Treatment of opisthorchiasis with folk remedies: reviews and recipes

Opisthorchiasis - what is it?

Opisthorchiasis is a helminthic infestation caused by a parasite from the class of liver flukes, also known as the Siberian or cat fluke. The disease is characterized by damage to the liver and gallbladder. The definitive hosts of the parasite are humans and carnivores (including domestic animals: cats and dogs), and intermediate hosts are mollusks and fish.

The eggs of the parasite, along with feces, end up in fresh water bodies, where they are ingested by the first intermediate host, a mollusk. Having reached a certain stage of development, the larva of the parasite moves from the mollusk into the fish, affecting mainly the muscles and subcutaneous layer. In which fish is opisthorchiasis most often found? As a rule, worms parasitize “cyprinids” - this can be ide, dace, roach, and so on.

Human infection occurs when eating unprocessed (as well as dried, smoked) fish; in addition, a certain risk of invasion is created when cutting it (larvae can get on dishes).

Quite often, patients are interested in how opisthorchiasis is transmitted from person to person. The patient serves as a source of infection, but the disease is not transmitted through household contact. However, infectious disease specialists answer the question “is opisthorchiasis contagious?” answer in the affirmative.

Vegetables and fruits for opisthorchiasis

For a disease such as opisthorchiasis, various recipes using vegetables, fruits and berries are widely used.

The most popular treatment methods include the following:

Cranberry . Doctors, as well as traditional healers, recommend eating 0.5 liters of these berries, washing them down with plenty of water. It is prohibited to use any sweeteners, including sugar. The course of therapy in this case is ten days. After this, instead of cranberries you need to use sunflower oil. Its dosage is only 100 milliliters after one glass of berries. This treatment should continue for about five days.
Black radish . This vegetable is distinguished by its ability to relieve inflammation and improve the flow of bile. The radish must first be grated, adding the same amount of water. After a few minutes, you need to squeeze the juice out of this mass. It is worth drinking 100 milliliters three times a day for five days.
Horseradish with beets . These vegetables should be used as a supplement to the main meal. First, fresh horseradish root and raw red beets need to be grated. You need to use the same amount of these vegetables for the recipe. After mixing these ingredients, you need to add a little salt to them. It should be used only one teaspoon per liter. In addition to this, you must add 1 to 10 lemon juice to the resulting mass in a proportional ratio of 1 to 10. You need to eat from 600 to 1000 milliliters of the resulting “medicine” per day along with other food. The course of therapy should be three weeks.

The use of berries and vegetables for opisthorchiasis is generally a very harmless treatment method. The only contraindication to such therapy is individual intolerance to the components of the prescriptions.

Causes of opisthorchiasis

The causative agent of opisthorchiasis is the cat fluke; it has a flat body 4-13 mm long. and width 1-3.5 mm. Oral and ventral suckers. The eggs are small, pale yellow in color, with slight thickening at both poles. At the stage of sexual maturity, it parasitizes the intra- and extrahepatic bile ducts, the gallbladder, and pancreatic ducts of humans, cats, dogs, foxes, etc.

The eggs are released with the feces of infected animals and humans into the water, where they are ingested by intermediate hosts, mollusks. Additional hosts are also fish of the carp family: dace, roach, roach, rudd, carp, bream, bleak.

When they enter the human intestine with eaten fish, opisthorchiasis larvae penetrate through the common bile and pancreatic ducts into the liver, gallbladder and pancreas, where after 2 weeks they reach sexual maturity and after a month they begin to lay eggs.

Opisthorchiasis and cats

In families where cats live, there are situations when, when cleaning feces from the animal’s toilet, it turns out that the cat is infected with opisthorchiasis. This is visible to the naked eye, because helminths come out of the pet along with the feces. This, of course, only happens in cases where their number in the cat’s body is completely off scale, but at least it’s impossible to think of a more impressive signal that it’s time to deworm the cat.

Cats are in the first risk group for infection with opisthorchiasis, because Often the owners give them raw fish. But it is she who is the main source of infection with this helminthic disease. Its causative agents are representatives of the trematode family - cat (Siberian) flukes.

This is one of the most insidious forms of helminthic diseases. Parasitic infestations are localized in the liver, pancreas and gall bladder. Helminths in the liver produce toxins that have a negative effect on the functioning of internal organs (GIT). As a result, serious consequences can occur - cirrhosis, oncology.

Opisthorchis larvae are found in fish. They end up on a person’s table if the product is poorly thermally processed. Such carriage is typical for representatives of the carp family.

Cat flukes are not transmitted from person to person, but dogs and cats, which are often fed with raw fish remains, can be carriers.

A person in whom parasites live experiences the following symptoms:

weakness in the body;
elevated temperature;
loose stools;
urge to vomit;
insomnia;
myalgia, arthralgia;
liver enlargement;
allergies in the form of skin rashes;
pain in the abdomen;
dizziness.

If opisthorchiasis is not treated, the following complications may occur: bile peritonitis (outflow of bile into the abdominal cavity), angiocholitis, inflammation of the pancreas, cancer and cirrhosis of the liver.

Birch tar

This remedy is suitable for adult patients only. Tar is contraindicated for children, as it is a highly toxic substance and can cause poisoning. How to treat opisthorchiasis at home with tar:

Buy birch tar at the pharmacy.
Take the medicine according to the scheme: 1 day + 1 drop of tar, bringing the total number of drops to 10 units. That is, the first day – 1 drop, the second – 2 drops and so on until the 10th day.
Afterwards, reduce the medication taken by 1 drop, that is: day 11 – 9 drops, day 12 – 8 drops.
The course of treatment takes 19 days.

The drug is taken on an empty stomach, at once. You can dilute the tar in a spoon of still water or add the medicine to sugar-free applesauce. Even fluke larvae are removed in this way, which ensures complete treatment of parasites. It should be remembered that tar greatly affects the functioning of internal organs and rehabilitation after invasive therapy is mandatory.

How to diagnose opisthorchiasis

Diagnosis of opisthorchiasis is difficult, since the clinical picture is similar to diseases such as cirrhosis, cholangitis, hepatitis, which are usually found in the patient. In addition, doctors of other profiles can make their own diagnoses: for example, they suspect a patient has a food or drug allergy, metabolic disorders, or even depression.

Tests for opisthorchiasis are also not indicative: to confirm the invasion, a stool test is prescribed, but eggs appear in it only a month after the onset of the disease. In addition, egg production is not constant, but episodic, so the result may not reveal the presence of worms.

Diagnosis of opisthorchiasis in adults using ultrasound, CT and MRI reveals only indirect signs of the disease (such as enlarged bile ducts, for example), but they are also characteristic of other diseases.

Therefore, it is more important to understand not where to get tested for opisthorchiasis, but what diagnostic procedures will allow you to accurately and quickly identify the invasion.

Symptoms of opisthorchiasis

The incubation period for opisthorchiasis lasts about 3 weeks. At the beginning, there may be an increase in body temperature, pain in muscles and joints, diarrhea, vomiting, soreness and enlargement of the liver, spleen, and allergic skin rashes.

With the further development of the disease, the main complaint of patients is pain in the stomach and right hypochondrium, radiating to the back and sometimes to the left hypochondrium. Dizziness, headaches, insomnia, frequent mood swings, and increased irritability may occur.

Depending on the stage, opisthorchiasis progresses with one or another symptom. For example, in the acute stage, allergic reactions and skin rashes predominate, while in the chronic stage, damage to the stomach and duodenum or damage to the gallbladder and liver predominates.

Damage to the gallbladder and liver is manifested by a feeling of heaviness, pain in the right hypochondrium, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, and headache may occur.

The liver and gall bladder are enlarged. More often observed in women. Damage to the stomach and duodenum occurs with moderate pain, loss of appetite, impaired stool with a tendency to constipation. More often observed in men.

Features of opisthorchiasis treatment

Standard anthelmintic therapy includes several stages, the complex of which can take from two weeks to several months. Main drugs:

choleretic;
enzymatic;
antiparasitic;
antisymptomatic.

Treatment of helminths in adults is as follows:

Preparation (detoxification).
The main stage (fighting directly against parasites).
Recovery (elimination of the consequences of opisthorchis activity).

There is treatment for opisthorchiasis at home using traditional medicine.

Aspen bark . The product helps remove parasites from the patient’s body. Pour 15-20 g of aspen bark (industrial or home production) into a glass of hot water and cook for 10 minutes. Directions for use: take a teaspoon three times a day 30 minutes before meals.

Other popular methods

In addition to medicinal herbs, berries, fruits and vegetables, other means are used in the treatment of opisthorchiasis:

Pine buds . To prepare a decoction of these coniferous elements, you need to use about 0.5 liters of water. For this volume of liquid you need to use only 2 tablespoons of kidneys. The mixture should be simmered over low heat for up to 15-20, then boil for about 30 minutes. After this, the broth should be infused for a short period of time. You need to take it half a glass 5 times a day. The duration of such therapy is 14 days.
Corn silk . It is necessary to prepare a special infusion from them, taking it before meals. It is suggested to use one tablespoon of corn panicles and one glass of boiled water for the recipe. The drink should steep for about half an hour, after which it should be drunk immediately.
Raw eggs . This remedy is used due to the fact that it has a choleretic effect. Every day you need to drink just one egg with salt on an empty stomach. It's best to do this for breakfast. In this way, the outflow of bile from the duct can be significantly improved.

There are minimal contraindications to the use of the above methods of opisthorchiasis treatment. Most often, they cannot be used if the sick person is allergic to any components of the “medicine”.

This video contains several more ways to combat parasites.

How to treat opisthorchiasis at home

Treatment of the disease takes place in three stages: preparatory (takes from 10 days to two weeks), medication (duration varies individually), recovery (lasts about three months). You can also additionally treat the pancreas using other recipes.

It is important to prevent an overdose of anthelmintics: mass death of fluke larvae can cause a significant deterioration in the patient’s condition. Treatment of opisthorchiasis with folk remedies during this period is contraindicated due to excess load on the liver. Before and after is not prohibited by medicine, but, on the contrary, is approved. Subject to consultation with your doctor.

Birch tar

A proven folk remedy for treating opisthorchiasis is birch tar. A few drops of it are added to a quarter glass of milk. Take once a day an hour before meals. The course lasts three times for nine days with three-week breaks.

Here is a more detailed treatment plan:

the first day is two drops of tar,
second day - four drops,
third day – six drops,
fourth day – eight drops,
fifth day – ten drops,
sixth day – eight drops,
seventh day – six drops,
eighth day – four drops,
ninth day - two drops.

Another method of treatment: thoroughly mix a drop of tar with a teaspoon of grated carrot or apple puree, swallow before bed with water. And do this for 10 – 12 days. It is useful to combine the treatment of opisthorchiasis with birch tar and drinking mineral water.

Pine buds . Pour half a kilo of raw material with a solution of 96% alcohol and leave for 7 days. Method of administration: a teaspoon three times a day, if desired, wash down with water.

Garlic . There are several antiparasitic recipes with this plant:

Boil 2-3 heads of garlic in milk (a glass), leave for 12 hours and drink in the morning before meals for two weeks. The product can be used in combination with other herbal decoctions;
chop the garlic and add hot water. Soak a cotton swab in the cooled solution and insert it into the anus. Remove the tampon after 10 minutes;
Mix 500 g of holosas with a glass of alcohol and add a head of garlic. Instruct within a week. Method of administration: 1 tsp. three times a day for 2 weeks.

Burdock juice

The product minimizes the symptoms of opisthorchiasis. Recipe: Grind burdock leaves in a blender, squeeze. Directions for use: 40 ml before meals, in the morning. The course is two weeks.

Linden ash

Burn the linden branches and collect the ashes. Dilute a tablespoon of raw material with a glass of milk. Drink in the morning before breakfast. Duration: two weeks.

Beetroot and horseradish root

Grind the ingredients in equal quantities, mix with a teaspoon of salt and lemon juice. Pour 1 liter of water. Directions for use: 600 g per day for 3 weeks.

Aspen bark

This natural component has proven itself so well for the treatment of opisthorchiasis that an aqueous extract of aspen bark is included in some pharmacological preparations (populin, ecorsol). It is quite possible to make the infusion yourself.

To do this, young aspen bark is collected. 20 grams of it are crushed, poured with two glasses of boiling water and left in a thermos overnight. (You can simply boil for a quarter of an hour).

Then filter and take three to four times a day half an hour before meals. The course lasts two to three weeks.

Pumpkin seeds

They are used in folk medicine to combat opisthorchiasis and as part of the following remedies, which are more reminiscent of culinary dishes.

Boil millet porridge in water. Pass the deboned herring through a meat grinder. Repeat the procedure adding pumpkin seeds. Stir into the porridge until smooth. Eat on an empty stomach in the morning. After two hours, take a laxative or do an enema. Repeat three times at intervals of a week.
Mix a glass of ground pumpkin seeds with two yolks, a tablespoon of honey and a small amount of water . Take on an empty stomach 30 minutes before breakfast. After it, you need to lie down for two hours, preferably with a hot heating pad. The procedure should occur every morning for ten days. With weekly breaks, the course is repeated twice more.

Triple cologne

The advice to treat opisthorchiasis with triple cologne (or alcohol, which is less effective), taking a tablespoon on an empty stomach, can be treated differently.

Some doctors even recommend it - unofficially, of course. Others categorically prohibit it: you can radically damage your liver and kidneys.

Aspen bark

You should start with aspen bark - the only folk remedy for the treatment of opisthorchiasis that has undergone clinical trials, during which its effectiveness was confirmed.

Thus, in the Tomsk clinic of infectious diseases, 79.1% of subjects managed to get rid of opisthorchiasis by taking aspen bark extract. During preclinical trials, the same extract managed to cure 73.5–83% of golden hamsters infected with Siberian flukes (the causative agent of opisthorchiasis). The success of the research led to the release of two anti-opisthorchiasis drugs based on aspen bark - “Populin” and “Ekorsol”.

Removing helminths from the liver using a decoction of aspen bark:

Grind 50 g of bark and pour the powder into 0.5 liters of water.
After bringing the water to a boil, cook for 10 minutes.
Pour the liquid into a thermos and leave for 3 hours.
Cool, strain through cheesecloth.
Drink 2 small sips 5 times daily. The duration of therapy is 21 days. One should not be surprised if seemingly cured opisthorchiasis soon recurs and its manifestations return - it is the ability to temporarily “lie to the bottom” that Siberian flukes are famous for. In this case, treatment can and should be repeated a month after the first course.

Since alcohol has a greater extracting ability than hot water, an even more effective remedy is aspen bark tincture.

Tincture recipe:

Grind 5 tbsp. l. bark and pour the powder into 0.5 liters of 95 percent alcohol. In the absence of alcohol, vodka will do, although the extract will be less concentrated.
Place the container with the tincture in a dark place.
Leave for 2 weeks, shaking the container every few days.
Take 1 tsp of aspen tincture before breakfast, lunch and dinner. The duration of therapy is 21 days. As with the decoction, the course of treatment can be repeated after a month.

Finally, the most powerful products based on aspen bark are factory-produced dietary supplements - Ecorsol granules and Populin syrup. The properties of both dietary supplements are identical, but Ecorsol also contains glucose, which compensates for the bitterness of the extract. How to poison helminths is a matter of taste and contraindications (in case of diabetes mellitus, glucose levels must be carefully monitored).

The treatment regimen with Ecorsol granules depends on the patient’s age:

children under 6 years old take 1 tsp. after breakfast, lunch and dinner;
children 6–12 years old - 2 tsp. according to a similar scheme;
children over 12 years old and adults - 3 tsp. according to a similar scheme.

The treatment method with “Populin” is also noticeably different:

children under 12 years old take 0.5 tsp. syrup 40 minutes after breakfast, lunch and dinner;
children 12–18 years old take 1 tsp. syrup according to a similar scheme;
adults take 1 tsp. syrup, but already dissolved in ½ glass of water and during meals.

Whatever drug is chosen, a week-long course of treatment is required to cleanse the liver of flukes.

Herbs for opisthorchiasis

Herbal infusions and decoctions reduce the negative impact of helminths on the human body; in addition, the products help treat opisthorchiasis. Herbs in the recipes include: nettle, caraway, St. John's wort, celandine, wormwood, tansy.

A decoction with St. John's wort is prepared as follows: pour a teaspoon of dried herb into 250 ml of boiling water. Method of administration: a tablespoon of the product 4-6 times a day. Cumin seeds and nettle leaves should be taken 1 tsp with a sufficient amount of water three times a day.

Dry the dandelion root and leaves and turn it into powder. Pour the mixture with hot water and leave for two hours. Drink the unstrained solution throughout the day.

Mix dried celandine with silicon and pour into milk whey (a tablespoon per glass). Infuse for 14 days. Method of administration: half a glass three times a day half an hour before meals.

A collection of wormwood, tansy, buckthorn and sweet clover helps fight opisthorchiasis. Pour a teaspoon of the mixture into a glass of hot water. Drink half a glass three times a day.

It is important to know that herbal therapy should last more than two weeks. The effectiveness of treatment depends on the prevalence of helminths and the general condition of the patient.

Other recipes used at home:

Mix millet porridge boiled in water with herring minced through a meat grinder. Add pumpkin seeds to the mixture. Eat the mixture in the morning before meals. After two minutes, do an enema or take a laxative;
Combine honey (1 tbsp) with pumpkin seeds and egg yolks. Add a little water for consistency. Eat the product 30 minutes before breakfast. Immediately lie down with a warm heating pad and lie there for two hours. Duration – 10 days.

Linden ash

Ash from burnt linden branches is a traditional Siberian remedy for the treatment of opisthorchiasis, which first became available to the masses after the publication of the book by A.V. Faleeva “Lose weight in no time.” The effectiveness of the technique has never been studied either in laboratory or clinical conditions, but in 2004, scientists in Ghana and Switzerland found that wood ash can destroy helminth eggs in excrement by increasing the pH of the environment to 12. This is comparable to the alkalinity of bleach - pH 12.5.

Linden ash treatment regimen:

Cut down a few linden branches. Dry slightly in the oven, then burn. Prepare 14 tsp. ash.
From the 1st to the 3rd day, eat 1 tsp. ash in the morning and evening, washed down with ½ glass of warmed milk. On the 4th day, take the ash only in the morning.
In the evening of the 4th day, start taking lingonberry leaf infusion - a choleretic agent necessary to remove dead or weakened parasites. To prepare the infusion, 1 tsp. leaves should be brewed with a glass of boiling water. You need to drink the tincture for 14 days, ½ glass three times a day, about 30 minutes before meals. In the absence of lingonberry leaf, other choleretic drugs will help with the same success - immortelle, viburnum berries, tansy, bear bile, etc. The last two remedies, according to folk medicine, are themselves anti-opisthorchiasis, which means that liver flukes will be eliminated more effectively.
At the end of taking the choleretic drug (i.e. after 2 weeks), the course of taking ash is repeated, similar to the first (7 spoons in 4 days). You can re-treat the helminths after six months.

Diet for opisthorchiasis

Treatment at home should be carried out in combination with diet. Basic principles:

you should not eat sweets, since confectionery products are “food” for parasites;
eat plenty of fiber in the form of vegetables and fruits;
take fermented milk to regenerate the mucous membranes of the stomach;
drink more than 2 liters of water during the day;
exclude: fried, fatty, smoked, canned and instant foods.

You should eat often, in small portions. Give preference to cereals, lean fish and meat, eggs, vegetables and fruits.

Infection with fluke larvae can be prevented in the following ways:

Boiling and frying fish should take at least 20 minutes. You cannot taste food raw.
Pets should not be given raw carp, perch, rudd, etc.
Hands should be thoroughly disinfected after handling fish and contact with pets.

It should be remembered that in all cases, treatment with folk remedies must be agreed with a doctor.

Medicinal herbs: 7 tips on how to get rid of flatworms at home

The people's treasury is rich in recipes for treating opisthorchiasis at home using the gifts of nature. They are an excellent alternative to pharmacotherapy.

What herbs are suitable for fighting parasites:

Chew cumin and nettle seeds and swallow 1 teaspoon 3-4 times a day with warm water.
2 tbsp. Grind tablespoons of dry herb St. John's wort, cover with 1 tbsp. boiling water After 30-40 minutes, strain the mixture through a wide bandage folded several times. Drink 4-6 times a day, 1 tbsp. spoon.
10 tbsp. spoons of flax seeds and 1 tbsp. Grind a spoonful of clove buds (spice) in a coffee grinder (blender). Eat 2 tbsp. spoons of the composition (can be added to food as a seasoning), alternating 3 days of use - 3 days of break. The duration of anthelmintic therapy is 30 days.
Prepare a choleretic mixture from multiveined voladum, dried flowers, rose hips (take in equal quantities). Three times a day, brew a spoonful of the mixture in a cup of boiling water and drink the resulting mixture 1 hour before eating (breakfast, lunch, dinner). The duration of the treatment process is 10 days.

Since the disease causes a narrowing of the bile ducts, it is necessary to take choleretic herbal teas. It is useful to add decoctions of wormwood and tansy to choleretic herbal infusions: cover 1 teaspoon of dry herb with 0.5 liters of boiling water, close the lid, wrap in a towel for 1-1.5 hours. Take 1 tbsp on an empty stomach. spoon, eating raw carrots.

Treatment with celandine

A special place in the fight against the Siberian fluke is given to celandine. To prepare an anthelmintic drug, 200 g of celandine should be crushed and, together with a piece of silicon, tied in a piece of gauze. Place the “bag” in a jar (volume 3 liters). Add 50 g of sour cream (homemade), 200 g of sugar, 2 liters of whey (from homemade milk). Seal the jar tightly and place it in a dark and warm room for 14 days.

Adults take the infusion half a glass three times a day before meals, children – a quarter glass. The treatment is considered complete when the contents of the jar are finished.

Greater burdock (burdock) juice: how to deworm

Option 1. Pass the leaves through a blender or meat grinder. Squeeze the juice out of the resulting mass and drink 30 ml three times a day before meals. The course of treatment is 7-10 days. If necessary, you can take the course twice or thrice a year.

Option 2. Grind burdock leaves with 1-2 cloves of garlic. Take according to the regimen indicated above. The juice can be eaten with honey. Treat in this way for 7 days, take a break of the same length and repeat the course of treatment.