Intestinal Worms are parasites which harbor in the gastrointestinal tract of human beings and animals. Although, they can live in the whole body, but prefer to stay in the intestinal wall. The reasons of getting infected can be because of eating uncooked meat, drinking of infected water etc. It can also take place due to bad sanitation conditions, using human excretion as fertilizer or poor personal hygiene.
The major types of intestinal worms are protozoa (organisms having one cell) and helminths, which are parasitic worms. These worms can cause infection in the digestive tract or there is also a possibility that both these parasites can exist at the same time.
In terms of kinds of worms they are as follows
- Whipworms (spread via food and water)
- Pinworms (spread from one person to another)
- Tapeworms (spread by eating raw food or meat)
- Roundworms (spread by food and water)
Once swallowed via food, water or skin contact, the organisms can move into the intestine and can reproduce. Children are at high risk of such infections as they tend to play with soil. Following are the symptoms of a possible infection:
- Chest pain
- Chills
- Dysuria
- Abdominal pain
- Hemoptysis
- Colitis
- Central nervous system impairment
- Coughing
- Vaginitis
- Digestive disturbance
- Diarrhea
- Weakness
- Fever
- Headaches
- Immunodeficiency
- Dizziness
- Chronic fatigue
- Jaundice
- Nausea/vomiting
- Mental problems
- Sweating
- Joint pain
- Enlargement of various organs
- Insomnia
- Memory loss
- Swelling of facial features
- Muscle Spasms
- Lung congestion
- Rectal prolapsed
- Night Sweats
Diagnosis
There are two common tests available for diagnosis:
- Stool samples may be collected to search for the parasites
- Adhesive may be applied in the anus in order to search for eggs.
Home remedies for Intestinal Worms
- Eat 10 g jaggery on empty stomach in the morning. Wait for around 15 min and eat ½ tbsp of carom seeds (crushed). Then drink 1 glass of water.
- Eat 1 tbsp of crushed coconut along with your breakfast meal. Add 3 tbsp of castor oil in 1 glass of warm water and drink this mixture.
- Peel and remove the seeds of one papaya which is not ripe. Crush the papaya to make a juice of it. Extract the juice by means of a sieve. Add 2 tbsp honey and 5-6 tbsp hot water in the mixture. Mix it well and drink once every day.
- The pomegranate tree bark also contains punicine. This is toxic for intestinal worms. A mixture of water and the tree bark can be given to children and adults sufferings from worms.
- Wormwood is an herb which has been used since ancient times. Drink a mixture of olive oil and wormwood oil to get rid of the worms.
- Garlic is also one of the best remedies to get rid of itching around the rectum. Make a paste of raw garlic and Vaseline and apply it on an infected region to get rid of the itching. Raw garlic is known to have an anti-fungal effect and its antiseptic properties. Eating 3 cloves of raw garlic can also help in getting rid of intestinal worms.