That Which Noms in the Night

Parasites.

Yumm-o topic, right? No?! What do you mean, "WHY am I talking about icky, yucky, gross, nasty parasites?" Goodness, people, you are certainly hard to please!

We've all got to eat and a branch of living organisms prefers to do it the easy way. Well, it certainly seems easy from our perspective (those of us living organisms that get munched on by parasites). Before we label parasites as simply YUCKY, let's take a closer look at them.

Maybe you'll realize they can actually be rather nifty instead.

No way, you say. I don't think that could possibly ever be the case!

Well, sit down and read on, ladies and gents. Maybe you'll be pleasantly (or grossly) surprised.

Firstly, let me say that there are myriads and myriads of parasites out there in our awesome world, but I'm going to focus on a few of the ones that particularly enjoy a little side dish of Homo sapiens.

Trichinella spiralis will be the first parasite placed under our investigative lens and this little guy (measuring in at about 200 to 250 um in length) finds a bit of muscle to be mighty attractive!

Hush now, guys! And don't hide your biceps. Sit back down and keep on reading.

T. spiralis is a helminth and that, my friends, is another name for a parasitic worm. When they're in their young larval stage, these helminths infect the muscle tissue. However, once an adult, they migrate to the intestine instead.

Here, gather around and take a gander at this guy!

What a beauty, huh?!

No?!

Oof, what a tough crowd. Alright, alright. Keep on reading and I'll tell you a bit more about Mr. T. spiralis, okay?

Inquiring minds might be wondering (if they're still reading) how a person manages to become the unlucky landlord to rent out space to this worm. And that, my dears, is a very good question.

This particular parasite is acquired by eating poorly prepared and undercooked meat, especially pork. Lesson #1 from our day with parasites is to cook your food until it reaches the proper temperature, right?

Want to know how the parasite gets from the ingested meat then to your muscles and THEN to your intestines? No? Well, hmph, I'm going to tell you anyway!

When ingested, the food progresses to the stomach and then the intestines in the process of digestion. Once within the intestines, the parasite leaves a capsule, penetrates the intestinal wall and then migrates via the blood stream to various sites in the body. It'll set up camp in the muscles for a month (leaving the infected person a bit achy) before curling up and encapsulating. Some die in the muscles and others will eventually make it back to the intestines.

Oh, lordy, you say. What symptoms does this person have?!

Well, I'll humor you and answer that. They might have a bit of diarrhea or abdominal pain, but the severity truly depends on the number of worms with which they're infested. Pleasant, eh? Sometimes there might be headache, tender muscles (of course!), weakness, or even fever as well.

Want to know how the doctor determines if you have this particular parasite?

No? You look a bit hesitant there.

In addition to basic tests to detect specific elevated white blood cells (eosinophils) that tend to rise in response to allergies or parasites, a muscle biopsy may have to be performed as well.

What did you say? "Yikes?! Why did you tell me that?"

Oh, sorry. I thought it was an interesting tidbit.

Perhaps we've had enough of T. spiralis, hm? Let's share the limelight with another parasite.

Enterobius vermicularis is our next guest and one I'm betting a lot of you out there have heard of or even had!

Are you shaking your head no? Well, the statistics don't lie, buckos. I'm sure some of you have run across these worms.

Here, I'll give you a hint...it's also known as the pinworm.

Picture time! Wait...are you squeezing your eyes shut?! Oh, geez.

Tada! I decided to be nice and show you a picture of the egg as opposed to the worm. See? I'm being considerate.

I WILL, however, tell you what the worms look like - white and 8 to 13 mm for females (millimeters, not micrometers like the  T. spiralis. So these guys are a quite a bit bigger) in length with a pointy tail. The males are considerably smaller at 2 to 5 mm in length and their tail, unlike their female counterparts, is curved at the end.

Listen up, especially for those of you that may have children or happen to be around children. Our lovely pinworm is particularly prevalent in young children (as we all know, young children are not particularly hygienic of their own accord). Therefore, Lesson #2 in our day with parasites is as follows - wash your hands regularly and teach your children to do the same.

Studies show that nearly 30 million individuals or more in the United States are infected with pinworms - they're hardy little buggers and spread quickly in a family unit or those living in close quarters.

They reside in the intestines and the female exits the body at night to lay eggs. Do I really need to tell you which door she uses to leave?

Because the mama lays her eggs at night, that means careful washing of linens and clothing are a must when dealing with an infected individual in addition to medical treatment.

Lovely, you're saying. Just...lovely. So, what are the symptoms this time, you ask?

There are many and range from urinary tract infections, itching, salpingitis (pelvic inflammation) and even endometritis (uterine inflammation). Once again, the symptoms are going to vary in severity depending upon the number of worms.

Hmm, I was going to continue on with another intriguing guy by the name of Taenia saginata (found in beef) and his fellow Taenia solium (another pork tapeworm), but you're all looking a bit green around the gills. So, I think I'll leave it up to you to continue the research if you so choose to accept that mission.

Next time, we'll discuss something a little less invasive, yes? And perhaps something a bit more cute and cuddly.

Worms in My Closet

Yes, I know. The title makes you say, "What now? Gross!" But hold off for a moment on your exclamations and let me have a chance to explain.

First off, I do not refer to parasitic worms - my socks aren't infested with pinworms. That would certainly be cause for a "Gross!" shout (although pinworms are fascinating. Perhaps they'll be the subject of a future post, yes?)

So, what kind of worms do I have in my closet?

Fabulous worms, dah-ling, fabulous worms! They're called Eisenia fetida (genus and species) or, more commonly, they're known as the "red wiggler" or "red worm".

Alright, you say. So, you have a red worm in your closet, eh? What in the heck is it DOING in there?

Composting! That's right guys and gals, I'm the new owner of a vermicomposter - that's a composting bin that uses red wigglers to decompose vegetable, fruit, bread and paper waste into nutrient rich soil and leachate. Leachate, by the by, is a liquid that is packed with nutrients and is a byproduct of the breakdown of your food and paper wastes.

But, why should you even care about this? I can hear you asking already and I just know some of you are rolling your eyes at this point.

Fine, let me show you why you should care...

Here's some food for thought (no pun intended, but punny nonetheless!): How much of your trash consists of food waste? Potato skins, the ends of carrots or peppers or green beans, corn cobs, egg shells, coffee grounds and tea bags, to name a few?

A good bit, I dare say.

This bin allows for those food wastes to be naturally and odorlessly broken down into incredibly rich and healthy fertilizer for your plants and garden (indoor or out).

Well, they can break down in the trash heap instead of my yard or closet! Right?

Wrong.

If you had thrown those scraps into the landfill, I would suspect you would have your plastic trash bag tied tightly. You wouldn't want your trash leaking into your garbage bin, would you? However, here's the problem with that...A tightly tied bag makes those scraps hard to reach by the organisms that are responsible for decomposition. The food turns to a sloggy, soppy mush and instead of going into the ground and replenishing it with vital nutrients, it lounges in a bag for untold years.

Also, just as an aside, how much benefit is the ground underneath that nasty landfill going to reap from the few scraps that manage to get broken down? This is earth that's been horribly contaminated by countless chemicals and waste products. Why not use those scraps to benefit your own garden, houseplants, or local community? All the while, you're keeping more trash out of the landfill!

Now, let's dive back into your garbage barrel, shall we? How much of it consists also of junk mail, newspapers, and magazines?

Aha! I've got you there! I recycle, you say.

Sure, recycling is fantastic! Keep at it! But what's even better than recycling? Reusing. Less energy is expended by taking those paper scraps and composting them then would be spent transforming it into new paper for stamping, writing, and inking upon.

Okay, okay. I get it! So, how does it all work, you ask.

Simply.

Order a vermicomposter from online or at your local gardening store. I purchased the Worm Factory Composting Worm Bin System from Amazon (in case anyone is curious). Of course, the type of bin you want depends entirely upon your situation - where you live, the space you have, and even the color that you fancy.

Let's pretend you've placed an order, okay?

Congratulations! You've received your vermicomposter! Now what?

Upon arrival, follow the instructions that come with your composter to set up your bin and create a bedding for the worms. Here's a healthy tip: Make sure that you have purchased your composting bin before your worms. They'll need a good home to venture into immediately upon reaching your doors. Because you'll need a good number to get started - anywhere from 500 to 1000 worms (that's half a pound to one full pound of these little buddies) - it's easiest to simply order them from a dealer. Oh, and it's imperative that you order the red wigglers.

Why? I can just go outside and collect some after a good rain! What a ripoff, you mutter.

Now, now. Don't be rude. There are thousands of worm species and not all worms are created equally for this job.

Those red wigglers are perfect for a composting bin. They're capable of consuming their body weight in a single day, for instance! Also, they're able to operate within a contained environment more efficiently and capably than other species of worms. Red worms, you see, prefer living in the top few inches of soil as opposed to digging deep like night crawlers.

Nifty, huh? If you want to learn even more about these awesome guys, then I recommend the website Happy D Ranch (they'll even tell you about their mating methods - how cool is that?!)

Have I sold you on the idea of getting into composting with worms yet? They're compact, expedient, environmentally friendly, and simple to maintain! How about another lure - this method allows those of us without yards (apartment, condo, or townhouse dwellers) to reap the benefits of composting which ultimately results in excellent fertilizer and less waste going into the landfills! How fantastic is that? Very fantastic, boys and girls. Very!

So, get out there...dig a little deeper and research which composter is right for you. The more of us that are motivated to act consciously regarding our environmental impact, the better the world will be that we all share!

Bruised and Blue (Red, Green, Yellow?)

Ever wonder why your bruises change colors? No? Then why are you reading this? Go on...get out of here. Scat!

Okay, for those that are left, let me ask that again. Ever wonder why your bruises change colors? Of COURSE you have! I'll let you in on a little secret...It's ultimately the process of red blood cell breakdown.

Wuh? Okay, let me start from the beginning.

You're taking a nice walk and (if you're anything like me) you bump into something. Lo and behold, a bruise appears within the hour. Of course it will, you have a date that night and were planning on wearing something that revealed your calves...well, not anymore, missy! But, let's hop back onto track, shall we?

The Bruise: he's big, he's nasty and he's the result of what felt like just a simple little bump. What happened?!

When you get a bruise it's because of trauma to the tissue, capillaries and even occasionally to the veins of that particular area. The blood vessels are injured and allow blood to leak out and into the tissues. The swelling of blood interstitially leads to the tenderness of and appearance of a bruise.

So, now we know WHERE it comes from, but WHY does it change colors over the course of days?

When that bruise crops up into being, our hemostasis is out of balance and kicks in. Hemo-what, you say? That's the process that retains our blood within it's proper vascular home (NOT our tissues leading to a bruise and a complete change in wardrobe plans).

How does it do it? In stages, my inquisitive dears.

This is an important part of your body and involves your platelets and many, various Factors (yes, with a capital "F" because these are actual entities. Example? If you're missing Factor VIII:c then you would have Hemophilia A or Factor VIII:vw then you would you have Von Willebrand's Disease - not as serious as Hemophilia A, but it can be a problem nonetheless). When these Factors come into play, they're part of what's called your Coagulation Cascade.

Wait, wait, wait...what's a platelet, you ask? Alright, I'll tell you.

Within the bone marrow are these giant cells (rawr!) called Megakaryocytes. These guys are your precursors to your platelets. Platelets are, essentially, pieces of a Megakaryoctye and they migrate out into your peripheral blood (that's the blood that's flowing through your veins and arteries). Platelets are incredibly important. Those initial surface cuts and bruises are sealed up lickety split by our platelets (and also our handy dandy Factors).

Okay, you say. I've got the platelets down, but what in the world do these Factors you keep mentioning actually DO? Well, you asked for it! Hold on to your seats, girls and boys, mkay? I'll just give you a quick overview because Factors are incredibly exciting, but they can get a bit hairy. I don't want to bog you down in the details. I'll save the exciting world of Factors in all their glory for another post!

Remember that Coagulation Cascade I mentioned earlier? That's only a part of the response that you'll have to an injury resulting in a cut or bruise. Actually, it's step number 3. Here's a quick overview:

Injury! Onoes! What does the body do?

Step 1.) Vascular Restriction or Constriction --> the blood vessel in that particular area constricts to restrict blood flow and, therefore, blood loss from the injury.

Step 2.) Platelet Adhesion & Aggregation --> the platelets (woo! Go little guys!) adhere to non-platelet surfaces and aggregate to one another thereby clogging up the injured site and really helping to prevent the blood from escaping via the injury. This is called a "platelet plug".

Step 3.) Coagulation (here it is!) --> this stage involves multiple proteins and chemicals (these are our factors) in our plasma to cause the cascade that leads ultimately to a fibrin clot. This clot will stay in place until the healing process is well under way and it isn't needed anymore.

Step 4.) Fibrinolysis --> Well, you certainly don't want a clot just sitting around for all of eternity now, do you? This is the process and step that takes the clot from Step 3 and breaks it down.

Okay, now that we have that background information out of the way...let's venture back to explaining why in the world our bruise is turning so many funky colors!

So, we know now that our bruise was from escaped blood into the tissues. As the healing process goes underway, the red blood cells become our focus for these color changes.

Wait! What do your red cells do? Goodness, you guys are full of questions. Alright, the quick and dirty: these guys are responsible for carting oxygen throughout our body to all of our tissues and then picking up the carbon dioxide waste to be exhaled from the lungs.

Now, can I get back to this? Good, thanks.

As our red blood cells break down they release hemoglobin (that's the protein that's inside our RBCs and is responsible for binding with and carrying the oxygen for us). This hemoglobin will break down in stages into various other components so that the body can remove it efficiently.

So, here are the steps and the colors (hurrah!) associated with each.

1.) Hemoglobin - red

2.) Biliverdin - green

3.) Bilirubin - yellow

4.) Hemosiderin - brown

And there we have it! What starts out as a big, ol' bruise turns into an exciting cascade of colors and processes that make us realize how intrinsic and complicated our bodies truly are!