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Rat Lungworm Disease
- Eosinophilic Meningitis
Wailuku
Parasites
are being coming more prevalent everywhere. One
of them is the rat lungworm in
Hawaii. The Hawaiian version of lungworm (introduced
from a Southeast Asian slug) does effect the CNS in
some people.
Called WAILUKU, the disease arises from parasitic
worms, Angiostrongylus cantonensis, sometimes ingested
inadvertently by eating raw produce that contains a
small snail or slug. The parasite can also be left on veggies in the slime trail. Other ways of getting infected
can include eating raw or undercooked freshwater
prawns, crabs or frogs. Fish do not spread this
parasite. .It is not passed from one person to
another person. The asian slug is particularly problematic and crawls into people's drinks and into their
houses.
The worms migrate through the
human body and usually die after several weeks.
Most people recover fully without
treatment. But sometimes the larvae migrate
into cerebral fluid, causing inflammation in the brain
and spinal cord membrane and a form of meningitis,
according to a study by the state and CDC published in 2007.
In some cases, rat lungworm disease can cause significant pain and
trauma, including paralysis, blindness and death, as occurred in a
fatal case in Taiwan in 1944, according to the study.
Patients usually became sick in
three days, but one took as long as 48
days.
Symptoms: Some
people do not have any symptoms or have mild symptoms,
while others have headache, stiff neck, tingling or
painful feelings in the skin, low-grade fever, nausea
and vomiting. Pain can be so intense that even the slightest
touch hurts. At least half the folks talked to that have gotten it,
said they honestly felt like they were going to die.
To avoid infection:
Do not eat raw or undercooked snails or slugs, and
thoroughly wash produce that might have them,
especially home-grown produce such as lettuce. If you
handle snails or slugs, wear gloves and wash your
hands.
Treatment:
People usually do not require treatment. The parasite
dies over time even without treatment. Even people who
develop meningitis usually do not need antibiotics.
Sometimes the symptoms of the infection last for
several weeks or months while the body's immune system
responds to the dying parasites. The most common types
of treatment are for the symptoms of the infection
(such as pain medication for headache) rather than for
the infection itself. The side effects of
the infection needs to be treated according to what
the side effect is.
Results of the
infection: The infection can
create nerve damage in the form of
neuropathy. The symptoms of this is pain,
tingling and numbness if the peripheral nerves are
involved, unbalance if the motor nerves are involved,
problems with vision if the optic nerves are
involved.
For more information go to http://www.ratlungwormhawaii.org/
What to do?
Nerve
Damage is also called Neuropathy.
The Nerve Support Formula was originally created for
the nerve damage that often accompanies diabetes -
diabetic neuropathy. Through the 5 years this
product has been available, it has been found the the
cause of the damage doesn't matter, that the damage is
the same and that this formula will give relief to the
symptoms of this damage.
You can read about the Nerve
Support Formula
For a Testimonial About using
the Nerve
Support Formula for Rat Lungworm
For more information about Peripheral Neuropathy
and how to get relief go to Neuropathy
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