Showing posts with label parasite. Show all posts
Showing posts with label parasite. Show all posts

Saturday, 19 June 2010

Day 545 - Colon Cleansing

"Why, suddenly, has colon cleansing (detoxification) become so necessary? Many argue that our grandparents did not use colon cleansers and they survived pretty well. The answer is simple: times have changed. Our eating habits have changed and our dietary intake has altered radically since the old days. Our grandparents, like their parents before them, lived on a healthy high-fibre diet of whole foods such as fresh garden vegetables and plenty of unprocessed fruit.

Our food intake in today's rushed, modern world is very different. About 90 percent of the foods that we consume on a daily basis is processed or refined in some way. These refined foods keep depositing toxic waste in our body. The foods (including sugar and flour) make us extremely susceptible to serious intestinal problems.

Over six thousand chemicals are used to process foods. The food that we eat every day is refined, genetically engineered, preserved, coloured, and treated with a mixture of insecticides, chemicals, and hormones. That means that not only do we eat very little roughage to encourage healthy intestinal function, but the constant chemicals, preservatives and colorants that we consume also have a devastating effect on the digestive tract.

What happens when the colon becomes sluggish or constipated? This results in toxic poison building up as the result of multiplying bacteria when foodstuffs travel too slowly through the intestines during the evacuation process. These toxins then enter the bloodstream via the colon. That's why chronic constipation poses such a dangerous health risk.

So, the single most dangerous threat to your colon is, of course, your diet. Depending on your daily food intake, your low-fiber, high processed, refined and chemically laced food intake is a serious health risk. In today's modern world, we are actually poisoning ourselves little by little, each and every day.”*

*http://www.articlesbase.com/supplements-and-vitamins-articles/colon-cleanse-the-single-most-dangerous-threat-to-your-colon-1754106.html
I remember hearing about a detox programme a couple of years ago through a friend of mine. Hers involved sipping some horrible sounding ‘soup’ for a few weeks or so, after which she had to slowly reintroduce certain foods, starting with little nibbles of salad or boiled vegetables so as not to give her system too much of a shock having not eaten anything solid at all for so long.

No wonder I was reluctant to try the Colonix detox programme that my mother suggested I give a go. ‘You’ve tried everything for your headache, I don’t understand why you won’t just try this too’, she said to me. At the time, my mother had been on the programme for three months and had seen great results - she felt a lot more energetic and generally a lot healthier.

I eventually gave in and thought ‘what the heck, might as well’ - it just gets to a point where you’re willing to try everything. ‘What if I don’t try it and it’s the key to solving my headache?’ - that’s the question that runs through my head virtually every time someone suggests trying out something new. I took the Colonix for a few months. As I have been based abroad for work, I couldn’t have gone back to see the kinesiologist anyway and I had finished all the tablets he had given me. I was therefore not following any specific diet nor was I on any programme of sorts. So why not give it a go?

I was rather frightened by the possible effects of taking the Colonix - look at their webpage and the testimonial photos and you will no doubt understand why I am using the word ‘frightened’. My mother was convinced I was harbouring some sort of a bacteria or parasite which would soon be released thanks to the potency of this combination of herbal ingredients.

I have now finished the three month programme and I do admit feeling better. My headache has stabilised to a 1/2, albeit with the occasional flair up - only once did I get an 8 which was dreadful but luckily it didn’t last for too long. As I have mentioned on a number of occasions, one forgets how bad the pain is until it comes back, your head thumping away, your field of vision obscuring as little flashy stars appear in front of you, a wave of nausea running through you and an untold desire to lie down and close your eyes taking control of your mind and body.

The headache has definitely not gone, it still very much haunts me every living second, but it’s better, which is an improvement. I am seeing the kinesiologist again in a few days - I’d be interested to see what comes up when he muscle tests me.

Thursday, 27 August 2009

Day 249 - Parasites

“Parasites are organisms that obtain nourishment and shelter from other organisms. In this association, the parasite derives all the benefits, whereas the host may either be unaffected or suffer harmful consequences, with the development of a parasitic disease.

The parasites responsible for these diseases are called obligate if they can live only in association with a host and facultative if they can live either in a host or independently. Furthermore, the parasites vary widely in size and complexity, from relatively simple unicellular protozoans (eg, amebae) to more complex multicellular organisms (eg, worms, flukes).

Parasitic diseases are distributed worldwide, with a higher prevalence in developing countries, especially in areas with inadequate sanitation. Some of these diseases are restricted to tropical and subtropical regions. Parasitic diseases represent one of the most common types of human infection throughout the world and are still the cause of much human morbidity and mortality.

With the growth of global travel there has been a huge increase in the number of tropical infectious diseases diagnosed in the northern hemisphere. 35% of asymptomatic people returning from travel had parasitic infections (ref: Whitty et al 2000).”*


*http://radiographics.rsna.org/content/25/1/135.full
http://www.thegardenclinic.net/tropical-infections-parasites.php

http://www.thehtd.org/Posttropical.aspx

Given that most alternative therapies have pointed to a problem in the gut/liver, the possibility of there being a parasite still very much exists for me, despite the results of the tropical diseases tests I did in Senegal back in February.

Last week I went to the Tropical Diseases Hospital in London; the doctor was delightful - not your typical doctor who gives you a supercilious look as soon as you ask questions and try and further inquire as to what he is doing. This doctor took the time to explain things to me, expounding upon the various kinds of tropical diseases and parasites that exist, which made all the difference.

Curiously, one of the most common tropical diseases that people are afflicted with is schistosomiasis, where worms grow inside the blood vessels and produce eggs. The most common occurrence of schistosomiasis among travellers is acquired when swimming in Lake Malawi.

According to the doctor, neurological symptoms are usually accompanied by lumps - given that I do not have any, it seems unlikely that I am afflicted by a tropical disease. Having said that, the possibility cannot be ruled out because, as the doctor explained, there are numerous other undetected tropical diseases whose symptoms are not yet certain.

I was given three testers and asked to hand in some samples over three days (pots, spatulas, paper trays.. will spare the details). I am now awaiting the results.

Monday, 9 February 2009

Day 50 - Low Blood Pressure

"Blood pressure is the force exerted by circulating blood on the walls of blood vessels, and constitutes one of the principal vital signs of life, which also include heart beat, rate of breathing, and temperature. Blood pressure is generated by the heart pumping blood into the arteries and is regulated by the response by the arteries to the flow of blood.

Low blood pressure (hypotension) is pressure so low it causes symptoms or signs due to the low flow of blood through the arteries and veins. When the flow of blood is too low to deliver enough oxygen and nutrients to vital organs such as the brain, heart, and kidney, the organs do not function normally and may be permanently damaged.

For example, if insufficient blood flows to the brain, brain cells do not receive enough oxygen and nutrients, and a person can feel lightheaded, dizzy, or even faint."*

*http://www.medicinenet.com/low_blood_pressure/index.htm

The doctor measured my blood pressure yesterday during the physical examination and said it was abnormally low. He did not take any measures as he said he would check it again today when picking up my test results.

This morning I was told all blood tests are normal and there is no sign of any parasites or tropical diseases.

The doctor measured my blood pressure again - it was still very low. Given the normal blood results, he is utterly convinced my headache is due to my low blood pressure.

I myself feel that my headache is caused by something elementary that is being overlooked.

I am therefore highly enthusiastic about this new diagnosis and firmly believe the doctor may well be right.

Furthermore, the fact that the pain intensifies when lying down leads me to think that my headache may well be related to low blood pressure, as the blood circulates differently when standing or lying.

The doctor has prescribed some drops to take for three weeks on a daily basis; this, he says, should raise my blood pressure thereby putting an end to my headache.

I have now promised myself that whosoever may solve my headache will receive a bunch of flowers, a box of chocolates and a card explaining how grateful I am for having finally resolved my mysterious headache.

Day 49 - Tropical Diseases


"Tropical diseases are diseases that are prevalent in or unique to tropical and subtropical regions. Insects such as mosquitoes and flies are by far the most common disease carrier or "vector".

These insects may carry a parasite, bacterium or virus that is infectious to humans and animals. Most often disease is transmitted by an insect "bite", which causes transmission of the infectious agent through subcutaneous blood exchange.


The so-called "exotic" diseases in the tropics have long been noted both by travelers, explorers, etc., as well as by physicians. One obvious reason is that the hot climate present during all the year and the larger volume of rains directly affect the formation of breeding grounds. It is possible also that higher temperatures may favor the replication of pathogenic agents both inside and outside biological organisms.

Socio-economic factors may be also in operation, since most of the poorest nations of the world are in the tropics."
*

*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_disease

Needless to say I did not take the medication the Spanish doctor prescribed. Migraine tablets did not improve my symptoms over Christmas, and they certainly weren't going to do so now.

I am now in West Africa. On Friday, my colleague and I drove from Banjul, the capital of The Gambia, to Dakar, Senegal, to seek medical advice.

Health care in The Gambia is very limited so a trip to Dakar for some more blood tests was the only viable option.

The Clinique de la Madeleine, a privately funded French hospital, is a modern, soulless building located in the centre of Dakar.


I was seen immediately.

It has been nearly two months now and I am keen to try everything possible to rid my body of this tempestuous headache.

Maybe I caught a bug in Nigeria, and it may well be that a parasite is causing my infamous headache.

I told the doctor that I wanted to ‘do every possible test available on the face of the earth, in particular all tests to detect any possible tropical diseases’.

I need to return to the hospital on Monday morning to get my results.