Intestinal Worms - Bowel Disorders Message Board

Lulu29 · 03-10-2005, 01:10 PM

I think I may have passed some sort of intestinal worms in my last bowel movement. This may sound discusting, but the only way I can describe what I saw is this: Several whiteish/yellowish colored, stringy wormlike strands. They looked liked mucous covered strands of spaghetti. About 5 inches in length and appeared lifeless. Could this be tapeworm or hookworm? Shouldn`t they be alive when passed?

I don`t feel sick or have symptoms of hookworm (like diarhea or constipation), I do get occasional headaches, but overall I feel fine and I am in good health.

Any guesses on what type of worm this could be if it is at all? Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks!

Luka Mullens · 03-10-2005, 09:09 PM

Tapeworm are usually flat and really long (even though you could pass pieces of it), not spaghetti like. Hookworms are usually about a cm long (which is about 1/2 an inch).
In general you have to have a rather bad infection with worms/parasites (except for pinworms) for them to come out by themselves, but it is possible.
Maybe these are roundworms? You could get roundworms if you do not wash your vegetables carefully enough.
I am not sure you could get over the counter wormtablets here, but Mebendazole works wonders for almost all common worms. You take these twice a day for three days.
And if you want to make sure you have worms or not you will have to get stool samples to a doc. If you don't want to go to a doc, wormtablets won't hurt you...

L.

littlegal · 03-11-2005, 07:25 AM

I have been having this pain in my digestive tract. I went to a herbal Dr. and she did muscle testing and it showed I had parasites in my intestines and colon. The muscle testing seems kinda off the wall, but she knows exactly where I hurt by doing this. I am taking a parasites and colon cleaner that will help flush out the toxins and parasites. They had medicine for worms too. I know she said once this cleaner starts to work - I should be passing them. I don't think you can see parasites but worms you can. I have read on the internet about the worms. If you decide not to go to a Dr. for a stool sample - try a herbal Dr. Everything they give you is natural and safe. Take care and good luck!

aswander · 03-14-2006, 02:55 PM

Lulu,

I am not a medical professional (yet!), but I just took my first class in medical microbiology and studied worms.

You definitely need to bring a stool sample to your doctor. They need to determine what type of worms you have, because while mebendazole works for many worms, there are different meds for certain other worms. Even though you passed some worms already, you likely have more inside of you. Those worms lay eggs, which can be viewed under a microscope in a stool sample. Those eggs are used for diagnosis. Your doctor will do an "O & P" test for ova and parasites with the stool sample.

It sounds like you might have an ascaris lumbricoides infection. Ascaris lumbricoides is the largest roundworm and commonly grows up to about 1 foot. Inside the body, they cling together en masse and lodge in your intestines (possibly causing an obstruction) or in your lungs (can cause pneumonia). Luckily, you have not experienced the symptoms yet other than passing the worms, but you don't want to keep them around any longer.

If it is ascaris lumbricoides, your doctor will probably give you mebendazole or piperazine. You should be able to get rid of all the worms by taking a deworming medication. Although the worms are gross, you should be fine as long as you get treatment.

This post serves double duty as preparation for my upcoming exam! Practical usage! Viva les helminths!

VAUXHALL OMEGA · 03-16-2006, 12:29 PM

Hi , the main question is, are you losing weight for no apparent reason? If you are, then there is a good chance you have thread worms, which unlike tape worms are about 1 - 1 and a half inces in length. You can pick these worms up from cats. Your doctor can easily treat them though from a course of tablets. Also when you pass them, they usually are the dead ones, hence the reason (if it is worms) they are not moving!

Best of luck!