There's a promising new allergy treatment on the horizon, but it's a bit yucky, to be perfectly frank (though not exactly scientific!). It seems that gutworms, or more specifically, hookworms, which are intestinal parasites, may offer protection from allergies, asthma, and other immune sys...
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Hook warms ???
Rusty Sherrill
Tuesday, January 08, 2008 at 11:34 PM -
Hookworms
Robena Lasley
Wednesday, January 09, 2008 at 04:05 PMTo even consider putting a parasite into my body intentionly, I would have to be in a desperate health situation, with no other options. I have seen the health devastation that hook worms have created in animals. No thank you!
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The old is new again
Aquagrrl
Sunday, May 18, 2008 at 12:31 PMRusty, now many of these "old" technologies are being brought back. Leeches are once again being used in medicine. I know someone that worked at a place that sold medical leeches. They had a 24 hour delivery time guarantee because most hospitals didn't have them on hand. They had to on a couple of occasions send them out via helicopter for very serious cases.
Magots are being researched as an alternative to antibiotics in wounds because bacteria can't become resistant to it, and magots only eat dead tissue.
Worms sound gross, and I'm not sure I could do it, but it sounds more and more that medical science is looking to the past for solutions that were once deemed barbaric.
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Hookworms as a treatment for allergies
susan koppel
Thursday, May 29, 2008 at 08:32 AMWhat a knee-jerk reaction that is, to describe the hookworm treatment as 'yucky'!
As I understand it, the worms are microscopic, and the optimum number is between 5 and 10. So, one doesn't have to imagine earth-worm size creatures wriggling and squiggling inside one!!
I'm thrilled with the idea of introducing a couple of microscopic organisms into my body to alleviate allergies. After the myriad uncomfortable treatments I've used in the past - this certainly sounds like the answer!
I can't wait for the scientists concerned to give us the go-ahead.
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I suppose on the surface things look prmising but after 30 years they should have a better understanding of the effect of hook warms in humans. Sure tweeking the immunity ststen to help one problem is also doing the oppsit to something else.
Modern medicine is not imited today as it was in the early years of the medical revulation before penicillin came along. Warms and leaches and old homapathic remidys took a back seat to modern medical technology. I think its a long way off to feed someone a handfull of warms and stand by to watch them get cured of asthma and allergys..
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