Intestinal Worms, as we know them as tapeworms, are commonly found in children during their early ages of growth and development. Most of the children during childhood are prone to experience intestinal worms, some of which are good but most of them harm the body slowly feeding off of them.
As per simple terms to understand, Intestinal or parasitic worms are small organisms that live inside the gut and feed off the body, making them grow into larger organisms. People are usually less aware of the variety prevalent in intestinal worms and how they enter a person’s body.
The main factor is knowing that proper treatment and medication can help eliminate these worms and strengthen them’ grab inside the gut. The presence of worms causes many gut disorders which as frequent stomach pain, but it could be resolved with Deworming medications.
As it is National Deworming Day today, as part of the plan, various government schools in states provide students and children with deworming tablets that help prevent their body from the attack of worms and the types of it.
The types of Intestinal Worm
There are several types of Intestinal worms that we are unknown about and could also affect the gut, causing stomach issues and other disorders.
Tapeworm
Tapeworm is a platform that lives and attaches itself to the intestinal wall. Most of the time, the tapeworm is experienced or visible in children, and the symptoms are usually mild. Tapeworms could be living in drinking water, which could enter your body via unclean water, or consuming meat that has not been cleaned or washed correctly.
Tapeworm appears to belong between 3 and 10 meters, and the rest depends on the types of worm.
Hookworm
Medical News Today describes hookworm as,
a worm that usually enters a person’s body through unsanitary soil. The name of the worm describes the way that one end of its body tapers off into a needle or hook shape.
Hookworms spread through feces via the small intestine, where the worms lay eggs. Usually, the hatching of the eggs can enter into the other person’s skin if that person comes in contact with the infected soil or fecal matter, which contains the hookworm’s larvae. The only common infection one can experience if he/she has hookworm in their system is gastrointestinal issues.
Other than that, there are not any significant symptoms also observed in the case of hookworm.
Fluke
Another kind of flatworm involves fluke, which is usually found in animals, but humans could also experience it if they accidentally ingest something already contaminated with fluke. These worms appear to be rounded leaf shape and are prone to occupy bile ducts or liver in our system.
Fluke flatworms, once enter into a person, might not show any symptoms, but in other people, the symptoms could remain for over a year once the parasite is either ingested or somehow enters the body. The bile duct feels inflammatory, and there may be blockages diagnosed in the duct.
Pinworm
Pinworm is the most common form of worm visible in children where the worms live in the colon or rectum of a person. These are small and roundworms that appear like staple size and could be passed or infected with someone else via direct contact or by using any person’s infected object.
Pinworm symptoms involve excessive itching around the anus that turns severe during the night when trying to sleep. Children mainly suffer from this during the night, as at night time, female worm crawls out of the anus to lay eggs surrounding the area. Other than that, there are no other symptoms observable.
The Potential Symptoms
These are some of the main symptoms observed in case of any intestinal worm experienced by an individual in their system:
- Passing of blood and mucus along with stool
- Rash, itching, or burning sensation around the rectum area
- gas, bloating, or any gastrointestinal issues
- Weightloss at an excess rate
- The occurrence of diarrhea or consistent feeling of nausea during the morning time
- Abdominal Pain
- Feeling of Fatigue
Diagnosis and Treatment
Mainly, for the diagnosis purpose, your doctor might go for several stool tests to identify whether there is a presence of a parasite inside your body. Other than that, there are chances of ordering blood tests to detect any antibodies that the body makes when there is a prevalence of any parasite inside the body.
Your doctor could ask for a CT scan to detect the exact location the worm or parasite exists inside your body. All these test types confirm whether there could be a chance or prevalence of worm inside the body upon which a proper treatment would be scheduled.
The treatment depends explicitly on the kind of worm in your body, and medications are given to paralyze the worms and make them move out of the body via stool or bowel movement. The deworming day in India and other countries is marked as part of eradicating the condition so that every child or adult could live healthy and nourished.
Doctors have also suggested that taking a fair amount of diet and living a healthy life could again do wonders that will automatically remove worms from your system.
