Parasites in humans are more common than some would suspect. Whether you live in a remote community in Africa, or a bustling major city in the United States, you can easily become infected with parasites if you're not careful. A parasite is an organism that lives and feeds off its host, and while some may go undetected for years, others can lead to diseases.
The following are a few common parasites that live in humans:
Roundworms - these parasites usually live in the intestines of their hosts. They can measure up to three feet, and they generally infect a person via contaminated soil to mouth. Some can also infect a person through the skin. There are various types of roundworms including guinea worms, whipworms, and pinworms. These parasites can cause shortness of breath, weight loss, abdominal pain, diarrhea, painful swelling around the site of the wound, itchy rashes, loss of appetite, blurred vision, and much more.
Tapeworm - people become infested with tapeworms after eating raw or undercooked meat of infected animals. The larvae consumed in the meat will live in the host's intestines and develop into adult tapeworms, which can grow up to 12 feet in length. Tapeworms can be transferred human to human via the fecal-oral route. Meaning if someone who has tapeworms doesn't properly wash their hands after using the restroom and then handles food, the person eating the food can become infected. Tapeworms are generally asymptomatic, but detected when the infected party passes segments of the parasite in their stool.
Hookworms - these parasites in humans can be found worldwide, and hosts are usually infected when their skin comes in contact with contaminated soil. This is because hookworms release their larvae onto the soil, and humans can unknowingly walk on it with their bare feet. These worms live in their host's intestines and they can cause abdominal pain, anemia, loss of appetite, and diarrhea in severe cases.
If you suspect that you or your child have any of these parasites that live in humans, contact your physician as soon as possible. Your doctor will conduct a series of tests, which could be blood tests or lab tests on your stool samples, to come up with an accurate diagnosis. Treatments for these parasites in humans typically involve anti-parasitic drugs combined with anti-inflammatory medications.
