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If you think you don’t have parasites, think again. Most people who have worms aren’t even aware that the symptoms they are feeling could be because of vermin. Vermin are more common than you would think. Countries with good hygiene have fewer chances of parasite outbreaks. For example – Singapore has a very high standard of sanitation and hygiene. Reports about intestinal parasites are less as compared to the rest of the world.
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How You Get Infected with Intestinal Parasites?
It doesn’t take a genius to realize that these organisms actually transfer through contamination. Food and water, which are infected, are the main causes of worms. How do you ensure that you don’t ingest any? Keep your immune system robust and in full working health. A compromised immune system isn’t very effective in eliminating eggs and contamination from the body. Typically, eggs pass through the body but sometimes the eggs hatch and the organisms start their life cycle in the host.
Intestinal parasites mostly affect the large and small intestines. A particular type of parasite may even lay more eggs after their life cycle is over and start a non-typical parasitic cycle in the host.
Intestinal Parasites
There are 2 types of intestinal parasites – Helminths and Protozoa.
Helminths
These are multi-celled organisms called worms. You can sometimes even feel these organisms in your gut. The helminths that affect humans are pinworms, tapeworms, and roundworms. These organisms do not affect humans as adults. They only transfer into the gut as eggs through contaminated food and water. After lodging in the intestines, the helminths then go through their life cycles inside the host. Sometimes, the food grows in soil contaminated with helminths eggs, and they transferred to plants as they grow.
Protozoa
These are single-celled organisms and function differently from helminths. These pests multiply at a very fast pace and cause serious problems within the human body, if not detected and checked in time. Giardia is a protozoon that is waterborne and causes diarrhea in many countries throughout the world.
How to Treat these Parasites
Most vermin complete one life cycle and move out of the body. Why should you get a parasite cleansing? In many cases, the intestinal parasites may multiply and cause serious health issues. When you visit your doctor, they will perform a physical examination and ask about your travel history.
If you’ve traveled to other countries, they’ll know the course of the investigation. If they suspect that, you may have vermin they will conduct tests. First, they will prescribe a simple stool test to check for parasite eggs and contamination. In case of the pinworm, they will do the tape test where they put a tape on the anus to check for eggs. In cases that are more serious, they may prescribe a CT scan or X-ray. Severe cases may even need a biopsy done to find out the type of parasite infecting the intestine. Anti-parasitic medicine works in most cases and people have to take it in a course of a few weeks to a few months depending on the severity of the parasite.
