Worms in Armageddon

Many view parasitic worms as nothing more than a nuisance or embarrassment; however, they weaken the body.  As the body puts energy into eliminating these parasites, less energy remains for fighting off other diseases, making already physiologically stressed people even more susceptible to illnesses.  We like to think that worms only affect the poorer classes of society, but the truth is, everyone in this country is vulnerable, especially as we open our borders to all comers, many of whom are not in the best of health, and many of whom fail to practice the basics of good hygiene and sanitation.  Worms thrive and spread in such situations.

Pinworms

Pinworms affect about 40 million Americans according to one estimate.[1]  They occur all over the country.  These parasites can stunt growth and development in children if they are not eliminated.  The ¼” worms spread easily from person to person, especially among young children who don’t wash after wiping or who scratch their bottoms and then go back to playing or other activities.  All close contacts, including everyone in the household, should be treated, as re-infection, whether symptomatic or not, is common.[2]

Pinworm management and treatment options, in addition to the pharmaceutical and herbal options listed at the end of this post, should include the following:

• Trim the child’s fingernails very short.  When the child scratches his bottom, the eggs stick to the nails, where the eggs then go into his mouth or are transferred to toys to go into other children’s mouths.[3] 
• Place a tight diaper or pants on a child who has worms to prevent him from scratching. [4]
• Always wash hands before eating.[5]
  
• Change the child’s clothes and bathe him often.  Wash the bottom and fingernails very well.[6]
• Vaseline in and around the anus will help reduce itching.[7]

If no treatments are available, maintaining strict hygiene and cleanliness will eventually eliminate pinworms. [8]

Other Worms

At this point, roundworms, hookworms, and whipworms are much less common in the United States.  But that doesn’t mean they are non-existent.  The southeastern portion of the country has the right climate for these other parasitic worms to spread, especially when sanitation and hygiene break down.  And with so many foreigners entering our borders unchecked and untreated for the diseases they carry, this may happen soon.  We should be educated and prepared. 

Roundworms look much like earthworms and may be up to 12” long.  The problem begins when food contaminated with roundworm eggs is eaten.  The larvae hatch in the small intestine and then enter the bloodstream.  This may cause general itching all around.[9]  The larvae then travel to the lungs, where they may cause a dry cough, or even pneumonia with coughing up blood.[10]  When the larvae are coughed up from the lungs, they are subsequently swallowed down and return to the intestines, where they mature into worms.[11]  A serious infestation may cause discomfort, indigestion, and weakness.  Children with many roundworms may have large, swollen stomachs.  Sometimes, roundworms may cause asthma or bowel obstruction.[12]  When the child has a fever, the worms may come out in stools or wriggle out through the mouth, nose, or anus.  They may even crawl into the airway and cause gagging.[13]  Other symptoms of roundworms include abdominal pain, malnutrition, and intestinal blockage (which may be fatal).[14]

As with pinworms, roundworms spread from person to person, from feces to mouth, entirely due to a lack of cleanliness.  Currently, the incidence in the US is low, generally limited to the southeastern states, where the warm temperatures and humidity are conducive to its reproduction.  All close contacts should be treated.[15] 

Whipworms are a very common infection worldwide, affecting an estimated half billion people, including approximately two million individuals in the southeastern United States.  Fortunately, this worm generally causes little harm.  Severe infestations may cause bloody diarrhea, iron-deficiency anemia, stunted growth, and vitamin A deficiency in children. 

Hookworms generally can’t be seen in the feces by the naked eye; a stool analysis is necessary to identify them.  They are red and can be up to 1/3” long.  While very common worldwide in developing countries with poor sanitation, they also occur in the southeastern United States.  One particular study focused on Lowndes County, Alabama, where reportedly 35% of the population is infected. 

Unlike the other worm infestations, most hookworms are not contracted by eating contaminated food.  Rather, most hookworms enter through the skin of bare feet in areas where there is poor sanitation and raw feces is used for fertilizing crops.  (They can’t live in clay soil or muck.  The soil must be sandy or loamy and the area must receive at least 40 inches of rain per year for the eggs to hatch.)  In a few days the worms enter the lungs through the bloodstream and may cause a dry cough.  Then the person coughs up the worms and swallows them.  The hookworms subsequently attach to the walls of the intestine.  Diarrhea or abdominal pain may develop a few days later. A severe infestation may cause weakness and anemia, but most infestations are asymptomatic.  Unfortunately, hookworms can cause permanent damage in children.  Signs and symptoms of hookworm infection in children include anemia, pale skin, and eating dirt. 

TREATMENT OPTIONS

Conventional pharmaceuticals

The following drugs are used for treating pinworms, roundworms, hookworms, and whipworms.  The dosage is the same for children and adults; however, neither should be used in pregnant women or children under the age of 2 years.

• Albendazole, 400 mg as a single dose.[16] Albendazole for veterinary use is available without a prescription at ranch and feed stores. It is a bit more expensive than mebendazole, but has the advantage of being available immediately without a paper trail.  Most physicians apparently would have no problem using it in people.
• Mebendazole. 

o   Pinworms, 100 mg once per week for 3 weeks.[17]

o   Roundworm, whipworm, and hookworm, 100 mg twice per day for 3 days.[18] Mebendazole is formulated for use in people.  It is sold by prescription only in the US, but easily obtained through All Day Chemist and other foreign pharmacies. 

Alternative treatments

Kerosene.  A definitely not herbal remedy, but one which the authors of Survival and Austere Medicine, 3^rd Edition have seen repeatedly, is to swallow a couple tablespoons of kerosene.  They note that swallowing petroleum based products in general is a bad idea, but also state that this amount is unlikely to cause any long-term harm and may reduce or eliminate the worms.[19]

Tobacco.  For an adult, the patient eats tobacco from 1-1.5 cigarettes.  For severe infestations, the dose may be repeated no sooner than two days later, if a bowel movement has occurred since the initial treatment.  Nicotine is toxic.  The average cigarette contains 10 mg of nicotine.  A dose of 60 mg will cause death in 50% of the people who ingest it.  If the patient shows signs of susceptibility to nicotine poisoning, a second dose should not be given.[20]

While I am not questioning the efficacy of the above treatments or the qualifications of the professionals sharing them, I’m personally not really comfortable with them.  Fortunately, there are other options.

Herbal treatments

• Garlic

o   Eat raw, uncooked garlic cloves on an empty stomach for seven days.[21]

o   Drink 4 cloves of garlic, crushed, in 1 cup of liquid (water, juice, or milk).  Drink 1 cup per day for 3 weeks.[22]

• Pumpkin seeds

o   Eat crushed pumpkin seeds with a tablespoon of honey on an empty stomach every day for 7 days (also take a natural laxative, if possible). [23]

• Tobacco, wormwood, clove, and plumeria are all suggested by Dr. Joseph Alton, but he does not make any recommendations as to how they are used.[24]

Apparently the only herb that is used in treating worms and which I have previously covered on the blog is Russian thistle, tumbleweed.  Foster and Hobbs’ Western Medicinal Plants and Herbs includes information on the preparation of the following herbs to treat worm infestations:

·       American mistletoe

·       Bitterbrush

·       Black cottonwood

·       Black walnut

·       Black-eyed susan

·       Blue vervain 

·       Bracken fern

·       Cardinal flower

·       Common sowthistle

·       Coyote tobacco

·       Horehound

·       Oregon ash

·       Pacific bleeding heart

·       Pinon pine

·       Quaking aspen

·       Queen Anne’s lace

·       Shepherd’s purse

·       Spreading dogbane

·       Tansy

·       Venus maidenhair fern

·       Waferash hoptree

Links to related posts:

Medicinal Uses of Russian Thistle  

Mebendazole 

Feed and Ranch Stores for Medical Supplies

---

[1] Joseph Alton, The Survival Medicine Handbook, 2013, 125.

[2] Cynthia Koelker, Armageddon Medicine, 2012, 174.

[3] David Werner, Where There Is No Doctor, 1992, 141.

[4] David Werner, Where There Is No Doctor, 1992, 141.

[5] David Werner, Where There Is No Doctor, 1992, 141.

[6] David Werner, Where There Is No Doctor, 1992, 141.

[7] David Werner, Where There Is No Doctor, 1992, 141.

[8] David Werner, Where There Is No Doctor, 1992, 141.

[9] David Werner, Where There Is No Doctor, 1992, 140.

[10] David Werner, Where There Is No Doctor, 1992, 141.

[11] David Werner, Where There Is No Doctor, 1992, 140.

[12] David Werner, Where There Is No Doctor, 1992, 140.

[13] David Werner, Where There Is No Doctor, 1992, 140.

[14] Joseph Alton, The Survival Medicine Handbook, 2013, 125.

[15] Cynthia Koelker, Armageddon Medicine, 2012, 174.

[16] David Werner, Where There Is No Doctor, 1992, 374.

[17] David Werner, Where There Is No Doctor, 1992, 374.

[18] David Werner, Where There Is No Doctor, 1992, 374.

[19] Survival and Austere Medicine, 3^rd Edition, 111.

[20] Survival and Austere Medicine, 3^rd Edition, 454-55.

[21] Survival and Austere Medicine, 3^rd Edition, 111.

[22] David Werner, Where There Is No Doctor, 1992, 12.

[23] Survival and Austere Medicine, 3^rd Edition, 111.

[24] Survival Medicine Handbook, 2013, 126.

 28 november 2023