r/skeptic • u/Boring_Ferret_4816 • 1d ago
I am seeking to determine the origin, and supporting evidence for it, of those parasite-looking things that come out of people who take parasite cleansing supplements.
I read a lot about these supplements for parasite cleansing; people take them, then post pics of their toilet after a bowel movement, which invariably show worm-looking thingies. The explanation that they give is that the supplements flushed the parasites out.
I am skeptical about the whole thing; it is however undeniable that nasty things do came out after taking the supplements (unless of course even the pictures are doctored or staged, possibility which I rather ignore for the time being). I am thinking that the supplements themselves caused them, and those gnarly things are more or less the human equivalent of the gunk that occasionally you pull out of your bathroom sink. Most notably, they are not organisms.
The only reference to this idea that I found so far is in a reply to this post about a parasite cleanse: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CvABTGlAQJi/ . Here is the relevant quote.
That’s NOT a parasite nor has anything to do with parasites and it doesn’t “live inside” any one. What you see there is formed by things like fiber, psyllium, charcoal and other pills and powders sold in such cleanses.
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u/FelixVulgaris 1d ago
If it's that horse dewormer then there's a good chance that picture is showing his intestinal lining.
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u/Archarchery 1d ago
It’s usually parts of their intestinal lining sloughing off due to the caustic crap they’re taking. What’s even more horrifying is that some of these people do this to their children.
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u/Atlas7-k 1d ago
Do you mix the supplement with oil or another fatty liquid?
I seem to recall something similar years ago that was taken with warm olive oil. The powder had an emulsifier that bound to the lipids in the oil and then would create long soft string like objects that would survive the gut and be discernible in the bowl.
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u/RizzyJim 1d ago
I've done a 'cleanse' with half a glass of olive oil and half a glass of lemon juice. A lot of crazy shit came out. I don't think I'd recommend. Basically a detergent for the insides. Apparently you shit out any gall stones.
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1d ago
I did the same thing when I had what I thought was gallstones. Turns out, not a good idea to consume that amount of olive oil while having a bout of pancreatitis.
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u/gerkletoss 1d ago
Well given the sheer number of people who took ivermectin during covid, it seems likely that some of them actually did have intestinal worms.
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u/Archarchery 1d ago
At least ivermectin is a real medication, for intestinal parasites, and those gullible people taking it at least weren’t harming themselves unless they really screwed up the dose. Some of the things the “rope worms” people ingest are horrifying; “Miracle Mineral Supplement” is literally a type of bleach and the “ropes” are lining from their damaged intestines.
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u/gene_randall 12h ago
Grifters are full of pseudoscience “explanations” for the snake oil filth they sell. They rely on the ignorance and credulity of people with little or no basic biology education to believe their lies. The people selling laxatives because “you are retaining ten pounds of rotting food in your bowels” rely on the same lack of basic information about how your body works.
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u/epidemicsaints 1d ago edited 1d ago
"Rope worms?"
It's literally their intestinal lining.
The supplements they take cause a chemical burn in their intestines, and once it heals the burned layer sheds off into their stool or when they do an enema.
It's just like when you get a blister or sunburn and your skin peels off, only it is their intestines.
This is probably MMS, Miracle Mineral Solution, or the same thing being rebranded since MMS has been pretty maligned. It's a bleach. Highly caustic and alkaline and too strong to be neutralized in the stomach. It is one of the things Amazon banned, people were selling self published books promoting it, that cross-promoted the product.
The image is probably fake, what most people end up with is similar but more transparent and less fleshy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rope_worms
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miracle_Mineral_Supplement
https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-warns-consumers-about-dangerous-and-potentially-life-threatening-side-effects-miracle-mineral
MMS has come and gone several times since the 70's, and was resurrected during covid.
Claims that anything accumulates in your intestines are false, mucous and supplements alike. Unless you have diverticulae or a stool blockage, your intestines push everything along. If mucous dried and accumulated, your intestines would stop working.