Intestinal worms

Introduction:

Intestinal parasites are worms and other intestinal parasites which infest human beings that populate the gastro-intestinal tract. Children are more often infested with intestinal worms than adults. In humans, they are often spread by poor hygiene related to feces, contact with animals, or poorly cooked food containing parasites.

The major groups of parasites include protozoans (organisms having only one cell) and parasitic worms (helminths). Of these, protozoans, including cryptosporidium, microsporidia, and isospora, are most common in HIV-infected persons. Each of these parasites can infect the digestive tract, and sometimes two or more can cause infection at the same time. Parasites can get into the intestine through the mouth and they move into the intestine, where they can reproduce and cause disease.

Symptoms:

The usual symptoms of intestinal worms are diarrhoea, foul breath, dark circles under the eyes, constant desire for food, and restlessness at night with bad dreams, anaemia, and headaches. Round-worms may give rise to inflammation of the intestine and lungs, nausea, vomiting, loss of weight, fever, nervousness, and irritability.

Threadworms may cause intense itching in the area around the rectum. They may also cause periodic bouts of diarrhoea alternating with constipation, loss of weight, cough, and fever. Hookworms may give rise to anaemia and nutritional disorders.



Causes:

The eggs of these parasites are introduced into the human system through the medium of contaminated food, water and dirty fingers. When the organisms are swallowed, they move into the intestine, where they can reproduce and cause disease.

Roundworms are caused by eating contaminated food. Threadworms may enter the body from dirty fingers and food. Hookworms enter the human body through bare foot walking on infected earth. Tapeworms are transmitted to the body through undercooked flesh foods or foods contaminated by dogs. The real cause of intestinal worms, however, is faulty living.

Effects:

Human intestinal parasites can be present in any disease, in any person, at any age. People with intestinal parasite infections are usually under-nourished and weak, infected with viral, fungal, or bacteria, and have various types of chemical and metal poisoning. Worm infections can cause physical trauma by perforating (burrowing) the intestines, the circulatory system, the lungs, the liver or the whole bodies. They can block certain organs by lumping together in balls or tumors. They rob us of our vital vitamin and mineral nutrients, and amino acids needed for digestion.

Depresses the immune system, which leads to further degeneration, fatigue and illness. They can destroy cells faster than cells can be regenerated They give off certain metabolic waste products (toxic waste) that poison our bodies. This particular condition is called verminous in-toxification. Some conditions that promote parasitic infections are excess mucus, an imbalance in the intestinal flora, chronic constipation, and a toxic internal environment.They are responsible for many health problems because they secrete toxins and steal the vital nutrients from our bodies. They can irritate or exaggerate other health problems you may be experiencing



Prevention:

Healthy immune system is the best defense against parasites and disease. Some of the things you can do to reduce the risk of parasitic infections are: Wash all fruits and vegetables. Scrape off the wax substance on the outer surface on any fruit or vegetable with a knife before washing. Avoid eating grapes with open splits. Washing in ozonated water, hydrogen peroxide, or bleach will kill parasites. Do not eat raw or uncooked meats or fish. Check for worms, especially on fish. Spray with hydrogen peroxide or wash in ozonated water before cooking. Keep all work surfaces clean.

Drink pure water. Parasites are associated with many water-borne outbreaks and are highly resistant to conventional methods of disinfecting. Water that is properly purified with ozone is free of parasites. Practice good personal hygiene. Wash your hands before eating and after going to the bathroom, changing diapers, or handling pets. Keep your fingernails short and clean. Parasites can live for two months under the fingernails. Do not walk barefoot on warm, moist soil or while working in the garden. Avoid swimming in rivers, lakes, ponds, or public swimming pools. Avoid swallowing or drinking the water while swimming anywhere. Avoid swimming if cuts or open sores are present.
Diet:

The treatment for intestinal worms should begin with diet. The patient should be kept on an exclusive fresh-fruit diet for four or five days. He may adopt a well-balanced light diet consisting mainly of fruits, vegetables, milk, and whole meal bread. In some cases, the all-fruit diet may have to he repeated at intervals and in obstinate cases, the patient should resort to a short fast of raw fruit and vegetable juices. Use more cloves with every meal. Adding some cloves to foods will help kill the eggs from parasites in the intestinal tract. Cloves added to coffee or herbal teas add a little different taste. The diet should exclude fatty foods such as butter, cream, and oil, and all flesh foods.

Treatment:

Warm-water enema one litre of water should be boiled thoroughly with two spoons of Cumin (Jheera). After 250 ml water is evaporated, should be taken early morning for 10 days. Also similar treatment with boiled water of coriander seeds (dhania).During the all-fruit or fasting period, the bowel should be cleansed daily with a warm-water enema.

Home remedies:

The use of coconut is most effective in the treatment of intestinal worms. It is an ancient remedy for expelling all kinds of intestinal worms. A tablespoon of freshly ground coconut should be taken at breakfast, followed by 30 to 60 ml of castor oil mixed with 250 to 375 ml of lukewarm milk after three hours. This process may be repeated till the cure is complete.

Garlic has been used for expelling intestinal worms. Both fresh garlic and its oil are effective. Chew three cloves of garlic every morning.

Carrots are valuable in the elimination of threadworms among children as they are offensive to all parasites. A small cup of grated carrot taken every morning, with no other food added to the meal, can clear these worms quickly.

Papaya seeds are also useful for this purpose. They are rich in a substance called caricin which is a very effective medicine for expelling roundworms. The seeds should be powdered and taken in doses of one teaspoon with one cup of milk or water daily in the morning on an empty stomach. The alkaloid carpaine found in papaya leaves also has the power to destroy or expel intestinal worms. An infusion can be made by pouring 250 ml of boiling water over 15 gm of dry leaves. This can be taken with honey.



The bark, both of the root and the stems of the pomegranate tree, is well known for its anthelmintic properties of destroying parasitic worms. A cold decoction of the bark, preferably fresh bark, should be given in quantities of 90 to 180 ml three times, at intervals of one hour, to an adult. A purgative should be given after the last dose. The dose for children is 30 to 60 ml. The decoction is also used for expelling tapeworms.

The seeds of ripe pumpkin are useful in intestinal worms, especially tapeworms. One tablespoon of the seeds should be peeled and crushed, and then infused in 250 ml of boiling water and drunk. This will kill the parasites and help in expelling the tapeworms. It will be necessary to fast for a day and empty the intestines by taking the juice of boiled dry prunes. The next day, three or four tumblers of the pumpkin seed infusion should be taken.





Herbal Remedies:

The herb wormwood is an ancient cure for expelling intestinal worms. The flowering tops are used as a drug to kill intestinal worms. They are usually powdered and given in eight to sixteen gram doses daily for roundworms and tapeworms. The oil distilled from this plant also possesses the property to kill worms. It should be mixed with olive oil, the latter being eight times the weight of the former. This mixture can be given in doses of 50 to 100 ml for this purpose. An infusion of the herb can also be prepared by mixing 2 ml of wormwood oil in 120 ml of water, and be given as an enema for killing worms in the rectum.

The herb belleric myroblan, mixed with the seeds of the herb butea

(palas) on a 50:50 basis is an excellent anthelmintic. It should be given in doses of one teaspoon thrice a day. It helps remove all intestinal parasites. The seeds of butea can also be administered alone with beneficial results in expelling intestinal worms. One teaspoon of seeds may be given either in the form of powder or paste with one teaspoon of honey, thrice daily. They are especially beneficial in the treatment of roundworms and tapeworms.

The leaves, bark, rout-bark, fruit, and the flowers of vasaka tree also help in removing intestinal parasites. A decoction of the root and bark can be prepared by boiling 30 gm of the root and bark in 500 ml of water, till it is reduced by one-third. This decoction may be given in doses of 30ml twice or thrice daily for two or three days. The juice of the fresh leaves can also be used in doses of a teaspoon thrice a day for three days. Another valuable remedy for expelling intestinal worms is the herb calamus. The bitter element in this herb, acorin, is an anthelmintic.



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