When I was a child we lived in Pondicherry where elephantiasis was common. People with one huge foot were frequently seen.
In my college years my father fell very ill. We discovered that he had filariasis. He was given Hetrazan, (diethylcarbamazine) and recovered. Later, whenever any of us got slightly ill and also coughed, etc. he would make us take this. We found it funny.
However, years later, the WHO made recommendations supporting his stance:Large-scale treatment involves a single dose of 2 medicines given annually to an entire at-risk population : albendazole together with ivermectin or diethylcarbamazine citrate ."
When our son was a little boy, my husband got amebic liver abscess. He was given Antiamebics.
While they do cure, these tablets are quite unpleasant to take and are also risky to continue in the long run.
"Areas with high rates of amebic infection include India, Africa, Mexico, and parts of Central and South America."-from https://uptodate.com/contents/intestinal-entamoeba-histolytica-amebiasis.
"Symptoms
Most people with this infection do not have symptoms. If symptoms occur, they are seen 7 to 28 days after being exposed to the parasite.
Mild symptoms:
Abdominal cramps
Diarrhea: Passage of 3 to 8 semiformed stools per day, or passage of soft stools with mucus and occasional blood
Fatigue
Excessive gas
Rectal pain while having a bowel movement (tenesmus)
Unintentional weight loss
Severe symptoms may include:
Abdominal tenderness
Bloody stools, including passage of liquid stools with streaks of blood, passage of 10 to 20 stools per day
Fever
Vomiting"
From https://nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/amebiasis/overview.html
It is a very debilitating disease with some amount of serious risk should the amoeba reach some vital organs. Also, it is not very easy to diagnose by lab tests as, even before the present recommendations, it is not easy to detect in stool. At least 3 consecutive stool tests should be performed and, given the state of our labs, even that may not give the result required.
"The World Health Organization has recommended that intestinal infection be diagnosed with an E. histolytica–specific test . The classic stool ova and parasite examination is therefore obsolete. The TechLab (Blacksburg, VA) E. histolytica stool antigen detection test is the only one available that is specific for the pathogenic ameba E. histolytica. Stool ova and parasite examination, in addition to being nonspecific, misses one-half to two-thirds of all E. histolytica colonic infections detected by culture
An important adjunct to antigen detection is the detection of serum antibodies to amebae. Especially in the case of amebic liver abscess, in which most patients do not have detectable parasites in stool, the presence of antibodies to amebae can be very useful in diagnosis. Tests for antibodies to amebae are ~90% sensitive for amebic liver abscess and 70% sensitive for amebic colitis. A major problem with current serological tests is that the patient continues to test positive for years after an episode of amebiasis. As a result, currently available serological tests show that a substantial number (10%–35%) of residents of developing countries have antibodies to amebae. "
From https://cid.oxfordjournals.org/content/29/5/1117.long
Most doctors wont tell you all this.
I have been suffering from stomach discomfort of various kinds for many years. Visits to doctors have not helped as stool test does not show anything.
Another thing is that, even if you take the medication, nothing prevents you from re-infection. Also, the cysts are not killed by most medication and can hatch after some time.
However, I’m slowly getting a bit resistent, I think, with the help of the doctors at the Baba Ramdev free clinics. I cannot share that treatment because they give different things and many things. But I always keep Baidyanath’s Amoebica handy.
I had to travel once and my stomach was really giving a lot of trouble. As I had very bad experiences with the allopathy tablets, I asked the chemist what else he could suggest and thsi wonderful thing came into my life.
Even now, a bottle is always with me.
Please do not take it without consulting your doctors and do not take it if they warn against it.
As it is OTC, I hope it is ok to take it.
Though this is a helpful stopgap for me, I do wish our country would wake up to this debilitating epidemic and find a way to control the numbers greatly.