Tapeworm Symptoms & Signs

 Parasitic infections are a common health issue that many people suffer from. The majority of parasitic infections go undiagnosed and unnoticed, but according to recent studies, an estimated 3.5 billion people have at least one type of parasite. That is nearly half the human population.

 

People often think that parasites only exist in third world countries or in tropical locations, but the fact is they exist in every climate, are abundant in nature, and have been affecting human health for as long as we have been around.

 

Many parasites are microscopic, and they are also experts at staying hidden, as their very survival depends upon us not recognizing we are their host. It may be a bit uncomfortable to consider that you could have a parasite, but it is even worse to ignore this common health issue because it is an uncomfortable topic. As uncomfortable as it may be, parasites are real, and most people are affected by parasites at some point in their lives.

 

Thankfully, we can eliminate parasites, and we’ll talk about how to get rid of parasites a bit further down the article. But first, let’s talk about one common parasite, and one that is among the worst to have—tapeworm.

 

Every year more than 100 million cases of tapeworm infections occur globally. People typically get a tapeworm from raw or undercooked, contaminated animal foods. They primarily affect the intestines, but they can affect other organs as well, including the brain in some cases.

 

What Is a Tapeworm?

 

A tapeworm is a type of parasite, an organism that lives on or in a host and gets its food from or at the expense of its host. A tapeworm is a flat, segmented worm that lives in the intestines of both humans and animals. Animals can become infected with these parasites when grazing in pastures or drinking contaminated water, while humans usually become infected from eating the tissues of contaminated animals where parasite eggs and larvae may be present.

 

Tapeworm eggs or larvae are most commonly consumed from undercooked pork or fish. The actual infections that tapeworms cause mostly affect the intestinal wall, but can become more complicated when tapeworm larvae or eggs move through the bloodstream and attach to skeletal muscle or tissues, where they’re able to form cysts. Eggs stored inside the cysts eventually hatch, and the newly born worms then continue the cycle by latching on to the host’s intestinal wall as an energy supply.

 

What Causes a Tapeworm Infection?

 

People almost always get a tapeworm infection from eating undercooked meat that is contaminated with tapeworm eggs or larvae. They can, however, be contracted from drinking contaminated water as well. There are six different types of tapeworms that are known to infect humans. They are usually identified by the animals that they come from – for example, Taenia saginata comes from beef, Taenia solium comes from pork, and Diphyllobothrium latum comes from fish.

 

Tapeworms have a three-stage lifecycle:

• Egg
• An immature stage called a larva, and
• An adult stage at which the worm can produce more eggs.

 

Because larvae can get into the muscles of their hosts, infection can occur when you eat raw or undercooked meat from an infected animal. It is also possible to contract pork tapeworms from foods prepared by an infected person. Because tapeworm eggs are passed with bowel movements, a person who doesn't wash their hands well after wiping and then prepares food can contaminate the food.

 

What Are Symptoms of a Tapeworm?

 

Although the signs and symptoms of tapeworm infection are often minor and easily go unnoticed, there are also symptoms of tapeworm that can be uncomfortable, and some tapeworm symptoms can even cause serious, life-threatening problems. That's why it's important to recognize the symptoms and know how to protect yourself and your family.

 

The majority of people who become infected with tapeworms don’t notice any tapeworm infection symptoms, and often don’t ever even know that they have a tapeworm. The tapeworm is eventually killed off inside the intestines and then excreted through a bowel movement. However, some people are not as fortunate and manage to stay infected with a tapeworm for months or even years, and are left to deal with the uncomfortable tapeworm symptoms.

 

The most common tapeworm symptoms in humans include:

 

• Digestive issues
• Bloating
• Malnutrition and signs of nutrient deficiencies
• Fatigue
• An upset stomach or nausea
• Diarrhea or loose stools
• Muscle weakness and fatigue
• Cramps and abdominal pains
• Changes in appetite, including feeling very hungry despite eating or loss of appetite
• Weight loss (even despite eating)
• Trouble sleeping
• Changes in stool and sometimes segments of the worm appearing in a bowel movement.

 

How Do You Get Rid of Tapeworms?

 

Having a tapeworm can be a serious issue. Whether a tapeworm infection is causing symptoms or not, it is not something you want inside of you, and it is something you will want to get rid of immediately.

 

The very first thing to focus on is prevention, and this can happen from making sure that you thoroughly cook all meat and fish that you consume. Eating raw or undercooked meat and fish is the most common cause of tapeworm infections (sorry sushi lovers). The best way to protect yourself from a tapeworm infection is to cook all meat and fish thoroughly before consuming it.

 

It is typically recommended to cook animal foods to at least 135 degrees Fahrenheit (57 degrees Celsius) to kill off any parasitic organisms or harmful bacteria. The cysts and eggs within meat or fish also commonly die when they are frozen for extended periods of time (at least several days). Usually drying or smoking meat and fish is not enough to kill all of the eggs.

 

Now, that we are aware of how to prevent infection in the first place, let’s discuss how to get rid of a tapeworm infection.

 

Natural Parasite Detox Cleanse

 

The best way to get rid of parasites is to do a parasite detox cleanse. A parasitic cleanse can help you overcome intestinal infection symptoms and prevent complications from not just tapeworms, but from many other types of parasites as well.

 

A good parasite cleanse involves first and foremost taking anti-parasitic herbs that can kill parasites, as well as following a parasite detox diet and certain lifestyle practices that support detoxification.

 

The primary herbs used in a parasite detox cleanse are:

 

• Green Black Walnut Hulls (from the black walnut tree – juglans nigra) – Used by Native Americans as an anti-parasite, anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal remedy. Its active ingredients are juglone, tannin and iodine. The tincture of the green hulls of the black walnut kills the adult stages of the parasites.
• Wormwood (from the Artemisia shrub – artemisia absinthum) – Known for its vermicidal properties, wormwood helps those with a weak and under-active digestion. It increases the acidity of the stomach and the production of bile. Wormwood kills the larval stages of the parasites.
• Common Cloves (from the clove tree – eugenia caryophyllata) – Anti-parasitical, anti-fungal, antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties. It also removes pain. Cloves kill the parasite eggs.

 

Together, these three herbs make up what is traditionally known as “wormwood complex” and are the ingredients that make up our parasite detox supplement. Our formula is a high-grade concentration of these herbs extracted in organic cane alcohol making for a very therapeutic and effective formula. The combination of these three herbs may help support the body’s effective detoxification of both the egg and the adult stages of 100 different internal parasites, including amoebas, giardia, many worms, and liver flukes. These three herbs are considered the most potent parasite killing herbs by most functional medicine practitioners.

 

To get rid of parasites, one can undergo a parasite cleanse by diligently consuming this formula, following the recommended dosage closely, drinking a lot of purified water, strengthening the body’s detoxification pathways, cleansing the colon, and consuming anti-parasitic foods.

 

The most notable anti-parasitic foods to include in a parasite cleanse diet plan include:

 

• Garlic
• Onion
• Honey
• Pumpkin seeds
• Dates
• Pomegranate
• Papaya seeds
• Dandelion greens
• Lettuce
• Broccoli
• Kale
• Pineapple
• Coconut
• Carrots
• Sunflower seeds
• Fermented foods
• Stoneground mustard
• Coconut Oil
• Apple Cider Vinegar
• Turmeric
• Ginger
• Cinnamon
• Cayenne Pepper
• Chili spices
• Curry spices
• Cloves
• Thyme
• Oregano
• Neem

 

When doing a cleanse, aim to include more of these foods in your diet than you usually would eat. This will help to support the effective detoxification and elimination of intestinal parasites, provided that other aspects of the protocol are also adhered to.

 

To learn more about the full protocol for ridding the body of parasites, read our blog "How to do a Parasite Detox Cleanse". Also give our blog "How to Mitigate Parasite Die Off Effects" a read for a guide on how to use binders to prevent parasite die off effects.

 

Summary

 

A tapeworm is a type of parasite, an organism that lives on or in a host and gets its food from or at the expense of its host. A tapeworm is a flat, segmented worm that lives in the intestines of both humans and animals. Animals can become infected with these parasites when grazing in pastures or drinking contaminated water, while humans usually become infected from eating the tissues of contaminated animals where parasite eggs and larvae may be present.

 

Tapeworm eggs or larvae are most commonly consumed from undercooked pork or fish. The actual infections that tapeworms cause mostly affect the intestinal wall, but can become more complicated when tapeworm larvae or eggs move through the bloodstream and attach to skeletal muscle or tissues, where they’re able to form cysts. Eggs stored inside the cysts eventually hatch, and the newly born worms then continue the cycle by latching on to the host’s intestinal wall as an energy supply.

 

There are six different types of tapeworms that are known to infect humans. They are usually identified by the animals that they come from – for example, Taenia saginata comes from beef, Taenia solium comes from pork, and Diphyllobothrium latum comes from fish.

 

The majority of people who become infected with tapeworms don’t notice any symptoms, but some can develop severe symptoms, some that can even be life-threatening. The most common tapeworm symptoms in humans include digestive issues, malnutrition and signs of nutrient deficiencies, muscle weakness and fatigue, changes in appetite including feeling very hungry despite eating or loss of appetite, weight loss (even despite eating), trouble sleeping, and changes in stool with the possibility of the worm appearing in a bowel movement.

 

It is important to know how to prevent a tapeworm infection in the first place, which primarily involves thoroughly cooking all meat and fish, and avoiding eating raw fish. Eating raw or undercooked meat and fish is the most common cause of tapeworm infections.

 

To get rid of a tapeworm, and other parasites as well, the best thing to do is to follow a parasite detox cleanse. A parasitic cleanse can help you overcome intestinal infection symptoms and prevent complications from not just tapeworms, but from many other types of parasites as well. A good parasite cleanse involves first and foremost taking anti-parasitic herbs that can kill parasites, as well as following a parasite detox diet and certain lifestyle practices that support detoxification.

 

Parasites may be a gross reality to consider, but they are incredibly common, and if you have never done a parasite cleanse (link product), then it may be a good idea to do one, as parasites can severely impact our health.

 

 

 

 

References

http://web.stanford.edu/group/parasites/ParaSites2004/Taeniasis/

http://www.infectionlandscapes.org/2012/08/tapeworms.html

https://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/tapeworms-in-humans

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK537154/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC126866/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4001513/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31186041/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2758403/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17380552/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23163769/