Medicines to Cure Tapeworm Disease

Tapeworm disease is very uncommon in the United States, and most people who have tapeworms don't even know it. Tapeworms are acquired from eating raw or undercooked meat but can also be transmitted through poor hygiene habits and food handling practices. Doctors typically prescribe oral drugs to treat tapeworm disease.

Infection

• Tapeworms enter the body when food or water contaminated with tapeworm eggs or larvae is swallowed. Ingested eggs may develop into larvae which leave the intestines, attach to organs and form cysts. If larvae are ingested, they may become full-grown tapeworms in the intestines. Drugs may be used to treat both types, though the first type usually requires additional treatment.

Symptoms

• Unfortunately, tapeworm disease most often has no symptoms. It's usually noted when a tapeworm segment is seen in the stool. With an intestinal infection, especially, it's unlikely you will even notice it. However, some possible signs include nausea, weight loss, weakness, stomach pain, loss of appetite and diarrhea. If you have an infection of the body organs, however, resultant tissue or organ damage may have the following symptoms: fever, lumps or cysts, bacterial infections, allergic reactions, and, if the brain is infected, seizures or neurological reactions.

Treatment

• Tapeworm infections are most often treated with drugs in a single dose. These oral medications are poisonous to tapeworms. If you are diagnosed with tapeworms, depending on which species of tapeworm you have and its location, you probably will be prescribed either praziquantel (Biltricide) or albendazole (Albenza), or niclosamide. Though deadly to the tapeworm, these drugs are not readily absorbed into your digestive system. Instead, they destroy the adult tapeworm. Since these drugs do nothing to the tapeworm egg, your doctor will remind you to use proper hygiene to avoid reinfestation. The success rate is 95 percent for completely eradicating tapeworms in the intestines. Your doctor will check your stool one month after the medication has been taken, and again at three months to make sure all signs of tapeworms are gone.

Complications

• If the larvae or egg has traveled from the intestines, you may have to take a prescription of anti-inflammatory steroids to reduce swelling from cysts. Surgery to remove cysts may be necessary, and if significant organ damage has occurred, a transplant may be necessary.

Prevention

• According to Medline Plus, the United States has virtually eliminated tapeworm disease via laws that restrict feeding practice and inspection of farm animals. You are urged to cook your meat adequately and to wash your hands after using the toilet, to further prevent acquiring tapeworms. Infected pork, which is most commonly the source of tapeworm larvae and eggs, will look mealy because of cysts in the muscles.