The following is from the research that I put together for mysef and thought I'd post it here. B. hominis just might be opening the door to other parasite infections and it looks like D fragilis can hitch a ride into our bodies with pinworm eggs!

 According to this site, it's difficult to get a positive test for this bug and it may take multiple tests to finally pick it up. I tested positive on my fist stool sample....is it luck or am I loaded with these things? Will pick up the lab results on Monday to see if they put a count on  the lab results.

This is the first time I've taken the time to read badbugs.org  http://www.badbugs.org/consequences.htm

There is a strong correlation between parasites and rashes and B hominis may be the nasty little culprit that has cause some of my strange symptoms for so many years.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=Urticaria%20by%20Blastocystis%20hominis&itool=QuerySuggestion

this was written in 1993!.... Urticaria and angioedema are easily recognized disorders, but in at least 70 percent of individuals, chronic episodes of urticaria are of unknown causes. We present 10 cases of chronic urticaria associated parasitation by blastocystis hominis. This parasite has not been previously related with urticaria. Both intestinal parasitation as well as urticaria responded successfully to paromomycin sulfate.

http://www.badbugs.org/Blastocystis_hominis/other_illness.htm

Reports from Canada, Australia, the UK and other European countries to this site show that some labs will report the presence of Blastocystis hominis only when requested by the treating physician.

Other reports show that labs do not report its presence if Blasto. is found in low numbers. However, published studies show that the shedding pattern of parasites is inconsistent:  

Testing for other parasites:

Both Dientamoeba fragilis and Blastocytis hominis inhabit the large intestine, cecum and have been found in the lower part of the small intestine, whilst the parasites Giardia and Entamoeba histolytica colonise the small intestine. Colonisation higher up the bowel can make diagnoses even more difficult.

To overcome this problem a chemical test called ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) is considered "gold standard" for diagnosing Entamoeba histolytica, Giardia and Cryptosporidium. ELISA depends on detection of parasite antigens, instead of a skilled lab technician identifying the parasite.

ELISA is usually performed on fresh stools and considered 90%+ accurate. Most standard labs will perform this test on request.

A salivary test which detects antibodies is also available from Diagnos-Techs, Inc. The contact details for this and other labs using these testing methods are on the "where to find help" page of this site. Salivary testing is another controversial area, and reports to this site indicate that that some doctors do not accept the results of salivary tests, preferring to look elsewhere for their patients causes, or diagnose Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Example here.

 http://www.badbugs.org/parasite/lab_testing.htm

Dientamoeba Fragilis Infection

the parasite

has been demonstrated to cause disease in humans regardless of their immune status.

Nonintestinal complaints include the following:

• Headache
• Fever
• Malaise
• Fatigue
• Irritability
• Weakness
• Pruritus
• Urticaria

The prevalence of

would surprise most clinicians.

A review of stool-examination reports at the Cadham Provincial

Laboratory in Winnipeg, which handles 80%–90% of stool

examinations for parasites done in Manitoba, revealed that the

incidence of this parasite was second only to

and far in excess of more commonly incriminated parasites such

as

,

and

. Coinfection with

and

was also common

Transmission of DF still remains unclear although there has been fair substantiation of the hypothesis that

(E. vermicularis) are the vector responsible for person to person spread. DF forms have been documented in the

of pinworms found in the human appendix. Many authors have now reported a higher than anticipated co-incidence of DF and E. vermicularis infections. In fact, Ockert experimentally infected himself with pinworm eggs from a child and subsequently developed DF infection. Now that’s dedication! Two other successful attempts at infecting humans with DF from pinworms were also described by Ockert. By contrast infection with DF by ingesting DF trophozoites has failed.