Treatment for Tapeworms in Humans

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 ones that are pathogenic to human beings, include, fish tapeworm, pork tapeworm, and beef tapeworm. Also, depending upon the species, the length of these worms can be several feet long.

For example, the adult beef tapeworm is about 30-40 feet in length. The infection in humans occurs due to drinking of contaminated water, and ingesting uncooked fish and meat that is infected by tapeworms.

The symptoms of this condition are not necessarily serious. In fact, they can survive in the intestines of humans for as long as 30 years without causing significant symptoms. Nevertheless, if the number of these worms increases to a certain extent, it can cause less absorption of food and result 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

It turns out to be 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, especially for 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 worms. 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 of the treatment is more than 95 percent. It is to be borne in mind that drugs and medications target only the adult worms. Hence, it is very important to prevent recurrent infections by the eggs or larvae.

For natural treatment, add a spoonful of freshly ground coconut in your breakfast 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 the infection are treated completely.

Other natural method for combating these infections in human is, chewing 3 cloves of garlic in the 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 visiting the toilet.

In case, you are residing in areas with high rates of this kind of infections, wash and rinse the fruits and vegetables well, before incorporating in the diet. In brief, the medical treatment is effective only when accompanied with personal cleanliness.