Associated symptoms

The accompanying symptoms vary depending on the type of worm and may sometimes be absent altogether. Tapeworm infestation in the intestine can cause abdominal pain or diarrhea. In addition, deficiency symptoms can also occur because the worm consumes the corresponding food components itself.

Fish tapeworm infestation, for example, is characterized by a lack of vitamin B-12, which can be diagnosed by blood analysis and, if persistent, can lead to blood deficiency. Which could also be of interest to you: Abdominal pain and diarrhea, infectious diarrheaIf the tapeworm also affects the lungs, this can manifest itself in a dry cough. Sometimes parts of the worm can also be excreted with the stool.

If a tapeworm also affects the liver, this can be noticed by the yellow discoloration of the dermis of the eyes. In the course of the disease, the yellow coloration appears on the entire body and there is pain in the upper abdomen on the right side. In addition, the liver can be affected, which can manifest itself, for example, in reduced blood clotting or water retention.

The most common infestation of the liver is a fox tapeworm. Typical for pinworms is that itching in the area of the anus occurs especially at night. This is caused by the fact that the female worms lay their eggs in the anal folds at night.

Furthermore, intestinal infections or weight loss are also possible. Nightly scratching due to itching can lead to local inflammation. While roundworms usually do not cause symptoms in the case of low-grade infestation, a more severe infestation can lead to abdominal pain, fever, weight loss or anemia.

Roundworms can also infest the lungs and then show a bronchitis-like symptomatology. Even if trichinae initially accumulate mainly in the intestine, they are usually conspicuous by feverish muscle pain. If these symptoms are present, this indicates that the trichinae have already migrated from the intestine via the blood into the muscles. The complaints often resemble those of a rheumatic illness at first.In addition, however, intestinal complaints such as diarrhea or abdominal pain are also present. Allergic reactions can also occur during a worm infestation.