How to Remove Tapeworms

To contract a tapeworm, you must consume food or water that contains a tapeworm egg or larvae. Once you ingest the tapeworm egg or larvae, it stays in your digestive track until it reaches adulthood. Then, the tapeworm attaches itself to your intestines, continues to grow (sometimes up to 26 feet long) and produces eggs that either mature in your digestive system or are expelled through a bowel movement. If you suspect you have a tapeworm, seek professional treatment; some tapeworms migrate to other parts of the body, causing blindness and even death.

Things You'll Need

• Doctor
• Stool sample
• Praziquantel

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Instructions

• 1

  Call your doctor if you suspect you have a tapeworm. Symptoms of tapeworm infestation are nausea, diarrhea, fatigue and abdominal pain, just to name a few. According to CNN Health, it is possible to see tapeworm segments in your stool, though not likely. Tapeworm segments look like tiny pieces of off-colored white rice.

• 2

  Bring a stool sample with you to your doctor's appointment. If you have a tapeworm, the stool sample will include worm segments, which a technician will identify using a microscope.

• 3

  Take Praziquantel (a prescription medicine) as directed by your doctor. Take the medicine with a full glass of water after a meal. Praziquantel only kills adult tapeworms. However, the body expels most of the tapeworm eggs and larvae during bowel movements. If the eggs or larvae fail to expel from the body, they will grow into an adult tapeworm. Therefore, continual monitoring and treatment is important.

• 4

  Expel the tapeworm. Your body eventually processes the dead tapeworms, along with the larvae and the eggs through your stool.