“Blasto”, as it’s affectionately known, is a tiny little microscopic parasite that can infest your intestine.
It’s easily the parasite we detect most frequently in our Digestive Health MOT’s.
I had Blasto myself (along with H. pylori), so I know first hand the kinds of symptoms it can cause, or exacerbate.
The medical system hasn’t yet made up its mind about Blasto. Most doctors I speak to don’t consider Blasto to be a problem.
But the research suggests otherwise, and so does my clinical experience.
I’ve read a lot about Blasto. As with H. pylori there are different Blasto strains, or sub-types.
Some of these sub-types seem to cause problems such as fatigue, irritable bowels, diarrhea, joint aches and pains and other nagging, chronic symptoms, whereas other strains appear not to.
My own lower abdominal discomfort and loose stools went away when I treated my own Blasto infection, so there’s no doubt it was causing problems for me.
I’ve consulted clients who had severe problems with Blasto, ranging from extreme diarrhea, containing blood and mucus, to fever and chills, vomiting, food intolerance, anxiety, fear and other complex symptoms.
Dr. Omar Amin, a renowned medical parasitologist from Scottsdale, Arizona, states that Blasto can be one of the most damaging and difficult to treat parasites.
What symptoms can Blasto cause?
According to Dr. Alex Vasquez, DC – in his excellent article explaining how chronic infections cause muscle and joint pain – states:
“Patients with Blastocystis hominis commonly have fatigue. Some patients will have abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, weight loss as well as anorexia, flatus (wind), and eosinophilia. Typical symptoms include diarrhea, crampy abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, low-grade fever, gas, malaise, and chills. Fecal leukocytes are occasionally seen. Blastocystis hominis can cause colitis.”
I have a pretty big book on parasites, called Principles and Practice of Clinical Parasitology. It’s a medical text. Here’s what the authors have to say about Blasto:
“Symptoms attributed to? B. hominis infection are generally non-specific and include diarrhea, abdominal pain and cramps or discomfort, nausea, flatulence and fever. Illness may be acute or chronic with symptoms persisting for several years. Profuse watery diarrhoea has been reported in some acute cases, and has been fatal in one case reported
Other signs and symptoms occasionally reported to be associated with B. hominis infection of the gastrointestinal tract include rectal bleeding, faecal leukocytes, eosinophilia, hepatomegaly and splenomegaly, cutaneous (skin) rashes and itching.”
Interestingly, Blasto has been found in the synovial fluid of joints, which is one of the reasons it may trigger arthritic pain.
As you can see, the symptom list for Blasto is pretty varied ranging from irritating, nuisance-causing symptoms to relatively serious conditions.
Again, there’s a link between digestion and fatigue, along with digestion and joint pain, and digestive problems with skin symptoms.
It’s so common to see people with low energy, low mood (or anxiety), poor sleep, bad skin and hormonal difficulties when they are playing host to all these little critters.
How is Blasto transmitted?
Blasto has a cyst form, where it’s encased in a hard-shell. The cysts can survive for a long time outside animal and human bodies.
They are passed into the environment in bowel movements, where they may contaminate water and food.
When the water and food are consumed, the cysts are ingested and the cysts dissolve in the new host’s intestine, causing infection.
It’s unknown whether Blasto can be passed from person-to-person, but I’ve personally seen this parasite in all household members when I’ve tested them, so there’s certainly a possibility that people can pass Blasto between each other, especially during oral-anal sex.
Confusion over symptoms
As you’ve seen, Blasto – like all the bad bugs I talk about – can cause a lot of common, every day symptoms.
But so can the food you eat (e.g. gluten, soy, cow’s milk).
Thus, you can’t possibly know what’s causing your individual symptoms unless you take action to change your diet and get a comprehensive digestive health work-up.
Of course, I’m biased, but I wouldn’t be here teaching you this information had I not gone through the Digestive MOT process myself way back in 2007 with my functional medicine doctor.
Order a Digestive Health MOT
If you’re struggling with your digestive health, take action today.
Your digestive system is the gateway to the rest of your body and it’s going to be very tough for you to sustain an acceptable level of health (and quality of life) if your digestive system isn’t working properly.
Let me hold your hand through a simple but powerful program to help you restore proper digestion and all the benefits it brings.
Click here for details of my Digestive Health MOT program.