Worms

Worms are parasites that live in the gastrointestinal tract and are common in children. There are different types of worms, namely tapeworms, threadworms, hookworms, pinworms and roundworms. These worms come from unsanitary living conditions and poor food preparation. They range in size from half-inch pinworms to tapeworms more than 30 feet long. Of the roundworms, pinworms and ascarids (the worms that cause ascariasis) are the most common parasites affecting children in the United States. Trichinosis is a disease caused by a microscopic roundworm; if not treated, the worm larvae can cause muscle damage and cardiac or neurological complications. Hookworms live on blood, sugar, and oxygen they suck from the intestinal wall, often causing anemia. Like hookworms, threadworms can spread to the lungs and cause chronic coughing; both types often infest people sharing living quarters, as in prisons or mental institutions and can be acquired by walking barefoot on infected soil. The several types of tapeworms that infest humans are generally not harmful unless they penetrate the intestinal wall and move to another part of the body. Most roundworms share a similar life cycle inside the body, but their methods of infestation differ.

• Pinworms - These infect people's lower intestinal tracts. The female worm leaves the anus to deposit eggs in the anal area at night. This produces an irritating itch that — when scratched — transfers the eggs to the host's fingers; the eggs can thus spread by touch through an entire household. If inadvertently eaten, the eggs hatch in the intestines and the cycle continues.
• Roundworm – These worms that cause ascariasis can enter the body in unwashed or raw food contaminated with the worm's eggs; it may also be picked up from soil that contains the eggs. You can contract the roundworm that causes trichinosis by eating raw or undercooked pork or game, which may contain living worm larvae encased in cysts. After digestive juices dissolve the cysts, the larvae circulate through the blood and the lymphatic system before digging into muscle and forming a cyst with new larvae.
• Hookworms and Threadworms – These enter the body through contaminated drinking water or bare feet. The larvae migrate to the small intestine, where they may live for several years, taking nutrients from the intestinal walls. Their eggs are excreted in feces; if the infested feces contaminate soil, the cycle is repeated. 
• Tapeworms – These also enter the body in raw or undercooked beef, fish, or pork. In rare cases, children may swallow tapeworm-infested fleas or lice that live on vermin or household pets.

• Severe anal itching especially at night, restlessness and difficulty in sleeping may indicate pinworms. 
• Itching on the soles of the feet suggests hookworms; in some cases this may be accompanied by a rash, coughing bloody sputum, and fever, followed by loss of appetite, diarrhea, palpitations, anemia and fatigue. 
• Nausea, diarrhea, abdominal pain, dizziness, changes in appetite and fatigue can indicate a large tapeworm — probably originating in beef, pork or fish. 
• Loss of appetite and weight, irritability, diarrhea, abdominal pain and vomiting are symptoms of small tapeworms — originating in a rodent or dog. 
• Diarrhea and cramping that last up to a week, followed by fever, muscle pain, red eyes and facial swelling around the eyes are signs of trichinosis. 
• Wheezing, coughing or other breathing difficulties, followed by vomiting, stomach pain, and bloating, suggest ascariasis. 
• Small red lesions that may itch — followed by coughing, wheezing, or bronchitis; diarrhea; abdominal pain; and flatulence, are signs of threadworms.
  

The best way to prevent oneself from a case of worms is to live a clean life. Eat food, which has been cooked in sanitized cooking area and drink water, which is crystal clear and preferably comes in a sealed bottle. Avoid going into dirty areas especially with bare feet. Make sure children always wash their hands after going to the bathroom and before eating. Keep fingernails short to reduce the chances of picking up pinworm eggs underneath them. Have all four-legged pets in the house checked and treated for worms in the spring and fall. Avoid trichinosis by thoroughly cooking pork. Tools and utensils that come in contact with raw meat should be washed thoroughly in hot, soapy water.

An unhygienic lifestyle is one important cause of worms

A physician may diagnose pinworms by using a piece of sticky tape to pick up any eggs that may be around the anal area; the tape is then checked under a microscope. The worm itself is sometimes visible in stool samples or around the anus. Roundworms, hookworms, threadworms and tapeworms can be diagnosed from stool samples as well, and sometimes tapeworm segments are found in bedding or clothes. To diagnose trichinosis, a physician will test samples of blood or muscle tissue.

Take plenty of water as it has a flushing effect on the body

Lifestyle - Washing all bed linens and clothing is essential to eradicate all pinworm eggs. Itches can be relieved in the anal area with petroleum jelly.