Those of you wise enough to buy my Parasites Handbook (a must-have in this day and age of the “world village”) will know I wrote about a new menace heading north in the Americas.
It’s carried by so-called “kissing bugs”, which bite you round the mouth while you sleep and infects you with the Chagas disease creepy parasite: the American trypanosome.
More than 8 million people have been infected by potentially fatal Chagas disease, most of them in Latin and Central America. But more than 300,000 live in the United States.
An editorial, published the Public Library of Science’s Neglected Tropical Diseases journal, said the spread of the disease is reminiscent of the early years of HIV.
The US’s Centers for Disease Control has branded Chagas as one of five serious and “neglected” parasite diseases. The journal editorial called Chagas, “the new AIDS of the Americas.”
Both diseases disproportionately affect people living in poverty, both are chronic conditions requiring prolonged, expensive treatment, and as with patients in the first two decades of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, most patients with Chagas disease do not have access to health care facilities.
However, Chagas is not a sexually-transmitted disease: it’s spread by “Kissing bugs” (Family Reduviidae), which bite the unsuspecting victims around the lips, usually at night. It’s hard to stop and this pest has now spread to California, Arizona and other parts of the Southern USA.
Chagas, kills about 20,000 people per year. It’s difficult to cure (unless you get my book) and around 20 percent of those infected with Chagas will develop a life-threatening form of the disease.
About a quarter of its victims eventually will develop enlarged hearts or intestines, which can fail or burst, causing sudden death. Treatment involves harsh drugs taken for up to three months and works only if the disease is caught early.
The problem is once the heart symptoms start, which is the most dreaded complication, the medicines no longer work very well, and they are extremely toxic.
You need the holistic approach, that’s for sure.
And 11 percent of pregnant women in Latin America are infected with Chagas, the journal said.
Here’s where to get my Parasites Handbook:
This is frightening?
This is wonderful sharing Pat,
With your permission I’ll pass it on to others.
Prof.
I am very familiar with kissing bugs. I was being bitten several times weekly, sometimes several times in a single night, for years. I owe my Staphylococcus aureus infection in my ankle skin to kissing bugs in all probability. Staph aureus is the same bacterium that causes the flesh-eating disease, if it has developed a resistance to methycillin. They’re known as MRSA. The kissing bugs in my area are not known to be carriers of Chagas disease. However, there is one rather critical error in your report. They’re not called “kissing bugs” because they bite around the mouth. I think MAYBE I got bitten ONCE around the mouth in all those years. They like to bite ankles and exposed limbs or skin. They’re called “kissing bugs” because they “kiss” you with their bite.
I have found a number of ways to combat them. First, make sure there are no openings into your house through which they can see a light at night. Block them if you can. They are attracted to light. In fact, we have a hall light that attracts them, and they will sit on the wall. Most of the time, you can easily crush them with a small flat object (I use the top of a juice bottle which is about an inch in diameter) because they usually won’t leave if you approach them head on.
If you have pack rats’ nests around your home, you HAVE to poison the rats. Kissing bugs breed in pack rats’ nests. If you have a pet, kissing bugs can get into their fur. Keep your pet either indoors or outdoors at all times. I have a lot less trouble now that our pet has passed, and we didn’t get another. You can also make sure that your sleeping room is closed at all times, with a door that doesn’t have enough space under it that they can crawl under. A bit tricky, but that’s what I have. The cups of liquid in a sponge that are called Mosquito Cognito put a scent in the air that causes all biting insects to be unable to smell the carbon dioxide that a human body gives off from the skin. They are supposed to be non-toxic, and I have found no evidence this is incorrect; I am extremely sensitive. These cups need to be bought fresh. Although kissing bugs can bite any time of the year, they are most likely to bite in dry months of summer. They will bite even when young and small. You can also spray the edges of your bed with Febreze. That IS toxic, so I don’t do it often. And you can sprinkle diatomecious earth on the floor. This will kill them. Spread it around the bed or the legs of the bed so they can’t cross. This is non-toxic. It can also be used against ants, cockroaches, and other pests. They also don’t tend to cross terrycloth towels (I think because they also dry them out), so if you can place a line of terrycloth around the edge of your bed, that will help. They don’t really like to fly, so anyplace you can put a barrier they can’t or won’t crawl across is helpful. Also, put natural lavender oil (diluted is OK) on exposed skin areas (a little dab in a few places will do ya). This also repels mosquitoes and other biting insects. Do this daily. This is non-toxic and will help you sleep well. So far, I think I have only been bitten once since January, if that. I have killed less than a dozen near the hall light.
For a Staph aureus infection, a doctor might prescribe a course in antibiotics, and it can last months to years, depending on how much infection you have at the time. The problem is, this may help the bug to develop into MRSA, so it’s not desirable, and you HAVE to take pro-biotics with it, or it will wreak havoc on your body. You should also, in general, refuse antibiotic treatment for routine colds and flu; they won’t work against viruses. Colloidal silver works just as well. I had a very advanced infection before I finally found someone who could diagnose it. I can’t take antibiotics because they contain magnesium stearate, and I am allergic to magnesium stearate, so I had to find another method of treatment. Nothing works really fast, so far, but I take 25 drops of Nutrasilver a day in pure water. This is a form of colloidal silver that does not discolor the skin, and I find it on the internet. I also use several things topically. Manuka honey 16+ will combat the infection when applied topically, and will heal any ulcers you may develop. I also put coconut oil on the damaged skin. PteroMax helps with the inflammation. It is a powerful anti-inflammatory which contains natural substances only. I can’t take it every day because of how powerful it is. A good course of supplementation for general health is helpful. Stay away from sugar and carbs; don’t eat complex carbs, either. You can enjoy vegetables, seeds, and nuts, and should eat them. Eat a normal amount of fat (nothing low-fat) but stay away from canola, cottonseed, soy, or corn oil. They’re unhealthy, and probably genetically modified anyway. Be sparing with fruit if you have a blood sugar issue, or need to lose weight. Get plenty of protein; meat protein works best, and it should be the first item eaten in a meal. The reason for these recommendations is because bacteria love high blood sugar.
I hope this helps.