I hope you can help me. My nephew is 4 years old and has been diagnosed has having this parasite. The doc who he goes to has said to not treat it. My sister-in-law and myself have been looking for information about it. What does it do exactly or does anyone really know. I've been looking on the web for her and this is the closest I've gotten but would like to know more about this particular parasite. I would appreciate any info you have or if there's a book or something like that. Thanks for your time.
REPLY:--------------
Blastocystis hominis is a protozoan microorganism which may or may not cause disease in people. In a study published in 1988 11 people with this organism in their stools who had diarrhea type symptoms were studied. In each of them another explanation for their symptoms was found and there was no relationship between the patient's symptoms, treatment for B. hominis, and the clearing of the organism from the stool samples. Those authors reviewed other reports and concluded there was no convincing proof that this organism caused disease in humans. Whether this is true in individuals who have some type of immunodeficiency is less clear.
If your nephew has little or no symptoms it may be best to ignore the stool result. If he has symptoms treatment may be undertaken with Flagyl. He should also be checked for other parasites or conditions however. Some patients with this organism in their stools who have symptoms improve with no treatment at all (again raising the question of whether or not this protozoan causes any disease in people).
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Bruce Sckolnick, M.D.
NOTICE: OFCN is not engaged in the rendering of professional medical services. The information contained on this system or any other OFCN system should not supplant individual professional consultation. It is offered exclusively as a community education service. Advice on individual problems must be obtained directly from a professional.
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