What Lies Beneath

Could your chronic health woes be put down to a case of an intestinal parasite? There’s a good chance the answer is yes

 

- Emma Strenner

There are certain ailments guaranteed to bring out the heebie-jeebies. Nits and ticks, for example, are sure to send a shiver down your spine as you imagine the crawling microcreatures sucking your blood and laying eggs while nestled in your hair or burrowed into your skin. But these creepy intruders are at least on the outside, visible and treatable. It’s easy to forget our bodies play host to countless internal living microorganisms, including something you may never suspect: parasites.

Sure, hygiene standards may be high in Australia, but that doesn’t mean we’re not at risk of parasites: an organism that lives on or in another species and feeds off it. Think of it like a barnacle attached to a whale, but on your insides. Feeling queasy yet? Common forms include roundworms, tapeworms, whipworms, so many worms... Plus, amoebas, flukes (found in tiny snails in lakes and brackish water) and spirochetes (bacteria that causes syphilis and Lyme disease that are so tiny they can’t be seen with the naked eye). Some consume your nutrients leaving you unable to put on weight, feeling lethargic and always hungry, while others will feed off your blood cells, leading to anaemia, and others still will lay eggs, causing itchiness and insomnia.