given to human parasites. We are of course diligent about worming our pets.  Given their dietary indiscretions, worming our pets is a good idea.  So is there any risk to humans? 

You could be at risk if you have pets, allow them in your home, and/or sleep with them.  There is the old saying that “if you lie down with dogs you wake up with fleas” and perhaps other creatures.  Another potential risk is eating in restaurants that have workers that do not wash properly.   Some workers from the USA or other countries may have poor hygiene habits or contracted parasites from other parts of the world. Other risks include eating poorly cooked meat, especially pork, or eating sushi.  At risk recreational activities include swimming in lakes or rivers.

Symptoms of parasite problems include itching of personal areas, loss of appetite, hunger without satiety, constipation, protein deficiency, dry skin and hair, insomnia, fatigue, anemia, abdominal discomfort and grinding teeth at night.  Keep in mind that parasites consume your nutrition and create waste that your body has to deal with. 

Stool samples are not always conclusive.  You can have a negative stool sample but still have parasites.  So if you are at risk or have any of the symptoms listed above you might consider a parasite cleanse.  Herbal products include Wormwood, Black Walnut, Fennel seed, Pumpkin seed, Betel Nut, and West Indian Pink root.  This combination can be found in Verma Comp.  Adding the homepathic combination Verma HP is a great addition.