WNYC's Radiolab did a great segment on one of their recent shows.<p><a href="http://blogs.wnyc.org/radiolab/2009/09/07/parasites/" rel="nofollow">http://blogs.wnyc.org/radiolab/2009/09/07/parasites/</a><p>People take dangerous steroids and/or extremely expensive biological treatments to knock down active immune systems. Worms seem like they have potential.
This guy writes up his adventures infecting himself with hookworms over at k5: <a href="http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2009/3/16/3408/66053" rel="nofollow">http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2009/3/16/3408/66053</a>
I believe that the reason why this works is because the bodies immune system fights the hookworms rather than wasting energy fighting allergens.<p>The basic reason why allergy suffers like me have such adverse reactions to common things such as pollen and cat dander is because the immune system over reacts.<p>From How Things Work:<p><i>As amazing as the immune system is, it sometimes makes mistakes. Allergies are the result of a hypersensitive immune system. The allergic immune system misidentifies an otherwise innocuous substance as harmful, and then attacks the substance with a ferocity far greater than required. The problems this attack can cause range from mildly inconvenient and uncomfortable to the total failure of the organism the immune system is supposed to be protecting.</i><p>So hookworms give the immune system something else to fight rather than allergens.<p>For that matter contracting AIDS would probably also limit or stop your allergies. (I'm not completely positive on that, just a theory.)
I'm married to a Crohn's Disease sufferer, one of the conditions people talk about hookworms as a treatment for. It's one of those squidgy conditions that doctors don't understand that well and can have a hard time treating. The remedies might have unpleasant side effects (steroids - weight gain, methotrexate - cancer).<p>The Discover article is typical crap science writing, but if you've got a condition that puts you on the toilet with diarrhea four times a day, getting infected with some little worms can start to sound like an appealing alternative. To stop a little bout of hay fever? Not so much.
WNYC's Radiolab just aired a show on parasites, which included an impressive story on the ability of hookworms to heal.<p>Check it out: <a href="http://www.wnyc.org/shows/radiolab/" rel="nofollow">http://www.wnyc.org/shows/radiolab/</a>
Is this supposed to work with any parasites? 'cause my doctor said I have scabies, and I still have allergies. But then again, my doctor was probably wrong... scabies??
The article mentions something about immune systems not developing properly but I'm sure there are better ways of exercising your immune system other than infecting yourself with parasites.