Human helminth care manual: Difference between revisions

⚡ [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doxycycline Doxycycline] (Vibramycin, Monodox, Microdox, Periostat, Vibra-Tabs, Oracea, Doryx, Vibrox, Adoxa, Doxyhexal, Doxylin, Doxoral, Doxy-1 and Atridox, etc.) <br>is a tetracycline antibiotic that also has antiprotozoal, antibacterial and some anthelminthic effects, although the latter have been claimed to only affect filarial nematodes. In this case, the drug kills a symbiotic bacterium in the worm’s reproductive tract, thus rendering it sterile. Moreover, an eight-week course of doxycycline may be necessary to achieve this effect. One hookworm host has reported that he took doxycycline for a total of 5 weeks without noticeable effect on his worms [https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/helminthictherapy/conversations/messages/10055], but another has said that her hookworms “completely stopped working” after taking doxycycline for only three days. [https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/helminthictherapy/conversations/messages/8488] She said that this happened “pretty much overnight”, and that, in spite of getting a supplementary dose of worms a month or so after taking the antibiotic, [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/permalink/786180988104525/?comment_id=786946941361263&offset=0&total_comments=16] she didn’t feel right again for the following 6 months. [https://www.facebook.com/groups/htsupport/permalink/786180988104525/?comment_id=786624918060132&offset=0&total_comments=15] (NB: doxycycline has also been found to have [http://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-03-antibiotics-unexpected-effects-mitochondria.html unexpected effects on mitochondria].)  

It is possible that even a small dose of antibiotic could cause a return of symptoms in some people. For example,

one hookworm host has reported experiencing a recurrence of significant disease symptoms after using 3 drops per

day, for only 1½ days, of a solution of Tobramycin 3mg (0.3%) and Dexamethasone 1mg (0.1%), although this one-off

occurrence could have been a coincidence.

When it is essential to take oral antibiotics, the duration of their negative effect on hookworms can be significantly

reduced - perhaps to as little as 2 weeks - by taking a small top-up dose of 5-10 larvae after finishing the course of

drugs. This inoculation can be carried out on the day following the last dose of antibiotic.

It has been suggested that the reduction in the benefits derived from hosting human helminths that is seen after

taking antibiotics might result, at least in part, from a loss from the gut microbiome of helpful bacterial species and  

the proliferation of less beneficial ones. This suggestion, and the fact that taking probiotics alongside antibiotics is

known to help [http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130530192404.htm offset the gastrointestinal symptoms] typically associated with these drugs, has led some

commentators to speculate that the use of high doses (perhaps 5 or 10 times the normal dose) of good quality

probiotics might help to reduce the time that helminths are out of action after using these drugs.

It is possible that the consumption of galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) while taking probiotics may also help to

restore the gut biome, as GOS has been shown to help [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24925303 support the recovery of beneficial bifidobacteria] and

increase the production of butyrate, after antibiotic treatment. GOS is available in the form of [http://www.bimuno.com/ Bimuno Prebiotic Powder].

In the case of someone needing to take antibiotics regularly, or on a long-term basis, there would be little point in

them using hookworms until completely off these drugs. Some worm benefits may be maintained in users of the

human whipworm, so long as doses of this organism are being taken regularly, every few weeks. Another solution

for those who need to take antibiotics frequently, or for prolonged periods, would be to switch to TSO (Trichuris suis ova)[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trichuris_suis] as these are less likely to be adversely affected by antibiotics. HDC (Hymenolepis diminuta cysticercoids) [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hymenolepis_diminuta]

may also be less susceptible to antibiotics than human helminths, although two users of HDC have reported that

the antibiotic, ⚡ [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dapsone Dapsone] (diamino-diphenyl sulfone), causes a return of their disease symptoms.