The symptoms may be mild and non-specific, including nausea, diarrhea, constipation, and abdominal pain. Untreated tapeworms can live for years, and can lead to malnutrition.
Possible complications. Intestinal worms increase your risk for anemia and intestinal blockages, as well as malnutrition. Complications occur more frequently in older adults and in people who have suppressed immune systems, such as people with HIV/AIDS infection.
Threadworms live about 5-6 weeks in the gut, and then die. However, before they die the female worms lay tiny eggs around the anus. This tends to be at night when you are warm and still in bed.
Without treatment, infection can last for up to 25–30 years , which is the life span of these parasites. If a person with Opisthorchis has symptoms, they may experience: indigestion. abdominal pain.
Any worms in your gut will eventually pass out in your poo. You may not notice this. To avoid becoming infected again or infecting others, it's very important during the weeks after starting treatment to wash your hands: after going to the toilet.
Diarrhea. Nausea or vomiting. Gas or bloating. Dysentery (loose stools containing blood and mucus)
At first, symptoms of intestinal worms may be mild or non-existent, but infections can lead to diarrhoea, abdominal pain, weakness, anaemia and nutritional problems. The disease can affect cognitive and physical development, and in severe cases can be fatal.
About 80 percent to 90 percent of people die if they are infected by the worm species and then suffer from so-called "hyperinfection" as the worms travel through their bodies, said report co-author Dr. Niaz Banaei, an assistant professor of infectious diseases at Stanford University School of Medicine.
Sometimes worms are visible in the anal area, on underwear, or in the toilet. In stool, they look like small pieces of white cotton thread.
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.
You can buy medicine (mebendazole) for threadworms from pharmacies. This is usually a chewable tablet or liquid you swallow. Treat everyone in your household, even if they do not have symptoms.
Parasites can live in the intestines for years without causing symptoms. When they do, symptoms include the following: Digestive issues such as diarrhea, constipation, or gas. Skin disorders like eczema, hives, or unexplained chronic itching.
Symptoms may include diarrhoea, tiredness and weakness, abdominal pain and weight loss. Some worms cause anaemia.
If you have a large number of worms in the intestine, you might have: Severe abdominal pain. Fatigue. Vomiting.
Cysticercosis is an infection caused by the larvae of the parasite Taenia solium. This infection occurs after a person swallows tapeworm eggs. The larvae get into tissues such as muscle and brain, and form cysts there (these are called cysticerci).
Adult worms may live up to 17 years in the human body and can continue to make new microfilariae for much of this time. Most people with loiasis do not have any symptoms.
If the larval worm enters the nervous system, including the brain, it can result in a condition known as neurocysticercosis. Infection of this kind can often cause epilepsy once inside the brain.
unpleasant side effects of a tapeworm infection. weight gain while infected as a tapeworm can increase appetite. an increased craving for carbohydrates.
The spread of worm infections
Threadworms are easily spread so the slightest contact can pass on the infection, which is why many adults end up with the same infection as their children. To halt the spread of worms, it's crucial to treat all members of the family – not just the youngsters!
Worms are mainly spread in small bits of poo from people with a worm infection. Some are caught from food. You can get infected by: touching objects or surfaces with worm eggs on them – if someone with worms doesn't wash their hands.
It moves. If it doesn't wiggle, it's probably lint or a thread. The worm may be seen around the anus or on the child's bottom. It is especially active at night or early morning.
"Changing and washing bedding can help to remove threadworm eggs within the linen," agrees Dr Luke Powles, clinical director at Bupa UK. "However, be careful when removing the sheets as shaking bedding around may cause the eggs to land on other surfaces and spread infection."