Ancylostomiasis is the condition of infection by Ancylostoma hookworms.

Diagnosis for Ancylostomiasis

They commonly infect the skin, eyes, and viscera in man. Ancylostoma brasiliensis causes cutaneous larva migrans. Toxocara causes visceral larva migrans. ^[1]

Causes of Ancylostomiasis

The infection is usually contracted by persons walking barefoot over contaminated soil. In penetrating the skin, the larvae may cause an allergic reaction. It is from the itchy patch at the site of entry that the early infection gets its nickname “ground Once larvae have broken through the skin, they enter the bloodstream and are carried to the lungs. (Unlike ascarids, however, hookworms do not usually cause pneumonia.) The larvae migrate from the lungs up the windpipe to be swallowed and carried back down to the intestine. If humans come into contact with larvae of the dog hookworm or the cat hookworm, or of certain other hookworms that do not infect humans, the larvae may penetrate the skinches But the larvae are unable to complete their migratory cycle in humans. Instead, the larvae move just below the skin producing snake-like markings. This is referred to as a creeping eruption or cutaneous larva migrans. ^[2]

Symptoms of Ancylostomiasis

In children (or adults) who walk barefoot, the hookworm can penetrate the sole of the foot and cause a lesion. The larva will then begin to mature while it moves towards the intestines. As in dogs, the hookworm will attach to the intestinal wall. Humans who have become infected will show symptoms of intestinal bleeding, abdominal pains, anemia, sever diarrhea and malnutrition. ^[3]

Treatment of Ancylostomiasis

The drug of choice for the treatment of hookworm disease is mebendazole which is effective against both species, and in addition, will remove the intestinal worm Ascaris also, if present. The drug is very efficient, requiring only a single dose and is inexpensive, the perfect drug. However, treatment requires more than giving the anthelmintic, the patient should also receive dietary supplements to improve their general level of health, in particular iron supplementation is very important. Iron is an important constituent of a multitude of enzyme systems involved in energy metabolism, DNA synthesis and drug detoxification.

As mentioned earlier larval migrans or as it is also known, creeping eruption, is also a very uncomfortable symptom of this disease, and can also be caused by invasion of hookworms from other animals such as cats and dogs. Because they are in an abnormal host they do not mature to adults but instead migrate through the skin until killed by the host’s inflammatory response. This causes local intense itching. Topical treatment with thiabendazole ointment is very effective in controlling this condition.

Control of this parasite should be directed against reducing the level of environmental contamination. Treatment of heavily infected individuals is one way to reduce the source of contamination (one study has estimated that 60% of the total worm burden resides in less than 10% of the population). Other obvious methods are to improve sanitary condition, e.g. latrines, but also convincing people to use them by maintaining them in a serviceable form making them conducive to use. Hookworms still account for high proportion of debilitating disease in the tropics and 50-60,000 deaths per year can be attributed to this disease. ^[4]

Homeopathy Treatment for Ancylostomiasis

Keywords: homeopathy, homeopathic, treatment, cure, remedy, remedies, medicine

Homeopathy treats the person as a whole. It means that homeopathic treatment focuses on the patient as a person, as well as his pathological condition. The homeopathic medicines are selected after a full individualizing examination and case-analysis, which includes the medical history of the patient, physical and mental constitution, family history, presenting symptoms, underlying pathology, possible causative factors etc. A miasmatic tendency (predisposition/susceptibility) is also often taken into account for the treatment of chronic conditions. A homeopathy doctor tries to treat more than just the presenting symptoms. The focus is usually on what caused the disease condition? Why ‘this patient’ is sick ‘this way’. The disease diagnosis is important but in homeopathy, the cause of disease is not just probed to the level of bacteria and viruses. Other factors like mental, emotional and physical stress that could predispose a person to illness are also looked for. No a days, even modern medicine also considers a large number of diseases as psychosomatic. The correct homeopathy remedy tries to correct this disease predisposition. The focus is not on curing the disease but to cure the person who is sick, to restore the health. If a disease pathology is not very advanced, homeopathy remedies do give a hope for cure but even in incurable cases, the quality of life can be greatly improved with homeopathic medicines.

The homeopathic remedies (medicines) given below indicate the therapeutic affinity but this is not a complete and definite guide to the homeopathy treatment of this condition. The symptoms listed against each homeopathic remedy may not be directly related to this disease because in homeopathy general symptoms and constitutional indications are also taken into account for selecting a remedy. To study any of the following remedies in more detail, please visit the Materia Medica section at Hpathy.

None of these medicines should be taken without professional advice and guidance.

Homeopathy Remedies for Ancylostomiasis :

Carb-tcl., chen-a., thymol.

References