Bathing and Skin Treatments

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I got rid of the itching and biting symptoms in six days*. What I did was to first shower with medicated shampoo such as Denerox or Scratchex (for dogs) or some type of over the counter remedy such as Rid (two times per day for two e days). I keep these shampoos from my eyes and private parts. After the shower I bathed in very hot water (being careful not to scald myself) with two cups of Epson Salt and submerge as much of my body as I can for 20 minutes. I bath first thing in the morning and before going to bed, I soaked my head and hair as much as I can with the hot water. I use the octagon soap bar (brand not that important) and wash vigorously--it seems that the hot water forces many of the parasites to hatch quickly rather than gradually over the course of the night. After the bath, I use tea tree oil (available in health food stores) on my skin by wetting a facial cotton and applying two drops of tea tree oil and then proceed to suave my entire body rewetting and applying more oil as the cotton becomes dry.

After the third day, 90% of itching and biting are gone and I reduced bathing to once at night with one cup of Epson salts. After the fifth day, I dispensed with the Epson salt bath.

By my bedside, I have Neem cream (inexpensive--around $15 and available in many health food stores) or you can order it from www.organixsouth.com or call 1-888-989-NEEM will also provide relief from any itching. I applied it whenever I felt any itching. However, it doesn't seem to kill the parasite, but only seems to paralyze them for few minutes. In the beginning, before I knew of Neem cream, I dabbed diatomaceous earth on any itching areas and likewise found relief.

After a few days I graduated to a warmer bath and eventually graduate to hot showers, however there are two goals to remember.

The first one is to simply get rid of the symptoms and live with the parasites

The second is to go for cure which is relatively a new idea.

Whichever the choice neither will work unless I'm diligent about disinfecting my surroundings and adhere strictly to Stage I of the diet.

If I'm only wanting to acheive the first goal, after a week, I was taking normal showers, changing my bedding only once every four of five days, no longer needed the Neem cream or to use the tea tree oil, and no was no longer spraying my coats after every use with ammonia solution. And I stayed on Stage I of the diet.

If I'm going for cure, then I may want to consider continuing with baths everyday in epson salts--one subscriber reports that she uses 4-6 pounds in a very hot bath, or a product like Klean free or the one I prefer is eco vie at http://www.eco-vie.com/ecovie/success.html--see the latest emails re this product. In my opinion, eco vie is the most effective of all, but then I haven't tried the Kleen Free product which is at http://www.naturalginesis.com/

Direction on how to use eco vie are included with each order. General note: one should use pre-mixed (with warm water to activate the enzymes) solution within four hours....Try to use unchlorinated water....It contains some molasses to keeps the enzymes alive--they feed it You can spray it on baseboards, etc... I use it on a cotton facial wipe applied direct to the lesions as I read, watch TV, or use the computer. Most of my lesions are on my scalp and I use a cap to hold the facial wipe in place. Bathing isn't so important for me, however, it is for many it is--a couple tablespoons in warm water about 4" deep in the tub. Don't towel dry--air dry instead. Others use it as a spritz over the lesions or effected areas of the skin.

Here's what one subscriber writes about the Klean Free product, "Klean free can kill even bugs such as roaches, yet no harm to human being. When diluting, the ratio of klean free and water is 1:8. I used 1:4 to increase it's effect. When bathing in tub, it requires 4 oz, about half a small cup (8 oz) of yogurt that sold on the market. However, I put at least 6 oz to only half a bath tub of water. I found when I submerged the infected area, scalp, low legs and feet for over one hour, allowing water with klean free completely saturated the cells of my skin, it works very well to kill parasites living inside the skin. After the bath, you are supposed to let it dry out naturally without rinse. Then, spread the most infested area of the skin by 1:8 diluted klean free. Allow it to dry naturally. I have very dry skin. The klean free produces a layer of natural oil that protects my dry skin. It's the best to clean the environment. No other chemical can perform as good as klean free. Yet, it's not harmful to human at all."

Dr. Harvey (one of the specialists) suggests that cold (ice if you can stand it) is more effective at killing the skin parasites than a warm bath. See which works better for you.

It's been reported by another sufferer that applying Listerine to the skin reduces the itch substantially. However, she reports that Listerine can smart the skin like alcohol when applied to a laceration smarts. She found that other mouth wash brands equivalent to Listerine are reported as being less harsh on the skin. I have tested spraying with ionic copper and silver, calamine lotion, the mouthwash wash, and tea tree oil.--an antiseptic you apply over your entire body two or three times per day. I used it morning and night after my bath in Epson Salts. You can also dampen a wash cloth with warm water and add a few drops of tea tree oil. It is more effective to apply it to the itching and biting than Neem but tea tree oil has a weird smell. It doesn't smell as good as Neem.

During my last recontamination, I accidentally infected my significant other and this is what worked for us:

Early infection: If you are not the primary source, you may have contracted this scourge from someone else and you will notice lesions on your body--click here for photographs. The lesions are entry points of the larvae. We treated the lesions with Neosporin w pain reliever, Neem cream, tea tree oil, Ellagiderm cream, skin zinc.. (whatever we had at the moment morning and night) for about a week and the lesions healed before the parasites got to replicate in her body. Of course we were militant about disinfecting the source of the infection--bedding and clothes. However, we did not rely 100% on these over counter treatments (my best guess is that they probably would have worked) What we did was first to consider asking her doctor for a script for a double descending dose of prednisone would most likely have been effective, but a rash began developing and since Lyme and protozoan might be involved (me being the source of the parasites,), her doctor prescribed metronidazole which is both an antibiotic and an anti-protozoan. Remember 95% of these parasitic infections also bring with them the Lyme spirochete (a bacterium) and protozoa, this particular antibiotic will kill the bacteria associated with the rash and any infectious Lyme or Protozoan.

Even so, with the metronidazole, it didn't stop the parasites dead in their tracks--hopefully it took care of any Lyme or protozoan contagions. She experienced continued out breaks--far less in size and magnitude for five months. Continued treatment with skin zinc and or Ellagiderm cream gained slow but steady ground except for a couple welts on her leg which simply responded to nothing until she did two baths in eco vie. At first there was no apparent change, but three days later, all welts had completely disappeared. In light of this experience, I'd waste no time bathing in eco vie if I were reinfected or newly infected for the first time.

Just to give you an idea of how quickly reinfection can occur, I accidentally wore a coat (took it out of storage from the previous season) that was contaminated for only ten minutes. I took it off as soon as I felt the itching start and began spraying every chair I sat in with diluted ammonia solution or Lysol spray. I only noticed mild itching thereafter and took a shower when I got home (didn't use any precautions as specified above but figured I'd caught it early and the soap would take care of it). Within twenty minutes of my shower, I was itching all over my body. Prior to this I was itch free for months and months. Since I had a social engagement planned, I used the skin zinc all over my body--maybe the Listerine would have been less expensive, but I didn't want to take chances. The point is that it's so easy to get recontaminated--something I have to constantly guard against for years.

*even though the itching and biting symptoms were gone, I was still infected with the parasite.

7/23/06 more details added re use of eco vie.