In the world there are more than 3500 different tapeworm populations, which are divided into three orders: cloves, tapeworms and tapeworms. Today we will talk about tapeworms that parasitize in the small intestine of both an animal and a person, causing a serious illness called cestodosis. For humans, the most dangerous are bovine and pork tapeworms, echinococcus, wide ribbon and alveococcus.
What you need to know about them?
Tapeworms belong to the class of parasitic flatworms. Their length can reach up to 30 cm. Because of their external ribbon-like appearance, they received this name. In some worms, the body consists of numerous segments. At the end of the body are the so-called suction cups, with which they are attached to the walls of the intestine.
They absorb food with their whole body. In tapeworms, the sexual sphere is best developed. This type of worm is a hermaphrodite. Each segment has two reproductive systems. Small individuals can be fertilized crosswise between different species, large only with different segments, self-fertilization is extremely rare. Their fertility is very high and sometimes reaches up to 600 million eggs annually.
Some tapeworms able to exist up to 20 years in the human body, if you calculate how much they will lay eggs over this period of time, the amount will be about 11 billion. Human infection occurs through raw or semi-raw meat and in contact with sick animals. To prevent the ingestion of worms in your body, you must carefully fry and cook meat.
Tapeworms: Symptoms
- bloating of the upper abdomen;
- diarrhea;
- loss of appetite and body weight;
- irritability, weakness;
- itching in the anus;
- detection of eggs, worms or blood in the stool.
The pathogenic effect of the worms is expressed in intoxication with its waste products, “taking food”, extermination of intestinal lactobacilli, impaired absorption of beneficial trace elements and vitamins into the intestine. In addition to these aspects, constant irritation of the intestinal walls can lead to intestinal inversion, antiperistaltic movements and other intestinal troubles.
Cestodoses are diagnosed by examining fecal masses; in the presence of worms, parasite segments are detected in the feces.
Tapeworms: treatment and prevention
For prevention, it is necessary to heat meat and fish. When freezing fish, eggs die only after 4 days, so you should not eat sushi or any other raw fish. Contact with stray animals that may have tapeworms should also be avoided. After the street, always wash your hands with soap. Usually, to get rid of worms, a single dose of niclosamide and praziquantel several times a day is enough.
Of non-traditional methods of treatment, the following applies:
- Take 15 gr. dry walnut leaves pour them with two glasses of boiling water and insist for about half an hour. Drink warm instead of tea.
- St. John's wort is a good hole to get rid of worms. A tablespoon of dry grass pour 200 gr. boiling water and insist. Then take the field of each meal of 10 g.
- We take ordinary carrots, rinse thoroughly and make carrot juice in a juicer or by passing through a meat grinder and squeezing the juice manually. Before use, add honey and sugar to taste to it. Take in the morning on an empty stomach 10 g. and in the evening an hour before meals.
- You can boil grated carrots in milk and knead with a fork until you get gruel, eat 10 grams before meals.
- In medicine, dry wormwood inflorescences are used, they are ground with jam, sugar and honey. Use 2 hours before a meal of 5 g. 3 times a day for several weeks. On the day of the last dose, a laxative is prescribed. The main thing is not to increase the dosage, because possible side effects in the form of diarrhea, vomiting, convulsions.
Tapeworms are dangerous parasites that need to be disposed of in a timely manner so that they do not have time to cause irreparable harm to human health. After all, they emit dangerous toxins that have a destructive effect on the lymphatic and circulatory system.