Global Worming

Intestinal worms are mainly caused by unhygienically cooked food,



Do you suffer from frequent abdominal discomfort, dry cough that leaves you breathless or general weakness? Do you eat off streets frequently or often forget to wash your hands before meals? Chances are, you’ve got worms.

Poor sanitation is the most common culprit, which is why the disease is common in developing countries. Bits of stool get embedded under the fingernails and are passed on to our food. Unhygienically cooked food, poor sanitation and personal hygiene are also leading causes.

Unfortunately, an infected person may show few or no symptoms. A worm infection is usually diagnosed by a stool examination, though blood tests are also used.

Different kinds of worms

Round worms
Symptoms: Dry, hacking cough with shortness of breath; an increase in blood eosinophil (type of white blood cells) count and pneumonic patches on the chest.

Round worms may enter various organs causing appendicitis, biliary colic (severe pain the upper-right part of the abdomen), pancreatitis and liver abscesses.

In extreme cases, large “worm balls” may obstruct a child’s intestines. Sometimes these are vomited. Round worms grow from 15 to 40 cm and severe manifestations are seen in Kashmir.

Pin or thread worm
Symptoms: Heavy infestation manifests as abdominal pain and weight loss. Itching around the anus, especially at night.

These worms occur more frequently in children and are often seen in stools. This leads to self infection as the eggs get deposited under the nails and are passed on to the mouth.

Whip worms
Symptoms: Heavy infestation can cause abdominal pain and dysentery.

Whip worms are mainly passed on through unhygenic food and their main target is children. They affect the abdomen and the rectum, causing prolapse (falling-out) of the rectum. They can also retard growth.

Hook worms
Symptoms: Itching and rashes at the spot of penetration, abdominal pain, diarrhoea; anaemia and protein deficiency occur due to the worm’s blood-sucking nature.

Hook worms are common among farmers, villagers and other bare foot walkers. The larvae of the worm penetrate the skin when it comes in contact with soil.

Strongyloides stercoralis
Symptoms: Rashes on wrists and buttocks, abdominal pain similar to peptic ulcer disease, nausea, diarrhoea, bleeding in stools and weight loss.

These types of worms are generally found in patients with poor immunity and may spread to the lungs, brain, liver and kidneys, leading to inflammation and in extreme cases, death.

Treatment

Doctors commonly prescribe albendazole or Mebendazole for a duration of one to three days. However these should be avoided during pregnancy.

One can prevent getting infected by observing good overall hygiene while cooking, such as washing raw vegetables and fruit thoroughly before use, washing hands with soap after using the toilet and before meals, etc.