Stomach Worms in Children: Symptoms, Causes & Treatment

We have all gone through a common problem related to stomach worms. We all had a hard time releasing those Intestinal worms from the body. There are medicines available in pharmacies to kill stomach worms. That comes with the short term effect and contains side effects. Glad, there are few home remedies available to cut stomach worms.

Stomach worms exist in the gastrointestinal tract, on the intestinal wall. Stomach worms create high discomfort and can emerge due to:

• Weak immune system
• Eating raw meat
• Inadequate sanitation and hygiene
• Drinking Contaminated water

Types of Stomach worms

The main type of stomach worms is pinworm, whipworm, tapeworm, flukes, and roundworm

Pinworm

Pinworm infection is an intestinal worm and is the most common infection worldwide. They are white, thin, and measure about ½ to ¼ inch in length. Individuals who have pinworm show no specific symptoms occur in school going kids. They are easy to spread as they are microscopic eggs and can develop from child to child.

Basic symptoms of pinworm infection include:

• Itching
• Irritability, restlessness, insomnia, and teeth grinding
• Nausea and occasional stomach pain

Whipworm

A whipworm infection refers to trichuriasis. A large intestinal infection caused by the Trichuris trichiura parasite. Infection develops with the dirt contaminated with feces or ingesting water.
The infection is common in children and people who live in areas with poor sanitation or hygiene. People living in hot or humid climate conditions may also get a whipworm infection. This infection is also common in animals that include dogs and cats.

Whipworm infection has different symptoms align from mild to severe that include:

• Vomiting
• Headache
• Inability to control defecation
• Diarrhea with blood
• Weight loss

Tapeworm

The segmented, flatworms live in the intestines of certain animals. Animals get contaminated by parasites while drinking dirty water or grazing in pastures.

People get this infection by eating undercooked meat of these infected animals. There are a few symptoms to understand the infection:

• Nausea
• Weakness
• Abdominal pain
• Deficiency of vitamin and mineral
• Loss of appetite or sudden hunger

Flukes

They refer to the trematode or blood fluke related to the invertebrate class of trematode. It is a group of flatworm parasites that evolved a decade ago from free-living forms. The parasite is 0.2 inches to 4 inches in length. The symptoms include fever, malaise, and hives.

Roundworm

Roundworm infection is a kind of illness caused by parasites. The eggs of roundworms live in soil contaminated by feces and get into the body through the mouth. The infection can spread through infected feces from one person to another.
Roundworm has a life of about two years. It is thick and can grow about 13 inches. Female roundworms lay around 200000 eggs per day. It includes certain symptoms:

• The worm comes out of the mouth or nose
• Failure to grow or quick weight loss
• Wheezing
• fever

Stomach Parasite Symptoms
There are common symptoms one can understand worm infection like weight loss. Other symptoms include:

• Bloating/ gas
• Loss of appetite
• Weight loss
• Abdominal pain
• Diarrhea, vomiting, and nausea
• Frequent eating
• Fever and dry cough
• Wheezing
• Anemia
• Painful urination

Causes of stomach worm infection

Children are quite active and dynamic and quick in contact with germs. There are a few causes listed below for stomach worm in children:

• Consuming infected water or food
• Inappropriate hygiene
• Contact with germ infected surface such as germs at the playground, parasite eggs in the soil.
• Touching an infected pet
• Improper handwashing
• Eating undercooked meat

How to Diagnose Stomach Worm in Children

Many symptoms of the stomach parasites in children contain symptoms of other illnesses. To diagnose the accurate problem, the Doctor may prescribe various exams and tests:

• Abdomen Ultrasound to capture the moving body of intestinal worm infection.
• Test under the fingernails samples to diagnose germs and worms.
• Use diagnostic modalities like Contrast-enhanced MRI and CT brain to diagnose parasites.
• Doctors might prescribe the examination of stool test for worms. It is also advised to inspect the child anus under torchlight at night.

Doctors identify actual treatment and start it soon after all the diagnoses.

Stomach worm Treatment

You may have any type of worms the treatment for all stomach worm infection is similar:

• The patient needs to give a sample of poo in the laboratory to check whether it contains the worm eggs.
• In case the person has a stomach worm, GP will prescribe medicine to drop them. This course of medicine will be for 1 to 3 days. The family members of the patient also need the treatment.

Note: any stomach worm in the human gut needs to pass out in the stool. To avoid repeated infection, it is important to wash hands:

• After using toilets
• Before preparing or eating foods
• During the regular day.

Natural Home Remedies for Stomach Worms in Children

There are a few home remedies to treat stomach worms, but you cannot use them as first-line treatment. These home remedies need the primary support of anecdotes to use them.

Home remedies are the natural way to remove stomach worms. One should be careful while trying these remedies as some suits, or they may not suit everyone. The person should consider testing the remedy before using it in an affected area.

Here is a list of all home remedies one can consider to treat stomach worm infections:

Raw Garlic: Garlic has antibacterial properties. Garlic can kill existing eggs and intercept worms from laying eggs. One can consume it in small doses or can apply it to relevant areas like a salve. Anyone who wants to ingest garlic needs to follow the procedure:

• Take a few Garlic cloves and dice them into small pieces.
• Sprinkle it on bread or mix with pasta

In case the person wishes to create a salve he needs to follow certain procedure and precautions:

• Take a few cloves of garlic and chop them
• Grind these chopped cloves into a fine paste with a base oil or petroleum jelly.
• Plunge clean cotton into the mixture. Apply the salve on the affected area.

Note: Do not use it on sensitive skin without the patch test. In case you have a burning sensation on the skin, broken skin, inflammation, or hemorrhoids.
Coconut Oil

It has antiviral and antibacterial properties that aid in stomach worm infection. There is a two-way approach for using the oil:

• Take a tablespoon of coconut oil and swallow it every morning.
• Take a few drops of oil and rub it into the affected area before going to bed.

Raw Carrot: Raw carrot is Fiber-rich food that helps in improving digestion and promoting bowel movement. Eat carrot twice a day that will help the body to push stomach parasites

Related: Top Immunity Booster Foods for Kids

Raw Papaya: Papayas are good for the stomach and prevent intestinal parasites. Papayas have enzyme papain containing anthelmintic properties to function against the parasite. One can consume seeds, leaves, and the raw flesh of papaya following the guidelines:

• Mix 1 Tbsp. juice of fresh raw papaya, add 3-4 Tbsp. warm water, and sprinkle honey. Drink an empty stomach in the morning.
• Grind papaya seeds into a refined paste and consume with a glass of milk, water, or sprinkle in a smoothie.
• Boil a few leaves in hot water, strain it and consume filtrate along with water

Pomegranate

Pomegranate proves to have miraculous properties that work wonders for health. According to Ayurveda, the bark of a pomegranate tree contains punicine. An alkaloid contains anthelmintic properties used for eliminating intestinal parasites. Follow the procedure to remove the parasite from the intestine:

• Take the bark of the pomegranate plant and boil it with water
• After a few minutes remove it from flame and let it cool overnight
• Strain the water and consume it early morning on an empty stomach.

Lotus Stem

Lotus is a sacred plant and has amazing properties for health benefits from root to flower. The fresh stem is cool and sweet which encounters horrified heat and summer dryness. Lotus stems contain:
Vitamin C & B6, Phosphorus, Dietary fiber, Potassium, Copper, magnesium, Thiamine, and  Riboflavin

For the best result consume the juice early morning on an empty stomach by following these steps:
Extract 2 Tbsp. lotus stem juice
Mix a drizzle of honey and have it

Carom seeds

Carom seed also refers to ajwain and its fruit possesses properties called anthelmintic. It contains brown colored oil has a chief component called thymol. That component contains antimicrobial properties. This plant helps in eliminating worms from the gut.

People believed that it helps in expelling intestinal worms by chewing dried seeds. Mix the seeds with a pinch of jaggery or salt for better taste. Parents can grind the seeds in a fine paste and mix it with water and jaggery to make small balls to swallow.

Neem

Neem plants contain antibacterial properties. Neem flowers and fruit are crucial as a precautionary action for infection prevention. It is helpful for children of age from 3 to 6 years for effective deworming.

Conclusion

These home remedies help in getting rid of stomach worms in children and adults. Individuals need to adopt proper sensitization and healthy food to keep them healthy. Proper track of children’s sensitization and can help the parents to reduce the risk of intestinal parasites.