Liver Fluke Fasciola Hepatica and the lives it wrecks

Are you being treated? Is anything working for you? Do you know what they are?

That picture looks to me as if it might well be a liver fluke/intestinal fluke. Problem is…when you’re pulling them out of your mouth (I do the same thing) its like finding fish washed up on the beach. They’re dead. They may not be in great shape. So, it’s hard to tell. (I’m always wondering…is that just food that’s coming up?) That’s why it’s SO important to get a real medical diagnosis (through, for instance, a test to see if you have antibodies against a specific parasite, which is how Covid test work. Another more involved, expensive test, is a “PCR” test, which can detect the DNA from different species of parasites.) But you can’t get these in a kit like a covid test. This condition is really confusing. I’m older. I have a grown daughter who’s a medical professional in Chicago. I’m a technical analyst now, but I used to be a molecular biologist who studied fungi. So, I know something of Biology. But that actually doesn’t do me much good, because I’m not an expert in the field. I could show you literally hundreds of pictures of the things that have come out of my mouth, nose, ears, and things I’ve passed in my stool. This condition came up for me after working in Germany, England, and Italy on and off for about three years. It’s all new to me as well. I take pictures of everything that I can. I also keep samples in alcohol to forward them to a laboratory. But there aren’t very many labs that I can find that specialize in this area. Your picture might actually be a couple of thise things grouped together. That's why I keep these little sample vials around and bottle of isoporopano (running alccoho), because if it's a clump of individual parasitses, the will usually separate in the alcoho.

Okay, understood. There could be food attached.(sorry, so gross)- but the fluke shapes and demodex shapes consistently occur, which is why I’m so concerned. Thanks, this is helpful, especially knowing you are a molecular biologist. Like you said, it’s so difficult to find someone to identify/heal this.

VPEAR - I want add that I’m NOT saying the the things in the last image you posted were not Fasciola hepatica or some other “fluke” or trematode or helminth parasite. They actually looked like fasciola hepatica to me. I just wanted to say I could not tell for sure. For instance, the first pictures that @inthedark posted looked to me VERY MUCH like the first flukes/parasites I vomited up for hours on end from my stomach and throat and lungs after I took my first anti-parasitic drug of any kind (Praziquantel), which seemed to get rid of chunk of large ones, but did not cure me of them. My experience has been very similar to what @inthedark has described, including have trouble getting medical professionals to treat you, often because they’re not familiar with this. It’s hard to get treated, and it’s hard to get a definitive diagnosis, to get labs to perform an antibody test (to see if you have antibodies against a specific parasite, or to see if a sample of the parasite reacts to an anti-parasite antibody), or to perform a ‘PCR’ test, to see if there is DNA from a specific parasite in a sample. To get good treatment, you need a definitive diagnosis. But an individual can’t get the CDC or Mayo Clinic Labs to give you a test (even offering to pay any sum necessary) without being referred by a state health agency. And some state health agencies (such Missouri, where I live) no longer perform parasite/worm identification. It’s a like a chicken/egg conundrum without an easy entry point. I’m working on cracking this riddle, to find an entry point to get a definitive diagnosis, and ultimately good treatment. Not just for myself, but so I can add information about how to do this to this discussion. ☺ Because with the right drugs, there is honestly a way out of this. If the parasite you I or any of the other members of this discussion are afflicted with is Fasciola hepatica, then ridiculously, two treatments of a drug called triclabendazole 12 hours apart can work wonders for a cost of like...$4 a dose. It’s ridiculous. And the drug isn’t dangerous or addictive or anything. It’s just hard to get your hands on in the US, because the condition is rare here. But have hope, because there is a cure out there.

Oh my God, I hope and pray you are right. I’ve had such a horrible day. Eyes bothering my so much w blepharitis. I’ve been “throwing up” parasites for hours. Skin is crawling/itching. I can’t believe humans can suffer this indefinitely! We have to find help! Someone out there must know how to relieve this???!!!! I’m in my 15th month, waiting for a call from a specialist at Stanford who may never call.

The Gold Standard Anti-Fasciola drugs are:
Triclabendazole (brand name Egaten by Novartis: two doses of 10 mg/kg given 12 hours apart.) This drug is hard to come by, I think.

More common proven anti-Fasciola drug:

Metronidazole, commonly proscribed for vaginal infections, Brand name: Flagyl
1.5 g/day metronidazole orally for three weeks. This may be able to acutally cure you.

Meanwhile, following are the drugs that have made my life tolerable while waiting for real medical expertise and help:

Artemisinin (OTC – high dose three times a day.)
Praziquantel (25 mg/kg, which is 2 grams for me, 3 times a day)
Albendazole (400 mg, twice day)
Fenbendazole (444 mg, twice a day)

The four drugs above, when taken together, for me put a stop to the intolerable itching, the severity of the skin lesions, the uncontrollable/unpredictable diarrhea. I noticed that @inthedark also reported using Praziquantel and Albendazole, and though it didn’t cure him (or me), it does seem to help to "slow them down."

One more thing. For immediate relief, I take these anti-worm “baths”, where I put all of the following in the water

• Tea Tree Oil
• Benzyl Benzoate (from Amazon. Use very dilute-a few drops in bath, or will feel horrible burning sensation).
• Sulfur Soap (I purchase online by the case now).
• Dandruff shampoos: Selsun Blue, Head & Shoulders, Salicylic acid soap.
• In addition, I also add in some of anti-parasite medication, a tiny bit of praziquantel powder and some albendazole, to the bath water. I figure…if it hurts the parasites when you take these drugs internally, it can’t hurt to add a trace amount to your bathwater to bother the ones close to the surface of your skin as well. ☺

These ‘anti-worm’ baths actually REALLY HELP THE ITCHING which can be really intolerable.

I hope some of this helps you.

We’re they prescribed? By a dermatologist? Or over-the-counter?

The Artemisinin is available over the counter. Re the others: a Peace Core friend familiar with the "flukes" was able to get me a bottle of bulk Praziquantel. I got an RX from my primary care physician for a short course of the Albendazole, which helped. Then my friend procured the Albendazole for me. @inthedark also used Praziquantel & Albendazole. You might ask @inthedark how they got their hands on the Praziquantel & Albendazole. Because many physicians aren’t familiar with this infection, we’re kind of on our own to get relief…prior to getting dedicated medical care, which I’m working on now. The Fenbendazole is actually not approved for this use, but you can order it in pill form OTC on Amazon. But truly, your best option is to have your physician get you an Rx for Triclabendazole (which is hard to get a hold of even with an Rx I’m told), or perhaps an Rx for Metronidazole (generic Flagyl), a more common medication. The following NIH links describe recent research papers detailing Metronidazole’s use in treating Fasciola. If you drop the strings below into Google, it should being these papers right up. (This site does not allow dropping in links...to avoid spam, probably a good idea.)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14523339/

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36660413/

Hope this helps. I know how frustrating this is, and how intolerable this condition can be if these things are allowed to rage unchecked. Unfortunately, this is just really rare in the US, so most in the medical establishment don’t know about it, or how to treat it.