Human helminth care manual: Difference between revisions

* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonoscopy Colonoscopy]<br>As whipworms live in the colon, they may be at some risk of being struck by a colonoscope, but much of their body is embedded in the soft mucosa, and they are well lubricated with mucus, so few, if any, are likely to be damaged. Hookworms should not be affected by colonoscopy at all because they live in the small intestine, which is much higher up the GI tract. Hookworms might possibly be seen during a colonoscopy, but only if the colonoscope is advanced into the terminal ileum, and only then if any hookworms have taken up residence in the ileum, which is not common as they normally concentrate in the upper part of the jejunum, which is above the ileum, and is shown in red in this representation.<br><br><span style="width:auto; background-color:#F5FAFF;border: 1px solid #CEDFF2; padding:12px;"> mouth ➤ oesophagus ➤ stomach ➤ [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duodenum duodenum] ➤ [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jejunum <span style="color:red;">jej</span>unum] ➤ [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ileum ileum] ➤ [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cecum caecum] ➤ colon ➤ rectum</span><br><br>Anaesthesia for colonoscopy is likely to involve the use of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opioids opioid] pain killers ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fentanyl fentanyl], etc.), [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzodiazepine benzodiazepine] anaesthetics ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Versed Versed], etc.) and/or [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcotic_analgesic narcotic analgesics], all of which appear to be harmless to helminths. If a general anaesthetic incorporating ❌'''nitrous oxide''' (see entry above) were used, this would definitely kill hookworms - and possibly whipworms too, though this is less certain. The injected anaesthetic, '''propofol''', appears to be the only worm-safe general anaesthetic, and this is arguably the anaesthetic of choice[http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110215111817.htm] for endoscopic procedures, and is safe for use in children[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26089466] (See [[#Anaesthetics|Anaesthetics]] section for more detail), (See [[#Laxatives|Laxatives]] regarding colonoscopy prep).