Do I Have a Parasite? How to Test for Parasites at Home

Just mentioning the word parasites (eeks!) can draw a reaction from anyone.  

If you are someone who feels like you have tried everything to heal and improve your health through testing, supplements, and diet changes, but you’re still feeling sick, fatigued, and have GI symptoms, listen up.  Parasites may be the reason.

I’m Kari, an integrative and functional dietitian who specializes in working with people with GI-related conditions such as IBS, chronic diarrhea, constipation, bloating, reflux, and nausea.  

In this article, we’ll explore what parasites are, where they come from, how to test for parasites, and everything you need to know if you do have them. 

Am I at risk of a parasitic infection?

Some of the key system imbalances in the body that can make you vulnerable to infections in the gut, such as parasites, include immune dysregulation, inflammation, impaired detoxification, hormonal imbalances, GI structural dysfunction, circadian rhythm disturbances, stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and neuro disruption. 

Parasites 101

Parasites are organisms that live and feed off of other organisms and depend on a host for survival and reproduction.  The human body is, in fact, a perfect host.  Parasites consume nutrients in our bodies, create inflammation, damage tissues, and often underlie a host of chronic health conditions, including IBS and autoimmune conditions.

Many parasites have complex life cycles involving different host species, including ticks, mosquitoes, and flies. 

There are two main types of parasites:

1. Ectoparasites - often referred to as “blood-sucking arthropods,” such as ticks, fleas, mosquitos, and lice. They live outside of the body and burrow, bite, or sting into human skin and transmit parasites. 
2. Endoparasites are parasites that live on the inside of the body.  Of these, there are three major parasite groups:
   1. Protozoa - single-cell organisms that either live in a host or survive as a free-living organism.
   2. Helminths - larger, multi-celled organisms that can be visible to the naked eye.  These include flatworms, roundworms, tapeworms, and trematodes.
   3. Intracellular parasites  - this includes Lyme Disease, Chlamydia Trachomatis, Rickettsia rickettsii, and Toxoplasma gondii
   4. Microsporidia
   5. Super-parasites, which are parasites that harbor other parasites or toxins

Where do Parasites Come From?  

Many people think that parasites only come from contaminated food or water. Or that you only get them while traveling in 3rd world countries. But the truth is that parasites are everywhere!

In fact, we all have parasites in our bodies to varying degrees.

Many parasites seek warm, damp areas of our bodies and thrive in similar climates.  This is why they often live in our gut.  They can easily be spread from person to person, environment to person, animal or insect to person, or through contaminated food or water.

Parasitic infections are widespread, and shockingly, millions of people in the US population are infested with parasites.  For example, according to the CDC, over 60 million Americans have been affected by toxoplasma gondii, and 3.78 million people in the US are infected with trichomoniasis.  Unfortunately, because of the lack of awareness by the general public and medical providers about the prevalence, risk, and symptoms of parasites, they often go undetected, and most people who have parasites don’t know they have them.

Parasites can be acquired in a variety of different ways, including:

• Eating raw or undercooked fish, seafood, pork, or poultry
• Drinking contaminated water - both well and public
• Swimming in streams, lakes, and waterfalls
• Walking barefoot on contaminated soil
• Exposure through fecal matter in daycare or healthcare settings
• Pets, pet feces, and pet saliva
• Sexual contact
• Public toilet seats - pinworms can stick to toilet seats and contaminate other objects in a restroom
• Touch contaminated surfaces - everything from an apple to a doorknob
• Vector insects such as ticks, mosquitos, fleas, and spiders

Parasites thrive in our bodies because the human body is a vulnerable host due to system imbalances such as nutritional deficiencies, poor detoxification, inflammation, etc. Having parasites is a symptom of a larger problem, meaning that there is a reason that you are a vulnerable host and that the terrain of your body is accommodating parasites. Parasites typically start out in the intestines but can migrate to other organs and tissues.

Parasites can lead to a host of issues, such as robbing our bodies of nutrients, increasing toxin load in our body, increasing inflammation, overactivation of the immune system, interference of cellular function resulting in low energy and poor blood sugar regulation, increasing histamine, damage to organs, dysregulation of the autonomic nervous system, and the impact on the gut, liver, and gallbladder.

How do I Know If I Have Parasites?

There are many symptoms that can be an indication as to whether or not you have parasites.  If you are experiencing any of the following, it is really important that you do not ignore them as they could be related to parasites.  It’s also important to note that all of these symptoms are not unique to parasitic infections and could be due to other reasons.

• Digestive issues - diarrhea, constipation, gas, bloating, nausea, abdominal cramps
• Difficulty falling asleep or frequently waking during the night
• Skin issues such as eczema, itching, psoriasis, rashes, acne, and hives
• Grinding your teeth or clenching your jaw
• Nail biting
• Gallbladder issues
• Chronic Fatigue
• Iron deficiency anemia
• Hungry all of the time, despite adequate food intake
• Nutritional deficiencies
• Low blood sugar
• Unintended weight loss
• Dark circles under your eyes
• Eyespots, “floaters,” or other vision problems
• Foul-smelling stool
• Foul-smelling sweat
• High nighttime cortisol levels
• Irritation, itching, or picking of the nose
• Autoimmunity
• Joint pain
• Muscle exhaustion
• Hormone imbalances
• Moodiness
• Anxiety
• Night sweats
• Pale complexion
• Swollen lymph nodes
• Pruritus ani (itching of the anal region)
• Allergies
• Seizures

It’s important to keep in mind that parasitic infections don’t always cause immediate symptoms.  Some infections may cause symptoms within a day, while others can take weeks to months to become noticeable.  For some, symptoms can drag on for years.

How Do I Test for Parasites?

So many people wonder how to test for parasites at home, and the truth is, there isn’t a reliable test that you can take at home.  In fact, testing for parasites is incredibly difficult, and there isn’t any one reliable way to test for them.

I use functional stool testing to identify parasites and worms in my practice.  The primary test that I use is a GI Map, which uses PCR technology to identify the DNA of parasites and worms. But there are other tests, such as those by Parawellness Research, one of which is a microscopy stool test, where the stool is closely analyzed by a human who is a highly trained parasitologist who uses a dark field microscope. However, despite using testing for parasites, it is important to take this information as one piece of information in the bigger picture of symptoms and medical history.

Through a conventional doctor, a test called ova and parasite (O&P) is commonly used.  Lab technicians will use a special stain and identify parasites under a microscope.  Unfortunately, this test is often unreliable because humans may overlook parasites or the parasite was in a different part of the stool sample.

Even though no functional or conventional tests are 100% reliable, it is often assumed that these tests are conclusive, and if they come back negative, you don’t have to worry about parasites. 

One of the reasons that testing for parasites is so challenging is due to the fact that parasites are not always shed each time a person has a bowel movement.  Parasites can lodge themselves into the gut lining and not be shed.  Parasites also have an enzyme that allows them to self-destruct once they leave the gut.  Lastly, parasites can be located in places other than the gut, such as the bladder, kidney, liver, lungs, and brain.

Even though stool testing isn’t reliable, clues from other conventional labs can indicate parasites and help inform whether treatment is necessary.  These conventional tests include elevated eosinophils, basophils, and monocytes, elevated hsCRP, high or low white blood cell count, ferritin below 40, low globulin, elevated or low ALT and AST, and Alkaline phosphatase over 100.

The truth is, there is no perfect test.  Tests are merely tools and not absolute means to an end.  And it is incredibly difficult for testing to be 100% accurate in detecting parasites.  This is why working with a skilled holistic practitioner to help you order and interpret testing in conjunction with your symptoms and health history is invaluable in deciding whether or not you have parasites and require treatment.

How Do I Get Rid of Parasites?

If you have ever Googled parasites, you will know that there are a million and one parasite cleanses touted by everyone from functional medicine providers to health coaches to influencers.  

If you go to your conventional doctor for parasite treatment, you will only be given antibiotics.  This, in all honesty, will only make you more vulnerable to parasites in the future as they destroy your beneficial bacteria, which are important warriors in your gut that prevent bad bacteria from taking hold.  Beneficial bacteria are also necessary for nutrient absorption and for maintaining the integrity of the gut lining.

After working with hundreds of clients with parasites, the one thing I know to be true is that it is nearly impossible to get rid of these bugs by force.  Using antibiotics or herbal antimicrobials is often a necessary and effective strategy for removing parasites, however, using these as the sole strategy for eliminating parasites will only get you so far. If you don’t address why you were vulnerable to infection to begin with, you’re at risk of ending up right back where you began: infected with parasites!  

The best strategy is to work towards transforming the terrain of your body and becoming a less vulnerable host. 

How to Prevent Infection: Building the Terrain of Your Body

In order to build the terrain of your body and become a less hospitable host, there are some key factors that you have to consider, such as the following: 

• Immune function
• Nutritional status
• Intestinal permeability, aka leaky gut
• Mitochondrial function
• Detoxification and drainage

Here is an example of how these various factors can impact someone’s ability to fight off a parasite naturally.  First, consider that most parasites live in the small bowel, where they embed themselves into the wall.  Eating foods that cause chronic inflammation of the gut will damage the gut lining, which both increases inflammation and causes intestinal permeability, making the gut more hospitable to parasites.  Additionally, nutritional imbalances, such as low sodium or cobalt, will impair the body’s ability to produce stomach acid, which is a key protective factor in preventing the inoculation of parasites into the gut.  Poor detoxification will prevent the body’s natural ability to eliminate a parasite and the toxins they produce, and mitochondrial dysfunction leads to poor energy production, which is necessary to fight off parasites.

What’s Next?

If you have gut symptoms and have exhausted your time, finances, and energy in order to heal, it is time to work with a skilled practitioner who can help you decide if parasites may be the reason.  If you’re interested in exploring your history, symptoms, and functional stool testing with a skilled practitioner to help identify if parasites are causing your gut dysfunction, reach out.  It’s time to create your healing by addressing immune dysfunction, inflammation, and nutritional imbalances, making you a less vulnerable host to parasites, dysbiosis, and other gut infections.

My name is Kari, and I am a skilled integrative and functional dietitian who specializes in gut health. I have worked with hundreds of people to identify the root cause of their gut dysfunction, including parasites, and overcome their gut symptoms for good. Don’t ignore the signs; take control of your health and learn how to identify, test for, and address parasites for a thriving body and optimal gut function.

You can find me at www.gutbrainrd.com or reach out HERE to book a discovery call.

Works Cited

Chaicumpa, Wanpen. “Revisiting the Mechanisms of Immune Evasion Employed by Human Parasites.” NCBI, 29 July 2021, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8358743/. Accessed 8 January 2024.

Kucik, Corry Jeb, et al. “Common intestinal parasites.” Am Fam Physician, vol. 69, no. 5, 2004, pp. 1161-8. www.pubmed.com, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15023017/#:~:text=Intestinal%20parasites%20cause%20significant%20morbidity,causes%20irritation%20and%20sleep%20disturbances.

Pomari, E., et al. “Digital PCR: a new technology for diagnosis of parasitic infections.” Clin Microbiol Infect ., vol. 25, no. 12, 2019, pp. 1510-1516. National Library of Medicine, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31226445/.

Shea-Donohue, Terez, et al. “Parasites, nutrition, immune responses, and biology of metabolic tissues.” Parasite Immunol., vol. 39, no. 5, 2017, 10.1111. National Library of Medicine, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5863236/.