How To Get Rid Of Worms In Humans
Jenny Hills, Nutritionist and Medical Writer Health
The thought of having worms or parasites in your body is enough to make your skin crawl. However, tapeworms, roundworms, and other types of worms and parasites in humans is a more common problem than you probably realize. Worms can infect your intestinal tract if you drink contaminated water, have poor hygiene habits, eat undercooked food, or handle pets that are infected.
Parasitic worms come in all shapes and sizes and they are tiny microscopic creatures. Parasitic infections can cause diarrhea, unexplained weight loss, abdominal cramping, itching around the anus, and nutrient deficiencies. Because these symptoms can indicate other types of infections, diagnosing parasites and worms in humans can be a challenge.
There are many home remedies for worms in humans that rid your body of parasitic organisms. For example, many parasite cleanse diets include foods that kill worms with ingredients like garlic, onions, and papaya seeds. Also, parasite cleanse supplements containing clove oil, oregano oil, or wormwood can help to kill off worms and parasites from the gut.
In this article, you will find out the best home remedies to get rid of tapeworms and other parasitic worms in humans. First of all, its important to learn a little more about these tiny worms and the harm that these parasites can inflict on your health.
How To Treat Intestinal Parasites
The treatment for getting rid of intestinal parasitic infections can be done through conventional medication or through the use of alternative medical treatments.
Conventional medicine
If you suspect you have intestinal parasites, your doctor will be able to do a stool test to confirm it and use prescription medication that is most effective against your intestinal parasite.
Alternative Medicine
1. Herbs some of the more commonly prescribed herbal treatments include: garlic, goldenseal, barbery, anise, Oregon grape, wormwood, wormseed, black walnuts, curled mint, cloves, oregano, thyme and olive leaf. Consult a physician before taking any anti-parasite herbal supplement. You can learn how to use Herbal Medicine effectively to heal away disease & illnesses in my e-book The Herbal Remedies Guide.
2. Supplements consult a physician before taking any supplements to make sure they dont interfere with current medication you take.
Probiotics (Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacilus plantarum, Saccharomyces boulardii, and bifidobacteria help keep your digestive tract healthy and this discourages parasites. I have already written in the past about the 9 reasons to take probiotics and why they are so good for your health.
3. Homeopathic treatments homeopathic remedies for parasite infections may include: Cina Indigo Spigelia Podophyllum Cuprum oxidatum nigrum Teucrium Sabadilla Stanum.
How To Tell If You Have Intestinal Parasites And What To Do About That
Jenny Hills, Nutritionist and Medical Writer Health
There is a misconception that intestinal parasites only exist in underdeveloped countries. Indeed they are more common there, but they are much more common than you think in developed countries as well. Its not a very nice thought to know that you are a host to a colony of intestinal parasites, but you are not alone. According to the World Health Organization you are one of more that 3 billion people who suffer from some type of intestinal parasites, and not all these people live in undeveloped and poor countries.
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Types Of Intestinal Worms
Common types of intestinal worms that cause worm infestation in humans include:
Pinworm:
Pinworm infestation is the most common roundworm infection. Pinworms are white, tiny, thread-like worms that live in the rectum . The female worm crawls out of the anus at night and lays eggs in nearby skin causing a terrible itch. Pinworm eggs live up to 2 weeks outside the body on clothing, bedding, toys, toilet seats, or other objects and spread easily.
Roundworm :
Ascariasis is a roundworm infection of the small intestine caused by Ascaris lumbricoides. The worm is usually found in human feces and is transmitted due to poor hygiene from hand to mouth. Adult worms usually grow up to 41 cm long.
Hookworm:
Hookworm is a type of roundworm that passed through human feces into the ground. It is transmitted into the host body while walking barefoot on soil infested with hookworm larvae, which pierce through the skin. Hookworms attach themselves to the walls of the small intestine with a hook and live there. They are usually less than half an inch long.
Trichinosis worms :
Trichinosis is the third most common roundworm that infects humans. Humans get trichinosis by eating undercooked meat that contains larvae. The larvae mature in the intestines. As they reproduce, the larvae travel outside the intestines into muscle and other tissue.
Tapeworm:
Flukes:
How Do You Even Know If You Have Stomach Worms
In many of the TikTok videos, its unclear why people think they might have stomach worms. While it’s true that some people with stomach worms can be asymptomatic for years, meaning they feel no symptoms and have no reason to suspect something is off, intestinal parasites do cause symptoms similar to other gastrointestinal illnesses. If you have stomach worms, you might experience abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea or vomiting, gas and bloating, bloody diarrhea, rash or itching around the rectum, stomach pain, fatigue, and unexplained weight loss. Seeing a worm in your poop is also a big sign, according to Mount Sinai Health System. So people who have stomach worms really might see worms in the toilet.
If you think you might have stomach worms, Dr. Lee urges you to head to a provider instead of buying papaya seeds or supplements. All a doctor needs is a poop sample to confirm that you do indeed have parasites in your stomach, Dr. Lee says. The worms will show traces in your poop.
Worms might also hang out around your anus, so doctors can do whats called the Scotch tape test, according to Mount Sinai Health System. A doctor will touch tape to your anus several times and then look at the tape under a microscope to see if there are worms. Finally, according to Mount Sinai Health System, a doctor might suggest you do an x-ray to look for worms, though this step is usually not needed.
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What Are The Signs And Symptoms Of Parasitic Infection
Types of Signs
Many people have parasites, particularly intestinal worms and donât know it. The physical signs, the emotional or mental signs of this kind of parasitic infestation can be subtle or quite overt. Your personality could be affected by the presence of parasites in your gut. Normally that is the case if you have had them for most of your life.
You may be the nervous, anxious, or the worrisome type of person, and you think itâs natural, but itâs actually parasites that may be modifying your physiology, your brain chemistry and altering your perceptions of reality and causing your organ energy to decrease, to perhaps feel weak willed.
Physical Signs of Parasitic Infection
The most obvious sign of a parasitic infection is some abdominal pain. Abdominal pain, however is not always present, or you may not be aware of even a low-grade pain. When other causes of abdominal pain or discomfort have been ruled out by a medical doctor you may consider parasites as the cause.
More possible signs:
Parasites Inhabit the Gut
Parasitic worms often inhabit the gut, both the large and small intestine for many years without being known to the host. Sometimes they can pass between the small and large intestine, and cause some pain at the ileocecal valve during this movement.
Parasites in the Cecum
How Do You Get Stomach Wormsand How Do You Avoid Them
Stomach worms are contagious. Those little parasites like living inside humans or animals and theyll take the chance to spread if they can. So, you can get stomach worms if someone else who is infected goes to the bathroom, doesnt wash their hands, and then either touches you or touches a surface that you also touch and then touch your mouth without washing your hands. Gastroenterologists call this fecal-oral transmission, says Carolyn Newberry, MD, a gastroenterologist at Weill Cornell Medicine.
Fecal-oral transmission can also happen when you’re in places that dont have adequate sanitation systems, she says. If you go swimming in a lake where animals poop or where a sewer system has overflown and washed human poop into the water, you might end up with stomach worms if you accidentally swallow some water. In developing countries with rudimentary sanitation systems, you can also get parasites from water used to cook food or to wash fruits and vegetables, even if you avoid drinking tap water while there.
Even in the U.S., you should be careful about washing produce, Dr. Lee says. People think if their fruits and vegetables are labeled organic, it’s just good to eat, she says. Organic just means there are no pesticides. It doesn’t mean natural fertilizer wasn’t usednatural fertilizer being manure.
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Recognizing Signs Of Roundworm
Symptoms Of Infestation With Intestinal Worms
Intestinal worms may live in someones intestine for years without causing any symptoms. General symptoms may appear few weeks or several months after infestation and include paleness, weakness, tiredness , restlessness, disturbed sleep and weight loss . Abdominal symptoms can last from weeks to months and include:
- Distended belly
- Swollen itchy bump on the site of the parasite entry .
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Recognizing Signs Of Pinworms
Deworming: The Type Of Worm That Has Infested The Intestines The Infections Caused By The Worm And The Age Of The Child Determine The Treatment
Parents need to pay more attention to a childs health in their growing years. Among health issues that affect kids, one of the problems is the presence of worms in the childs stomach or intestine mostly due to an unclean environment, which takes a serious toll on health and growth. The child then needs to undergo deworming.
Deworming is the process involving the use of medication to remove an infestation of worms in the intestine.
As the World Health Organisation states, soil-transmitted helminth infections are among the most common infections in humans, caused by a group of parasites commonly referred to as worms, including roundworms, whipworms and hookworms. These intestinal worms can severely affect the childs nutrition and growth. A child can go through deworming on a regular basis to get the intestinal worms removed. If the worms are not removed, they can multiply and lay eggs in the intestine, leading to major damage to the body. Some of these intestinal parasites can even be fatal and hence should not be ignored. Parasitic worms can also lead to malnourishment.
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What Are The Causes And Symptoms Of Strongyloidiasis
This type of roundworm mainly lives in tropical and subtropical areas, where its warm year-round. But it can also live in other regions during warmer seasons. People get infected by touching contaminated soil. Strongyloidiasis enters through the skin and travels to the intestines.
Some people may experience mild symptoms or none at all. If you have a moderate infection, you may feel:
- Burning in the abdomen.
- Rounds of diarrhea and constipation.
Severe strongyloidiasis infections may cause:
- Anemia.
- Weight loss.
Are Stomach Parasites Causing Your Fatigue
Page Contents
You might wonder why Im including an article on stomach parasites symptoms in a website about chronic fatigue syndrome.
The reason is that after carrying out a lot of testing, including comprehensive stool testing, it was discovered that I had a stomach parasite. This parasite contributed greatly to my particular version of chronic fatigue syndrome.
I think it is very important that you carry out testing to discover if stomach parasites could be contributing to your chronic fatigue.
There are some stomach parasite symptoms to watch out for and Ill go into this further in the following information.
Normally, there are thousands of tiny organisms and bacteria living in your gut. Most of them are harmless and are responsible for contributing to the balance and general health of your digestive system.
Sometimes, however, you may experience a range of gut-specific symptoms such as:
- Unexplained constipation
All of these symptoms can be traced to a parasitic infection.
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How Do I Get Rid Of Them
For dogs, a stomach worm infestation is treated through a combination of three anti-worm medications: fenbendazole , pyrantel pamoate , and ivermectin . For cats, only two anti-worm medications are used: pyrantel pamoate , and ivermectin . Even after completing the treatment, your veterinarian may ask you to bring your pet in for a checkup to make sure all the worms are gone.
The Biggest Reason You Shouldn’t Diagnose Yourself
So its unlikely that all the TikTokers posting about stomach worms actually have them. But if youre concerned about stomach worms because you have frequent diarrhea or an upset stomach, there are many other GI illnesses that could explain your symptoms, Dr. Lee says.
You could have celiac disease an autoimmune disorder that makes your body attack itself when you eat gluten or irritable bowel syndrome a GI disorder that responds to triggers with diarrhea, stomach pain, or constipation. You could also have inflammatory bowel disease, which is characterized by inflammation in your gut. It could also be viral gastroenteritis, Dr. Lee says, which is inflammation, swelling, and irritation inside the lining of your GI tract.
So the biggest risk in diagnosing and treating yourself for stomach worms is opening yourself to side effects of concentrated papaya seeds or the herbs in unregulated supplements, Dr. Lee says. But a close second is thinking youve cured yourself when you may actually have another illness that needs treatment. The same symptoms can point to many different disorders, which is why its so important to check in with your doctor.
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Special Cases: When Intestinal Parasites Are Helpful In Autoimmunity
While intestinal parasites are often a root cause of autoimmune disease, there are certain instances in which parasites are actually helpful.
Crohns treatment may involve the introduction of parasitic worms called helminths into the gastrointestinal tract to reduce symptoms. Helminths, such as hookworms and whipworms, have anti-inflammatory and immune-modulating effects. This treatment must be done under the close supervision of your healthcare provider.
Recognizing Signs Of Tapeworms
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