Head Lice, Scabies, Crab Lice and other arthropod infestations

This blog is a little out of character for me.  I usually talk about adult medical issues particularly fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, and thyroid issues. 

So, the other day I was at the pharmacy to pick up something and I overheard a distraught mother begging the pharmacist for something to get rid of her daughters head lice.  She had tried it all!  I couldn’t help myself because I know for a fact that Ivermectin (drug name) is approved for head lice and it’s been approved for humans for that purpose since 1996.

I spoke up.  The pharmacist responded, “ well it’s really expensive.”  I said how can that be?   I can dose a 1,200 lb horse for $4.

So here’s the deal, why is this drug not in the PDR, not offered for the treatment of head lice to parents of distraught children, and so expensive that the pharmacist recommended against it? I don’t know!

The dose rate for Humans and Horses is the same.  200 mcg per Kilogram usually represented this way.  0.02 mg/Kg.  It has been used in veterinary medicine since the 80’s in several forms, injectable, oral, and drench (liquid preparation applied externally).  It has been given to millions of people worldwide, but you can’t get it in the country that developed it for your own kids.  Why?

It has already been superceded 3 times in veterinary medicine.  Ivermectin belongs to a drug family known as the Avermectins and there are several newer preparations in use currently.  We are up to the 4th generation, Selamectin, now.  Moxidectin and Doramectin came previously after Ivermectin.  So, you see it is NOT a new drug!  Why would it be so expensive as an older drug way past any drug trials?  It’s already been used on hundreds of millions of people worldwide with no adverse effects.  What’s really going on here?

“Ivermectin, under the brand name Mectizan, is currently being used to help eliminate river blindness (onchocerciasis) in the Americas, and to stop transmission of lymphatic filariasis and onchocerciasis around the world.  Currently, large amounts of ivermectin are donated by Merck to fight river blindness in countries unable to afford the drug.  The disease is endemic in 30 African countries, six Latin American countries, and Yemen, according to studies conducted by the World Health Organization. The drug rapidly kills microfilariae, but not the adult worms. A single oral dose of ivermectin, taken annually for the 10- to 15-year lifespan of the adult worms, is all that is needed to protect the individual from onchocerciasis.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivermectin

“This drug (ivermectin) was released for human use in the US in 1996, for onchocerciasis.  It is taken orally, at a dose of 0.02mg/kg, or two-6mg tablets for a 60kg person.  It does not protect against reinfestation, though, so may require a follow-up course of treatment.  Merck, who developed ivermectin, has donated over a million doses for the treatment of onchocerciasis in Africa. This eradication program occurred without significant side effects.” http://www.skintherapyletter.com/2000/5.1/1.html

“Another alternative is ivermectin. This drug binds selectively to specific receptors of neurotransmitters that function in the peripheral motor system of invertebrates. Ivermectin is FDA approved for treatment of strongyloidiasis (worm) and onchocerciasis (nematode, a kind of worm). There are numerous articles on its use for scabies, but a dearth of information in its use for head lice. Oral ivermectin exerts its insecticidal effects only on lice that are feeding from their hosts. Because the plasma half life of oral ivermectin is 16 hours, a second dose on day 8 is recommended in order to kill nymphs that hatch after the initial dose, before they become fertile. Ivermectin at 200 micrograms per kg given on days 1 and 8 appears to be very effective treatment for pediculosis capitis. There is concern about using this drug in patients who weigh less than 15 kg, or those who are pregnant or breast-feeding.”
http://dermatology-s10.cdlib.org/126/reviews/lice/burkhart.html

The next quote is from a New England Journal of Medicine in an article on a drug trial of Ivermectin VS Malathion.  This trial in my opinion is of a drug VS a pesticide.

“CONCLUSIONS
For difficult-to-treat head-lice infestation, oral ivermectin, given twice at a 7-day interval, had superior efficacy as compared with topical 0.5% malathion lotion, a finding that suggests that it could be an alternative treatment. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00819520.)”
http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa0905471

Another interesting fact.  Ivermectin is in your system for about 14 days so it does somewhat protect against reinfestation.  However, to be sure about achieving no reinfestation there are several recommendation about taking more later.  What they didn’t mention is that the plasma half life for Ivermectin is relatively long and it remains fairly high.  It reaches peak plasma levels quickly and then drops to about  half that, and stays there fairly stable and dropping slowly for up to three weeks.  So, I like to give it again 10 days later. In my opinion that gives the widest range of protection against reinfestation and protects against toxicity build up.  Any drug can be dangerous in high doses and just because it may be safe for some people to go to a higher blood plasma level, it may not be safe for everyone.  Definitely follow the instructions of your healthcare provider, I am not a healthcare practitioner, just an animal observer.

My opinions are my own and should not be consider as medical advice.  Follow your medical providers directions.

Folic Acid is POISON -- it is NOT the same as Folate!!

DO NOT take multivitamins

that contain folic acid.

and

If you are pregnant,

DO NOT take prenatal vitamins

that contain folic acid!

Folic acid supplementation is dangerous – especially for pregnant women!

Lots more info here including links to many kinds of cancer including prostate:
http://www.drfuhrman.com/library/folic_acid_dangers_and_prenatal_vitamins.aspx

Folic acid is POISON to the body!

Folic acid is being looked at as the real reason for the many brain disorders such Autism.  Many mental disorders, and ADD are increasing since it first became widely used.  

Therefore, do NOT take things like B complex, B-100, or B-50 that contain folic acid!  Please pass this along to anyone concerned or struggling with their health. We all know someone who is.   It is mind blowing!  Start looking for folic acid that has been added to your food. This stuff is really dangerous to your health!  I thought we were told it was good for us?

What is folic acid?
Folic (FOH-lik) acid is a  B vitamin. It helps the body make healthy new cells "Folic acid" and "folate" mean the same thing. Folic acid is a manmade form of folate. Folate is found naturally in some foods.  Most women do not get all the folic acid they need through food alone.
http://www.womenshealth.gov/publications/our-publications/fact-sheet/folic-acid.cfm

Don’t believe for a microsecond that they are the same!

Did you know you were being given synthetic vitamins instead of the real thing? That they were pretty much force feeding it to pregnant women!  Folic acid is NOT the same as real vitamin B9, known as Folate.   Now, they are talking about giving (folic acid) to everybody in the country:  “Fortifying all flour with folic acid is potentially a national health disaster. Folic acid is the synthetic version of the B vitamin folate. But although it's vital (Folate not folic acid) for health, it (folic acid is dangerous to our health and it) has a dark side.
Giving extra amounts to everyone in the country? whether they need it or not? could lead to more than 3,000 new cases of colon cancer, a rise in prostate cancer and put as many as 150,000 elderly people at risk of anaemia and memory problems.”
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-484229/Adding-folic-acid-diets-recipe-disaster.html#ixzz2EUPmoVKx

Folic acid is a form of the water-soluble vitamin B9. Folic acid is itself not biologically active, but its biological importance is due to tetrahydrofolate and other derivatives after (until) its conversion to dihydrofolic acid in the liver.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folic_acid

What about people who can’t convert a synthetic vitamin to a real one?  What about the dangers of taking a synthetic version of a natural vitamin?  What about the fact that it blocks the real vitamins from doing their job?

If you take Synthroid/levothyroxine this may sound all too familiar!

We know levothyroxine (synthetic thyroid which must also be converted by the Liver) doesn’t work for most people and causes more harm than good, so what do you think the chances are of this working?  The real question is “Who came up with this and why?”

“Posted
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Last year I warned about the dangers of folic acid fortification and cancer. Today’s study in the Journal of the American Medical Association supports this concern.
The issue is that folic acid is known to prevent healthy cells from becoming pre-cancerous, but may encourage the growth of pre-cancerous cells. Therefore, while the intention of preventing spina bifida by fortifying foods with folic acid is laudable, many eminent scientists predicted that it would increase the risk of cancer, and especially colo-rectal cancer, since a number of older people will have precancerous cells in the colon, then exposed to more folic acid.
Today’s study in the Journal of the American Medical Association followed up a group of Norwegian people with cardiovascular disease, given either folic acid (800mcg) with B12 and some with B6 versus placebo over 6 years. Norway hasn’t fortified food so this is a good population to study. They found that 10% of those receiving folic acid were diagnosed with cancer, compared to 8.4%. That is a relative increased risk of 24% although an absolute increased risk of 1.6%. The relative risk of dying from cancer was 38% higher in those taking folic acid and the absolute increase in risk was 1.1%. These are not great increases but they were statistically significant.”  See more here:  http://www.patrickholford.com/index.php/blog/blogarticle/578/

Maternal periconceptional folic acid intake and risk of autism spectrum disorders and developmental delay in the CHARGE (Childhood Autism Risks from Genetics and Environment) case-control study.  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22648721

Keep in mind when you see case studies involving Folic acid and natural Folate they are typically being considered as the same thing, when they are NOT the same thing!

There are a dozen or more studies being done to see if folic acid is the primary cause of Autism.  Folic acid will bind to all the Folate receptors, thereby blocking any natural Folate you might ingest, but it will not complete the process necessary to be chemically effective to do its intended biological function.   Instead it simply gums up the whole process.

“For over a decade, folic acid (FA) supplementation has been widely prescribed to pregnant women to prevent neural tube closure defects in newborns. Although neural tube closure occurs within the first trimester, high doses of FA are given throughout pregnancy, the physiological consequences of which are unknown.”  
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21867686

If you have increased need for Folate, and many people these days do or if you are pregnant or the chances of pregancy are increased, the right kind of Folate is L-Methylfolate.  Stay far away from the synthetic form, folic acid, and get it out of your vitamin cabinet and your diet!

If you are struggling with a lot of health issues, then Folate deficiency may BE the primary cause, because of a genetic mutation of a genetic process known as MTHFR.  People with this mutation have to take high doses of the right kind of Folate, as much as 10 to 20 mg. These are prescription doses.  

Since MTHFR affects methylation, a process that affects every cell of the body, and having only one defective allele can still affect you, it’s a good idea to have it checked out.  It is estimated that at least 50% if the US population has at least one allele.  See someone who knows how to treat MTHFR.  It will absolutely change your life for the better!  So far, only Naturopathic Doctors seem to know about it at this point.  So, call around.

Why were we given, and in-fact near force fed, synthetic vitamins while pregnant?

Terri