How is tapeworm infection treated?
Treatment for a tapeworm infection begins with seeking medical care from your health care provider. To determine whether you have tapeworms, your health care provider will ask you to provide stool samples for laboratory testing. If your health care provider determines that you have tapeworms, you will probably need to take medication.
Treatment for tapeworm infections
Tapeworm infections from both Diphyllobothrium and Taenia are treated with prescription drugs. Praziquantel and niclosamide are drugs that work by causing the tapeworm to dissolve inside your intestine.
What are the potential complications of tapeworm infection?
Anemia due to vitamin B12 deficiency is a known complication of Diphyllobothrium infection. Long-term complications of untreated taeniasis, particularly cysticercosis, can be serious and even life threatening in some cases. You can help minimize your risk of serious complications by following the treatment plan you and your health care professional design specifically for you. In addition to cysticercosis, rare complications of taeniasis can include problems that develop if tapeworm segments obstruct the appendix, the intestine, or the bile and pancreatic ducts. Complications of tapeworm infection include:
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Anemia (low red blood cell count)
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Cysticercosis, a serious complication that can lead to seizures or eye damage
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Gallbladder disease
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Intestinal obstruction
INTRODUCTION
What is tapeworm infection?
Tapeworms are parasites that can infect humans, and they may live undetected in the intestinal tract for many years. The most common types of tapeworm disease in humans are contracted by eating food that contains tapeworm larvae (immature forms of the worm). Tapeworm infections may not produce any recognizable symptoms....
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