Tapeworms in Humans - Treatment

Tapeworms are human intestinal parasites, which belong to the worm group, cestodes. Not only in humans, this parasite infects the digestive tract of other vertebrates like cats, dogs, cows and pigs too, thus giving rise to contaminated food products. The characteristic feature of this worm is that it requires two hosts for completion of its life cycle. The juvenile phase resides in the body of other animals, while the adult tapeworm infects human and other vertebrates.

According to the host organism, there are various types of tapeworms. Some common tapeworms that are pathogenic to human beings include fish tapeworm, pork tapeworm and beef tapeworm. Also, depending upon the species, the length of tapeworms can be several feet long. For example, the adult beef tapeworm is about 30-40 feet in length. Tapeworm infection in humans occurs due to drinking of contaminated water and ingesting uncooked fish and meat that are infected with tapeworms.

Symptoms

The symptoms of this condition are not necessarily serious. In fact, they can survive in the intestines of us humans for as long as 30 years without causing significant symptoms. Nevertheless, if the number of tapeworms increases to a certain extent, it can cause less absorption of food and results in certain symptoms. In such a case, very often, segments of tapeworms are passed out in the stool. Other possible symptoms of tapeworms in humans are:

• Loss of appetite
• Abdominal pain
• Increased weakness
• Malabsorption of nutrients
• Nausea and dizziness
• Diarrhea
• Loss of weight

Tapeworm in humans is a serious condition, if there is invasion of certain body parts other than the intestine. Symptoms that signify this condition include fever, recurrent infection, neurological problem and cystic lumps.

Treatment

Treatment for especially invasive infection, should be done as soon as possible. Otherwise, there are chances of health complications such as tissue and organ damage. Tapeworm medicine for humans is basically formulated with albendazole or praziquantel. Depending upon the species involved, the infected organ and severity of the infection, the physician may prescribe oral medication for exterminating the tapeworms. In case of cystic lumps, anti-inflammatory drugs are usually advocated to treat swelling and inflammation.

After completion of the medicine course, stool analysis is performed to examine the presence of tapeworm eggs larvae or adults. If correct medicine dosage is administered, the success rate for tapeworm treatment is more than 95 percent. It is to be borne in mind that drugs and medication target only the adult tapeworms. Hence, it is very important to prevent recurrent infections by the tapeworm egg or larvae.

Speaking about the effective natural treatment, adding a spoonful of freshly ground coconut in your breakfast is the best remedy to expel all types of intestinal parasites. After about 3 hours, consume a mixture containing about 30-50 ml of castor oil and 250-300 ml of lukewarm milk. Continue to follow this until the symptoms of tapeworm infections are treated completely. Other natural methods for combating tapeworms in human is chewing 3 cloves garlic every morning, drinking carrot juice and taking pumpkin seeds.

The preventive measures for tapeworm infections in humans are personal hygiene and eating well-cooked food, specifically fish and meat. Wash your hands thoroughly before eating and after going to the toilet. In case, you are residing in areas with high rates of tapeworm infection, wash and rinse the fruits and vegetables well before incorporating in the diet. In brief, the treatment with medicine is effective only when accompanied with personal cleanliness.