The thought of having a parasite can be a very scary one, to say the least. But, don’t worry, you are never really alone. You may not know this, however, parasites are a very common occurrence. The fact that they only exist in countries that are underdeveloped is literally an urban myth. In fact, you’d be surprised at how many people go to clinics or hospitals to treat parasites. Often times you’ll find these patients using standard testing and eventually test negative for parasites, but when they go in for functional medical testing the results turn out positive. As this article will attempt to show, a myriad of symptoms can be caused by parasites, but only a small number of them actually have a digestive nature.
What Is A Parasite?
A parasite is basically any organism that uses another living organism to live as well as feed off of. When referring to intestinal parasites, these are those little organisms, such as worms, that use your nutrition to live off of. A few examples of such parasites include the likes of hookworms, tapeworms, roundworms, whipworms, pinworms and more. Due to the fact that parasites often come in several different sizes and shapes, they end up having the ability to cause a wide variety of complications. Some of them eat your food which then leaves you hungry even though you may have just eaten as well as ensuring you can’t gain sufficient weight.
Other parasites may resort to feeding on your red blood cells, which can eventually lead to anemia. A few of them may lay their eggs inside your body which may then cause irritability, itching and even insomnia. If you’ve tried countless procedures in the attempt to heal your stomach and relieve the symptoms you may be experiencing without success, then a parasite might just be the underlying cause for a lot of your unsolved and unexplained symptoms.
How Do You Get Parasites?
There are several different ways you can contract parasites. First and foremost, the most common way they get into your body is through contaminated water and food. Undercooked meat is also a very common hiding place for parasites as well. However, meat isn’t the only culprit in such scenarios. Contaminated or unclean vegetables and fruits can also act as harboring grounds for certain types of parasites. Some parasites happen to be much more innovative and can enter your body using the bottom of your feet.
Once a parasite has infected you it can be passed along rather easily. If after using the restroom, you happen not to clean your hands properly, passing on microscopic parasite eggs using touch can happen very easily. For instance, onto the salt shaker, door handles, your mobile phone and anything else you might lay your hands on. Handling animals can also cause you to contract parasites. All in all, washing your hands can prove to be a major way for you to prevent parasite transmission as well as contamination. Todd Watts from Microbe Formulas says that travelling to countries that are tropical, subtropical or underdeveloped will increase the risk of getting a parasite in your body and he expounds a lot more on such things.
Traveling overseas is actually a very common way you can introduce foreign parasites into your body’s system. Consuming any contaminated liquids, like water, during your time abroad may put you in harm’s way of contracting a parasite.
Signs You Might Have Contracted A Parasite
- You traveled abroad and remember suffering traveler’s diarrhea while abroad
- You’re suffering from unexplained gas, diarrhea, constipation or IBS systems
- You have a food poisoning history and your digestive system has kind of been acting up ever since
- You’re having difficulties falling asleep at night or you happen to be waking up several times during the night.
- You’re getting unexplained rashes, rosacea, hives, eczema or skin irritations
- You’re grinding your teeth while you sleep
- You have aching and pain in your joints or muscles
- You never feeling full nor really satisfied after eating meals
- You experience exhaustion, fatigue, depression or frequent apathy feelings
- You’ve been found to have iron-deficiency anemia
The best way you can test whether you’ve contracted a parasite or not is by taking a stool test. Many doctors will opt to run a stool test if they suspect you’re suffering from a parasite.
Even though contracting parasites is a very treatable situation, they should never be ignored. If you suspect that you might have contracted one, your best bet would be to seek the advice of a certified medical practitioner. Most often than not they’ll probably have all the answers you’re looking for.