{"id":32169,"date":"2025-11-17T21:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-18T03:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wholehealthchicago.com\/blog\/?p=32169"},"modified":"2025-11-17T16:15:33","modified_gmt":"2025-11-17T22:15:33","slug":"why-isnt-my-concern-about-parasites-being-taken-seriously","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wholehealthchicago.com\/blog\/2025\/11\/17\/why-isnt-my-concern-about-parasites-being-taken-seriously","title":{"rendered":"WHY ISN\u2019T MY CONCERN ABOUT \u201cPARASITES\u201d BEING TAKEN SERIOUSLY?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The number one reason, far and away, is the minimal amount of education medical students and residents get about the vast number of diseases caused by parasites. Very little is discussed about symptoms, diagnosis, and correct treatment. Most students never even see a parasite under a microscope. Physicians in the U.S. seem to think parasites are the diseases of \u201cothers\u201d (foreigners, mainly, immigrants to be deported) forgetting that we take vacations, eat in restaurants, shake hands with people, and not everyone follows the rule of washing hands after using a restroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The second reason your concern is not being taken seriously is that your symptoms are vague and most labs checking your bowel movement (where most parasites set up shop) are really pretty terrible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This list of the commonest symptoms of parasite infestation, from the Sydney Gut Clinic in Australia (specialists in parasite diseases) will, in the U.S., almost never merit a stool examination for parasites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Stomach cramps and pain<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Nausea or vomiting<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Dehydration<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Weight loss<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Swollen lymph nodes<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Digestive problems including unexplained constipation, diarrhea or persistent gas<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Skin issues such as rashed, eczema, hives, and itching<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Continuous muscle and joint pain<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Fatigue, even when you get enough slepe<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Depression or feeling apathetic<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Never feeling full, even after a big meal<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Constant hunger, even when you\u2019re eating enough<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Iron deficiency\/anemia<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Grinding your teeth during sleep<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Unexplained feelings of anxiety<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Recurrent yeast infections<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Itching of the anus or vagina<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Itching, redness, irritation, and an unusual discharge from the genital area<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Trouble falling asleep or waking up multiple times during the night<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>If you do manage to get a stool specimen to a micro lab, it generally is reported as \u201cnegative for parasites\u201d because the techs receive minimal training in parasite identification. Sometimes the report reads, \u201cBlastocystis hominis\u201d and you\u2019ll be told this is a \u201cbenign parasite\u201d (which it is not!).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I wrote about a patient with Blastocystis and her quest for health in a Health Tip some years ago, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/wholehealthchicago.com\/blog\/2011\/08\/16\/the-extraordinarily-persistent-patient\">A Very Persistent Patient<\/a>\u201d. Things haven\u2019t changed. To this day, most doctors refuse to treat \u201cBlasto\u201d because it\u2019s perceived as benign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For an excellent parasite exam, you need a stool specimen sent to one of the three<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cpowerhouse\u201d labs: Genova, Doctor\u2019s Data, Mosaic. Adding a test called \u201czonulin\u201d will determine if the parasites have sufficiently damaged your intestine to cause \u201cleaky gut\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The third reason your concern with parasites is not being taken seriously is that you are becoming an annoyance to your doctors. The more often you return, the more you\u2019ll be ignored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When you start online to read about parasite diseases, your findings can get pretty spooky. When you point out to your doctor connections between chronic parasitosis and various cancers, diabetes, heart disease, systemic inflammation, you\u2019ll simply be reassured your symptoms are all in your head and you\u2019ll be asked if you\u2019ve been taking your Prozac. But here\u2019s a <a href=\"https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC9679356\/\">detailed article<\/a> about the systemic diseases I\u2019ve been referring to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This seems like a reasonable place to mention a most controversial parasitic skin infection called Morgellon\u2019s Disease, a\/k\/a \u201cdelusional parasitosis\u201d, the most famous victim being singer Joni Mitchell. We\u2019ve treated many Morgellon patients at WholeHealth Chicago, many successfully, some admittedly less so. <a href=\"https:\/\/wholehealthchicago.com\/blog\/2022\/12\/26\/the-loneliest-saddest-patients-in-america\">Here\u2019s one<\/a> of the several articles I\u2019ve written about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our approach to parasites at WholeHealth Chicago is fairly straightforward. After a detailed review of your tests from previous health care practitioners, we\u2019ll have a stool kit mailed to your home for a specimen collection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Treatment depends on what parasite(s) are found and your preferences (herbs vs. prescription drugs). Among the herbs, here at WholeHealth Chicago, practitioners have their \u201cfavorites\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For me, a good herbal program is by <a href=\"https:\/\/cellcore.com\/products\/para-kit\">CellCore<\/a>. This is $234.95 and has to be specially ordered. You can stop by one of our offices when it arrives, or it can be mailed to you for a small shipping fee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If your Zonulin test is POSITIVE for \u201cleaky gut\u201d, we follow the CellCore Program with MicroBiome Labs <a href=\"https:\/\/us.fullscript.com\/o\/care-center\/products\/U3ByZWU6OlByb2R1Y3QtOTk2NjE=\/U3ByZWU6OlZhcmlhbnQtMTE2Nzc5?query=%22microbiome%20total%20gut%20restoration%22\">Total Gut Restoration Kit #1<\/a>, a 3 month program for $363.99, available through our website apothecary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If symptoms are persisting after the herbal program, the next step is to see if any toxic metals (specifically lead and mercury) may be interfering with the treatment. This was discovered by<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>parasitologist Dr. Dietrich Klinghardt, founder of the Sophia Clinic in the U.K. If no metals are present, I prescribe Dr. Klinghardt\u2019s short course combination of potent antiparasitic prescription medications: ivermectin, praziquantel, albendazole and pyrantel. The whole healing process can be \u201cfast forwarded\u201d by <a href=\"https:\/\/ivs.wholehealthchicago.com\/shop\/product\/2\">weekly ozone infusions with ultraviolet<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The initial treatment with prescription medications does necessitate an in-person appointment at one of our offices. The medications themselves are mailed to you from a <a href=\"https:\/\/keycompounding.com\/\">compounding pharmacy<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Be well,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>David Edelberg, MD<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The number one reason, far and away, is the minimal amount of education medical students and residents get about the vast number of diseases caused by parasites. Very little is discussed about symptoms, diagnosis, and correct treatment. Most students never even see a parasite under a microscope. Physicians in the U.S. seem to think parasites [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4902,"featured_media":32171,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28,1778,2366],"tags":[1657,1284],"class_list":["post-32169","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alternative-therapies","category-candida-yeast-and-parasites","category-gut-health","tag-gut-health","tag-parasites"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\r\n<title>WHY ISN\u2019T MY CONCERN ABOUT \u201cPARASITES\u201d BEING TAKEN SERIOUSLY? - WholeHealth Chicago<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/wholehealthchicago.com\/blog\/2025\/11\/17\/why-isnt-my-concern-about-parasites-being-taken-seriously\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"WHY ISN\u2019T MY CONCERN ABOUT \u201cPARASITES\u201d BEING TAKEN SERIOUSLY? - WholeHealth Chicago\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The number one reason, far and away, is the minimal amount of education medical students and residents get about the vast number of diseases caused by parasites. 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