Cyclospora: What it is and how we treated it when nothing else worked

*Not medical advice.  Always seek the advice of a health professional.
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Cyclospora: What is it?

Cyclospora is a microscopic parasite that causes an intestinal illness called cyclosporiasis. People become infected by consuming food or water contaminated with the parasite, most commonly fresh produce such as leafy greens, herbs, or berries. Symptoms typically develop about a week after exposure and may include watery diarrhea, loss of appetite, stomach cramps, bloating, nausea, fatigue, and weight loss. While the illness can resolve on its own, treatment with the antibiotic trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) is often recommended to shorten the duration of symptoms. Good hand hygiene and proper washing of fruits and vegetables can help reduce the risk of infection, although routine rinsing may not completely remove the parasite.

Our Story: With cyclospora going around right now, I wanted to share our story from a few years ago.

My kids and I all got severe diarrhea that was lasting over a month. It was nearly impossible to leave the house without someone having an accident. We had multiple doctor’s appointments and stool tests testing for parasites and I tried every home remedy I could find. Since we never got an official diagnosis (because they wouldn’t run the test for cyclospora) , I kept researching because we were all losing so much weight and severely dehydrated.

I finally found something that helped and within 2 days we were all back to normal. Now after seeing this in the headlines I knew I had to share in case this could help anyone going through what we did.

Of course go see your doctor too, but if you can't get a positive on the test, this is another option to end the diarrhea. The most important is the Echinacea and Goldenseal as this is what will kill the parasite.  The adult capsules you can find here, and the kids drops you can find here.  If you use the kids drops, just follow the dosage based on weight for your child.  Again, this is not medical advice, always follow the care of your health provider.  I'm just sharing what helped us when we couldn't get a diagnosis and were desperate to get rid of this.

The echinacea and goldenseal will help kill the parasite, and the saccaromyces boulardii will help soothe the gut and crowd out the infection, as well as firm up the stool. This combo worked quickly for all of us after nothing else helped. Feel free to message me if you have any questions.

The probiotic pills (saccaromyces boulardii) can be used with kids too, I just opened the capsule and mixed in to applesauce for my kids.