anti-parasite medication

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anti-parasite medication

Postby friendlyskies » Sun Mar 20, 2011 5:25 pm

So, I spent all last week in a really undeveloped region without potable water (or places to buy bottled water), where soap is a luxury item, and with lots of kids with distended bellies etc. So, when I got back to civilization yesterday, the first thing I did was pop some anti-parasite pills. I didn't have any symptoms or anything, but I didn't want to wait until I was all full of worms chewing on my insides again, those motherfuckers can give you an ulcer. No joke!

But I was wondering, is that just a really stupid thing to do? Like, I'm not asking for any specific anti-parasite medication, and I think they give me different ones every time I buy them - I just go to an area pharmacy before I leave, since they'll be geared toward the local bugs, then take them when I get back home. This time I got Secnidazol Genfar, it just says not to take it with alcohol or when pregnant.

Thoughts? Am I being an idiot and destroying my long-term health?
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Re: anti-parasite medication

Postby michelle in alaska » Tue Mar 22, 2011 7:02 am

f.s., try not to make a habit of it. you can mess up your thyroid.
i had a very unhappy and uncomfortable time in the not too distant past where i was taking ivermectin or slapping on permethrin. antibiotics really helped, too.
what a bad combination. i was taking them when i had the least bit of an inkling that i was feeling invaded.
i had to literally will myself not to freak out, when i felt an attack coming on. talk about being trapped in your own skin.
i'm now in the process of trying to fix the damage done. it is taking months to get my endocrine system back on track.
i pay closer attention to the small print, now that i know i'm not invincible.
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Re: anti-parasite medication

Postby friendlyskies » Tue Mar 22, 2011 4:33 pm

Hmmmm..... I know I've been given invermectin before, too, that was what I took last time around - but I was in serious pain and those are the ones that cause permanent damage if left untreated (they live in Lake Nicaragua so everyone knows about them). I try not to de-parasite myself more than one or twice a year - this time, I even thought I already had something but knew I'd be exposed to all kinds of new bugs on this recent trip and figured I'd wait until it was over. Sure enough, I have more energy now than I have in months and my stomach feels fantastic.

But thyroid problems? FFfffuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu that is just a nightmare. Hmmm. Thanks for the insight and advice.

I was also thinking about the missionaries that come through there and give all the kids anti-parasite medication. My friend was telling me that they'd just get parasites again within a month, so there was no point, but bugs stunt your growth and affect your learning capability, never mind being painful.... what are people supposed to do?
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Re: anti-parasite medication

Postby db36046 » Thu Feb 28, 2013 12:05 am

I have found that a dose of Vermox or whatever local equivalent is available in your area every six months to a year will clean you out of most of the worms, including pinworms, hookworms, and roundworms. It may also do it for tapeworms, but that maya require a double dose. Read the PDR on it Flagyl is the usual med for amebas and giardia - much nicer than the old Metronidazol, which was much better than the Arsenic people took before that.

By all means, take the medicine. If you don't, the critters will eventually perforate the intestinal wall and get into the bloodstream and from there travel to and cause abscesses in internal organs, including the eyes, liver, and brain, which are very painful and can kill you. I have seen cases where no dysentery was present but the abscesses developed anyway; by that time, for example, in the case of a hepatic amebic abscess, the recovery rate is something like 20% - i.e. 80% die.

Worms can also cause epileptic type seizures, but the symptoms generally go away when the bugs are killed. They also may cause you to grind your teeth in your sleep, so if you or a very close friend notice you're doing that, take the medicine. If you are pooping out pinworms, ringworms, roundworms, or little rectangular pieces of tapeworm, take the medicine and by all means go find a real doctor.

I'm not a medico, I'm just telling you what I've learned over the years - sometimes the hard way.

Don't knock what the missionaries are doing. The kids get cleaned out, which re-sets the clock on the intestinal perforation process and saves lives. Short of re-educating an entire population on hygienic protocols and providing funds so they can afford to boil the water, it's the best thing they can do for this problem.
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