Most people assume that tapeworm infection is a problem in cats and dogs. Animals are more susceptible to this type of infection, but humans can become infected if they eat raw beef, pork or fish. An infected person can transmit it if they don't wash their hands properly after defecating or before preparing food. Often, people infected with tapeworms experience few symptoms. However, treatment is important because tapeworm infection can cause serious complications, including cysticercosis (cysticercosis), which is an infection of body tissues that can cause epilepsy.
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Part 1 of 3: Diagnosing a Tapeworm Infection
Step 1. Observe your surroundings, including the places you have visited in recent trips
Tapeworms can be found throughout the world, but infection rates vary widely in different countries. Every year, more than 10 million people are infected worldwide, but fewer than 1,000 of these cases occur in the United States. Each species of tapeworm lives in a different animal body.
- Pig and beef tapeworms are commonly found in areas of the developing world such as Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, and Central and South America, especially in places where pigs are not kept.
- Beef tapeworms are also more common in areas such as Eastern Europe, Russia, East Africa, and Latin America where people sometimes eat raw beef.
- Fish tapeworms are more common in areas where people eat raw fish, including Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, and Japan.
- The pygmy tapeworm is transmitted between humans, especially among children, in areas with poor sanitation, or in densely populated settlements.
- Dog tapeworms sometimes find humans as hosts.
Step 2. Check your recent diet
Infection usually occurs after ingestion of raw or undercooked meat from an infected animal. Tapeworms can also be transmitted through meat prepared by an infected person.
- Have you ever eaten raw or undercooked meat?
- Have you ever been to an area where the food is prepared under unsanitary conditions?
Step 3. Check your stool
Excretion of tapeworm body parts is the most visible indicator of tapeworm infection. The body parts of this tapeworm look like small grains of white rice. You may find the excretion of body parts of the worms on your toilet paper or underwear.
- The body parts of the tapeworm will not appear in the stool until two or three months after the adult tapeworm has settled in your body.
- Stool samples may have to be examined more than once for tapeworm body parts.
Step 4. Check if you have any additional symptoms of tapeworm infection
Common symptoms include digestive problems, such as abdominal pain, weakness, loss of appetite, weight loss, diarrhea, and nausea. However, these symptoms can indicate many other possible conditions. Also keep in mind that tapeworm infections may not cause any symptoms.
Although uncommon, tapeworm infections can also cause the following serious symptoms: fever; cystic lump or mass; allergic reaction to tapeworm larvae; bacterial infection; or signs and symptoms of neurological disorders, including epilepsy. These symptoms sometimes develop if the infection is left untreated. So treatment is necessary, even for symptoms that don't seem too serious
Step 5. Consult a doctor
In order to properly diagnose a tapeworm infection, your doctor will need to perform a stool sample analysis. This analysis will help rule out the possibility or determine the type of tapeworm that infects and determine the right drug.
- In addition to determining whether you have a tapeworm infection, stool analysis can identify a variety of digestive problems, including infections, nutritional deficiencies, and cancer.
- Blood tests may also be able to identify antibodies in the blood of someone who has been infected with tapeworms.
Part 2 of 3: Treating Tapeworm Infections
Step 1. Perform treatment with a prescription from a doctor
After diagnosing you have a tapeworm infection, your doctor will prescribe an oral medication. Tapeworms are treated with three generic drugs: "praziquantel", "albendazole", and "nitazoxanide". The difference in drug administration will depend on the type of infection that affects you.
Step 2. Follow the dosage instructions prescribed
In addition to having to take medication properly, what is also important is not to get infected again (or pass it on to other people). Treatment for tapeworm infections does not affect the parasite's eggs, so you can catch the infection again if you neglect to keep your bathroom and kitchen clean.
If a more serious infection such as cysticercosis is found, your doctor may recommend a longer and more complicated dose of therapy. Treatment may include prescribed medication, anti-inflammatory, and anti-epileptic therapy, or surgery
Step 3. Make sure that the infection is gone
Your doctor may want to do a re-evaluation after you have been on the drug for a while. Depending on the seriousness of the infection, an evaluation may be done from about one to three months after you start treatment.
Prescription medications are 85 to 100 percent effective. Effectiveness depends on the type of tapeworm and the location of the infection
Part 3 of 3: Preventing Tapeworm Infection
Step 1. Avoid eating raw meat
A wide variety of species eaten by humans contain tapeworms, including cattle, pigs, fish, sheep, goats, and rabbits. The easiest way to avoid infection is to remove raw or undercooked meat from your diet.
It should be noted that avian tapeworms do exist, but are generally not found in modern agricultural facilities because the worms require an intermediate insect host such as earthworms or beetles
Step 2. Cook the meat properly
When cooking whole cuts of meat such as steaks or chops, ensure that the internal temperature of the meat is at least 63 °C. Ground beef should be cooked to an internal temperature of 71 °C.
Freezing meat and fish at temperatures below -10 °C for at least 48 hours will also kill tapeworm eggs and larvae
Step 3. Disinfect fruit and vegetables when you travel to areas where tapeworms are common
Chemical solutions can be purchased to disinfect fruit and vegetables, or you can simply wash them thoroughly with safe (boiling) water.
Step 4. Wash your hands properly before preparing and eating food, and after handling raw meat or fish
That way, any eggs or larvae on your hands don't transfer to your food or digestive system. you, and will not infect others.
