Cutanous Larva Migrans......

[caribbeanprlgrl]

Rob: I am not sure that you know we live in Canada. Health Canada DOES NOT & HAS NOT put their stamp of approval on Ivermectin, Albiendazole, Mintezol, etc, etc. So therefore it is not available at any pharmacy. And yes the Dr did make an instant and CORRECT diagnosis, but if the meds to cure the problem is not available....well guess what happens......you suffer! And no, hubby DID NOT have additional infections, and NO he did not scratch, itch his feet. He was given a prescribed ointment that kept it under control for the itching. And YES I do know bodies contain lifeforms which we need. In all info we have been told by DOCTORS and reading "by-products" are referred to as coming from the hookworms themselves.....you know, POOP, PEE, SPIT, SCALES, etc. And YES, it can cause loss of limb when you donot have proper meds to bring it under control. And YES, you can lose your life if hookworms are ingested as the DOCTORS on the TV program I stated when it, for example, was not diagnosed properly and was allowed to progress. I have also read that in medical journals. Do you really think that my husband did not have blood tests thru this ordeal so that we did not know what was going on? He has an extremely well informed doctor, but once again when he tried twice to contact Health Canada for the dosage of meds that would have helped and there was no response we and he witnessed what was happening to hubby's feet. So please do not make light of something that was very, very, serious when it was no fault of my husbands. There was no "misleading facts", only what we know for a fact and have witnessed. When a Dr starts to show that he is very worried what the outcome may be without meds then it's time for the patient to also.

Also if some people can live with hookworms all their lives, although I assure you, I have never read this, nor was told by any doctors, then I guess all I can say is good on them.

[patty_k]

I had a similar experience and I'm from Canada - Toronto. 19yrs ago i went home with a worm in my foot. It started itching on the plane. My son had me show all the kids at the daycare , he was 4. They loved the worm, however i did not, it was very itchy. I visited my GP,she prescribed a cream, i applied it , worm gone in a matter of days, much to the dismay of my son's daycare pals. I'm not sure why you have had such difficulty. I do know that mine was contracted via a mosquito bite and dirty floors in the cabin i stayed at.

[Rob]

Cprgirl,

Bummer man, Mintezol is available over the counter here...

Maybe it would be better use of your time to lobby to allow these useful and obvious necessary drugs to be prescribed in Canada since Health Canada did not respond.

Estimates are that some 700-800 million people are infected world wide by hookworm. Ask you doctor(s), are 700 to 800 million people dying per year world wide from hookworm?

I am not making light of anything, but that "facts" as you state them are simply false. Just because you didnt read something or your doctor didnt tell you something doesnt make it not true. You are misleading everyone on this forum and this will stop. That is a fact.....

[Dana1]

Caribbeanprgrl...where in Canada do you live? Here in Ontario it wasn't a problem at all to get the med once the worm was properly diagnosed. I can't remember what the drug was...just that it was 1 lone pill that had to come from the University of Ottawa I think. This was 12 years ago...have had no problem since.
We always wear sandals on the beach when walking in the soft sand...only barefoot when walking right at the water edge.
Those horses on the beach really creep me out...wish they would disallow them

[Jaherring]

I have never had a problem yet, and hope I dont in the future. Sounds terrible. Glad your husband got better Cprgirl! Losing a limb or worse is nothing to take lightly! Everyone be careful around where the dogs and cats are on the beach!

[Schuttzie]

I'm sorry your husband went through this ordeal and finally got it cleared up. I appreciate you taking the time to share this information. I wish all the best!

[booger]

LOL. Rob, did you go to medical school? You seem to have more insight into this than a Dr. Fact is we all respond differently and to discount this ladies story as not true is sorta going out on a limb. People can make their own assumptions, and continuing to censor potential threats is reckless. What are your thoughts on dengue fever? I do not recall ever reading about it on this site, however I know of two confirmed cases in Oct. Now that I know it is a threat I am religious about wearing bug spray. Before not so religious.

[treefrog]

Looks like the ole padlock will be making an appearance. again

[lisapat]

interesting reading, although it adds to my laundry list of travel paranoias........I welcome the padlock, I think....

[Rob]

Booger,

Nothing is being censored, her posts are all still on the board as you can read for yourself. I am not discounting her story at all, but I am countering her false statements. I may not be a doctor, but a quick google search shows that the drug her doctor recommended, Ivermectin, which is a broad-spectrum antiparasitic avermectin medicine is available from pharmacies in Canada under the name Stromectol. It can be even be purchased online with the proper prescription at:

http://www.rxmedscanada.com/stromectol-ivermectin.php

The following site requests Canadian patients taking Stromectol to "In Canada - Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to Health Canada at 1-866-234-2345."

http://www.rxlist.com/stromectol-sid...rug-center.htm

Two Canadians, Dana1 and PattyK both state they received treatment for hookworm while in Canada. With all the above mentioned facts, it would seem that Cprgirl's statement "Health Canada DOES NOT & HAS NOT put their stamp of approval on Ivermectin" is incorrect.

The truth about hookworm can easily be found on the internet as well. The US National Institute of Health (the NIH) states that "Complications (from hookworm are) Iron deficiency anemia caused by loss of blood, Nutritional deficiencies, Severe protein loss with fluid buildup in the abdomen (ascites)".

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001653/

The World Health Organization (WHO) states "In children, chronic hookworm infection has been shown to impair physical and intellectual development, reduce school performance and attendance, and adversely affect future productivity and wage-earning potential."

http://www.who.int/vaccine_research/...en/index2.html

The US CDC (Center of Disease Control) states "Most people infected with hookworms have no symptoms. Some have gastrointestinal symptoms, especially persons who are infected for the first time. The most serious effects of hookworm infection are blood loss leading to anemia, in addition to protein loss. Hookworm infections are treatable with medication prescribed by your health care provider."

http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/hookworm/disease.html

None of these respected health sources make any mention of "life or limb being lost", so that would seem to point out the fact the Cprgirl's assertion is also incorrect.

In my earlier posts, I made mention that there seemed to be other factors at play in this problem, including infections possibly picked up from the hospital or by scratching. Interestingly enough the CDC states "Scratching at the lines can cause a bacterial infection. Your doctor may decide to treat you to control the symptoms and prevent a bacterial infection."

http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/zoonoti...m/disease.html

So it is clear that doctors prescribe treatments to prevent scratching that can cause infections.

Cprgirl stated that "There is a severe amount of pain associated with this as well as painful itching as you can well imagine". She also stated that " He had to be taken to the hospital to have needles put into the pockets of infection to have them drained."

So while there is no mention in any of the CDC, NIH or WHO documentation about hookworm causing infections, Cprgirl's husband's was "prescribed ointment that kept it (scratching) under control for the itching" and he had infections that needed to be drained. So it would seem that "hubby DID NOT have additional infections, and NO he did not scratch, itch his feet. He was given a prescribed ointment that kept it under control for the itching" actually points to the much more likely assertion that he did have additional infections caused by scratching which is why the doctor prescribed the anti-itch medication.

There are an estimated 700-800 million people with hookworms worldwide:

http://www.uptodate.com/contents/hookworm-infection

According to the World Health Organization, there were 11 deaths total caused by hookworm in a total of 7 countries worldwide - Jamaica NOT being one of them.

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/mo...kworm-diseases

That works out to be a percentage of .0000146% - or slightly over a one hundred thousandth of 1 percent. More people die in elevators and escalator accidents in the USA per year than die of hookworm worldwide.

Negril.com let Cprgirl make her post about her husband's experience with hookworm. We always welcome truthful, accurate and helpful information to be posted as it benefits everyone. But as with rumor and speculation, presenting any kind of misleading or misinformed information benefits no one. I understand that Cprgirl is extremely emotional about the issue, but misrepresenting the facts of hookworm is not helpful to anyone.