Parasites

lessons learned:   if you enter an apartment or house where the pets are "uncomfortable"/ there could be parasites there.

Don't cut carpets up for easier handling/ because you spend too much time on the floor; just roll them up; or fumigate first.

Don't spread out medicines over a larger area than the immediate plain sore.

Do use a salt water bath, to decontaminate/ do strain the surface as it comes up; it is not all dead.

Do wash bedding everyday, and clothes everyday/ sit on plastic or wood, not cloth.

Do understand the difference between killing the parasite, and healing the area; they are not the same.  Repeated usage of a bandage on the same area will cause the skin to breakdown.  Pay attention to your body; when a change appears take note and do something different if its bad, or the same again if it is good.

Better methods:   a list of things that are truly educational about the parasite in general; so as to know what to do and why.  That would be "a university job"/ or some other form of study, by people that finds the correct answer.  An answer is not enough, it needs to be the correct one.

Instead of permetrin in hand cream, it should be in an antibiotic gel.  So as to heal and treat at the same time.

An immediate salt water bath, would be better; to remove mites, etc.


Someone to bring out the supplies that are necessary/ so as to not run the risk of contaminating someone else.  If required, paying rent etc should be included; for a realistic time; so nobody feels the need to go to work, and spread the problem.  Otherwise they must.

Fumigation supplies must come with a foldout step by step method with clear illustrations on how to use this product.  Including a list:   turn off the gas/ turn off the power/ disconnect the phone/ take out the electronics; all life.  THEN push this part down, being aware the insecticide will spray in this direction.

 

 

 Parasites; are, An unfortunate occurrence for any creature.  Nonetheless its not a choice/ sometimes you just "touch the wrong place/ without knowing it".  I have had parasites for over a month now, and they are hard to get rid of.

The critical question apart from me is, what can you learn?

That begins with this statement: the most likely cause for this problem for me was, replacing the rugs in an apartment, a tenant had inhabited with a small dog and two cats.  The flooring didn't look that bad/ but the real indicator something could be wrong here was:   the claw marks on the woodwork, were worse than I had ever seen before in any apartment.  A clear indication those animals were very uncomfortable, and wanted out, needed change.  The critical failure of mine in this matter was not fundamentally recognizing this; a failure to react, rather than realize this was different.  Also, instead of the usual don't spend any time on the flooring/ just roll it up and take it out in one large piece.  I had "new help" and chose to cut it into several pieces to help ease getting it out of the door.  That required being on the floor/ the end result, being introduced to whatever was on that floor.  A bad decision as it turns out.


The lesson, IF THE ANIMALS are uncomfortable, and showing it through various acts of "not happy";   there may be parasites here.

 

When you get parasites, in this case primarily scabbies; the reality is: the most notable change is "an uncomfortable bed"/ which will only get worse, until you realize, "something is in this bed with me".  Shaken out there were a couple of small black dots (must have been mites, the cause of scabbies)  on the first occasion.  I then wrapped the mattress in plastic and washed all materials, didn't think much more about it for a week.  Then took the plastic off, because it is impossible to keep a sheet on with plastic, and the problem returned.  Shaken out, there were 5 "small black and white worms" on the bed this time.  My back looked like it had been hit with mosquitos, somewhat felt like it too; but that was not the case.  Next morning tried to suck the spots out with an air-conditioning vacuum pump; which was successful, the first few times on the front of me.  Had "kind help" to suck a few out of the back of me/ but then "the parasites" apparently understood they were being attacked, and the ability to suck them out ended.  Went to the doctors.

The medicine was permethrin an insecticide for borers, at 5% solution in a "hand cream".  Plus antibiotics for a spot where I had used a tweezers to pull the worm out; unfortunately half remained inside; and a infection arose that proved hard to treat. Plus a steroid for helping to heal the problem area.  The doctor said:   "No problem; this will kill it all immediately, and in a week you repeat to insure no eggs will hatch and harm".  Seemed simple enough.  Did as directed.


Unfortunately the next day, I happened to notice a worm working its way out, clearly unaffected by the medicine; since tearing one in two created problems, it was my intent to let this one get out, and then kill it.  Unfortunately the little red (covered in blood) hairlike creature rose about a half inch from the surface over ten seconds or so, as I watched;  turned itself around, and was back inside in less than a second.  Got away/ immediately put medicine on that spot, and continued for 2 weeks, with regular treatment until that spot finally did disappear, but not until I began using a much heavier dose underneath a constant bandage.  One spot very similar beside it; refused to dissolve,  so I continued to treat the area.  Still there, but has accumulated ten or eleven similar spots around it in a pattern that resembles the treatment area boundary.


Finding a worm the next day after the insecticide was promised to work completely but did not, I used the permethrin on the back every other day or so.  The parasites extend a "little tube" that feels a bit like a pin sticking out".  So it is easy to tell if they are alive by that feel. You can also spray hydrogen peroxide; wherever a little white bubble appears; you have a parasite. Treat them and they retreat that prick/ but every couple of days it would reappear.  Considered it to be "eggs hatching"for the first week.  Instead of real problem second  week changed that.  It is noted, I took the antibiotic for ten straight days exactly as directed/ but I did not use the steroid past the first day:  until ten days later.   Because having put it on my back, "tits grew substantially".  Ten days past, the second treatment done/ a clear "new worm" developed, and I used the steroid after that for the next nine days.  "Tits or worms"/ not a hard choice really:   little tantrum though; "did put steroid on smaller tit once; thinking if your going to grow you can AT LEAST be the same size"; immediately reconsidered that, and did not do it again; don't know if it changed anything.  Still not gone.  Went to another doctor, he doubled the medicine; told me come back in 2 months.

 Went to another doctor to ask what happens if this worm turns inside, rather than just into the skin?  His answer was;   shouldn't happen because the body has defenses to prevent that/ but if it does, the first thing that will happen is you get a fever, the second your body will break out in a rash.


The first week, cleaned bedding every other day, a shower every two; burned bed.  Didn't go anywhere, beyond the need to pick up medicine, and fumigation chemicals.  Cleaned hands first.  The second week cleaned bedding everyday, shower every other day.  The third week, turned up the water heater temperature hot as possible; clean bedding everyday/ put towels in chairs to wash every day.  Clean clothes everyday.  Plastics back on new bed, and chair.  Sheets don't stay on plastic so clips were used, with wires to attach to 2 pound weights at each corner of fitted sheet; that keeps it in place, as the weights pull the sheet back into place.  Wire should extend down so the weight is just above the floor on all corners.  Using bandages constantly with permethrin under the bandage, at all locations which presented real trouble (hard to kill/ hard to tell if it is killed/ the worm under the skin is black, so you can see it/ but the body must excavate it, and destroy it through the blood stream; don't know how long that takes).  However if the little pin prick returns, "it ain't dead".  Too much bandage on skin causes the skin to breakdown, had to stop.  Used "nose strips" as bandages with cotton underneath because the glue used is much more friendly to the skin, had to stop that too after awhile longer.  Three weeks into this, the back showed only a fifty percent gain or so, in texture and color, although some days it looked better and some worse. 


My uncle suggested a salt water bath, which I began at the beginning of the fourth week.  Hot water, about one third box of table salt.  Within 5 minutes 3 black spots floated to the top; some miscellaneous cloth bits, a hair, and some biological something held together with a clear membrane;  close examination proved black spots to be mites.  Fumigated the house.  An immediate improvement over the next 3 days.   Second day one mite floated up.  Third day none.  But the fourth day, a "black worm as described above floated up"/ not a clue where it came from/ 2 much smaller black dots; couldn't tell.  Nonetheless a very significant improvement in this time frame from the salt baths and showers to wash off the salt.  However the fifth day, water appears clean brought a new series of problems; three more sites on the opposite leg/ one directly under the ear, two on the back.  None of these appear to be "serious" at this time; using bacitricin topical antibiotic seems to be working; which has been used extensively, including under bandages.  Still taking salt baths (morning and night) , another unexpected problem is, the neck at the area the water in the bath hits it has become agitated.  It is apparent by the spot directly under the ear, and the skin problem under the chin; what does float to the top is not all dead as assumed.  The first 3 days I skimmed it off; should have continued that.   The leg with spots prior to salt baths has now developed the potential for a rash around each; probably just a reaction to the treatment; don't know.  Treatment of these spots did include a suction of the spots/ because I squeezed one spot and a worm popped out/ but went right back in the second I let go.  These have a lot of puss in them as identified by hydrogen peroxide; so one (worm spot) was treated with a cotton ball soaked in hydrogen peroxide, and held in place with a rubber band.

Going to doctor again.

Good enough, not contagious anymore; miscellaneous bug bites etc; problem area's just need to heal now; parasites gone.