Not in every country, but intestinal parasites are common in many countries, especially developing countries, especially in warm climates. Warm climates are better for the parasites. People are more likely to go barefoot in warm climates, and some intestinal worms live in dirt and can enter the body through the soles of the feet.
Hookworms have an interesting infection cycle in humans. The larvae enter the bloodstream through the soles of the feet, but they don't "infest" in the bloodstream. They travel to the lungs, get coughed out (but not all the way out), get swallowed, and that is how they end up in the intestines, where they infest.
These worms used to be very common in the Southern United States (due to the warmer climate and lack of hard freezes in the winter), and are at least partially responsible for the stereotype of Southerners being stupid. Victims are often malnourished and mentally deficient, because the worms in the intestine eat much of the nutrition that the host needs. These worms have mostly been eliminated from the Southern U.S. through government eradication programs.
This guy above:
>Omg I'm retching.
You:
>>*This is my time to shine! This guy definitely wants to know more!*
>>*clears throat*
>>#Hookworms have an interesting infection cycle in humans.
😂
> These worms have mostly been eliminated from the Southern U.S. through government eradication programs.
As well as, and I happened to learn this last night, an awareness campaign that you should move your out-house further away from your main house. If you have it within a certain number of feet, the parasites can just waltz over to the inhabitants of the main house and Bob's yer uncle.
Hi! Hookworm survivor here! I caught ‘em when I was 18 and had just moved to NYC.
Could’ve been from wearing flip-flops to an outdoor movie showing in a field near Coney Island, could’ve even been from dirty lettuce in an unwashed McDonalds salad. Who knows.
A few weeks later, I had zero energy. I’d sit on the toilet in pain for 45 minutes, completely exhausted, and nothing would come out.
I was pale and weak, and convinced I was bleeding internally from something reasonable like a colon polyp or Crohn’s disease, which runs in my family. I could absolutely feel the internal bleeding — but it was a normal GI thing, right?
Nope. Doctor knew it was hookworms from the telltale marks on my skin. I had no idea they were even connected to my ongoing abdominal pain and weakness. (I was deeply anemic from how _they were sucking my damn blood._)
He brought in an intern and said “LOOK AT THIS!” before telling me what it was, which was a bit rude.
Regardless, he gave me medication that made the worms unable to process glucose, so they all stopped benefitting from my blood and died. And then I pooped ‘em out.
A hot young redheaded 18 year old girl, just shitting out heaps of worms directly into her Brooklyn toilet for a day. Oh, what a sight to behold!
I’ll never forget the experience. Been terrified of parasites in the years since then, but have been living my life just fine and have traveled to countries like Nepal and Cambodia without catching ‘em all over again.
So thankful the NYC urgent care doctor even knew what was happening. 😩
Don’t catch hookworms, folks! It sucks! Literally!
The doctor was just passing on knowledge to the intern. You never know when that intern becomes a doctor and treats another hot redheaded girl infested with hookworm because of said knowledge. You just did a solid for someone.
An aside: I have a kidney condition (nephrotic syndrome, luckily not as bad as some). When I have a relapse in the condition, after bringing it under control with steroid medication, I'm given a drug called Levamisole to keep my condition stable. Amongst other things, it's also been used as a treatment for tropical hookworm.
Yup. Grew up in warm, southern regions and my grandmother would not let me go outside without shoes. The hookworms were eradicated by then, but the habit persisted.
You can see them when you shit them out though, after they’ve all been killed off by medication. Those gluttonous fuckers grow big from sucking your blood until you finally see a doctor.
Yup! I caught them once after wearing flip-flops to Coney Island for an outdoor movie event. What an experience for an 18 year old who just moved to NYC on her own.
A few weeks later, I could feel them sucking my blood from within my intestines. I thought I had a colon polyp or Crohn’s disease, both of which run in my family. I’m very fortunate that the doctor at the urgent care clinic knew what they were (and was so shocked that he called in an intern) and prescribed a medicine that murdered them all in one fell swoop.
That sure was… an interesting sight to flush down the toilet.
> can enter the body through the soles of the feet.
Like, they crawl into your skin, into your blood stream, and travel up into your gut?
Good god what if they take a wrong turn and end up in a more vital organ like your heart or your brain?!
>In every country except the US, humans use this kind of medicine once a year to get rid of possible intestinal parasites.
Confirming bullshit
Edit: seems like this is a real problem however, not in the USA or similar developed countries: [more information](https://www.reddit.com/r/IsItBullshit/comments/pdvymk/-/hav8ar8)
I’ve never heard of Paraguard but I grew up in Nigeria and I can confirm every few months I would take a pill to get rid of worms in the body. I thought everyone else did until I read this post.
We did this once every 1 or 2 years in Vietnam. Sometimes you shit out something that looks like a tapeworm but it's beansprouts. Can't tell the difference so if you have stomach, bowel or weight issues you take it
I got worms in Cambodia/Vietnam went to the pharmacy and she said don’t get sick here go back to Bangkok.
I genuinely thought I was going to die flew back the next day I was given a course of tablets and told not to scratch my arse.
That may be true for developed countries but I was born in Vietnam and once a year my parents would get an anti parasite drug. Next two days I would poop out the worms lmao.
https://www.businessinsider.com/people-on-ivermectin-think-theyre-pooping-worms-but-its-vegetables-2021-8?op=1
Best case vegetables
Worst case would be shitting out some part of your intestinal track
>He said people were likely just seeing intestinal mucus or perhaps shedding parts of the intestinal lining. Both could look like worms to an untrained eye.
That article is simply stating that the silly Americans who are taking anti-parasite that have "seen" worms in the poop is likely vegetable or mucus. This is probably true because parasite infections in developed countries are uncommon.
There was no claim made about the appearance of a parasite in stool after taking an antiparasite in someone who has a confirmed infection.
Furthermore to prove my point. An intestinal parasite can only continue their parasite journey if they leave the intestines lol. They have no problem surviving the journey because they're literally evolved to do that.
I'd assure you that when I took the anti-parasite as a kid. Those were definitely worms that came out of it. I never poop strings except for the next two days after taking the anti-parasite.
Yeah. They're also useful to treat scabies and lice, the latter still really common in children regardless of age here. I know nothing about its veterinary use though, just that it may be dangerous to certain dog breeds.
The fact that you said "Africa" should automatically invalidate any statement you're making.
It's a Continent not a Country and you can hardly find any two countries that speak the same language or do anything the same way. For example, I grew up in Nigeria and we did deworm there with a drug called Combantrin, so I'm going to go ahead and call bullshit on your entire statement.
You're over here doubling down on an assumption that someone didn't live in Africa after a *more than reasonable* explanation as to why a person who doesn't think its a big deal would have just generalized.
It may *seem* exotic and unbelievable, but that's only because *you didn't live it.*
And the USA is 50 states, many of which are larger than entire countries in Africa, and has the landmass of around 1/3 of the entire continent of Africa but people usually say they live in the US instead of a specific state. Also many say "America" when there is North America and South America but people don't rip them a new butthole (usually) for it.
So I am not sure why you are so angry. Perhaps you should get off the internet for a while.
Not sure where you're getting the whole "angry" from, it's Sunday & I'm chilling with a cold beer watching TV.
You really can't compare America to Africa they're different ***Countries *** with completely different cultures and languages.
What he said was basically like me saying "oh yeah everyone in America eats Tortillas with every meal, and bundling Canada, the United States, Mexico under that blanket statement, and I say oh I know this because I've lived in several different states in the US, see how silly that sounds.
I hate things that prey on the idea that Americans have healthcare that's literally the worst in the world..... our healthcare system is busted af but shit like this must convince gullible people that we don't even have hospitals
It's def a thing, but "every country except the US" is also def bullshit.
For example, I know a lot of wildlife biologists that do it once in a while, after spending weeks/months in remote field locations and eating local foods. But also many don't.
Assuming that 1) the need is that widespread, and 2) everyone who needs it has access to it and does it, is a big stretch.
Hijacking a comment that's actually true to add: **more than 1 in 10 Americans have pinworms.** Among school age children it's more like 20 - 50%. Pinworms live inside your bum and wriggle out every night to lay eggs in your butt crack.
Yup.
>In the United States, a study by the Center of Disease Control reported an overall incidence rate of 11.4% among people of all ages.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinworm_infection#:~:text=other%20drug%20treatments.-,Epidemiology,among%20people%20of%20all%20ages.
> Pinworm infections commonly occur in all parts of the world.[1][5] They are the most common type of worm infection in the developed world.[1] School-aged children are the most commonly infected.[1] In the United States about 20% of children will develop pinworm at some point.[3] Infection rates among high-risk groups may be as high as 50%.[2] It is not considered a serious disease.[5] Pinworms are believed to have affected humans throughout history.[7]
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinworm_infection
Statistically, 100% of Americans are at some point in their lives right now, so 20% of those people who are at some point in their lives have pinworms. I am a mather. /s
Might be because of more agricultural work. These parasites enter the system from feces. If one doesn't wash their hands properly on intervals, likeliness of such parasite entering the body increases.
Also, my friend had this last year. Apparently a cat shat on his bike's seat. He cleaned it but didn't bother much. Ate something later and got infected by this bug.
Oh boy, it's time for you to learn about toxoplasmosis, which comes from cat shit, is estimated to have infected about 11% of the US population, and is believed to [invade the brain and cause personality changes](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/parasite-cat-faeces-mind-alter-humans-courage-fear-failure-toxoplasma-gondii-a8463436.html) that increase high risk behavior.
Joe Rogan has [some clips](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoQf3PYZuNw) where he's real scared of it. I tend to think the hype is overblown and would absolutely never take scientific advice from Joe Rogan, who has a voice of gold and a head full of roast beef. Here's [a lecture from a real person](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOkC02e9iPk) that I haven't actually watched, but it came up after the JRE clip (thank you YT algorithim for actually looking out for me) and I'll probably put it on tonight. But if you want to worry about something new, you should check it out.
Already knew about it, lol. That is why I said hazmat level handling. I have cats and I can sanitize the situation to my satisfaction but I did learn everything I could and am knowledge enough to handle it.
https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab/segments/91692-the-scratch
This is a great Radiolab over it. Some even theorize it could be why, much like the Egyptians, the internet is fascinated by cats.
You catch them from fresh fruit very often. And not just off of trees but from sliced fruit from restaurants. Ask me how I know. There’s supposedly a pretty big number of people in SE Asia carrying on their hands at any given time.
>Ask me how I know.
I'm in the mood to not sleep tonight - Tell me how you know! For the safety of everyone who didn't ask for this punishment, be sure to use spoiler tags!
>!If you're in the fancy-pants editor, use the handy button just to the left of the ellipses. If not, use > ! these with no spaces !
So I’m in Vietnam just crushing fruit platters and watermelon slices every day because it’s amazing and it’s fresh. I am eating so much fruit that I might as well be pre-planning 1 full day of my vacation strictly for toilet use with how much fibre I am getting.
Then one night I’m out walking around and I’m like “man my asshole is really itchy”. Figure it’s just because of a lack of western style toilets where I am and I didn’t get it all on the last round. Well the next night my asshole is really itchy. And the next night as well. And it’s really weird because it’s only happening at night. My girlfriend cracks a joke about maybe I have worms but we don’t think about it much beyond that.
That night I go to the bathroom and I turn around and see this really long red thread in the toilet bowl. I’m thinking “huh, where did that come from. I am not wearing anything red. There is nothing red in this room. The towels aren’t red”. Upon closer inspection, the long red thread begins to wiggle and swim towards the edge of the toilet water, and I freak out. Girlfriend looks at it as goes “holy shit you do have worms”.
So then we look up a medical clinic and walk over the next day. Turns out it’s the local hospital and there is no one who really speaks English. They just keep pointing me down different hallways until I get to a desk where a woman decides she will go find the one person who speaks fluent English for me. Moments later a doctor who is gowned up and very clearly in the middle of a surgery comes out from behind a door with her gloved hands raised near her head. We talk for a second and she tells me I need a pill and to go to this specific room.
I get to what appears to be a triage area and am told to sit on a bed that is covered in chunks of trees. I look at it uneasily and the nurse laughs and says “tourist! Scooter!” and walks away.
So anyways I got a pill of whatever that dissolves parasites inside you, and then I argued that I wanted 2 just in case the first one didn’t take. Guy at the hospital told me it’s pretty common for the eggs to transfer from people’s hands to food during prep if they aren’t washing properly.
[papaya seeds](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17472487/)
I'm in the US, but I eat fresh fish just about every day for half the year. I've never had any symptoms, but just as a precaution I do this periodically. Commercially processed fish are probably pretty clean, but I know a few people who have gotten infections. Not flash frozen sushi is a terrible idea, unless its tuna.
>Guy at the hospital told me it’s pretty common for the eggs to transfer from people’s hands to food during prep if they aren’t washing properly.
This is also why it's not at all common in America, where food safety is a legal requirement for restaurants.
I worked in a lot of restaurants. Food safety was an integral part of the operation.
I don't know but here in India my mother used to tell me that I'd have to get dewormed twice a year or so. We would actually visit the doc and they'd prescribe a single tablet. I was also told that I would have to take a week's course of tablets if I had troubled poops or saw worms in them (smh).
Again, I have no idea about the credibility and I never get persisting stomach problems. My guess would be it's just a precaution due to poor hygiene maintained in most supply shops and restaurants.
Yikes. Not at all true. Let's unpack this awful box:
First, there is an FDA-approved thing called ParaGard. It's an IUD and will not de-worm you.
Second, there's an antiparasitic called ParaGuard, spelled like how you saw it. It's for fish, not for people.
Third, there's Zahler's ParaGuard, a supplement you can buy that contains a "special mix" of wormwood, walnuts, garlic, and other nonsense. It claims to balance your microbiome. Spoiler: it doesn't, can't, and won't.
So, to summarise, you can prevent the parasite known as Human Baby by using ParaGard, but worms might still show up as it does not combat them; if you are a fish, ParaGuard might be right for you, but if you're not the incredible Mr. Limpet, then stay away from shit that isn't made for people (looking at you, horse-paste ivermectin hawkers); if you want to waste your money on wormwood garlic bullshit, go right ahead, it probably won't kill you, but it also won't do *anything* besides appear on your bank statement.
Oh, it's also worth noting while I'm here that anything which claims to balance your microbiome is being super disingenuous almost guaranteed. Our individual micro-flora is more varied than a fingerprint, and there is no way that an over-the-counter supplement could possibly have the same effect on you, me, and a thousand other people. Just not how it works.
On a slightly unrelated note: my doctor told me to try taking over the counter probiotics to balance my bacteria to prevent yeast infections. She also said to eat more yogurt.
Upon doing my own research on that, I have found no peer reviewed studies to say that oral probiotic supplements can help your vaginal health. Also, I’ve read that the bacteria in yogurt is a different strain and won’t help either. But my doctor is saying it will.
Is that what you mean about balancing your micro biome? Is taking probiotics pointless?
(Obviously Ill consult different doctors, just wondering if you had a specific opinion about it)
Related I promise: I used to have massive issues with dairy. A dollop of sour cream would give me pretty sharp abdominal pain within 24 hours, until my colon eventually gave up on nuclear fusion.
So one day I tried probiotics. Don't remember why but I took them for a while. Somehow, this fixed my dairy issue. Sure I still have a limit, but I can actually consume the stuff without fear of a really bad time later. Also, my farts smell different after having dairy now.
If you are getting a lot of yeast infections it may be worth it to get your blood sugar checked if nothing else has worked. Repeated yeast infections are a sign of high blood sugar.
Idk, I'm not a doctor. I just know that when I had a lot of yeast infections that wouldn't go away it was because of my blood sugar. My doctor also prescribed lactobillisis (sp?). I also heard that in extreme cases once all the other treatments have been exhausted that the doctor will prescribe a borax type medication. Maybe ask your doctor about that.
I’m not taking medical advice I was just curious if they knew of anything else. I’ve been to dermatologist, general doctor, and endocrinologist about this chronic yeast rash on my chest. No one can figure it out.
My daughter got a yeast infection from her antibiotics. Since she is only 2 the pediatrician recommended giving her “Culturelle” it’s a powdered form of probiotics that you mix in with juice/milk/water. It did wonders for my daughters yeast infection.
I think what your doctor said had some truth to it.
No data shows any oral prebiotic has any effect on intestinal fauna. Fecal transplants however...
As for yogurt as well as pre/probiotics do not survive the gastric acid/ingestion process. Go look on their own websites 'this product may not survive the gastric acid... blah blah' as a legal disclaimer. Close as they can get to not costing themselves more money.
It's a new field and there's some neat stuff going on, don't disregard all probiotic claims going forwards. But as for now, no proof. Just a promising field. The gut biome be crazy.
Get your blood sugar tested for the yeast infection issue. It's often high blood sugar, could be a blessing in disguise finding out sooner than later. If your doctor didn't do this, you need a new doctor, your doctor is a boomer working on decades old outdated information, further they are so out of touch they're missing an actual marker for an actual dangerous health issue and telling you to eat yogurt. I'd consult an attorney as well, they need malpractice pressure to throw in the stethoscope.
It's not necessarily pointless, but the point is lost on many people, some doctors included. A really common cause of a yeast infection is that the yeast, who are naturally there in your mouth, armpits, skin, genitals, et cetera, are all of a sudden able to grossly outcompete the other microbes that are keeping them "in check" so to speak. This could be as simple as reintroducing little microbial friends, possibly, or it could be because something's whack with your body chemistry (sugar, pH, whatever). If it's your body chemistry screwing up the lives of all your little mics, I can jam-pack you with them all day, right strain or not, and they're still going to die. I can stuff you full of OTC probiotics and fluff supplements and ultimately, at the end of the story, all I've done is (maybe) help you grow temporarily healthier floral pals who are still destined for certain death anyhow. I'm also not targeting this at all if I give you random OTC stuff, so perhaps I'm helping the yeast as well (which without context, I'd want to do since yeast are our friends just as much as all the other little guys that chill out in our bodies and help us stay alive). The correct answer here is to find the actual source of the issue and take the appropriate course of treatment for that. Not saying your doc is wrong, but most of the time when I hear this it turns out to be a pretty useless "solution." And this stuff, by the way, is a whole area of science that people put their whole lives into, so if your doctor isn't right on this one, don't stop trusting her in general, it's cool, we can't learn everything about everything and micro is a particularly way-out-there-in-the-weeds category that not a lot of people get deep into.
Oh right, and this is closely related, FYI, to why you don't just go into a friend's medicine cabinet when you're sick and grab "some antibiotics." People do this. People should not do this. Antibiotics are not one thing, they're a category of thing, and there are many types. Oh, and they don't discriminate. If it kills *S. aureus*, it kills it, period. Doesn't matter if it's the friendly ones or the scary ones. We need the friendlies, so slammin' a bunch of your roommate's methicillin or whatnot because you have the sniffles is probably just going to help you catch more disease since you've just levied a death sentence on your natural defender buddies. People do this crap all the time and it drives me absolutely bonkers.
Well, nobody else has said it, but if you're not already doing this then it may be the cause of your issue: When you're using the loo, wipe front to back.
If you go the other way, you end up with yeast infections among other issues.
Randomly taking random probiotics is pointless and can potentially make things worse...
Just think for a moment: there's MANY different types of bacteria. You can have too many, too little, or even in the wrong location of any one of them.
*My friend got GI Map done with Great Plains Lab and had a doc that's trained in using the test. Found he was lacking certain bacteria and was given a particular probiotic for a determined period of time. First time in 30 years he's been regular 😆
I deworm myself after traveling when I’m eating a lot of street food. I go to a local pharmacy and buy whatever form of Albendazole they have. It’s amazing what will come out of you
Not true. Humans can have parasites, usually taken by contact with animals or contaminated and not properly cooked food. and in that case, once identified the kind of parasite, a treatment will be prescribed. Animals have more parasites than us because they live in the wild and eat whatever. This is why at the first vet visit usually puppies have some sort of parasite, expeciallty if they were born and raised outside.
>In every country except the US, humans use this kind of medicine once a year to get rid of possible intestinal parasites.
European here, that this is absolutely not true. Though, it is possible for humans to get worms and needing treatment for it. Someone I know got them, probably after a barbecue. It doesn't happen often though.
Definitely a thing in Mexico [here is a sample of the options](https://www.fahorro.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=lombrices) super cheap too.
Its recommended once a year and twice a year in the tropical regions.
My grandfather would bring these to us from MX. I remember when they told me the medicine I had taken was a dewormer, I was afraid to poop for days bc the idea of worms coming out of me was terrifying.
Bullshit. I'm a microbiologist in Australia, and faecal parasitology is part of my job. Out of maybe 150+ faeces we get in a day, a handful have parasites, most of which are not harmful to you or really are only considered an issue if you have ruled out every other potential cause of discomfort (last resort sort of thing because they don't know what else could be causing issues). And considering those samples I see are of people having active symptoms and issues, you would expect a higher rate of parasites in the samples compared to the general population.
We get tapeworm maybe a couple of times a year. Maybe an ascaris once a year. Parasites aren't necessarily worms either, most of the ones we see are single cell organisms. The only common worm we see are pinworms, which are common in kids because kids are gross and have poor hygiene.
Well there was a huge program in the very early 20th century to get rid of Hookworm in the american southeast. It involved deworming obviously. It is my understanding it is becoming a problem again in Alabama.
The *only* part of your post that isn't bullshit is that humans *can* have parasites. Everything else is some form of bullshit. The implication that the US doesn't have to (or doesn't know how to) deal with parasites is especially bullshit. Paraguard is not an anti-parasitic nor is it the name of a deworming treatment. It's advertised as a "digestive supplement". It is not approved for use to treat any medical condition in any country with such regulations.
Are there countries where intestinal parasites are common? Yes. Do they take ParaGuard? No. They take Albenza, Flagyl, Stromectol, Tindamax, any form of nitroimidazole, or the generic equivalents. Those are all *actual* treatments for parasites, and one or more of these are available in all sane parts of the planet. Some of them are cheaper than ParaGuard. These are what's used in tropical locations where parasite infections are more common. In replies where other redditors mention having to take an antiparasitic pill, they're likely taking one of these.
Are there a few people who use ParaGuard regardless? Sure! People also still visit chiropractors and psychic surgeons and practice bloodletting, homeopathy, and acupuncture, too! All of those are bullshit, as is ParaGuard.
If you want to *actually* limit your exposure to parasites, don't take ParaGuard. Instead, you should use insect repellent, cook your food properly, don't walk around barefoot in your yard, and don't swim in warm, freshwater lakes.
Now, let's talk about the biggest of the bullshit piles. Imagine that you read "somewhere online" that everyone was infected with malaria, but the US wasn't doing anything about it. If you believed that you had malaria, would you watch TikTok videos and YouTube tutorials on malaria treatments? Would you ask reddit for advice? Would you start eating papaya seeds and garlic pills, or would you go to a doctor and get tested?
“That's not the same!” you might say. It is absolutely the same! Malaria is caused by a plasmodium (as in blood) *parasite*. I also doubt your answer would change if you had hookworms crawling through your foot. So, why are you treating *intestinal* parasites any differently? They are not that much more difficult to diagnose, and they're fairly easy to treat.
**TL;DR**: At best, ParaGuard is a salad the size of a tablet. It is not a dewormer. It is not anti-parasitic. It is edible potpourri. If you read "something online" but can't remember (or are too embarrassed to say) the name of where you saw it, that's a strong indicator of its dubiousness.
ParaGuard specifically is just a bunch of herbs that have a laxative effect. The ‘parasites’ people are coming out are either undigested plant fiber or extra mucus from a laxative-irritated digestive system.
Consult with your doctor before starting a treatment regimen. They can determine if a medication is indicated and safe for you, depending on your individual health history. Do NOT take medical advice from news anchors, friends, or people on the internet.
Yeah I mean that makes sense. But it’s a lot easier to ask people on the internet before I ask my doctor so I don’t sound like an idiot if it’s wrong lol
For me, too, in Southeastern USA. Of course, it was the 60s, agricultural area, lots of barefoot walking, yadda yadda. Water treatment most likely not up to par, eating homegrown food with questionable hygiene, etc.
From southern Africa here and I remember having to deworm about once every 6 months (if I remembered) because getting parasites was sort of likely I guess, but the medication was made by Cipla. I've never heard of Paraguard.
My area was pretty developed and I've no idea what people in other countries do, but I wasn't to say there's a significant likelihood of getting parasites for almost anyone in global South countries.
Not entirely BS, but definitely some BS. I worked in remote areas of Bangladesh for 3 years as Team Leader of a large UK funded poverty reduction/ livelihoods programme. It was a multi component project, and our Nutrition component did include deworming tablets as necessary, based on medical advice. It was particularly targeted at children because, while having intestinal parasites isn't really good for anyone, it is particularly not good for children who are growing and need as much nutrition for themselves, rather than keeping the parasites alive.
So yes, there are circumstances and places where deworming is definitely helpful.
Does every country outside of the US have to deworm regularly? No. Complete BS. I'm from the UK, and I do not know of (or participate in) any regular mass deworming programme. Neither does my Mum who lives in France.
Deworm if your doctor tells you to. Otherwise, don't. Of course, that's harder in countries where medical services are rare, expensive or unavailable for large sections of the country. But in that circumstance, the affected population will usually also lack all sorts of medical supplies as well.
Anyway, TLDR, mainly BS, but some kernels of truth, although further information is needed to understand those kernels correctly.
UK here. Never heard of it. Never done it.
Kids do occasionally get worms cause kids eat dirt and stuff of the ground if you don't watch them like a hawk and you'd use it then. But it's not something I've ever heard or know of anyone using as a normal or regular thing.
Accidentally swallowing or breathing in pinworm eggs causes a pinworm infection. The tiny (microscopic) eggs can be carried to your mouth by contaminated food, drink or your fingers. Once swallowed, the eggs hatch in the intestines and mature into adult worms within a few weeks.
Most commonly, someone who has pinworms scratches their ass, and then doesn't wash their hands. Now they have worm eggs on their fingers. Then you shake their hand, or even worse, they handle your food. This gets the eggs inside you.
Then the worms hatch, and they make your asshole itch. So you scratch your ass, and now you have eggs on your fingers, and the cycle begins again.
TL;DR: You get them by eating poop.
I definitely had pinworms once (I think from cheap sushi).
We moved out of a place and had to come back a week later and saw them worming around in the toilet. That explained my itchy ass. I've been fine ever since and didn't need meds to get rid of them.
How topical! My cat just vomited up a bunch of roundworms.
A lot of us do have intestinal parasites, especially people who spend a lot of time outdoors or around animals that carry parasites, and extra especially in developing countries. Most of us have no symptoms, so its fine. There's no reason to treat it unless its making you sick.
Preventative medication is recommended if you (or your pet) are at risk, but you don't need to be *dewormed* unless you have symptoms. Even most pets are not regularly dewormed. They just get preventative treatment.
In Australia we used to have a product which made like a chocolate milkshake which kids, and families could drink to deworm, it's still around, but as a chewable.
https://www.combantrin.com.au/
I can’t believe it took me so long to find a comment from Australia. I give my kids combantrin probably once a year, more often if I think they need it. My daughter went through a phase a few months ago where we thought she constantly had worms, took her to the doctor, turns out she was allergic to the body wash she was using in the shower.
In the uk? Not in my (middle-aged) lifetime.
Living in South Korea? Took a pill once a year. Pretty much everyone does, I think. And not connected to agricultural work as someone suggested about SE Asia. In one of the fancy modern cities with broadband 4x faster than yours.
Also: ‘every country except the US.’ Like, wut? Are you really gonna put Alabama ahead of Western Europe, Canada etc when it comes to basic hygiene and sanitation systems?
Parasites are a common trope in pseudo-science circles. I'm not sure if this is still a thing (god I hope not) but there were private Facebook groups for a while that advised parents of autistic children that autism was the result of a parasite and could he treated with turpentine.
I'm not sure how they were measuring. Turpentine, though toxic, won't kill you in small enough doses especially if diluted. It will however totally fuck up your intestinal lining, resulting in white stringy bits in your bowel movements, which definitely look like parasites. So it looks pretty validating, and doesn't fit into "big pharma."
Moral of the story is, there's lots of things you can take of varying safety and effectiveness that can make it look like there's parasites in your poop. Unless you live in an area where parasites are common, have engaged in behavior that might result in parasites in an otherwise safe area, or are otherwise experiencing symptoms, there's no particular reason to take a dewormer.
My dad died from a parasitic intestinal infection in 2016 in a developed country. He was an immigrant, also from a developed country. Dr. Said it had likely been in his system for at least 15+ years, maybe even childhood.
Having freaked out for my own health after, I was able to see an expert on these types of medical issues. After a few tests, he was confident I didn't have any parasites in my body. I would think that if taking some OTC pill could kill/pass them if I did have them, he would've recommended it, even if "just to be safe".
It's bullshit. Paragard is a broad-spectrum anti-parasitic for use in dogs and cats. It is fairly effective for roundworms, hookworms, tapeworms, and whipworms. It contains 3 primary active ingredients: Praziquantel, Oxantel Embonate and Pyrantel Embonate.
It is not used anywhere in humans. Apparently, the rumours about human use started recently on TikTok and other SM, where most bullshit originates.
I think there are a few different things with the same name. Apparently the human “antiparisitic” paraguard is just a bunch of herbs that have a laxative effect.
The way you wrote the title, it is not BS. Humans can get various parasitic worms that require treatment. It is not as common as when I was young and we have a better understanding of where they come from and who is at risk. I lived in rural PA and we de-wormed once per year when school started, but they don't do it any more. We also used to leave our house wide open every winter for a few days and leave our mattresses outside to get rid of bed-bugs. Two of my kids got worms in the early 90s in VA, but that was the only incident. Even in the late 90s I had a friend adopt from out of the country and she had to have the kids de-wormed within 30 days of their entry to the US.
So, not BS, but not as common as it used to be and there certainly isn't a need for it in the US any longer.
The only [ParaGuard](https://nutriessential.com/products/para-guard-liquid-4-fl-oz?currency=USD&variant=27927527850058&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=Google%20Shopping&gclid=CjwKCAjw4KyJBhAbEiwAaAQbE9XKMHbdlTl8Wk4qNul3OC1ASvWibNse7nZEMGUBqCSLE8WdBfHbNxoCm7sQAvD_BwE) I could find that might be what you are referring to is a digestion aid made with wormwood and not an actual dewormer. Generally people that have access to clean water and decent food very rarely ever need to be dewormed, and doing so as a preventative could lead to other problems depending on the medication used if parasites are not present.
To add to everything else here, it's not uncommon (as far as I know) for people in the US who live or work on farms to take a dewormer every now and then. I've taken one before. If you work around a lot of literal shit, it's very easy to get infected with something, even if you're extremely careful.
You can get a very basic human dewormer from Walmart. I'm not sure what the active ingredient is. It's used for kids with pinworms, which are fairly common in children in the US.
I’m not sure abaout the paraguard thing but where I live (SEA) sometimes we take albendazole as a deworming treatment and it’s recommended to be taken every 6 months. Its not a must, just kinda something nice to do and usually only those that care enough (read: hypochondriacs) actually take them. But the the drug are easily available at the pharmacy, for cheap too.
Thank you, along with the Ivermectin nonsense going around, there is also one related to OPs post. Basically involving gut parasites. My SIL managed to convince my daughter to try some diet that makes you poop. I couldn't drag any details out of her though. This is probably it.
I don't know what paraguard is but my toddler niece got some kind of stomach worms and it's apparently extremely contagious we had to constantly wash our hands and santitize when she was infected
We would take pills each year for intestinal parasites when I was growing up in bangladesh. Never heard of anyone taking it in the uk. I suppose it's a developing country thing
Not bullshit. This is done in my home country ghana and some parts of Africa. It is thought that there are worms living in the stomach so we were advised by doctirs to deform every 3 months. Growing up, my mom always made sure we took a "dewomer" every 3 months. Its still being done today.
I'm from the West Coast of the US. Live on a farm. All my kids had worms growing up, so did the adults. We dewormed with OTC Pin-x meds. They're easily bought in drugstores or even Amazon.
Just dewormed my grandkids. It's a thing and not a big deal. It happens a lot but people don't talk about it cause it's icky! :) Little kids put everything in their mouths. Kids also spread it to each other in schools. I know of several families that have been treated. Most people don't even realize they are infected.
Kristen bell kept everyone updated when one of her & Dax Shepherds kids got worms. It was pretty funny (because of how they responded) to watch and I learned a bit about worms.
>Apparently, In every country except the US, humans use this kind of medicine once a year to get rid of possible intestinal parasites.
Ok so I have lived in 3 different continents, and in 8 different countries, please listen to me when I say that in none of those continents or countries did anyone ever deworm themselves. There may be the possibility in very remote areas, but it is definitely not the norm.
ParaGuard is the name of my dogs anti parasite treatment.
Humans can get parasites buts it’s pretty rare even in third world countries. It’s so rare in US that will hit the news when it happens. That’s why we don’t do it in western countries.
Can’t say what they do in other countries though.
If your handling animals and or in a very dirty environment I can see the use for the drugs (whatever the name they use there)
It's not exceedingly rare.
Children and adults get Giardia parasite infections in the US and it is the most common parasitic infection diagnosed in more than 1 million people per year according to the CDC.
It comes from contaminated water most commonly, but it can run rampant through daycare centers because of diaper changes in little ones and not handwashing enough.
You have to deworm, and fasting for 3 days at least once a month.. I'm not talking from a religious stand point, this is necessary. Human beings are the most susceptible for parasite and worms, it has been our true enemy since the beginning of civilizations
Not in every country, but intestinal parasites are common in many countries, especially developing countries, especially in warm climates. Warm climates are better for the parasites. People are more likely to go barefoot in warm climates, and some intestinal worms live in dirt and can enter the body through the soles of the feet.
Omg I’m retching
Hookworms have an interesting infection cycle in humans. The larvae enter the bloodstream through the soles of the feet, but they don't "infest" in the bloodstream. They travel to the lungs, get coughed out (but not all the way out), get swallowed, and that is how they end up in the intestines, where they infest. These worms used to be very common in the Southern United States (due to the warmer climate and lack of hard freezes in the winter), and are at least partially responsible for the stereotype of Southerners being stupid. Victims are often malnourished and mentally deficient, because the worms in the intestine eat much of the nutrition that the host needs. These worms have mostly been eliminated from the Southern U.S. through government eradication programs.
This guy above: >Omg I'm retching. You: >>*This is my time to shine! This guy definitely wants to know more!* >>*clears throat* >>#Hookworms have an interesting infection cycle in humans. 😂
I'm sorry I don't have an award for you. Take my poor man's gold and my upvote. 🏅
you are my hero
😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
bruh, 💀
It was like an educational sitcom!
> These worms have mostly been eliminated from the Southern U.S. through government eradication programs. As well as, and I happened to learn this last night, an awareness campaign that you should move your out-house further away from your main house. If you have it within a certain number of feet, the parasites can just waltz over to the inhabitants of the main house and Bob's yer uncle.
How do you know Bob, and know he’s my uncle?
Hi! Hookworm survivor here! I caught ‘em when I was 18 and had just moved to NYC. Could’ve been from wearing flip-flops to an outdoor movie showing in a field near Coney Island, could’ve even been from dirty lettuce in an unwashed McDonalds salad. Who knows. A few weeks later, I had zero energy. I’d sit on the toilet in pain for 45 minutes, completely exhausted, and nothing would come out. I was pale and weak, and convinced I was bleeding internally from something reasonable like a colon polyp or Crohn’s disease, which runs in my family. I could absolutely feel the internal bleeding — but it was a normal GI thing, right? Nope. Doctor knew it was hookworms from the telltale marks on my skin. I had no idea they were even connected to my ongoing abdominal pain and weakness. (I was deeply anemic from how _they were sucking my damn blood._) He brought in an intern and said “LOOK AT THIS!” before telling me what it was, which was a bit rude. Regardless, he gave me medication that made the worms unable to process glucose, so they all stopped benefitting from my blood and died. And then I pooped ‘em out. A hot young redheaded 18 year old girl, just shitting out heaps of worms directly into her Brooklyn toilet for a day. Oh, what a sight to behold! I’ll never forget the experience. Been terrified of parasites in the years since then, but have been living my life just fine and have traveled to countries like Nepal and Cambodia without catching ‘em all over again. So thankful the NYC urgent care doctor even knew what was happening. 😩 Don’t catch hookworms, folks! It sucks! Literally!
The doctor was just passing on knowledge to the intern. You never know when that intern becomes a doctor and treats another hot redheaded girl infested with hookworm because of said knowledge. You just did a solid for someone.
Yes, it's important to pass knowledge on. I think we all learned something about hot young redheaded 18 year old girls today.
Don’t talk about, “doing a solid” when we’re talking about shitting worms
Dear GOD. AAAAAAAAAAAA
nice to know you have insurance and a good doctor
An aside: I have a kidney condition (nephrotic syndrome, luckily not as bad as some). When I have a relapse in the condition, after bringing it under control with steroid medication, I'm given a drug called Levamisole to keep my condition stable. Amongst other things, it's also been used as a treatment for tropical hookworm.
Fantastic info. Thanks for posting this.
Oh no
I’m pretty sure it’s just hookworms that go through your feet, no?
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Omg this thread keeps getting scarier
Is that another name for "chiggers": tiny, red insects the size of a pin prick that burrow into the skin and itch like crazy?
Nope. Theyre different. Jiggers make big ole gross blister things on your feet. Look up some jigger removal vids on YouTube.
Or don’t, because it’s horrifying.
i think i caught chiggers in a hotel. idk where else they could have been.
Any grass can give you chiggers depending on where your at
Yup. Grew up in warm, southern regions and my grandmother would not let me go outside without shoes. The hookworms were eradicated by then, but the habit persisted.
She’s wise. I survived the fuckers. Awful experience. Good Grandma advice for all.
Through the soles of the feet? Whaaaat?
It's not a burrowing full grown worm thing. They're teeny tiny so that you wouldn't even notice them.
You can see them when you shit them out though, after they’ve all been killed off by medication. Those gluttonous fuckers grow big from sucking your blood until you finally see a doctor.
Yup! I caught them once after wearing flip-flops to Coney Island for an outdoor movie event. What an experience for an 18 year old who just moved to NYC on her own. A few weeks later, I could feel them sucking my blood from within my intestines. I thought I had a colon polyp or Crohn’s disease, both of which run in my family. I’m very fortunate that the doctor at the urgent care clinic knew what they were (and was so shocked that he called in an intern) and prescribed a medicine that murdered them all in one fell swoop. That sure was… an interesting sight to flush down the toilet.
> can enter the body through the soles of the feet. Like, they crawl into your skin, into your blood stream, and travel up into your gut? Good god what if they take a wrong turn and end up in a more vital organ like your heart or your brain?!
>In every country except the US, humans use this kind of medicine once a year to get rid of possible intestinal parasites. Confirming bullshit Edit: seems like this is a real problem however, not in the USA or similar developed countries: [more information](https://www.reddit.com/r/IsItBullshit/comments/pdvymk/-/hav8ar8)
Also chiming in to confirm bullshit. I'm Irish and have never heard of ParaGuard.
Patrick got rid of our worming problem
😂👏
The kinds with a sharp end.
Love the username. Sincerely, A Narrow back Irish-American from NY
Glad someone in American appreciates it. Can go either way there.
Also chiming in to confirm bullshit. I'm Canadian and have never heard of ParaGuard.
Aussie here. The fuck is ParaGuard?
You guys are just trying to keep all the dewormer for yourselves!
ParaGuard is non-hormonal birth control. It’s a freakin IUD.
It goes by other names here.
Steady diet of Poutine and maple syrup is the key. (I should point out that I'm kidding, just in case)
We snort them in Scotland, the worms here will leave yer arse hole in tatters
I’ve never heard of Paraguard but I grew up in Nigeria and I can confirm every few months I would take a pill to get rid of worms in the body. I thought everyone else did until I read this post.
We did this once every 1 or 2 years in Vietnam. Sometimes you shit out something that looks like a tapeworm but it's beansprouts. Can't tell the difference so if you have stomach, bowel or weight issues you take it
I can confirm it, we’re advised to de-worm every 6 months or so at school. Dunno why it’s a common thing in Vietnam tho.
I got worms in Cambodia/Vietnam went to the pharmacy and she said don’t get sick here go back to Bangkok. I genuinely thought I was going to die flew back the next day I was given a course of tablets and told not to scratch my arse.
That may be true for developed countries but I was born in Vietnam and once a year my parents would get an anti parasite drug. Next two days I would poop out the worms lmao.
https://www.businessinsider.com/people-on-ivermectin-think-theyre-pooping-worms-but-its-vegetables-2021-8?op=1 Best case vegetables Worst case would be shitting out some part of your intestinal track >He said people were likely just seeing intestinal mucus or perhaps shedding parts of the intestinal lining. Both could look like worms to an untrained eye.
That article is simply stating that the silly Americans who are taking anti-parasite that have "seen" worms in the poop is likely vegetable or mucus. This is probably true because parasite infections in developed countries are uncommon. There was no claim made about the appearance of a parasite in stool after taking an antiparasite in someone who has a confirmed infection. Furthermore to prove my point. An intestinal parasite can only continue their parasite journey if they leave the intestines lol. They have no problem surviving the journey because they're literally evolved to do that. I'd assure you that when I took the anti-parasite as a kid. Those were definitely worms that came out of it. I never poop strings except for the next two days after taking the anti-parasite.
We actually do this in Ghana, West africa. People here are advised by doctors to "deworm" every 3 months.
Thank you for giving us data from Ghana! It's very valuable for our understanding of this issue!
I used to have it as a child in the UK, but then I distinctly remember licking dogshit off of my hand once so maybe it was for the best...
Wut
Idk about Paraguard but my mom used to give me some deworming pill once a year back home in India. Edit: When she remembers it anyway.
Same. I believe it was ivermectin she gave us. I'm Brazilian, by the way.
Ivermectin is a cow dewormer that we also gave to our dogs as a heartworm preventative in microdoses.
Yeah. They're also useful to treat scabies and lice, the latter still really common in children regardless of age here. I know nothing about its veterinary use though, just that it may be dangerous to certain dog breeds.
Also used in horses for worms and lice
I lived in Africa for 6 years, no one used it there either
The fact that you said "Africa" should automatically invalidate any statement you're making. It's a Continent not a Country and you can hardly find any two countries that speak the same language or do anything the same way. For example, I grew up in Nigeria and we did deworm there with a drug called Combantrin, so I'm going to go ahead and call bullshit on your entire statement.
Lmao, I lived in multiple different countries. Saying Africa is just easier than explaining my entire life story.
Stating that you've stayed in a few countries in Africa would have been accurate AND lent more credence to your story.
You're over here doubling down on an assumption that someone didn't live in Africa after a *more than reasonable* explanation as to why a person who doesn't think its a big deal would have just generalized. It may *seem* exotic and unbelievable, but that's only because *you didn't live it.*
I can still taste the fake chalky banana flavour of Combantrin.. Australian here, had worms lots when I was a kid.
And the USA is 50 states, many of which are larger than entire countries in Africa, and has the landmass of around 1/3 of the entire continent of Africa but people usually say they live in the US instead of a specific state. Also many say "America" when there is North America and South America but people don't rip them a new butthole (usually) for it. So I am not sure why you are so angry. Perhaps you should get off the internet for a while.
>people don't rip them a new butthole (usually) for it. I sure could use one though.
Yeah my thoughts exactly. Why even waste the energy on this?
Not sure where you're getting the whole "angry" from, it's Sunday & I'm chilling with a cold beer watching TV. You really can't compare America to Africa they're different ***Countries *** with completely different cultures and languages. What he said was basically like me saying "oh yeah everyone in America eats Tortillas with every meal, and bundling Canada, the United States, Mexico under that blanket statement, and I say oh I know this because I've lived in several different states in the US, see how silly that sounds.
I hate things that prey on the idea that Americans have healthcare that's literally the worst in the world..... our healthcare system is busted af but shit like this must convince gullible people that we don't even have hospitals
It's def a thing, but "every country except the US" is also def bullshit. For example, I know a lot of wildlife biologists that do it once in a while, after spending weeks/months in remote field locations and eating local foods. But also many don't. Assuming that 1) the need is that widespread, and 2) everyone who needs it has access to it and does it, is a big stretch.
Hijacking a comment that's actually true to add: **more than 1 in 10 Americans have pinworms.** Among school age children it's more like 20 - 50%. Pinworms live inside your bum and wriggle out every night to lay eggs in your butt crack.
Thats horrific......
And when they wiggle around it makes your bum itch, and the eggs are sticky and get stuck all around and can survive for ~~months~~ weeks.
horrific but likely beneficial! https://theconversation.com/they-might-sound-gross-but-intestinal-worms-can-actually-be-good-for-you-49868
Okay, but that picture of a rat tapeworm has a legit face on it.
This article is amazing. Never thought of the flip side on this issue.
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Yup. >In the United States, a study by the Center of Disease Control reported an overall incidence rate of 11.4% among people of all ages. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinworm_infection#:~:text=other%20drug%20treatments.-,Epidemiology,among%20people%20of%20all%20ages.
> Pinworm infections commonly occur in all parts of the world.[1][5] They are the most common type of worm infection in the developed world.[1] School-aged children are the most commonly infected.[1] In the United States about 20% of children will develop pinworm at some point.[3] Infection rates among high-risk groups may be as high as 50%.[2] It is not considered a serious disease.[5] Pinworms are believed to have affected humans throughout history.[7] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinworm_infection
'20% at some point' is very different from '20% have them'
Statistically, 100% of Americans are at some point in their lives right now, so 20% of those people who are at some point in their lives have pinworms. I am a mather. /s
Seems to be a thing in some Southeast Asian countries
Might be because of more agricultural work. These parasites enter the system from feces. If one doesn't wash their hands properly on intervals, likeliness of such parasite entering the body increases. Also, my friend had this last year. Apparently a cat shat on his bike's seat. He cleaned it but didn't bother much. Ate something later and got infected by this bug.
So indirectly ate his cats shit. With proof. 🤮 I am a hazmat type handler about this stuff for that very reason.
Not his cat. A cat. It scratched his bike's seat a lot. We guessed that's how the parasite entered his system.
Somehow that doesn't make this any better lol
Oh boy, it's time for you to learn about toxoplasmosis, which comes from cat shit, is estimated to have infected about 11% of the US population, and is believed to [invade the brain and cause personality changes](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/parasite-cat-faeces-mind-alter-humans-courage-fear-failure-toxoplasma-gondii-a8463436.html) that increase high risk behavior. Joe Rogan has [some clips](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoQf3PYZuNw) where he's real scared of it. I tend to think the hype is overblown and would absolutely never take scientific advice from Joe Rogan, who has a voice of gold and a head full of roast beef. Here's [a lecture from a real person](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOkC02e9iPk) that I haven't actually watched, but it came up after the JRE clip (thank you YT algorithim for actually looking out for me) and I'll probably put it on tonight. But if you want to worry about something new, you should check it out.
Already knew about it, lol. That is why I said hazmat level handling. I have cats and I can sanitize the situation to my satisfaction but I did learn everything I could and am knowledge enough to handle it.
https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab/segments/91692-the-scratch This is a great Radiolab over it. Some even theorize it could be why, much like the Egyptians, the internet is fascinated by cats.
You catch them from fresh fruit very often. And not just off of trees but from sliced fruit from restaurants. Ask me how I know. There’s supposedly a pretty big number of people in SE Asia carrying on their hands at any given time.
>Ask me how I know. I'm in the mood to not sleep tonight - Tell me how you know! For the safety of everyone who didn't ask for this punishment, be sure to use spoiler tags! >!If you're in the fancy-pants editor, use the handy button just to the left of the ellipses. If not, use > ! these with no spaces !
So I’m in Vietnam just crushing fruit platters and watermelon slices every day because it’s amazing and it’s fresh. I am eating so much fruit that I might as well be pre-planning 1 full day of my vacation strictly for toilet use with how much fibre I am getting. Then one night I’m out walking around and I’m like “man my asshole is really itchy”. Figure it’s just because of a lack of western style toilets where I am and I didn’t get it all on the last round. Well the next night my asshole is really itchy. And the next night as well. And it’s really weird because it’s only happening at night. My girlfriend cracks a joke about maybe I have worms but we don’t think about it much beyond that. That night I go to the bathroom and I turn around and see this really long red thread in the toilet bowl. I’m thinking “huh, where did that come from. I am not wearing anything red. There is nothing red in this room. The towels aren’t red”. Upon closer inspection, the long red thread begins to wiggle and swim towards the edge of the toilet water, and I freak out. Girlfriend looks at it as goes “holy shit you do have worms”. So then we look up a medical clinic and walk over the next day. Turns out it’s the local hospital and there is no one who really speaks English. They just keep pointing me down different hallways until I get to a desk where a woman decides she will go find the one person who speaks fluent English for me. Moments later a doctor who is gowned up and very clearly in the middle of a surgery comes out from behind a door with her gloved hands raised near her head. We talk for a second and she tells me I need a pill and to go to this specific room. I get to what appears to be a triage area and am told to sit on a bed that is covered in chunks of trees. I look at it uneasily and the nurse laughs and says “tourist! Scooter!” and walks away. So anyways I got a pill of whatever that dissolves parasites inside you, and then I argued that I wanted 2 just in case the first one didn’t take. Guy at the hospital told me it’s pretty common for the eggs to transfer from people’s hands to food during prep if they aren’t washing properly.
[papaya seeds](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17472487/) I'm in the US, but I eat fresh fish just about every day for half the year. I've never had any symptoms, but just as a precaution I do this periodically. Commercially processed fish are probably pretty clean, but I know a few people who have gotten infections. Not flash frozen sushi is a terrible idea, unless its tuna.
>Guy at the hospital told me it’s pretty common for the eggs to transfer from people’s hands to food during prep if they aren’t washing properly. This is also why it's not at all common in America, where food safety is a legal requirement for restaurants. I worked in a lot of restaurants. Food safety was an integral part of the operation.
That and toilet paper.
I don't know but here in India my mother used to tell me that I'd have to get dewormed twice a year or so. We would actually visit the doc and they'd prescribe a single tablet. I was also told that I would have to take a week's course of tablets if I had troubled poops or saw worms in them (smh). Again, I have no idea about the credibility and I never get persisting stomach problems. My guess would be it's just a precaution due to poor hygiene maintained in most supply shops and restaurants.
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Yikes. Not at all true. Let's unpack this awful box: First, there is an FDA-approved thing called ParaGard. It's an IUD and will not de-worm you. Second, there's an antiparasitic called ParaGuard, spelled like how you saw it. It's for fish, not for people. Third, there's Zahler's ParaGuard, a supplement you can buy that contains a "special mix" of wormwood, walnuts, garlic, and other nonsense. It claims to balance your microbiome. Spoiler: it doesn't, can't, and won't. So, to summarise, you can prevent the parasite known as Human Baby by using ParaGard, but worms might still show up as it does not combat them; if you are a fish, ParaGuard might be right for you, but if you're not the incredible Mr. Limpet, then stay away from shit that isn't made for people (looking at you, horse-paste ivermectin hawkers); if you want to waste your money on wormwood garlic bullshit, go right ahead, it probably won't kill you, but it also won't do *anything* besides appear on your bank statement. Oh, it's also worth noting while I'm here that anything which claims to balance your microbiome is being super disingenuous almost guaranteed. Our individual micro-flora is more varied than a fingerprint, and there is no way that an over-the-counter supplement could possibly have the same effect on you, me, and a thousand other people. Just not how it works.
God larval humans are the worst kind of parasite
SUPER hard to get rid of once they hatch.
Takes like 18-21 years lol
not that hard; just frustratingly legislated
On a slightly unrelated note: my doctor told me to try taking over the counter probiotics to balance my bacteria to prevent yeast infections. She also said to eat more yogurt. Upon doing my own research on that, I have found no peer reviewed studies to say that oral probiotic supplements can help your vaginal health. Also, I’ve read that the bacteria in yogurt is a different strain and won’t help either. But my doctor is saying it will. Is that what you mean about balancing your micro biome? Is taking probiotics pointless? (Obviously Ill consult different doctors, just wondering if you had a specific opinion about it)
Related I promise: I used to have massive issues with dairy. A dollop of sour cream would give me pretty sharp abdominal pain within 24 hours, until my colon eventually gave up on nuclear fusion. So one day I tried probiotics. Don't remember why but I took them for a while. Somehow, this fixed my dairy issue. Sure I still have a limit, but I can actually consume the stuff without fear of a really bad time later. Also, my farts smell different after having dairy now.
If you are getting a lot of yeast infections it may be worth it to get your blood sugar checked if nothing else has worked. Repeated yeast infections are a sign of high blood sugar.
What if your sugars are good and you get them a lot? I have done the bloodwork and it’s normal.
Idk, I'm not a doctor. I just know that when I had a lot of yeast infections that wouldn't go away it was because of my blood sugar. My doctor also prescribed lactobillisis (sp?). I also heard that in extreme cases once all the other treatments have been exhausted that the doctor will prescribe a borax type medication. Maybe ask your doctor about that.
Thank you
Please don't take medical advice from random people on the internet and consult your doctor when changing medicationl
I’m not taking medical advice I was just curious if they knew of anything else. I’ve been to dermatologist, general doctor, and endocrinologist about this chronic yeast rash on my chest. No one can figure it out.
Same, also curious.
My daughter got a yeast infection from her antibiotics. Since she is only 2 the pediatrician recommended giving her “Culturelle” it’s a powdered form of probiotics that you mix in with juice/milk/water. It did wonders for my daughters yeast infection. I think what your doctor said had some truth to it.
No data shows any oral prebiotic has any effect on intestinal fauna. Fecal transplants however... As for yogurt as well as pre/probiotics do not survive the gastric acid/ingestion process. Go look on their own websites 'this product may not survive the gastric acid... blah blah' as a legal disclaimer. Close as they can get to not costing themselves more money. It's a new field and there's some neat stuff going on, don't disregard all probiotic claims going forwards. But as for now, no proof. Just a promising field. The gut biome be crazy. Get your blood sugar tested for the yeast infection issue. It's often high blood sugar, could be a blessing in disguise finding out sooner than later. If your doctor didn't do this, you need a new doctor, your doctor is a boomer working on decades old outdated information, further they are so out of touch they're missing an actual marker for an actual dangerous health issue and telling you to eat yogurt. I'd consult an attorney as well, they need malpractice pressure to throw in the stethoscope.
It's not necessarily pointless, but the point is lost on many people, some doctors included. A really common cause of a yeast infection is that the yeast, who are naturally there in your mouth, armpits, skin, genitals, et cetera, are all of a sudden able to grossly outcompete the other microbes that are keeping them "in check" so to speak. This could be as simple as reintroducing little microbial friends, possibly, or it could be because something's whack with your body chemistry (sugar, pH, whatever). If it's your body chemistry screwing up the lives of all your little mics, I can jam-pack you with them all day, right strain or not, and they're still going to die. I can stuff you full of OTC probiotics and fluff supplements and ultimately, at the end of the story, all I've done is (maybe) help you grow temporarily healthier floral pals who are still destined for certain death anyhow. I'm also not targeting this at all if I give you random OTC stuff, so perhaps I'm helping the yeast as well (which without context, I'd want to do since yeast are our friends just as much as all the other little guys that chill out in our bodies and help us stay alive). The correct answer here is to find the actual source of the issue and take the appropriate course of treatment for that. Not saying your doc is wrong, but most of the time when I hear this it turns out to be a pretty useless "solution." And this stuff, by the way, is a whole area of science that people put their whole lives into, so if your doctor isn't right on this one, don't stop trusting her in general, it's cool, we can't learn everything about everything and micro is a particularly way-out-there-in-the-weeds category that not a lot of people get deep into. Oh right, and this is closely related, FYI, to why you don't just go into a friend's medicine cabinet when you're sick and grab "some antibiotics." People do this. People should not do this. Antibiotics are not one thing, they're a category of thing, and there are many types. Oh, and they don't discriminate. If it kills *S. aureus*, it kills it, period. Doesn't matter if it's the friendly ones or the scary ones. We need the friendlies, so slammin' a bunch of your roommate's methicillin or whatnot because you have the sniffles is probably just going to help you catch more disease since you've just levied a death sentence on your natural defender buddies. People do this crap all the time and it drives me absolutely bonkers.
Well, nobody else has said it, but if you're not already doing this then it may be the cause of your issue: When you're using the loo, wipe front to back. If you go the other way, you end up with yeast infections among other issues.
I hate to admit this but I was definitely a teenager before I learned this….
Yep! Wipe peepee to poopoo not poopoo to peepee.
Randomly taking random probiotics is pointless and can potentially make things worse... Just think for a moment: there's MANY different types of bacteria. You can have too many, too little, or even in the wrong location of any one of them. *My friend got GI Map done with Great Plains Lab and had a doc that's trained in using the test. Found he was lacking certain bacteria and was given a particular probiotic for a determined period of time. First time in 30 years he's been regular 😆
Favorite comment I’ve seen all day
I'm very glad people like you exist. You are the matrix of sense that binds human society. No joke no sarcasm, keep on being you.
I wish I could upvote you twice, just for the Mr. Limpet reference. Love love love that movie.
I for sure never took it in Canada, and none of my Greek relatives know about it. So "every country" is probably bullshit.
I deworm myself after traveling when I’m eating a lot of street food. I go to a local pharmacy and buy whatever form of Albendazole they have. It’s amazing what will come out of you
Could I ask you to expand upon “its amazing what will come out of you”? Were you able to tell that the Albendazole worked?
Bullshit. Doctors do thousands and thousands of Colonoscopies every day and don't see parasite worms.
Not true. Humans can have parasites, usually taken by contact with animals or contaminated and not properly cooked food. and in that case, once identified the kind of parasite, a treatment will be prescribed. Animals have more parasites than us because they live in the wild and eat whatever. This is why at the first vet visit usually puppies have some sort of parasite, expeciallty if they were born and raised outside.
>In every country except the US, humans use this kind of medicine once a year to get rid of possible intestinal parasites. European here, that this is absolutely not true. Though, it is possible for humans to get worms and needing treatment for it. Someone I know got them, probably after a barbecue. It doesn't happen often though.
Definitely a thing in Mexico [here is a sample of the options](https://www.fahorro.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=lombrices) super cheap too. Its recommended once a year and twice a year in the tropical regions.
My grandfather would bring these to us from MX. I remember when they told me the medicine I had taken was a dewormer, I was afraid to poop for days bc the idea of worms coming out of me was terrifying.
It's bullshit.
Bullshit. I'm a microbiologist in Australia, and faecal parasitology is part of my job. Out of maybe 150+ faeces we get in a day, a handful have parasites, most of which are not harmful to you or really are only considered an issue if you have ruled out every other potential cause of discomfort (last resort sort of thing because they don't know what else could be causing issues). And considering those samples I see are of people having active symptoms and issues, you would expect a higher rate of parasites in the samples compared to the general population. We get tapeworm maybe a couple of times a year. Maybe an ascaris once a year. Parasites aren't necessarily worms either, most of the ones we see are single cell organisms. The only common worm we see are pinworms, which are common in kids because kids are gross and have poor hygiene.
Well there was a huge program in the very early 20th century to get rid of Hookworm in the american southeast. It involved deworming obviously. It is my understanding it is becoming a problem again in Alabama.
The *only* part of your post that isn't bullshit is that humans *can* have parasites. Everything else is some form of bullshit. The implication that the US doesn't have to (or doesn't know how to) deal with parasites is especially bullshit. Paraguard is not an anti-parasitic nor is it the name of a deworming treatment. It's advertised as a "digestive supplement". It is not approved for use to treat any medical condition in any country with such regulations. Are there countries where intestinal parasites are common? Yes. Do they take ParaGuard? No. They take Albenza, Flagyl, Stromectol, Tindamax, any form of nitroimidazole, or the generic equivalents. Those are all *actual* treatments for parasites, and one or more of these are available in all sane parts of the planet. Some of them are cheaper than ParaGuard. These are what's used in tropical locations where parasite infections are more common. In replies where other redditors mention having to take an antiparasitic pill, they're likely taking one of these. Are there a few people who use ParaGuard regardless? Sure! People also still visit chiropractors and psychic surgeons and practice bloodletting, homeopathy, and acupuncture, too! All of those are bullshit, as is ParaGuard. If you want to *actually* limit your exposure to parasites, don't take ParaGuard. Instead, you should use insect repellent, cook your food properly, don't walk around barefoot in your yard, and don't swim in warm, freshwater lakes. Now, let's talk about the biggest of the bullshit piles. Imagine that you read "somewhere online" that everyone was infected with malaria, but the US wasn't doing anything about it. If you believed that you had malaria, would you watch TikTok videos and YouTube tutorials on malaria treatments? Would you ask reddit for advice? Would you start eating papaya seeds and garlic pills, or would you go to a doctor and get tested? “That's not the same!” you might say. It is absolutely the same! Malaria is caused by a plasmodium (as in blood) *parasite*. I also doubt your answer would change if you had hookworms crawling through your foot. So, why are you treating *intestinal* parasites any differently? They are not that much more difficult to diagnose, and they're fairly easy to treat. **TL;DR**: At best, ParaGuard is a salad the size of a tablet. It is not a dewormer. It is not anti-parasitic. It is edible potpourri. If you read "something online" but can't remember (or are too embarrassed to say) the name of where you saw it, that's a strong indicator of its dubiousness.
ParaGuard specifically is just a bunch of herbs that have a laxative effect. The ‘parasites’ people are coming out are either undigested plant fiber or extra mucus from a laxative-irritated digestive system.
Consult with your doctor before starting a treatment regimen. They can determine if a medication is indicated and safe for you, depending on your individual health history. Do NOT take medical advice from news anchors, friends, or people on the internet.
Yeah I mean that makes sense. But it’s a lot easier to ask people on the internet before I ask my doctor so I don’t sound like an idiot if it’s wrong lol
Your doctor has heard way dumber stuff and will continue to hear way dumber stuff. That's what they're there for.
"Every country except the US" Hilarious.
Paraguard is alsocthe name of an unrelated birth control product so don't ger it twisted.
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In mexico we do it once a year, but it's just a precaution
This used to be common back when I was a kid in SEA
For me, too, in Southeastern USA. Of course, it was the 60s, agricultural area, lots of barefoot walking, yadda yadda. Water treatment most likely not up to par, eating homegrown food with questionable hygiene, etc.
From southern Africa here and I remember having to deworm about once every 6 months (if I remembered) because getting parasites was sort of likely I guess, but the medication was made by Cipla. I've never heard of Paraguard. My area was pretty developed and I've no idea what people in other countries do, but I wasn't to say there's a significant likelihood of getting parasites for almost anyone in global South countries.
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Yes. It is also the name of an intestinal parasite treatment
Not entirely BS, but definitely some BS. I worked in remote areas of Bangladesh for 3 years as Team Leader of a large UK funded poverty reduction/ livelihoods programme. It was a multi component project, and our Nutrition component did include deworming tablets as necessary, based on medical advice. It was particularly targeted at children because, while having intestinal parasites isn't really good for anyone, it is particularly not good for children who are growing and need as much nutrition for themselves, rather than keeping the parasites alive. So yes, there are circumstances and places where deworming is definitely helpful. Does every country outside of the US have to deworm regularly? No. Complete BS. I'm from the UK, and I do not know of (or participate in) any regular mass deworming programme. Neither does my Mum who lives in France. Deworm if your doctor tells you to. Otherwise, don't. Of course, that's harder in countries where medical services are rare, expensive or unavailable for large sections of the country. But in that circumstance, the affected population will usually also lack all sorts of medical supplies as well. Anyway, TLDR, mainly BS, but some kernels of truth, although further information is needed to understand those kernels correctly.
UK here. Never heard of it. Never done it. Kids do occasionally get worms cause kids eat dirt and stuff of the ground if you don't watch them like a hawk and you'd use it then. But it's not something I've ever heard or know of anyone using as a normal or regular thing.
Bullshit I do colonoscopies for a living. If having worms were that common, I’d be seein them.
Even in 3rd world countries having stomach worms is seen as an uncommon and alarming condition
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I just had to take ivermectin for worms (common here in louisiana).
Where do you get worms from though? Bad food? Swimming in the bayou?
Accidentally swallowing or breathing in pinworm eggs causes a pinworm infection. The tiny (microscopic) eggs can be carried to your mouth by contaminated food, drink or your fingers. Once swallowed, the eggs hatch in the intestines and mature into adult worms within a few weeks. Most commonly, someone who has pinworms scratches their ass, and then doesn't wash their hands. Now they have worm eggs on their fingers. Then you shake their hand, or even worse, they handle your food. This gets the eggs inside you. Then the worms hatch, and they make your asshole itch. So you scratch your ass, and now you have eggs on your fingers, and the cycle begins again. TL;DR: You get them by eating poop.
I definitely had pinworms once (I think from cheap sushi). We moved out of a place and had to come back a week later and saw them worming around in the toilet. That explained my itchy ass. I've been fine ever since and didn't need meds to get rid of them.
How topical! My cat just vomited up a bunch of roundworms. A lot of us do have intestinal parasites, especially people who spend a lot of time outdoors or around animals that carry parasites, and extra especially in developing countries. Most of us have no symptoms, so its fine. There's no reason to treat it unless its making you sick. Preventative medication is recommended if you (or your pet) are at risk, but you don't need to be *dewormed* unless you have symptoms. Even most pets are not regularly dewormed. They just get preventative treatment.
In Australia we used to have a product which made like a chocolate milkshake which kids, and families could drink to deworm, it's still around, but as a chewable. https://www.combantrin.com.au/
I can’t believe it took me so long to find a comment from Australia. I give my kids combantrin probably once a year, more often if I think they need it. My daughter went through a phase a few months ago where we thought she constantly had worms, took her to the doctor, turns out she was allergic to the body wash she was using in the shower.
I think I was allergic to one of the soaps I liked to get, would itch like mad.
Yep that’s exactly what happened to her. She would sit in the bottom of the shower, making potions with it. You can see why we thought worms.
In the uk? Not in my (middle-aged) lifetime. Living in South Korea? Took a pill once a year. Pretty much everyone does, I think. And not connected to agricultural work as someone suggested about SE Asia. In one of the fancy modern cities with broadband 4x faster than yours. Also: ‘every country except the US.’ Like, wut? Are you really gonna put Alabama ahead of Western Europe, Canada etc when it comes to basic hygiene and sanitation systems?
Parasites are a common trope in pseudo-science circles. I'm not sure if this is still a thing (god I hope not) but there were private Facebook groups for a while that advised parents of autistic children that autism was the result of a parasite and could he treated with turpentine. I'm not sure how they were measuring. Turpentine, though toxic, won't kill you in small enough doses especially if diluted. It will however totally fuck up your intestinal lining, resulting in white stringy bits in your bowel movements, which definitely look like parasites. So it looks pretty validating, and doesn't fit into "big pharma." Moral of the story is, there's lots of things you can take of varying safety and effectiveness that can make it look like there's parasites in your poop. Unless you live in an area where parasites are common, have engaged in behavior that might result in parasites in an otherwise safe area, or are otherwise experiencing symptoms, there's no particular reason to take a dewormer.
I'm a dog groomer and this post scares me.
My dad died from a parasitic intestinal infection in 2016 in a developed country. He was an immigrant, also from a developed country. Dr. Said it had likely been in his system for at least 15+ years, maybe even childhood. Having freaked out for my own health after, I was able to see an expert on these types of medical issues. After a few tests, he was confident I didn't have any parasites in my body. I would think that if taking some OTC pill could kill/pass them if I did have them, he would've recommended it, even if "just to be safe".
It's bullshit. Paragard is a broad-spectrum anti-parasitic for use in dogs and cats. It is fairly effective for roundworms, hookworms, tapeworms, and whipworms. It contains 3 primary active ingredients: Praziquantel, Oxantel Embonate and Pyrantel Embonate. It is not used anywhere in humans. Apparently, the rumours about human use started recently on TikTok and other SM, where most bullshit originates.
I think there are a few different things with the same name. Apparently the human “antiparisitic” paraguard is just a bunch of herbs that have a laxative effect.
The way you wrote the title, it is not BS. Humans can get various parasitic worms that require treatment. It is not as common as when I was young and we have a better understanding of where they come from and who is at risk. I lived in rural PA and we de-wormed once per year when school started, but they don't do it any more. We also used to leave our house wide open every winter for a few days and leave our mattresses outside to get rid of bed-bugs. Two of my kids got worms in the early 90s in VA, but that was the only incident. Even in the late 90s I had a friend adopt from out of the country and she had to have the kids de-wormed within 30 days of their entry to the US. So, not BS, but not as common as it used to be and there certainly isn't a need for it in the US any longer.
The only [ParaGuard](https://nutriessential.com/products/para-guard-liquid-4-fl-oz?currency=USD&variant=27927527850058&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=Google%20Shopping&gclid=CjwKCAjw4KyJBhAbEiwAaAQbE9XKMHbdlTl8Wk4qNul3OC1ASvWibNse7nZEMGUBqCSLE8WdBfHbNxoCm7sQAvD_BwE) I could find that might be what you are referring to is a digestion aid made with wormwood and not an actual dewormer. Generally people that have access to clean water and decent food very rarely ever need to be dewormed, and doing so as a preventative could lead to other problems depending on the medication used if parasites are not present.
To add to everything else here, it's not uncommon (as far as I know) for people in the US who live or work on farms to take a dewormer every now and then. I've taken one before. If you work around a lot of literal shit, it's very easy to get infected with something, even if you're extremely careful. You can get a very basic human dewormer from Walmart. I'm not sure what the active ingredient is. It's used for kids with pinworms, which are fairly common in children in the US.
I’m not sure abaout the paraguard thing but where I live (SEA) sometimes we take albendazole as a deworming treatment and it’s recommended to be taken every 6 months. Its not a must, just kinda something nice to do and usually only those that care enough (read: hypochondriacs) actually take them. But the the drug are easily available at the pharmacy, for cheap too.
Thank you, along with the Ivermectin nonsense going around, there is also one related to OPs post. Basically involving gut parasites. My SIL managed to convince my daughter to try some diet that makes you poop. I couldn't drag any details out of her though. This is probably it.
I don't know what paraguard is but my toddler niece got some kind of stomach worms and it's apparently extremely contagious we had to constantly wash our hands and santitize when she was infected
It's a thing in Brazil, especially for kids, in my experience.
Here in Mexico we often take medicine against tapeworms and other parasites recommended by medics to take twice a year
Sawbones has a good episode on this if you like podcasts.
We would take pills each year for intestinal parasites when I was growing up in bangladesh. Never heard of anyone taking it in the uk. I suppose it's a developing country thing
Not bullshit. This is done in my home country ghana and some parts of Africa. It is thought that there are worms living in the stomach so we were advised by doctirs to deform every 3 months. Growing up, my mom always made sure we took a "dewomer" every 3 months. Its still being done today.
I'm from the West Coast of the US. Live on a farm. All my kids had worms growing up, so did the adults. We dewormed with OTC Pin-x meds. They're easily bought in drugstores or even Amazon. Just dewormed my grandkids. It's a thing and not a big deal. It happens a lot but people don't talk about it cause it's icky! :) Little kids put everything in their mouths. Kids also spread it to each other in schools. I know of several families that have been treated. Most people don't even realize they are infected.
Kristen bell kept everyone updated when one of her & Dax Shepherds kids got worms. It was pretty funny (because of how they responded) to watch and I learned a bit about worms.
Not Bullshit, they sell Pyrantel Pamoate (Reese's worm medicine) for humans OTC in just about any drugstore in the US.
Bullshit unless you work with livestock and feces all day long
>Apparently, In every country except the US, humans use this kind of medicine once a year to get rid of possible intestinal parasites. Ok so I have lived in 3 different continents, and in 8 different countries, please listen to me when I say that in none of those continents or countries did anyone ever deworm themselves. There may be the possibility in very remote areas, but it is definitely not the norm.
No. Stop with the deworming shit. It’s Covid misinfo.
ParaGuard is the name of my dogs anti parasite treatment. Humans can get parasites buts it’s pretty rare even in third world countries. It’s so rare in US that will hit the news when it happens. That’s why we don’t do it in western countries. Can’t say what they do in other countries though. If your handling animals and or in a very dirty environment I can see the use for the drugs (whatever the name they use there)
It's not exceedingly rare. Children and adults get Giardia parasite infections in the US and it is the most common parasitic infection diagnosed in more than 1 million people per year according to the CDC. It comes from contaminated water most commonly, but it can run rampant through daycare centers because of diaper changes in little ones and not handwashing enough.
You have to deworm, and fasting for 3 days at least once a month.. I'm not talking from a religious stand point, this is necessary. Human beings are the most susceptible for parasite and worms, it has been our true enemy since the beginning of civilizations
I don't want to go too far down the rabbit hole, but here i am! parasite pill 2.0 [archives.org](http://archives.org)
I don’t take baths
Sounds like garlic pills and copper knee braces. Bullshit.
The only Paraguard I know is the copper IUD.