Description of Tapeworms

Tapeworms are parasites that invade the body through ingestion. Although they can live in a host for up to twenty years, serious symptoms will cause the need for treatment before then.

Identification

• Tapeworms are parasites that live in the intestines and lay eggs. They have a head, neck and segmented chain which is used to pass eggs through the digestive track by becoming detached.

Intestinal Symptoms

• These occur while the tapeworm is in the intestines. It can cause diarrhea, nauseousness, pain in the abdominal area, lack of appetite, and inability to absorb nutrition properly.

Invasive symptoms

• When the tapeworm moves to other parts of the body, invasive symptoms can occur. They can cause seizures and other neurological symptoms, fevers, allergic reactions, and cystic masses.

Cause

• A person becomes infected with a tapeworm by eating or drinking items that are contaminated with the tapeworm larvae. This can happen through eating meat that has not been cooked sufficiently or by drinking water where animals that are infected might pass the eggs through their system and into the water source.

Treatment/Prevention

• Medications can be given to kill a tapeworm. If there has been an invasive infection, the type of damage will determine the treatment. For example, if a cyst has formed in the lung, surgery might be necessary. If seizures are occurring, then anti-epileptic medicines might be prescribed.