Intestinal worms and gardening

Now this is not a topic for the faint-hearted (or intestined), but I thought it a worthy one considering it can affect us all, and the more we share the information, the less these little ‘gems’ need to be shared in the physical sense. We gardening officionadoes are known for going on about the godliness of earth worms.  But, God clearly did not create all wormies equal! 

The last couple of years not so coincidentally, whilst doing more vegie and general landscaping I have noticed an increase in certain unmentionable symptoms, which I’ve long known to be intestinal parasites (fortunately of the smaller/microscopic variety). I tried the traditional medications available at the chemist, but just found that a little while later the symptoms and the little blighters would reappear (well, not literally under my nose. And friends have occasionally commented - why are you so thin - it must be all those intestinal infestations!)  So, the last six months I've noticed I've been more susceptible than usual to infections and flus so this led to some research. 

I was doing some maintenance at a friend's house and she said, 'don't pick the silverbeet. It'll give you worms'. I remember thinking what a strange connection …. and then dismissed it as unimportant.  However, I am still investigating whether there is a high risk of ingesting the blighters (or their larvae) by eating vegetables grown in infected soil.  I've read elsewhere this is why vegies should be washed thoroughly, but the risk may be higher with salady vegies which don't get cooked. 

I do know that threadworms are a common parasite that can be picked up by walking on contaminated soil without shoes and similarly can be contracted by getting soil under your finger nails – ie gardening without gloves.  And unlike other sensible gardeners who keep their fingernails short – I do not do so.

So the long and the short of this wormy (and parasitic) parable, is that my son and I are now on this herbal medication - Paracea Forte which you take for around 3-4 weeks and possibly do another treatment to make sure you nip them in the bud.   With such herbs as Berberis vulgaris, and Juglans Nigra… it’s bound to be something that takes them out! So I shall write another post soon to inform any readers how we are getting on on the PF. 


Tips:  Keep the finger-nails short and wear sturdy - non porous gardening gloves when gardening, or handling soil. 


When growing your own vegies, definitely wash them thoroughly, in fact probably several times. 


Keep herbal anti-parasitic tablets handy!