Instestinal Worms

Worms and other intestinal parasites which infest human beings are found in all countries of the world. However, they are more common in tropical and subtropical areas and are widely prevalent during the rainy seasons.

Children are more infested with these worms than adults. There are several types of intestinal worms. The most common of these are roundworms, pinworms, threadworms, hookworms, tapeworms and giardia.

Symptoms

The usual symptoms of intestinal worms are diarrhea, foul breath, dark circles under the eyes, constant desire for food, restlessness at night with bad dreams, anemia and headache. Roundworms may give rise to inflammation of the intestine and lungs, nausea, vomiting, loss of weight, fever, nervousness and irritability. Pinworms and thread worms may bring on intense itching in the area around the rectum.

Threadworms may cause periodic bouts of diarrhea alternating with constipation, loss of weight, cough and fever. Hookworms may give rise to anemia and nutritional disorders. The presence of giardia may result in pain in the calves and weakness in the legs.

Causes

The eggs of these parasites are introduced into the human system through the medium of food or water, especially undercooked meat. Roundworms may result from dirty fingers and food. Hookworms enter the human body through the skin from infected water. The tapeworms are transmitted into the body through undercooked flesh foods or foods contaminated by dogs.

The real cause of intestinal worms, however, is wrong feeding. The eggs of these worms, taken into the human body through food and water can breed in the intestines only if they find there a suitable medium for their propagation. This medium is an intestinal tract clogged with morbid matter and systemic refuse due to wrong feeding habits.

Treatment

The treatment for intestinal worms should begin with diet. The patient should be kept on an exclusive diet of fresh fruits for five to seven days. Thereafter he may adopt a well-balanced light diet consisting mainly of fruits, vegetables, milk and wholemeal bread. The diet should exclude fatty foods such as butter, cream, and oil, refined foods and all flesh foods.

This dietary should be continued till the parasites are completely eliminated.
In some cases, depending on the progress being made, the all-fruit diet may have to be repeated at regular intervals. In obstinate cases the patient should resort to short fasts on raw fruit and vegetable juices. This fast has to be of a fairly long duration in case of tapeworms. It would be advisable to carry on this fast treatment under the supervision of a naturopath, or better still, in a nature cure hospital. During the all-fruit diet or fasting period, the bowels should be cleansed daily with the warm water enema.