How do you know if you or your family have worms?

MOST worms are harmless, but annoying, parasites and nothing more.

However, a serious case of parasitism can be dangerous to your health. Worms that burrow in your skin can leave open wounds prone to infections.

Intestinal worms like tapeworm can sap you of the nutrients you eat. Others like hydatid worms can lay eggs that create life-threatening cysts in the intestines or cranium. In short, it all depends on the type of worm, but most will not kill you.

These days it is as simple as visiting your local pharmacy and buying an over-the-counter deworming medication.

Recognising general signs of worm presence

 Unexplained weight loss

When you have worms, you get less nutrients than you are used to because worms consume these nutrients. You may therefore begin to lose weight because while you may be eating normally, your body isn’t absorbing calories and nutrients that it should because the worms take them.

• If you start losing weight without trying to, keep track of the weight lost and if it continues, talk to your doctor.

Unexplained constipation

If you have constipation that doesn’t seem to be caused by anything, you may have worms. Worms cause irritation in the gut that interferes with digestion. This results in less water being absorbed into the body, making you constipated.

• If you’ve eaten foods high in fibre, drunk a lot of water or done other things that normally help you ‘go’ and you still can’t, you may have a worm.

Gaseous discomfort after travelling

 

 

If you have recently visited a new place or country known for worm problems and you suddenly develop serious gaseous discomfort (flatulence), you may inadvertently have picked up a worm. This discomfort can be accompanied by abdominal pain.

• If you travelled through a foreign country and still got diarrhoea after taking an anti-diarrhoea pill, you must monitor the flatulence. Continued discomfort after taking anti-diarrhoea medication can sometimes mean you’ve picked up a worm.

Never feeling full or never being hungry

Having worms can make you feel extreme hunger just after eating or extreme fullness when you haven’t eaten anything.

• This is because the worms feed on the food that you have eaten, leaving you hungry, but can also cause you to feel nauseous or gaseous, which makes you feel full.

Persistent exhaustion or fatigue

When you have worms, they take all of the nutrients out of food eaten, leaving you feeling hungry. At the same time, this lack of nutrients can make your energy levels decrease, leaving you easily exhausted. Symptoms include:

• Feeling tired all the time;
• Feeling exhausted after exerting a slight amount of energy;
• Wanting to sleep rather than do anything else.

Some people will have no symptoms

Having a worm in your system can affect you differently than others experiencing the same problem. Keep in mind that it is a good idea to visit the doctor after you travel to a foreign country known for having worm problems. It is generally better to be safe than sorry, especially when it comes to having worms.

Tapeworm

a) Check your stool

If you have a tapeworm infection, you may see the worms in the bathroom after a bowel movement or inside your underwear. If you find tapeworms in either of these areas, contact a doctor right away.

• Tapeworms look like small pieces of thread and are whitish in colour.

b) Sudden paleness in eyes and skin

If you are concerned about having tapeworms, inspect your eyes and skin around your eyes in the mirror. Tapeworms can cause you to have an iron deficiency because they feed on blood, which in turn lowers blood levels. When blood levels are reduced, eye skin and colouring becomes paler.

• Because tapeworms can lower blood levels, people become anaemic. Signs of anaemia include an unusually rapid heartbeat, fatigue, shortness of breath, dizziness and challenges with concentration.

c) Abdominal pain accompanied by nausea and vomiting

Tapeworms can obstruct the openings and tubes in intestines and in the intestinal wall. When the intestines become blocked, abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting follows.

• The abdominal pain is normally just above the stomach.

d) Diarrhoea

Tapeworms invade and inflame the lining of the small intestine, which stimulates the intestine’s lining to secrete fluid. When excess fluid is secreted, the body has a harder time absorbing it, which leads to diarrhoea.

 

Pinworm, also known as Threadworm

a) Skin irritation and itchiness

Pinworms or threadworms can cause the skin to become irritated, because they leak toxins into the blood. When these toxins accumulate in the skin, it can cause itchiness that resembles eczema.

• Itchiness might be worse at night because the worms tend to lay eggs at night.
• Itchiness could be worse around the anus because this is generally where pinworms lay their eggs.

b) Trouble sleeping or mood swings

You may find that you have trouble falling asleep or that you are waking up in the night more often than is normal for you. This can be a sign that you have pinworms, as the eggs they lay can release toxins that can get into your bloodstream. When this happens, the toxin can be carried to your brain and may interfere with your normal brain functions.

• This can also lead to you experiencing mood swings where you suddenly feel anxious, when you were feeling happy the moment before.

c) Muscles and joints aches and pains

Like itchiness and sleeping problems, the toxin released by pinworm eggs can also affect muscles and joints. This is because the toxin from eggs can be transported to muscles and joints causing:

• Inflammation of muscles and joints.
• Dull or aching pain.

d) Grinding teeth

If you have suddenly started grinding your teeth at night when you never have before, this could be a sign that you have a pinworm infection. The toxins that pinworms release can cause you to have simulated anxiety that may cause you to grind your teeth in the night. Signs that you have been grinding your teeth include:

• Teeth becoming flatter or worn down;
• Teeth being more sensitive than usual;
• Jaw pain;
• Feeling like your jaw is tired;
• Earache or headache;
• Chewing marks on your tongue and the inside of your cheeks.

e) Seizures

In severe cases, pinworm toxins can actually lead to seizures. The toxin causes an interference in the brain that can cause seizures. Signs of a seizure include:

• Jerking movements of arms, legs, or other parts of the body;
• Feeling fuzzy or ‘spacey’;
• Losing control of your urine or bowel movements;
• Unexplained confusion, or memory loss.

 

Hookworm

a) Itchy skin/rash

If you have a hookworm infection, the first symptom you will notice is generally that your skin is itchier than normal. The itching begins when the hookworm larvae enters and you may also notice swelling and redness in the area where the itching sensation is the worst. This is also caused by the larvae entering the skin.

• People commonly feel hookworm itch in their hands and feet.

b) Nausea and diarrhoea

When hookworms enter the intestines, it can aggravate, which leads to nausea (with or without vomiting) and diarrhoea. Hookworm can also release toxins that disrupt the digestive system.

• Look for red or black blood in the stool.

c) Cramps

Hookworms can cause colon inflammation and can also irritate the lining of the intestine, which is comprised of the colon, cecum and rectum. When this occurs, cramps occur in the abdomen.

d) Iron deficiency

This symptom only occurs in severe hookworm infections. Hookworms feed directly on their host’s blood, which lead to the host becoming iron deficient. Signs of iron deficiency include:

• Extreme fatigue and overall weakness;
• Pale skin and eyes;
• Chest pain and headache;
• Shortness of breath.

 

 

Whipworm

 a) Constantly feeling the need to ‘go’

This condition is called tenesmus. When the body’s immune system fights off invading organism like worms, it can cause inflammation in the digestive tract. The inflammation makes it harder to pass stools normally, which can lead to tenesmus, or the feeling that you need to pass stools, even when your bowels are empty. This can cause:

• Straining;
• Pain in the rectum

b) Blocked intestines

Whipworms can obstruct or do damage to the intestinal wall and intestinal lumens (passages through intestines). When intestines get blocked, symptoms include:

• Abdominal cramping;
• Nausea

c) Excessive diarrhoea and dehydration

Whipworms tend to bury their heads in the intestinal wall, leading to increased fluid secretion and/or decreased fluid absorption into the colon. When the colon starts increasing fluid secretion, the body has a hard time reabsorbing fluid, which leads to:

• Diarrhoea;
• Dehydration or constant thirst;
• Loss of electrolytes and nutrients.

d) Rectal prolapse

In a whipworm infection, the rectum loses its internal support because the worms bury their thin heads into the intestinal lining. This can cause the muscles surrounding the intestine to weaken, which in turn can lead to rectal prolapse. This is when the lower portion of your colon, which is located just inside the anal canal, turns inside out and extend a little ways out of the body.

 

Roundworm

a) Severe abdominal pain

Roundworms can block the intestines because they are usually thick and in some cases can grow to the size of a pencil. When the intestines become blocked, people develop extreme abdominal pain, like a cramp that won’t go away.

b) Itchiness around the anus

Roundworms lay eggs that leak toxins into the body and when released into the system, it causes the anus to become itchy.

• This itchiness can get worse at night because worms tend to lay their eggs at night while hosts are resting.

 

Seek medical help if you see worms when you blow your nose or go to the bathroom.

When roundworms multiply, they may start to leave your body to find a different host and will exit the body through different orifices. The most common ways for roundworm to exit is through the mouth, nose and anus.

www.healthdirect.gov.au/worms-in-humans

https://www.wikihow.com/Know-If-You-Have-Worms

 

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