In my case, I did contract them from traveling a few years ago, but it has brought me on such an educational journey with my own health and interests in medicine.

Coming back from my trip to the Philippines, I couldn’t eat without having severe stomach pain, nausea, or fatigue. I could only stomach liquids. Over the course of 6 months and seeing two different doctors,  I lost about 20 lbs, I was falling behind in my training for my first nursing job because I mentally couldn’t function, and was given about 3 different diagnosis. The last doctor I saw told me I had leaky gut syndrome and to just slowly reintroduce foods back into my diet.

It wasn’t until I started my job at a naturopathic clinic that I was educated about parasites and realized what was going on inside my own body.

There are two main types of intestinal parasites:

Helminths and protozoans

Most common symptoms manifest as other symptoms which is why it is so difficult to diagnose and why Western Medicine does not address parasites as frequently.

Symptoms include:

• fatigue/insomnia
• poor digestion
• “leaky gut syndrome”
• diarrhea
• gas or bloating
• pain after eating
• weakened immune system (frequent colds, infections)
• Brain fog

Parasites can be contracted from many sources. Most commonly from unwashed fruit/vegetables and herbs, raw fish or meat, pets, or contaminated water.

The scariest part is that some parasites can migrate to different parts of your body such as your liver, brain, blood, or even joints.

Our doctors here at Holistique are well versed in treating parasites and have many tools to treat parasitic infections. Give us a call today to schedule with one of our docs to see if your symptoms could be caused by parasites.