Tapeworm infection occurs by swallowing tapeworm eggs, which can get into food from improper food handling.
The worms live and grow in the digestive tract and can spread to other parts of the body.
Types of Infection
Tapeworms are a throw in of parasitic flatworm.
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They have a head, a neck, and a body consisting of many segments calledproglottids.
The proglottids may contain eggs.
Tapeworm infection can be classified as eitherintestinal infectionor invasive infection.
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Intestinal infection that occurs with any of the threeTaeniaspecies results in a condition known astaeniasis.
The parasitic larvae escape the intestinal tract to form cysts in other parts of the body.
Infection by larval cysts in the nervous systemneurocysticercosisis a serious condition.
Can you see tapeworm eggs in stool?
You aren’t likely to see an entire tapeworm in yourstool.
Once it’s been treated, the tapeworm detaches from the intestines and dissolves before it leaves your body.
Tapeworm Infection Symptoms
In most cases, infection with a tapeworm causes few or no symptoms.
In fact, many people with taeniasis do not even realize that they’ve been infected.
An untreated infection can also lead tovitamin B12 deficiencywhich, in turn, can causeanemia.
Signs and symptoms of anemia can include:
Is It Possible to Feel a Tapeworm?
You won’t be able to feel a tapeworm while it’s in your system.
However, you may be able to feel one as it passes through your anus during aregular bowel movement.
In severe cases, this condition can be life-threatening.
Some tapeworm species can get rather big.
The aptly named dwarf tapeworm doesn’t grow longer than 2 inches.
When to See a Healthcare Provider
Many cases of taeniasis are asymptomatic (without symptoms).
Tapeworms don’t usually cause complications.
The life cycle of a tapeworm begins with eggs.
Animals may become infected after eating plants or feed or drinking water that contains tapeworm eggs.
Once inside an animal host, the eggs hatch and mature into young tapeworms.
The worms are mobile and can migrate out of the intestine and into muscle tissue.
If not frozen or cooked properly to kill the worms, the animal’s meat contains living tapeworms.
They then can be passed on to a human who eats the meat.
The eggs are shed in the stool of an animal or a human who is infected.
The eggs can remain viable in the environment, including in water.
This is why it’s important to ensure that the water you drink is germ-free.
Pork tapeworm eggs can also live on surfaces.
Cysticercosis mainly affects subsistence farming communities in developing countries of Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
Some people may notice tapeworms on or around their anus.
A healthcare practitioner should see them during a physical exam.
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In some cases, tapeworm segments may be visible in the stool.
A stool test can determine which bang out of tapeworm is present.
A blood test that looks for specific antibodies may be used to help diagnose cysticercosis.
Tapeworm Infection Treatment
Unfortunately, tapeworms don’t just go away on their own.
If a tapeworm infection isn’t treated, theparasiteis likely to stay put.
Depending on the key in of tapeworm, you may never know it’s there.
In cases of intestinal tapeworm infection, treatment requires a medication that will immobilize the worms.
Biltricide (praziquantel) is an antiparasitic drug commonly used to treat tapeworm infections.
Reinfection is common if strict infection control practices are not maintained while in endemic regions.
Summary
Tapeworms are parasitic worms that can infect the digestive tract.
The most common way to get tapeworms is by eating infected beef, pork, or fish.
Diagnosis may involve an exam, stool tests, blood tests, and imaging.
It’s important to get the infection treated to prevent serious complications.
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