Wellness Topics

Parasite Risk Evaluation

Pinworm is the most common worm infection in the

United States

. School-age children, followed by preschoolers, have the highest rates of infection. In some groups nearly 50% of children are infected. Infection often occurs in more than one family member. Adults are less likely to have pinworm infection, except mothers of infected children. Child care centers and other institutional settings often have cases of pinworm infection.

Pinworm eggs are infective within a few hours after being deposited on the skin. They can survive up to 2 weeks on clothing, bedding, or other objects. You or your children can become infected after accidentally ingesting (swallowing) infective pinworm eggs from contaminated surfaces or fingers.

Hookworm, effects mostly children because they play in dirt and often go barefoot. Since transmission of hookworm infection requires development of the larvae in soil, hookworm cannot be spread person to person.

Hookworms have a complex life cycle that begins and ends in the small intestine. Hookworm eggs require warm, moist, shaded soil to hatch into larvae. These barely visible larvae penetrate the skin (often through bare feet), are carried to the lungs, go through the respiratory tract to the mouth, are swallowed, and eventually reach the small intestine. This journey takes about a week. In the small intestine, the larvae develop into half-inch-long worms, attach themselves to the intestinal wall, and suck blood. The adult worms produce thousands of eggs. These eggs are passed in the feces (stool). If the eggs contaminate soil and conditions are right, they will hatch, molt, and develop into infective larvae again after 5 to 10 days.

To learn more about this topic please read "Unwanted Visitors - Parasites."

Infants

	Does your baby have severe intermittent colic?
	Does your baby persistently bang his head against his crib?
	Is your baby a chronic crier?
	Does your baby show a blotchy rash around the perianal area?

Your total:

Parasite Risk Index

Status	Points	Recommendations
Of concern	2 or more	Follow dietary recommendations in article Stool Analysis for Parasitology Herbal Parasite Cleanse See your MD

If you answered "Yes" to two or more of the questions above, please have your child evaluated for parasites.

Source: Used with permission from The National Integrated Health Associates-Washington, DC.

Children

	Does your child complain of an itchy anus at night?
	Does your child have dark circles under his/her eyes?
	Has your child been diagnosed with “failure to thrive”?
	Does your child grind or clench teeth at night?
	Does your child constantly pick his/her nose or scratch his/her behind?
	Does your child have the habit of eating dirt?
	Does your child wet the bed?
	Is your child restless at night?
	Does your child cry often for no reason?
	Does your child tear his hair out?
	Does your child have a limp that orthopedic treatment has not helped?
	Does your child have a brassy, staccato-type cough?
	Does your child have convulsions or an abnormal electroencephalogram (EEG)?
	Does your child have recurring headaches?
	Is your child unusually sensitive to light and prone to eyelid twitching, blinking frequently, or squinting?
	Does your child have unusual tendencies to bleed in the gums, rectum or the nose?

Your total:

Parasite Risk Index

Status

Points

Recommendations

Of concern

2 or more

Have your child tested using the Gastrointestinal Effects/Parasitology Stool Test
This test is available in the US, UK and Canada through LighterLiving
Samples can be taken from a diaper
If the test is positive, please follow up with your childs doctor

Quiz Source :The National Integrated Health Associates-Washington, DC.


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