by 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.