Human body plays host to a variety of worms, which cause a variety of diseases. These parasites gain an entry into the body through raw and stale food, polluted water or directly through the skin. The worms can be broadly categorized as flat worms and round worms.
Pinworms or threadworms are tiny roundworms found in the lower digestive tract of human beings. Commonly found in children, even the adults are susceptible to an infection.
Symptoms include a very mild tickling to severe itching or pain, which occur when the migrating female worms are in the anus or surrounding skin.
In women, migrating worms may enter the vaginal area causing a discharge. In some individuals, restlessness, sleeplessness, loss of appetite, loss of weight, and sometimes nausea and vomiting occur. Infected children are often irritable, hard to manage and inattentive at school.
Another common intestinal parasite, Ascaris Iumbricoides resembles the ordinary earthworm. Rats spread this infection and the larvae enter the human body through food. If only a few worms are present, there may be no symptoms and the condition is discovered when a worm is detected in the stools.
On the other hand, there may be a capricious appetite, with itching of the nose, sickness and vomiting with blood in the stools. There may be convulsions in children. If a worm enters the bile duct, it could also lead to jaundice. However, if there are a large number of worms, this may lead to the obstruction of the bowel.
The infection is spread through under-cooked beef, pork, fish, and through contaminated food, water and vegetables.
Self-Help Guidelines & Ayurvedic Remedies
If you are infected with threadworm, all infected persons in the family should be treated at the same time. Dryness and heat kill the eggs. Hence, when the treatment is on, the nightclothes and towels should be cleaned daily in very hot water. Personal hygiene and household cleanliness are two ways in which the spread of pinworms can be prevented. Pinworm eggs can be removed by washing with soap and warm water. Wash hands frequently, especially before meals and after using the toilet.
This will also prevent the spread of pinworms. Keep fingernails short and clean to avoid an infection.
Prevention of other intestinal parasites, especially tapeworms, requires using adequate sanitation and avoiding un-cleaned vegetables and under-cooked beef, pork and fish.
• Take 20 gm of jaggery early in the morning. After 30 minutes, take one gram of khurasai ajvayan seeds (Hyoscyamus niger) with cold water. This expels intestinal worms.
• Threadworms in children can be eradicated by taking onion juice.
• For expelling intestinal worms, especially tapeworms, Embelia ribes (vidang) will help. Powdered seeds are used for this purpose and they should be taken on an empty stomach. Take two to three grams of the powder with honey. A suitable purgative should be taken after 24 hours of the intake of medicine.
• Seed of Butea frondosa or Forest flame (palaasa beeja in Sanskrit) is a good medicine for round-worms. One to three grams of the powder has to be taken with buttermilk twice a day. This can also be taken in the form of decoction.
• As a general remedy, one to two grams powder of drumstick seeds is taken with water twice a day.
• Take internally, one to two grams of the paste of unripe betel nut, with two teaspoonfuls of lemon juice.
• Ingudi (Balanites roxburghii) is a very good medicine for round worms, threadworms and tapeworms. The decoction of its bark will give relief from the infection. The powder of the seeds can also be taken.
• Sweet basil (sabzah) is a very good anthelmintic, and effective cure for intestinal worms. A decoction made of the leaves or the powder of the seeds should be taken.
• The glandular hair found on the fruits of Mallotus philippinensis (kampilla) are an excellent anthelmintic for expelling intestinal worms including tapeworms. One to two grams of the powder should be taken with honey, jaggery or curd. No purgative is required in it.
• Take four tablespoonfuls of the fresh milky juice of unripe papaya fruit with one tablespoonful of honey and four tablespoonfuls of boiling water. This acts as an effective anthelmintic in expelling round worms. After two hours, a reasonable amount of castor oil with limejuice is to be taken.
• The powder of either the bark or the fruit peel of pomegranate is effective in expelling round worms and tapeworms. Three to six grams of the powder should be taken along with sugar. A laxative should be taken after an hour.
• Krimi-kuthaara rasa, Krimi-mudgara rasa, Vidangaarishta, Krimi kalanal ras and Krumihar rasa are some of the important ayurvedic formulations that will help in treating intestinal parasites. Consult your ayurvedic physician before using them.