Hookworm

Hookworms worms are grayish white or pinkish with the head slightly bent in relation to the rest of the body. This bend forms a definitive hook shape at the anterior end for which hookworms are named. They possess well developed mouths with two pairs of teeth. While males measure approximately one centimeter by 0.5 millimeter, the females are often longer and stouter. Other varieties are generally smaller with males usually 5 to 9 mm long and females about 1 cm long.

They exist primarily in sandy or loamy soil and cannot live in clay or muck. Rainfall averages must be more than 1000 mm (40 inches) a year. Only if these conditions exist can the eggs hatch. Generally, they live for only a few weeks at most under natural conditions, and die almost immediately on exposure to direct sunlight or desiccation.

Infection of the host is by the larvae, not the eggs. While it can be ingested, the usual method of infection is through the skin; this is commonly caused by walking barefoot through areas contaminated with fecal matter. The larvae are able to penetrate the skin of the foot, and once inside the body, they migrate through the vascular system to the lungs, and from there up the trachea, and are swallowed. They then pass down the esophagus and enter the digestive system, finishing their journey in the intestine, where the larvae mature into adult worms.

Once in the host gut, they tend to cause a prolonged infection, generally 1–5 years (many die within a year or two of infecting), though some adult worms have been recorded to live for 15 years or more. On the other hand, some adults are short lived, surviving on average for only about 6 months. However, infection can be prolonged because dormant larvae can be "recruited" sequentially from tissue "stores" over many years, to replace expired adult worms. This can give rise to seasonal fluctuations in infection prevalence and intensity.

There are no specific symptoms or signs of hookworm infection. Symptoms arise from a combination of intestinal inflammation and progressive iron/protein-deficiency anaemia. Larval invasion of the skin might give rise to intense, local itching, usually on the foot or lower leg, which can be followed by lesions that look like insect bites, can blister ("ground itch"), and last for a week or more. Animal hookworm larvae on penetrating humans may produce a creeping eruption called cutaneous larva migrans. With advancing movement of the larvae, the rear portions of the lesions become dry and crusty. The lesions are typically intensely pruritic.

Coughing, chest pain, wheezing, and fever will sometimes be experienced by people who have been exposed to very large numbers of larvae. Epigastric pains, indigestion, nausea vomiting, constipation, and diarrhea can occur early or in later stages as well, although gastrointestinal symptoms tend to improve with time.

Signs of advanced severe infection are those of anemia and protein deficiency, including emaciation, cardiac failure and abdominal distension with ascites.

It is now widely accepted that children who suffer from chronic hookworm infection can suffer from growth retardation as well as intellectual and cognitive impairments

Summary of Symptoms:

• facial and peripheral edema
• Pica, an appetite for substances largely non-nutritive (e.g., metal, clay, coal, sand, dirt, soil, feces, chalk, pens and pencils, paper, batteries, toothpaste, soap, mucus, ash, gum, lip balm, tacks and other office supplies, etc.)
• Abdominal discomfort
• Blood in the stool
• Bloody sputum
• Cough
• Diarrhea
• Fatigue
• Fever
• Anaemic pale and weak
• Weight loss
• constipation
• Gas
• Itchy rash
• Loss of appetite
• Nausea, vomiting
• Pallor

Because it takes 5–7 weeks for adult worms to mature, mate and produce eggs, in the early stages of very heavy infection, acute symptoms might occur without any eggs being detected in the patient's feces. This can make diagnosis very difficult.

Blood tests in early infection often show a rise in numbers of eosinophils, a type of white blood cell that is preferentially stimulated by worm infections in tissues (large numbers of eosinophils are also present in the local inflammatory response). Falling blood hemoglobin levels will be seen in cases of prolonged infection with anemia.

Diagnosis depends on finding characteristic worm eggs on microscopic examination of the stools, although this is not possible in early infection.

Tests that can help diagnose the infection include:

•Complete blood count (CBC) with differential
•Stool ova and parasites exam
This disease may also alter the results of a D-xylose absorption test.

Early treatment relied on the use of epsom salt to reduce protective mucous, followed by thymol to kill the worms.

We don't recommend long term use of Epsom Salt. If you don't have anything else and need to do something immidiatley, use 1 flat teasp epsom salt in 200ml water 4x day and follow with high quality Thyme oil. Use 5 drops in a capsule and take 4 times a day.

Best to do the herbal parasite protocol and buy Parasite Herbs

Hookworm is not transmitted from person to person. Infected people can contaminate soil for several years if the right conditions are present. Larvae can survive in damp dirt particularly sandy and loamy soil for several weeks but do not survive in clay, dry or hard packed soils, or in temperatures that are freezing or higher than 45ºC.

The main lines of precaution are those dictated by sanitary science:

• Do not defecate in places other than latrines, toilets etc.
• Do not use human excrement or raw sewage or untreated 'night soil' as manure/fertilizer in agriculture
• Do not walk barefoot in known infected areas
• Disposing of human faeces in a sanitary way so it doesn’t contaminate soil.
• Washing hands after going to the toilet, and before handling or eating food.
• Using safe food preparation practices.
• Deworm pet dogs — canine and feline hookworms rarely develop to adulthood in humans (Ancylostoma caninum, the common dog hookworm, occasionally develops into an adult to cause eosinophilic enteritis in people), but their invasive larvae can cause an itchy rash called cutaneous larva migrans.
• Keeping dogs and cats out of areas used for sleeping and eating.
• Cleaning of animal living areas regularly, and hygienically collecting and disposing of faeces. Cats and dogs need to be kept out of areas where food is grown, and prevented from shitting in areas next to houses, or where children play.
• Checking sewage systems often to ensure they are not broken or faulty.

The illness can be more serious in babies, children, pregnant women and people with poor diets. Cases of mother to baby transfer of the hookworm A. duodenale through breastmilk have also been reported.