Types of Parasites

• There are three types of parasites responsible for almost all parasitic infections, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): protozoa, helminths and ectoparasites. Protozoa are tiny, one-celled organisms that can gain access to your body through contaminated food or water or through the bite of an infected insect, such as is the case in malaria. Helminths are worms that are further subdivided into three main categories: flatworms, roundworms and thorny-headed worms. These worms can be introduced into your body through contaminated food, water or soil. Ectoparasites include such parasitic insects as lice, fleas, ticks and mites that attach themselves to your skin and burrow into it to feed on your blood.
  
  And while you're more likely to pick up a parasitic infection---particularly those caused by protozoa and helminths---while traveling in developing countries, such infections do occur in more-industrialized areas, and can be extremely serious if they go undiagnosed and untreated.
  
  

General Natural Remedies

• In an article on NaturalNews.com, Tony Isaacs offers some natural remedies that may help rid your body of parasites. Take small doses of coconut oil, which may not only banish any parasites but also has beneficial effects for your liver. Use herbal remedies such as Artemisia annua, which can help to expel pinworms and also relieve the symptoms of malaria; black walnut tincture for worms and other parasites; and powdered cloves, which can kill parasitic larvae before they hatch.
  
  Isaacs also recommends that you use certain herbs to target specific types of parasitic infections. These include agrimony or echinacea tincture to treat trichomonas, a parasitic infection of the vagina; barberry tincture, Oregon grape root or goldenseal for giardiasis and malaria; prickly ash to eliminate pinworms; and garlic oil and Pau d'arco, which seem to be effective against a wide variety of parasites.
  
  

Intestinal Parasites

• To rid your body of intestinal parasites, try one of these homemade concoctions from the Great Home Remedies website. Two or three times a day, drink a half-glass of milk mixed with 10 to 15 drops of fresh garlic juice. If you have a child with pinworms, try the following remedy: Grate one large carrot and then squeeze the juice from the carrot gratings. Mix 1 tbsp. of honey into the carrot juice, and give a tablespoon of the mixture to your child before breakfast and another tablespoon just before bedtime.