Some tapeworms can live up to 30 years and grow up to 30 feet long. You might hear your healthcare provider refer to your tapeworm infection as “taeniasis.” This term refers to an infection by tapeworms from the genus Taenia.
Long Body, Long Lifespan
Left untreated, adult tapeworms can live in a host body for up to 30 years. Their length varies, but they can grow to be anywhere from 6 to 22 feet.
Tapeworms can live outside for months, waiting for a host to come along. You're most at risk if you work around livestock or travel to a country where hygiene is poor. You can also be infected if you eat or drink something that contains tapeworm eggs or larvae, like raw or undercooked beef or pork.
“Sometimes the tapeworm will exit your body on its own, but if a doctor determines you are infected, they will prescribe anti-parasitic oral medications,” Dr. Stork explains. “Once killed, the dead tapeworm will usually come out in your stool.
After sedating the man, a team of physicians at the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences Hospital in New Delhi was able to extract the worm by pulling it through his mouth with a pair of forceps. When removed, the tapeworm measured 6.1 feet and was classified as a Taenia solium, otherwise known as a pork tapeworm.
You can easily kill tapeworms with anthelmintic drugs, including praziquantel (Biltricide®), albendazole (Albenza®) and nitazoxanide (Alinia®). Healthcare providers usually recommend praziquantel because it also paralyzes the worm, forcing it to dislodge from your intestinal wall.
Although adult tapeworms in the intestine usually cause no symptoms, some people experience upper abdominal discomfort, diarrhea, and other symptoms. Occasionally, people with a tapeworm can feel a piece of the worm move out through the anus or see part of the ribbon-like tapeworm in stool.
How Long Till Tapeworms Are Gone After Deworming? Tapeworms will be gone within 24 hours after deworming. You may choose a tablet or injectable dewormer. After the process is complete, tapeworms are typically dissolved in the intestines so you will not see any in your puppy's poop.
Tapeworms or tapeworm segments may be visible in the stool when they are passed along with a bowel movement. 2 In particular, a head-like part of the tapeworm that has suckers and hook-like structures that attach to the intestine, called a scolex, may be seen.
Tapeworms are common parasitic afflictions that cats and dogs alike can come down with. These white parasites can be found around dog feces, in a cat's litter box or even on sofas and pet bedding. Tapeworms can look similar to little grains of rice or longer spaghetti-like segments.
Tapeworms can be contagious for humans and other pets. Humans rarely contract dipylidium caninum, as it requires ingesting fleas, but this parasite can spread to other household dogs through the intermediate flea host. Cats can contract some species of tapeworms, like taenia species.
Sometimes the tapeworms shed pieces of themselves which then come out in poop, and this poop may also contain some tapeworm eggs. If the poop is disposed of in soil or drinking water, it can infect other people and animals.
But could a tapeworm really be lured out of a person with a lump of meat? Not really, according to Brian Louden, from Science Channel's MythBusters. “Luckily, this entire idea is from the imagination of a creative individual who took already scream-inducing diseases and created a terrifying chimera,” he told TheWrap.
Eat more raw garlic, pumpkin seeds, pomegranates, beets, and carrots, all of which have been used traditionally to kill parasites. In one study, researchers found that a mixture of honey and papaya seeds cleared stools of parasites in 23 out of 30 subjects. Drink a lot of water to help flush out your system.
Tapeworms are uncommon in the U.S. today because of laws on feeding practices and inspection of the animals we use for food. You can further reduce your risk of tapeworms by washing your hands before and after using the toilet and by following these food safety tips. Avoid raw fish and meat.
Treat for tapeworms once a year with use of a dewormer containing praziquantel (Zimectrin Gold® or Quest Plus®). In their encysted larval stage, small strongyles (cyathostomes) are only susceptible to a couple dewormer categories.
After treatment, the tapeworm dies and is usually digested within the intestine, so worm segments do not usually pass into the stool.
The Deworming Process after a Few Days
You may be surprised to still see live worms in your dog's feces after deworming them, but this is normal. While this can be an unpleasant image, it's actually a good thing — it means the worms are no longer living inside your dog!
Touching, petting, or handling a household pet infected with the tapeworm, then accidentally swallowing the tapeworm eggs by touching your mouth. Infected pets can have tapeworm eggs in their stool and their fur may be contaminated.
If you have tapeworms, you may not have any symptoms. You may also notice symptoms such as: nausea or diarrhea, abdominal pain, hunger or loss of appetite, fatigue and weakness, weight loss, vitamin and mineral deficiencies, and tapeworm segments visible in your bowel movements.
People get tapeworms by consuming contaminated food and water or through contact with infected stool (the fecal-oral route). How long does it take for tapeworm symptoms to develop? Sometimes, tapeworm symptoms develop within a few months of the parasite taking up residence in your intestine.
Eat more raw garlic, pumpkin seeds, pomegranates, beets, and carrots, all of which have been used traditionally to kill parasites. In one study, researchers found that a mixture of honey and papaya seeds cleared stools of parasites in 23 out of 30 subjects. Drink a lot of water to help flush out your system.
According to a study, papaya seeds are highly effective against parasitic worms, including tapeworm. The best way to have seeds is to mix them with honey. And if you are willing to have the fruit, then for best results ferment the cubes in apple cider vinegar for a day and then consume.
To diagnose a tapeworm infection, doctors will collect and examine a stool sample on 3 different days to check for tapeworm eggs or pieces of worm. They may also do a blood test. If a child could have cysticercosis, the doctor might recommend a CT (CAT) scan or MRI of the brain or other organs to look for cysts.