Wow - what a glass half-full outlook :-)
It's all about one's perception of how bad it is. Think of fashion models that ingest similar parasites so they can lose weight. Having a parasite is bad? It's even worse to not have a job.
What about people that smoke in order to eat less? Can you think of a better example of choosing the lesser of two (perceived) evils?
It can become bad enough.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helminthic_therapy
I don't have any of those diseases, so I've had no occasion to try it.
Hookworm infestation causes anemia, lethargy, and malabsorption, so definitely use with caution. It is probably best to use some sort of defined protocol so that you have a small number of worms without the risk of massive infestation.
I just want the cheap, infect-yourself-with-worms,see-what-happens,-no-drs-required method.
(Haven't found previous visits to allergy doctors to be helpful. I'm sure there are helpful doctors out there, but how do you find them?)
Of course, that's probably not enough for all sufferers.
(No, I don't have asthma, though I was misdiagnosed with it at one point. I do have "atypical cystic fibrosis" and there is a lot of overlap in treatments between the two things.)
EDIT: Since I have been downvoted, let me clarify: I frequently get strong negative reactions on health discussion lists for the "extremes" to which I have gone to get well, extremes which freak out a lot of other people. To my mind, my choices have been pretty conservative compared to this. I don't keep my health situation a secret here but there is no real reason most folks here would have much context. <shrug>
Carry on.
Peace.