Worms and parasites are not a pleasant subject. It is estimated that about 85% of the world’s population is infected with worms or parasites. Yuck! Having worms live in our body is not something that any of us want to dwell on. Many people suffer from the effects of worms or parasites, and do not even know it.
What is a parasite or worm?
A parasite is an organism that lives and feeds off living things, taking nourishment from the person and causing weakness and disease. There are different kinds of worms that a person can contract: a roundworm, tapeworm and pinworm.
How can a human contract worms or parasites?
- Poor hygiene – always wash your hands after using the restroom, and be certain to shower regularly. Teach your kids the importance of this too. Many children hate to wash their hands and bother with a bath, but it’s important to teach them why we need to be clean. People of years gone by contracted and died from so many diseases, and most were the result of poor hygiene. Good hygiene, and not vaccinations, is the main reason that diseases were so greatly reduced years ago. I will do a series on vaccinations in the future, so keep a watch out for it!
- The eggs of a pinworm can be found on counter tops, toys, etc. The problem is, you can’t see these microscopic eggs.
- Hookworms can be found in dirt and soil
Other ways are:
- Contaminated water
- Contaminated food
- Pets
What are symptoms of having parasites?
- Diarrhea
- Nausea
- Cramping
- Fatigue
- Headaches
- Anal Itching
- Grinding Teeth
- Bed Wetting
- Nose Bleeds
- With children, it often causes restlessness, nose picking
Who should do a parasite cleanse?
In my opinion, everyone. No one knows when they may have contracted a worm, and many, many people have small parasites living in them that cause health problems. It could be the reason you can’t lose weight, can’t sleep at night, have stomach problems, headaches, get sick easily, etc. etc. An extremely healthy person’s body will naturally cleanse any parasites that it comes in contact with – but most people cannot cleanse parasites without the help of herbs or cleanses. If you’ve always (from infancy) eaten only the best diet of no processed flours, sugars, etc., and lots of fresh raw food, and taken very little or no prescription drugs, your body just might cleanse itself alone – but I don’t believe most of us have always followed this type of lifestyle.
If you really want to do a serious cleanse, I highly recommend the Master Cleanse. Click here to read my experience with it. I guarantee you will lose weight with the Master Cleanse (this is not true with all cleanses), and I recommend also doing the parasite cleanse below.
How can we get rid of parasites? Here are a few parasite cleanse options that I use:
Parasite Cleanse – Mountain Meadow Herbs’ Para-Rid.
This is a cleanse from the Bulk Herb Store.
“Black Walnut capsules – size 00
- First day I take 1 capsule twice a day on an empty stomach.
- Second day I take 2 capsules twice a day on an empty stomach.
- Third day I take 2 capsules three times a day on an empty stomach.
I then continue to take 2 capsules three times a day on an empty stomach for the remainder of three months.
Wormwood capsules – size 00
- First day I take 2 capsules 20 minutes before I eat.
- Second day I take 4 capsules 20 minutes before I eat.
- Third day I take 6 capsules 20 minutes before I eat.
- Fourth day I take 8 capsules 20 minutes before I eat.
- Fifth day I take 10 capsules 20 minutes before I eat.
- Sixth day I take 12 capsules 20 minutes before I eat.
- Seventh day I take 14 capsules 20 minutes before I eat.^
I do this for 14 days, then break for 5 days. After that, I start back at the first day, and do another 14. Once that is completed, I take 14 capsules twice per week for the remainder of three months. Each dose is taken once per day.
Cloves capsules – size “00”
- First day I take 1 capsules 3 times a day 20 minutes before I eat.
- Second day I take 2 capsules 3 times a day 20 minutes before I eat.
- Third day I take 3 capsules 3 times a day 20 minutes before I eat.
I do this for 14 days, then break for 5 days, then I do another 14 days starting from day 1. After that, I take 3 capsules once per day for the remainder of three months.
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When it comes to kids, you may not want to give them an herbal concoction that tastes bad, and most of them do. Wormwood is one terrible tasting herb, and you cannot expect your kids to take it by itself. I like to mix 1 part maple syrup and 1 part herb. That helps with the taste. You can also give them a reward when they take it. I wrapped little things up and gave them to my son for the first ten times of taking herbal concoctions. This made him look at my herbal concoctions as “Good things”. Even though it tastes bad, and he no longer gets presents for taking them, he still takes them with a smile!!!
For children 40 to 65 LB, I do 1/4 the amount of an adult dose, and only do 14 days on, 7 day off, then 14 days, and then that is all.
For children 65 to 90 LB, I do 1/3 the amount of an adult dose, and only do 14 days on, 7 day off, then 14 days, and then that is all.
Do not exceed this recommendation.”
*Click here to read Foods That Help Cleanse Parasites
Linked To:
Deep Roots At Home Day2Day Joys
*This post contains affiliate links. See my disclosure.
Not a pretty topic, but you have piqued my interest…
I agree – NOT a pretty subject!!! 🙂
Ok, 2 things –
First, I got a tapeworm on a missions trip in Costa Rica when I was a teenager. That was fun! I lost weight and ate like a pig! I use this story on my kids tho because one sucks her thumb and 2 bite their nails….
which leads me to the second thing – what do you suggest as a cleanse for young children??
Thanks!!
Jill, I HATE even thinking about parasites… it grosses me out. However, like you said, this is an issue we need to be aware of and concerned about.
Last fall, our entire family went on a parasite cleanse- ParaRid, from Mountain Meadow Herbs.com. It is a liquid tincture, so it wasn’t so bad to get down the little people. I highly recommend parasite cleansing, too!
How often do you recommend cleansing for parasites?
@Hidden Treasures –
I would use the same program above – only changing the amounts. I stir the herb into honey or maple syrup to help with the taste. I’m sure mixing it with juice would be fine too.
40-65 lbs. takes 1/4 of the adult dose
65-90 lbs. takes 1/3 of the adult dose
🙂
So do you recommend doing these herbs at the same time as a Master Cleanse, or separately? I think I’ve convinced hubby to try the Master Cleanse with me as soon as I round up the right ingredients. Wondering if it would be good to order these herbs to go along with it.
@Little Natural Cottage – I normally only do a parasite cleanse once a year.
@Emily – You can do it at the same time or separate. I only do the Master Cleanse for 10 days, but the parasite cleanse for 3 months to make sure anything that has hatched is gone. (How gross is this thought?!?) YUUUUUCCCKKKK! 🙂
Hi Jill,
I have passed on the VERSATILE BLOGGER AWARD to your informtive blog. Please visit:
http://heroinesofthefaith.blogspot.com/2012/01/awards-banquet.html
for more details! 🙂
Hi again! Raw sunflower seeds are also supposed to help in the area of worms. They can help to remove them or be used as preventative care. But, RAW is the key. Grounding them up and placing inside smoothies are a great way to hide them for the children to enjoy. Thanks for all the great information!!!
Thank you for sharing, Jes! I’m actually posting about other foods tomorrow that cleanse parasites. I will be sure to add sunflower seeds!
Jill, We have done a cleanse about once a year for many years that we were on a farm. As an old RN, I truly understand and agree about how devastating parasites can be and that MOST have had or do have them. Great post. Thanks for sharing this great and needed info!
One of those posts that reminds me of something icky so I don’t really want to ingest it, but at the same time I want to print the whole thing out so we have it in our home! 🙂 Our family has had lots of health issues so we are definitely aware of the importance of keeping our bodies working well. Thanks for this!
Visiting from hearts 4 home.
Thank you for visiting, Emily! I definitely agree that I’d rather not think of things this icky!!! 🙂
Really interesting~thank you for sharing all this info! I have some of these symptoms {yikes!}..will be trying all your ideas. love bulk herbs as well..enjoying the resolution set!
The Resolution Set does look great!
is there a company you recommend for the herbs or just go the health food store? I have a 8yr old who i suspect has pinworms…he been complaining of a itchy bum and said he saw some white things in the toilet after he went potty. I have a bottle of Kroeger Herb Wormwood combination, but i was finding conflicting info online about giving it to children so i was concerned.
I purchase most of mine from The Bulk Herb Store. You can buy from a local health food store, but it costs more. You can also check out Para-Rid for kids at Mountain Meadow Herbs.
Hi Jill, Im really glad you published this article. Can you explain how you take the wormwood in simple terms, I’m a bit confused. Thank you.
Wormwood capsules – size 00
First day I take 2 capsules 20 minutes before I eat.
Second day I take 4 capsules 20 minutes before I eat.
Third day I take 6 capsules 20 minutes before I eat.
Fourth day I take 8 capsules 20 minutes before I eat.
Fifth day I take 10 capsules 20 minutes before I eat.
Sixth day I take 12 capsules 20 minutes before I eat.
Seventh day I take 14 capsules 20 minutes before I eat.^
I do this for 14 days, then break for 5 days. After that, I start back at the first day, and do another 14. Once that is completed, I take 14 capsules twice per week for the remainder of three months. Each dose is taken once per day.
DeVan, you take the indicated number of capsules each day. You gradually add 2 more capsules a day until day 7. On days 7-14, you take 14 capsules a day. Rest for 5 days, and start back over with day one, repeating the exact same schedule. After those 14 days, take 14 capsules twice a week {like on Tuesday and Thursday} – do the twice a week schedule for 3 months.
I hope this helps. Let me know if you need anything more specific. Thanks!