Helminth means worm
Like a lot of people I've talked to, I first heard about helminth therapy on a radio program call Radiolab. You can hear that episode here. As soon as I heard it, I thought, "I need this! This would be perfect for me!" But, what is helminth therapy, really? Well, it's intentionally infecting yourself with a parasite (human hookworm in my case) for therapeutic reasons.
There are several reasons why this is thought to work. In essence, we co-evolved with hookworms. Obviously, they need us because they have to be hosted in a human's gut to survive. And there is more and more evidence that we need them as well.
For one thing, they keep our immune systems busy. The only time my MCTD symptoms clear up completely is when I'm coming down with a cold or a flu. I know in my heart this is because my immune system has a real enemy to fight at that point, so it stops attacking me. I had a hysterectomy in September of 2011. Though the recovery from the surgery was no cake walk, I had zero MCTD issues for about three months afterward. Why? Because my immune system was doing something productive.
Additionally, hookworms secrete an anti-inflammatory agent in the host. This is good news for those of us who need steroids or NSAIDs every day for inflammation. In many cases, people can eventually stop taking artificial anti-inflammatory agents all together, and rely on the ones living right in our gut.
The first thing people want to know is if I'll inadvertently pass my hookworms on to others. No. That can't happen. I promise. I'm a mom and a loving partner, and I have done a lot of research on this. If this treatment posed a risk to other people, I would skip it.
The next thing they want to know is if it's dangerous to me. Most people think of stories from undeveloped countries, stories of people growing terribly anemic and almost dying from an out of control infestation. Rest assured, that is very unlikely to happen in control infections like mine. The hookworms can't actually reproduce inside me, so I'll only ever have the number of worms that I give myself.
Other people, with more knowledge and experience than me, have written extensively on this topic. This site has a ton of great information from a host's perspective. And this is a great FAQ from one of the companies that provides helminths to informed consumers (like me!).
There are several reasons why this is thought to work. In essence, we co-evolved with hookworms. Obviously, they need us because they have to be hosted in a human's gut to survive. And there is more and more evidence that we need them as well.
For one thing, they keep our immune systems busy. The only time my MCTD symptoms clear up completely is when I'm coming down with a cold or a flu. I know in my heart this is because my immune system has a real enemy to fight at that point, so it stops attacking me. I had a hysterectomy in September of 2011. Though the recovery from the surgery was no cake walk, I had zero MCTD issues for about three months afterward. Why? Because my immune system was doing something productive.
Additionally, hookworms secrete an anti-inflammatory agent in the host. This is good news for those of us who need steroids or NSAIDs every day for inflammation. In many cases, people can eventually stop taking artificial anti-inflammatory agents all together, and rely on the ones living right in our gut.
The first thing people want to know is if I'll inadvertently pass my hookworms on to others. No. That can't happen. I promise. I'm a mom and a loving partner, and I have done a lot of research on this. If this treatment posed a risk to other people, I would skip it.
The next thing they want to know is if it's dangerous to me. Most people think of stories from undeveloped countries, stories of people growing terribly anemic and almost dying from an out of control infestation. Rest assured, that is very unlikely to happen in control infections like mine. The hookworms can't actually reproduce inside me, so I'll only ever have the number of worms that I give myself.
Other people, with more knowledge and experience than me, have written extensively on this topic. This site has a ton of great information from a host's perspective. And this is a great FAQ from one of the companies that provides helminths to informed consumers (like me!).