Parasites: ruling them out

not to be used as advice
post refers to intestinal parasites only.
tests referred to are clinical laboratory tests

With bloodborne body/halitosis, the 2 obvious lines of investigation would seem to be the detox enzymes, and the gut ecology (and gut function). Since bloodborne body odor is an unknown/unrecognised condition (apart from trimethylaminuria and one paper on dimethylglycinuria), it would seem that ruling things out would seem an option. It would be better if these sorts of tests were done as a group ina co-operative way with the intention of defining the syndrome (for instance as medical studies are done), but this doesn't currently seem an option.

With regards gut ecology, one area seemingly worth investigating would be factors that cause gut dysbiosis. Most fecal body odor sufferers seem to feel they have a gut issue, for instance. The 3 groups of potential pathogenic (disease causing) microbes would seem to be: bacteria, fungi, parasites.

This post will look at parasites. On the one hand, they are probably understimated, on the other hand it seems unlikely they are a 'necessary' part of, for instance, fecal body odor 'syndrome'. There are 2 types of parasites in general; helminths and protozoa. Helminths are what we think of as 'worms', whereas protozoans are single-celled. There are all sorts of both types.

Also, with regards being 'pathogenic', some are easily regarded as such (probably termed category B pathogens), whereas some are regarded as 'low-grade' pathogenic or even regarded as being 'asymptomatic' (not disease causing) in many carriers, or their 'pathogenic' classification is still debated (for instance, the protozoa blastocystis. Giardia has not been unquestionably regarded a pathogenic parasite until the last few decades). You can think of these classifications as the same way scientists currently debate global warming.

There are tests available without seeing a doctor to rule out parasites. However, one test cannot be deemed as totally reliable on the 'false negative' side (false negative means the negative may have been wrong). It could probably be assumed false positives are unlikely. It must also be understood that the established medical system may not test for 'grey area' parasites (e.g. 20 years ago they wouldn't have tested for giardia. They wait until they are officially deemed 'parasites' by their established peer group), whereas more forward-thinking labs will (for instance, blastocystis). So if you tested, it would be wise to know what they were looking for.

Whatever anyone does regarding this, they do so under their own responsibility.

Random links:

• University of Maryland alternative health article on parasites
• NIAID Category A, B, and C Priority Pathogens
• genova diagnostics parasitology test information (pdf format)
• genova diagnostics parasitology test page
• http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/articles/article.aspx?ArticleId=174
• USA government site list on parasites. Not known how 'conservative' or 'sensibly up-to-date' it is
• Ann Louise Gittleman. Does a parasite test which is likely 'open minded' but likely much cheaper elsewhere. Posted because she seems to have made her 'reputation' on a book about parasites for a target audience.