Lately I have been learning a lot about parasites, says psychologist, author and speaker, Margaret Lambert in her latest blog for the Voice in Macarthur.
These little (or some bigger) critters often don’t make themselves known as they are living inside us, yet they can cause a good deal of grief.
It is estimated that most of the world’s population harbour parasites.
Often people don’t appear to be affected in any way, but there are many cases where parasites are the cause of ill health.
These days, intestinal parasites seem to be off the radar in medical diagnoses, while testing is done for a range of pathological conditions.
Interestingly, in generations gone by, de-worming people in the household was a systematic health practice twice a year or perhaps more frequently.
I remember forty years ago, when first arriving to work in the Northern Territory, I was reminded by locals to ensure that a regular de-worming regime was maintained as parasites thrive in tropical conditions.
In current times however, this advice and practice has ceased, as has the understanding about the effects of parasites in the body.
Have parasites in the body ceased to be an issue for the human race?
On the contrary. Parasites, according to some, have become an epidemic as a result of us becoming more relaxed, or just ignorant about them, and there being little funding to extend research in the field – could it also be due to global warming?
There is however, the suggestion that parasites account for many of the symptoms and perhaps medical conditions that individuals experience, but in many cases, this is not likely to be raised by your medical practitioner.
[social_quote duplicate=”no” align=”default”]Speaking from experience, it was not a medical practitioner but a naturopath that provided a diagnosis of parasite from a specialised blood analysis, which offered an explanation and follow-up treatment for my symptoms.[/social_quote]
The symptoms included sinus pressure, low energy, skin rash, headache and distorted taste.
Interestingly, on prior visits to the GP, the possibility of parasite was not raised but rather, a range of other investigations took place.
All of us might benefit from raising our understanding about parasites and giving consideration to the possibility that these hidden creatures may account for some of our symptoms.
Perhaps we need to raise awareness where we can, so that these critters do not get overlooked for the problems they may be causing.
Our health is also likely to be improved by bringing back the regular practice of regular de-worming or detox that our forebears undertook.
Until next time…
