Facts about Tape Worm

By Godwill A. Paul, 20th Jul 2010 | Follow this author | RSS Feed | Short URL http://nut.bz/1gzdl4bp/
Posted in Wikinut>Family>Health

Tapeworms may be haboured in the bowel for several years without causing much trouble except the passage of the segments of the tapeworms through the rectum.

Types of Tape Worms
Symptoms
Prevention and Control
Treatment

Types of Tape Worms

There are different types of tapeworms and their infections in the human body. Some tapeworms are only a few inches long while others measure from 10 to 30 feet or more in length. Here are a few popular tapeworms:
- The pork tapeworm – this tapeworm measures between 6 to 10 feet in length. When the pork meat is not cooked properly and it’s consumed; the consumer becomes infected.
- The beef tapeworm – when the beef tapeworm is fully grown, it measures between 15 to 20 feet in length. Cattles contact the tapeworm worms by grazing on a grass contaminated by human waste and thus picking the eggs into their system. When humans in turn eat incompletely cooked beef, they also contract the tapeworm disease and the chain actions continues.
- The fish tapeworm – the longest fish tapeworm could measure up to 30 feet in length. It takes 5 to 6 weeks for the tapeworms to be fully matured. When human wastes of tapeworm infected people are discharged into fresh water, the tapeworm eggs hatches and are eaten by the water fleas. The fresh water fish now eats the infected water fleas, and the fish tapeworm parasite finally lodges in the muscles of the fish. When humans eat incompletely cooked fish, the parasites are released in the human intestine and the process continues.
There are other kinds of tapeworms that are not much popular probably because humans do not consume the hosts’ meat. There are the rat tapeworm, the dwarf tapeworm, and the dog tapeworm etc.

Symptoms

Tapeworms may be haboured in the bowel for several years without causing much trouble except the passage of the segments of the tapeworms through the rectum. Some patients complain of hunger pains with sharp and stabbing effects which are immediately relieved by the intake of food. It could also lead to anemia.

Prevention and Control

Prevention of this infection is better than seeking for the cure. Humans should cook all foods like the pork meat, beef, fish etc thoroughly before eating to avoid the intake of live tapeworm eggs from these animals’ flesh. Human wastes should be disposed properly to avoid spreading the tapeworm eggs of infected persons. Your food should be protected against contamination by mice, dogs and other tapeworm carriers. Pets should also be kept free from fleas to avoid the spread of the tapeworm eggs around our homes.

Treatment

In the case of an established tapeworm disease infection, Atabrine or quinacrine hydrochloride is the ideal drug for its treatment. Always remember to consult your doctor when you are infected with the tapeworm disease infection, the doctor is in the best position to prescribe the dosage to you.

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Meet the author

Godwill A. Paul
A Clergy and Authour based in Lagos. Freelance writing on Religion, History, Food & Nutrition, Self-help & Counselling, Addiction, Poems & Proses, and science.