Nobody likes to talk about a possibility of having parasites. Many people have parasites. Even with the higher standards of food safety in the U.S. compared to undeveloped countries, parasites are far more common than we think.

Parasitic infections begin when a person comes into contact with a disease-causing parasite like tapeworms, roundworms. You can contract these types of infections through contact with contaminated food, soil or water, often in tropical regions.

Symptoms of parasitic infections can include

• digestive problems
• irritability
• chronic fatigue
• acne
• rashes

• sleep problems
• anemia
• muscle cramps
• allergies and headaches
• hair loss

For those of you who have dogs and cats, we understand that they are very important parts of your families, which means you have close contact with them.

They often play with us, exercise with us and even sleep with us. Therefore, it is very important we keep them healthy and free of parasites, not only for their benefit, but to also to protect ourselves from infectious diseases that can be transmitted directly and indirectly to people from animals.