Worm threads of late or why I'm glad I had worms.

[lostoday]

Lately there have been a number of posts about worms/parasites. As per usual all the usual suspects made fun of parasites in Thailand.

I had a lump in my neck first the doctor prescribed penicillin (which I'm allergic to - he didn't read my chart). Next he told me to go see the cancer doctor to have a biopsy. The doctor had me worried about lymphoma or something like that at my age.

While I was thinking about this I went to a lady Thai doctor who smiled and told me I had parasites in the lump or causing the lump. She gave me some pills to kill the parasites and the lump is now gone. The medication was albendazole. Not the same package as below (that's for cows).

Edited August 6, 2015 by lostoday

[slipperylobster]

Cow worms must be humongous, thick assed worms....2500 mg !

If your wife eats too much ..and does not gain weight...must be she has cow worms.

[NickJ]

Quite a lot of Thailands produce comes from China. Many people either at home or in restaurants encounter poorly washed vegetables.

I have known quite a few people both Thais and Westerners that have had Ascaris infestation .

The medicine is one of rhe most popular selling meds at pharmacies here.

Most people who take the meds to so not knowing if they have them or not and forego the lab tests.

Like I posted before. The World Health Organization reports for this area regarding infection are high.

If you have been here for awhile it wouldnt hurt to test.or medicate.......

[h90]

lump in the neck?

How does that work? Lets say in the lump are worms and the medicine kills it.

What happens to the dead worms? I thought it must be cut open?

[lostoday]

lump in the neck?

How does that work? Lets say in the lump are worms and the medicine kills it.

What happens to the dead worms? I thought it must be cut open?

I'm not a doctor but I believe the dead worms or the infection they caused are carried off by the blood stream or little workers in the lymph nodes , The lump stopped getting bigger immediately after I started taking the pills and the lump decreased in size about 50% in a week or two and almost completely gone in 3 weeks. Perhaps someone who knows what the process is could answer better than I.

Edited August 6, 2015 by lostoday

[recycler]

If you live in Thailand and certainly if you eat Thai food you should have a parasite treatment once or twice a year.

Best is to used different types to make sure you cover a broad spectrum of guests.

The most dangerous parasites however come from raw river fish, prawns and crabs and are hard to treat with medication. For this you have to make sure to never eat raw river fish and most dangerous is the Pla-ra (fermented raw river fish, the smelly stuff) make very sure that it is cooked sufficiently to kill all parasites. These small worms get in the liver and spleen and Thailand, certainly the north east, has the highest rate of liver cancer in the world. It is very hard to convince Thai people to cook it as they say it ruins the taste and they keep eating the killer food.

The medicine that seems to have some working on these parasites is: praziquantel but not after your liver has been affected.

[asdecas]

If you live in Thailand and certainly if you eat Thai food you should have a parasite treatment once or twice a year.

Best is to used different types to make sure you cover a broad spectrum of guests.

The most dangerous parasites however come from raw river fish, prawns and crabs and are hard to treat with medication. For this you have to make sure to never eat raw river fish and most dangerous is the Pla-ra (fermented raw river fish, the smelly stuff) make very sure that it is cooked sufficiently to kill all parasites. These small worms get in the liver and spleen and Thailand, certainly the north east, has the highest rate of liver cancer in the world. It is very hard to convince Thai people to cook it as they say it ruins the taste and they keep eating the killer food.

The medicine that seems to have some working on these parasites is: praziquantel but not after your liver has been affected.

Good Lord, I am glad you are not my doctor. After thirty years here, eating Thai food two meals a day, according to your prognosis I should look like something out of Squirm: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/ad/Squirmposter.jpg

[recycler]

If you live in Thailand and certainly if you eat Thai food you should have a parasite treatment once or twice a year.

Best is to used different types to make sure you cover a broad spectrum of guests.

The most dangerous parasites however come from raw river fish, prawns and crabs and are hard to treat with medication. For this you have to make sure to never eat raw river fish and most dangerous is the Pla-ra (fermented raw river fish, the smelly stuff) make very sure that it is cooked sufficiently to kill all parasites. These small worms get in the liver and spleen and Thailand, certainly the north east, has the highest rate of liver cancer in the world. It is very hard to convince Thai people to cook it as they say it ruins the taste and they keep eating the killer food.

The medicine that seems to have some working on these parasites is: praziquantel but not after your liver has been affected.

Good Lord, I am glad you are not my doctor. After thirty years here, eating Thai food two meals a day, according to your prognosis I should look like something out of Squirm: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/ad/Squirmposter.jpg

Here is some more background: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/bodyhorrors/2011/04/09/what-do-flukes-nukes-have-in-common/#.VcQxRXsmx3S

[arjunadawn]

lump in the neck?

How does that work? Lets say in the lump are worms and the medicine kills it.

What happens to the dead worms? I thought it must be cut open?

I'm not a doctor but I believe the dead worms or the infection they caused are carried off by the blood stream or little workers in the lymph nodes , The lump stopped getting bigger immediately after I started taking the pills and the lump decreased in size about 50% in a week or two and almost completely gone in 3 weeks. Perhaps someone who knows what the process is could answer better than I.

Lymphatic filariasis- Good luck.

The immune system is actually so strong it can dissolve solid iron. The problem is it is divided into two divisions- the inherent killer cells that kill all threats immediately- or try. Violent, non discriminatory, but hardly as good as the next- Memory cells that once exposed to an antigen- the bad thing- remember the unique method of killing it for better success next time. This is why vaccines are effective. Killer T cells will not always be effective but they will always try- if they can see the problem (in AIDS like cases, they dont see).

In any event, once dead from your DEC Rx for the Filariasis the body just removes the debris. Any tissue damage, keloid, scarring, may take more time to heal. I recall Bancrofti filiariasis from school but I did not realize it was on the East coast of Southern Thailand. Maybe that is where you got it?

[micmichd]

Guess I had filariasis in December 2012. It was cured, and I never had any worms again.

I've got a strong immune system (leukocytes more than average)

Is it possible that my immune system kills those worms?

[arjunadawn]

Silly note: "Once dead" above refers to the worms. Sorry. I didn't realize how poorly that reads.

[h90]

lump in the neck?

How does that work? Lets say in the lump are worms and the medicine kills it.

What happens to the dead worms? I thought it must be cut open?

I'm not a doctor but I believe the dead worms or the infection they caused are carried off by the blood stream or little workers in the lymph nodes , The lump stopped getting bigger immediately after I started taking the pills and the lump decreased in size about 50% in a week or two and almost completely gone in 3 weeks. Perhaps someone who knows what the process is could answer better than I.

Lymphatic filariasis- Good luck.

The immune system is actually so strong it can dissolve solid iron. The problem is it is divided into two divisions- the inherent killer cells that kill all threats immediately- or try. Violent, non discriminatory, but hardly as good as the next- Memory cells that once exposed to an antigen- the bad thing- remember the unique method of killing it for better success next time. This is why vaccines are effective. Killer T cells will not always be effective but they will always try- if they can see the problem (in AIDS like cases, they dont see).

In any event, once dead from your DEC Rx for the Filariasis the body just removes the debris. Any tissue damage, keloid, scarring, may take more time to heal. I recall Bancrofti filiariasis from school but I did not realize it was on the East coast of Southern Thailand. Maybe that is where you got it?

dissolve iron? Iron corrodes and dissolve even in normal water.....

[lostoday]

I had a lump on the side of my neck about the size of a quarter of a ping pong ball. My expensive doctor at the expensive hospital felt it and said it's either an infection or cancer. Then I went to a local clinic and the lady MD felt it and said, "it moves, must be a parasite." Both doctors were very confident in their diagnosis. They would have eventually found the right answer because my next step was a biopsy at the expensive hospital. But it was really nice that the biopsy was not necessary now it is the size of a pea and gets smaller every day. The blood tests and biopsy to detect parasites are interesting and you can read about them on line. Different tests detect different parasites.

Fascioloides magna the liver fluke. I believe is native to the pristine crystal blue mountain streams of Oregon. How it got to Asia I don't know. I never trust Oregon streams though as I used to fish there and always boiled all my water.

[arjunadawn]

lump in the neck?

How does that work? Lets say in the lump are worms and the medicine kills it.

What happens to the dead worms? I thought it must be cut open?

I'm not a doctor but I believe the dead worms or the infection they caused are carried off by the blood stream or little workers in the lymph nodes , The lump stopped getting bigger immediately after I started taking the pills and the lump decreased in size about 50% in a week or two and almost completely gone in 3 weeks. Perhaps someone who knows what the process is could answer better than I.

Lymphatic filariasis- Good luck.

The immune system is actually so strong it can dissolve solid iron. The problem is it is divided into two divisions- the inherent killer cells that kill all threats immediately- or try. Violent, non discriminatory, but hardly as good as the next- Memory cells that once exposed to an antigen- the bad thing- remember the unique method of killing it for better success next time. This is why vaccines are effective. Killer T cells will not always be effective but they will always try- if they can see the problem (in AIDS like cases, they dont see).

In any event, once dead from your DEC Rx for the Filariasis the body just removes the debris. Any tissue damage, keloid, scarring, may take more time to heal. I recall Bancrofti filiariasis from school but I did not realize it was on the East coast of Southern Thailand. Maybe that is where you got it?

dissolve iron? Iron corrodes and dissolve even in normal water.....

Yes, you are correct. I raced to the net to search for the reference that was in my head and could not find it. I said solid iron. I meant to say iron filings, which as you know is considerably more than ferrous products. I was not clear. But it is true that this is in my head from one of my labs years ago. I believe it was phagocytosis, a means of wrapping around something to destroy it, which the iron filings were subjected to. This was a test on immune system abilities rather than dissolution, as you mention. But I did stumble across the below which is kinda close to what I mean. The link info would not normally dissolve as you suggest. I was imprecise. However, the innate immune system is really a wonder. It is only bested by secondary memory killers.

[arjunadawn]

I had a lump on the side of my neck about the size of a quarter of a ping pong ball. My expensive doctor at the expensive hospital felt it and said it's either an infection or cancer. Then I went to a local clinic and the lady MD felt it and said, "it moves, must be a parasite." Both doctors were very confident in their diagnosis. They would have eventually found the right answer because my next step was a biopsy at the expensive hospital. But it was really nice that the biopsy was not necessary now it is the size of a pea and gets smaller every day. The blood tests and biopsy to detect parasites are interesting and you can read about them on line. Different tests detect different parasites.

Fascioloides magna the liver fluke. I believe is native to the pristine crystal blue mountain streams of Oregon. How it got to Asia I don't know. I never trust Oregon streams though as I used to fish there and always boiled all my water.

Wow! A zoonotic disease? Totally curious. My teacher always told me "never look for zebras when everyone else is riding horses." Not the first... or even last thing I would imagine. I hope you recover well.

[NickJ]

For me it was.....When you hear hoofbeats dont look for zebras......I have used that with zillions of patients for decades......

[lostoday]

I had a lump on the side of my neck about the size of a quarter of a ping pong ball. My expensive doctor at the expensive hospital felt it and said it's either an infection or cancer. Then I went to a local clinic and the lady MD felt it and said, "it moves, must be a parasite." Both doctors were very confident in their diagnosis. They would have eventually found the right answer because my next step was a biopsy at the expensive hospital. But it was really nice that the biopsy was not necessary now it is the size of a pea and gets smaller every day. The blood tests and biopsy to detect parasites are interesting and you can read about them on line. Different tests detect different parasites.

Fascioloides magna the liver fluke. I believe is native to the pristine crystal blue mountain streams of Oregon. How it got to Asia I don't know. I never trust Oregon streams though as I used to fish there and always boiled all my water.

Wow! A zoonotic disease? Totally curious. My teacher always told me "never look for zebras when everyone else is riding horses." Not the first... or even last thing I would imagine. I hope you recover well.

Or one might say go to a Thai doctor if one lives in Thailand. My expensive doctor at the expensive hospital treats people in his specialty which has little to do with worms or zebras whereas the Thai lady doctor at the clinic sees worms every day. It's not like any pharmacy in Thailand will ever run out of worm medicine. Lipitor run out once a week but never worm medicine.

[Aussieroaming]

My wife eats twiče my intake ....I always take the piss about her appetite . Reality she eats better than me !

[sammygood]

just watch ngc : the monsters inside me

and you might think otherwise, if you don't believe in what parasites can do to you

almost every episode, good old MD doctors take weeks, months or many different once's before they have a clue what it is or what to do