Did you know some tapeworms can reach 30 feet long and live up to 30 years? Tapeworm infections may affect up to 3% of the United States population but appear in 20 million people worldwide.
Tapeworms often live inside the digestive tract of animals and humans but can spread to other areas of the body and negatively affect health and well-being.
This article offers a comprehensive, empathetic, and informative exploration of tapeworms — covering the causes, symptoms, medical treatments, and preventive measures.
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What Are Tapeworms?
Tapeworms are parasites (parasitic worms) that often live inside their host's digestive tract. They can infect humans, livestock, cats, dogs, and other animals.
These tiny worms feed off the hosts' nutrients as food passes through the body. While in the GI tract, tapeworms grow and lay eggs, which can pass through stool and infect other hosts.
Tapeworms have a flat shape, similar to ribbons, and a segmented body. They have heads, unsegmented necks, and segmented bodies. Body segments resemble small grains of rice and may appear visible in feces (often a potential early indication of infection).
Types of Tapeworms
Examples of the different types of tapeworms that can infect humans include:
- Diphyllobothrium latum (fish tapeworm)
- Hymenolepis nana (dwarf tapeworm — a smaller variety)
- Taenia asiatica (Asian tapeworm from pork)
- Taenia solium (pork tapeworm)
- Taenia saginata (beef tapeworm)
T. saginata is prevalent in regions where raw beef consumption is more common (e.g., Russia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Eastern Africa). It's rare in the United States but may appear in areas with poorly sanitized feedlots.
T. solium tapeworm infections are more common in underdeveloped communities with poor sanitation and individuals eating undercooked or raw pork.
Higher rates have occurred among Latin American immigrants in Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, Eastern Europe, Asia, India, and the United States.
T. asiatica is more prevalent in Asia, particularly the Republic of Korea, Taiwan, China, Thailand, and Indonesia.
The longest parasite worldwide is a 40-m whale tapeworm (Tetragonoporus calyptocephalus).
Tapeworm Life Cycle
The life cycle of human tapeworms consists of three stages: eggs, larvae, and adults.
Adult tapeworms lack a digestive tract and live in their hosts' intestines. They absorb nutrients from the host's intestine to survive and grow.
Adults lay eggs inside the host, which are excreted in feces into the environment. Other hosts, often animals, ingest them via water and soil. The eggs hatch into larvae and the cycle restarts.
While rare in the United States, tapeworms may be acquired through international travel.
Causes of Tapeworm Infections
Common methods of human parasite transmission include raw and undercooked fish, pork, beef, and unwashed fruits and vegetables.
Regions with inadequate sanitation infrastructure may experience tapeworms spreading via animal and human waste, contaminating water and food supplies.
Areas with higher rates of human tapeworm infections include Mexico, Central America, South America, Africa, and Asia. Traveling to these regions heightens the risk of becoming infected with tapeworms.
Cooking fish and meat thoroughly or freezing these foods for long periods can kill the tapeworms, preventing them from spreading.
Symptoms and Complications
Symptoms and complications linked to tapeworm infections in humans include:
Symptoms
Common symptoms include:
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Stomachache
- Stomach cramps
- Abdominal pain
- Loose stools
- Loss of appetite
- Gas
- Hunger pains
- Muscle weakness
- Diarrhea
- Fatigue
- Salty food cravings
- Headaches
- Dizziness
- Unexplained weight loss
- Coughing
- Chest pain
You may not have any symptoms, at least not initially, after being infected with tapeworms.
Complications
Complications of more invasive tapeworm infections include liver, heart, eyes, or lung dysfunction. In some cases, these complications may take years to appear after being infected with tapeworms.
Other potential concerns include digestive system blockages, vision impairment, anemia from tapeworms absorbing vitamin B12, other nutrient deficiencies, allergic reactions (hives, breathing problems, itching, etc.), anxiety, meningitis, and brain swelling.
Poor coordination, seizures, confusion, nerve pain in the limbs or spine, behavior changes, and other neurological symptoms can also develop.
Such complications may be linked to invasive larval infections, which occur when tapeworm larvae migrate outside the intestinal tract and travel to your bloodstream and organs. They form cysts (pockets of fluid surrounding them), which can lead to various medical concerns.
Diagnosing Tapeworm Infections
Holistic and medical methods of detecting tapeworms or their complications include:
- Lab stool sample analysis to screen for eggs and worm segments
- Evaluating poop to look for visible worm segments
- Complete blood count (CBC) and other blood tests that can detect larvae antibodies or nutrient deficiencies
- MRIs, CT scans, X-rays, ultrasounds, or other imaging tests to check for larvae cysts, organ damage, and other complications
- Biopsies
- Spinal tap
- Physical, neurological, and eye exams
Providers can also review patients' symptoms, medical history, and lifestyle habits to determine their risk of tapeworm infections.
Treatment Options
Tapeworm infections are typically treated with medications.
Conventional Medical Treatments
Antiparasitic medications (anthelmintic drugs) that can kill tapeworms and shrink larval cysts include:
- Praziquantel (Biltricide®)
- Nitazoxanide (Alinia®)
- Albendazole (Albenza®)
Praziquantel is often the medication of choice because it paralyzes tapeworms, dislodging them from the intestinal wall. Niclosamide is also an option but isn't available in the United States.
Follow-up visits, typically within three months, are recommended to ensure treatment success.
Tapeworm medicines often kill the worms but not the eggs. Washing your hands often with soap and water can help prevent the spread of tapeworm eggs to other people.
Treatment for invasive larval infections may include:
- Managing neurological symptoms and other complications
- Corticosteroids to reduce tissue inflammation
- Larval cyst drainage
- Anti-parasitic medications
- Anti-seizure medicines
- Larval cyst removal with surgery (if threatening organ function)
- Shunt to drain fluid from the brain
You may need more than one type of treatment. If larval cysts aren't causing problematic complications, watching and waiting is sometimes appropriate.
Integrative and Functional Approaches
Integrative and functional medicine approaches to treating tapeworm infections involve eating a well-balanced, nutrient-dense diet and taking nutritional supplements to correct any nutrient deficiencies caused by tapeworm infections.
Conventional medicine can eliminate parasites faster with fewer side effects than many alternative treatments. However, alternative remedies may enhance conventional therapies.
Research is ongoing to determine which herbal and other natural remedies may be most beneficial for reducing human parasitic infections.
Diet
Garlic, pumpkin seeds, bananas, pomegranates, papaya, and barberry are among foods that may help kill parasites naturally. Other foods to consider include beets, probiotic-rich foods, carrots, and honey.
Consume a fiber-rich diet and drink a lot of water, but limit or avoid simple carbohydrates and added sugars.
More research is needed on the effectiveness of these foods against parasites.
Supplements
Probiotics, papain (digestive enzyme), vitamin C, vitamin B12, and zinc are dietary supplements that might also be beneficial.
Herbs
In addition to garlic and barberry, other herbs to consider for parasitic infections include goldenseal, anise, Oregon grape, wormwood, black walnut, and curled mint.
Homeopathy
Homeopaths might suggest their patients try Cina, Cuprum oxidatum nigrum, Teucrium, Indigo, Spigelia, Stanum, Sabadilla, or Podophyllum.
Routine follow-up appointments are critical to ensure tapeworm treatments work effectively.
Prevention Strategies
Tapeworm infection prevention strategies include:
Personal Hygiene Practices
Proper and frequent hand washing—especially after using the bathroom, interacting with animals, and before eating or handling food—is vital to reducing the risk of spreading tapeworms via feces.
- Wash your hands with water and antibacterial soap for at least 20 seconds.
- Do not eat raw or undercooked pork, beef, or fish.
- Wash kitchen utensils and cutting boards well with soapy water.
- Take steps to avoid contact with fleas, grain beetles, and rodents.
Treat infected pets with tapeworms immediately; regularly deworm dogs and cats.
Safe Food Preparation Methods
Safe food preparation methods that help reduce the risk of parasitic infections include:
- Cook fish and whole meats to at least 145 degrees F and let them rest for at least three minutes. Use a meat thermometer to ensure meat and fish are cooked thoroughly.
- Cook ground meat to at least 160 degrees F. Drying or smoking the meat does not prevent tapeworm infections.
- Freeze fish and meat at -4 F or colder temperatures for seven days (freeze sushi and other raw fish before consumption).
- Rinse all fruits and vegetables thoroughly under running water.
If you must drink untreated water, boil it for at least one minute.
Public Health Measures
Public health measures that minimize the risk of tapeworm infections include adequate sanitation infrastructure, food safety training in restaurants and hospitals, thoroughly cooking meat and fish, and education and awareness campaigns.
Living with a Tapeworm Infection
Living with a tapeworm infection involves undergoing treatment and following up with a provider to ensure the treatment has effectively eliminated worms and eggs from your body.
Managing Symptoms and Health
Symptoms caused by tapeworm infections may not appear for months or years. After treating tapeworms, they die, and your body excretes them.
If you don't know you have tapeworms or don't seek treatment, the worms could spread to other areas of your body or eventually die off.
Invasive larval infections that cause complications require medical intervention to manage organ damage, central nervous system problems, or other medical concerns.
Support Systems and Resources
Medical support systems and community resources for individuals at risk of or diagnosed with tapeworm infections include:
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- Merck Manual
- The World Health Organization (WHO)
- State and local agencies
- Community support groups
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Key Takeaways
- While they don't always cause symptoms, tapeworms in humans can contribute to nutritional deficiencies, gastrointestinal problems, eye and vision problems, neurological symptoms, or organ damage when left untreated.
- Tapeworm infections may appear from eating undercooked or raw fish, pork, or beef, unwashed fresh produce, or exposure to poop in areas with poor sanitation.
- Tapeworm treatment includes appropriate lab and imaging testing, medications, nutrient-dense and antiparasitic foods, dietary supplements, and managing complications caused by invasive larvae.
- Prevention measures include hand washing, good hygiene, and safe food preparation.
- Tapeworm education, awareness, and proactive measures are critical in combating tapeworm infections in the United States and worldwide.
- Interested in learning more? Read our related articles, subscribe to our newsletter, and leave a comment sharing your experiences or questions below!
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