Strongyloides
Strongyloides, also known as the threadworm, is a microscopic parasitic intestinal worm that currently infects between 30-100 million people worldwide. This number is even greater than the number of people infected with Malaria, and yet Strongyloides is virtually unknown to the average person. It is estimated that up to 6% of Americans have Strongyloides, and that number may be even higher, as testing methods are generally inaccurate. This is because detectable larvae do not show up in stool until they have gone through a full lifecycle, which takes at least one month.
Strongyloides primarily enters the body through exposed skin, such as walking outside on contaminated soil with bare feet. This parasite can inhabit dogs, cats, primates, and humans, with evidence of person-to-person transmission in some cases. This parasite is much more commonly found in hot, humid, and tropical agricultural regions, especially in underdeveloped areas where sanitation capacity may not be sufficient. Strongyloides symptoms and infections are also often found in military service members who have been stationed in tropical climates, or people who have vacationed in Southeast Asia, the South Pacific, and Africa.
How Do You Get Strongyloides?
Unlike other parasites that require a constant host for their lifecycle, Strongyloides has the capacity to transform and alternate between living as a parasite inside of a host, and existing as a free-living organism in soil. It can also complete its entire lifecycle and reproduce inside of the host's body. Once the infective larva comes into contact with the host’s skin and burrows into the body, it reproduces in the hosts bowels, where the eggs hatch and begin the life cycle again. Some of the larvae come out through the feces, while others “autoinfect” the host, by burrowing into the tissues of the anus and continuously begin their life cycle anew. Because of their capacity for host autoinfection, Strongyloides is one of the most difficult parasitic infections to treat and can persist for decades if not properly addressed. This is why proper sanitation, sewage treatment, and hygiene are key in preventing this type of infection.
Symptoms of a Strongyloides:
Affect digestion
Lung damage
Impact on the lymphatic system
Skin irritation
Swollen lymph nodes
Dry Coughing
This infection can impact nearly every organ of the body over time. Initially, there may be no symptoms, but as the infection persists, many people will experience swollen lymph nodes and develop a skin rash near their butt on the back of the thighs. Once it has burrowed through the skin, the infective larvae travel through the bloodstream, into the lungs. This is when the wheezing and dry coughing symptoms begin, as they begin to infiltrate the alveoli of the lungs.
From here, they are coughed up into the throat and swallowed, which brings them into the digestive tract. Common symptoms at this stage include digestive upset like intermittent diarrhea and constipation, vomiting, abdominal pain, foul smelling gas, heartburn, bloating, and food allergies. Rectal itching is common, especially at night when they are most active, once the eggs have hatched and the larvae begin coming out in the feces.
Are You Susceptible?
Sometimes, Strongyloides can become a “disseminated infection” and make their way into other organs and tissues, causing problems in the liver and bile ducts, kidneys, pancreas, gallbladder, trachea, and sinuses. Strongyloides can affect the joints, causing arthritis, as well as the brain and nervous system, triggering seizures and chronic headaches. It can also cause heart failure, and even contribute to delayed fetal development and complications during pregnancy. Once a parasitic Strongyloides infection migrates to further organs, this creates a pathway for other pathogenic organisms like bacteria, viruses, and other parasites to make their way in.
Most people have strong enough immune systems to neutralize Strongyloides larvae when they attempt to enter the body. However, increased risk factors for an infection to proliferate include taking corticosteroids for conditions like asthma or COPD, any steroids for immunosuppressive means, like treating lupus. Strongyloides can be especially dangerous for those with conditions like leukemia or lymphoma.
Other factors that predispose a person to such parasitic infections are a high toxic body burden. Parasites are attracted to and allowed to take up residence in toxic bodies, as some types can absorb 6-8 times their own body weight in heavy metals, for example. Unfortunately, despite this fact, that generates toxins of their own, including ammonia.
Testing Options
Conventional testing methods include microscopic stool samples and blood antibody tests. Both of these methods are not perfectly accurate, as Strongyloides moves around the body and may not be found in the stool at that moment, or may not be found in that area of a given stool sample that is being examined, while blood testing can be inaccurate due to reactions occurring with other proteins, which may be mistaken for Strongyloides antibodies.
A functional medicine approach takes into account clinical history of Strongyloide-associated symptoms in tandem with blood chemistry values, like low liver markers such as low GGT, low Alkaline Phosphatase, low B6, elevated lymphocytes, and especially elevated eosinophils, when taken into consideration with the entire clinical picture.. Hair mineral analysis can show a zinc deficiency, while an Organic Acid Test can reveal excess ammonia, which are two other common indicators as well.
Pharmaceutical treatment for Strongyloides includes The CDC recommendation of treating people with powerful anti-parasitic drugs, including Ivermectin and Albendazole. While these treatments can be effective, they also carry dangerous side effects. Known side effects for Ivermectin include seizures, fetal damage, confusion, balance and walking problems, and can also be dangerous for immunocompromised people.
Support Your Body Through Detox
In my clinic, I prefer to use natural nutritional supplements and herbal preparations to support the body whenever possible. Para3 by CellCore is a potent anti-parasitic herbal blend tincture that is effective against helminths (worms). I have also used Morinda by Supreme Nutrition against Strongyloides.
It is important to have the proper toxin binders on hand to make sure you do not experience unpleasant die-off symptoms when you begin killing these unwanted house guests. BioToxin Binder by CellCore is effective at mopping up the toxic waste byproducts that these parasites release as they are dying, which can cause uncomfortable symptoms like headaches and brain fog. CellCore HM-ET Binder is helpful for soaking up heavy metals that may be released by these organisms as they die-off and exit the body as well.
Supporting the immune system is another important factor in eradicating Strongyloides and making sure they cannot take up residence again. Adaptogenic herbs like rhodiola, ginseng, schisandra, astragalus, and medicinal mushrooms such as reishi and cordyceps can help give your immune system that extra boost!