Tapeworms Symptoms: Risks, Causes And Preventive Steps

Tapeworms Symptoms And Risk

A tapeworm infection refers to the presence of live tapeworms in the intestine. While tapeworm infections are normally not very serious, they can prove harmful if left untreated. This is because of their likelihood to penetrate the intestinal wall and affect other organs in the body. Once they have penetrated this wall, the eggs can then form cysts on internal tissues and which can then lead to severe organ damage. Tapeworm symptoms at this stage can include fever, other bacterial infections, the formation of cystic masses, or even neurological symptoms if the cysts happen to have formed on the brain. Tapeworm infections usually have no symptoms and can only be observed in the tapeworm segments in the stool of the affected person. When there are symptoms they appear as fatigue, excessive hunger or loss of appetite, dizziness, vomiting, and weight loss.

Causes Of Tapeworms

This infection is acquired by eating undercooked of infected animals. It can also be acquired by eating raw meat. The larvae present in the infected animals then develop into fully grown tapeworms in the human intestine and some tapeworms are known to grow up to twelve feet. The risk of a tapeworm infection is higher when people travel to poor countries where sanitary conditions are poor and they are exposed to livestock who’s faeces is not disposed of properly. Consuming food after having used the bathroom and not washed your hands properly can lead to an accidental infection.

How To Prevent Tapeworms

To prevent an infection, be careful to avoid eating improperly cooked pork, fish or beef. You should ensure that you cook all meats products at a high temperature to kill all tapeworm larvae, eggs included. Make sure that your hands are washed with anti-bacterial soap after using the washroom and especially before cooking or eating food. When travelling to foreign countries, ensure that you wash all the food that you consume with clean water. Ensure that all fruits and vegetables are consumed cooked rather than having them semi-raw. But this is a precaution one ought to take at home as well. Soak all vegetables and fruits in water to which you may add a spoonful of salt and a half a teaspoon of turmeric. The turmeric and salt should be able o kill off germs and you will have to soak them for a few hours before washing them again and consuming them. At the doctors, your stool is likely to be tested over a three day period and blood tests are likely to reveal the presence of antibodies produced to fight the infection. Oral medication will then be prescribed, but there have been cases where surgery has been necessary to remove the cysts formed in vital organs