Human Tapeworms

Today I came across a fact that interested me quite a lot, and so I thought it may be interesting to share. As I was reading across some scientific facts, one jumped out and caught my attention - This fact was that Human Tapeworms can grow up to 30 feet and live in a humans body for up to 30 years. In my opinion I thought this was quite amazing and so decided to do some more research on Human Tapeworms. Here is what I found out:

What Are Human Tapeworms?

Human Tapeworms are parasites, they belong to the Cestoda parasites family (which are a class of parasitic flatworms), Tapeworms are known to be one of the oldest parasites since life began. The Human Tapeworms feed off of a host i.e. Humans and usually live in their intestines. If a person gets infected by a Human Tapeworm they usually do not feel any symptoms, and so the Tapeworm can go unnoticed. Hence being able to survive within a human for up to 30 years.  

The Body Structure Of a Human Tapeworm

The Structure of a Human Tapeworms body is fairly simple. It is divided into three main parts, which consist of the head, the neck of the worm and a long tail like feature which are divided into segments called Proglottids.

As the Tapeworm lives in the intestines of the human, it must be able to stay stuck there without being excreted with waste products. How a Human Tapeworm manages to stay in the intestines is by attaching it self to the walls of the intestine. The worm is able to attach itself to the intestine walls as it has many hook like mechanisms on its head, which allow it to stay stuck to the walls of the intestine.

How Does The Human Tapeworm Reach its incredibly Long Size?

The Human Tapeworm has both female and male sex organs (gonads), this enables the worm to fertilise its own eggs. The eggs are contained in the Proglottids, once the egg is fertilised it can either break off and become a new Tapeworm somewhere else in the body, or it can join on to the original Tapeworm becoming another Proglottid. As this process carries on over the life span of the Human Tapeworm, more and more Proglottids join on to the original worm and therefore increase its size (size can increase up to 30 feet for a Human Tapeworm).

Symptoms And Effects Of Human Tapeworms

Human Tapeworms usually go untreated because the symptoms they cause do not really indicate that a Tapeworm is present in the host. some of the symptoms which they cause are listed below, and once you have read them you may be able to understand why they do not indicate directly to the presence of a Tapeworm.

Some symptoms include:

• Diarrhoea  
• Abdomen Pain
• Weight Loss
• Muscle Weakness
• Constipation

If a Human Tapeworm is not detected and diagnosed it can have some sever effects. A few of the effects include:

• Neurocysticercosis - This causes the swelling of the brain which is very sever as it can lead to death.
• Alveolar Hydatid Disease - Formation of parasitic tumours mostly in the liver, followed by the lungs, then the brain, and many other organs   
• etc...

How To Treat Human Tapeworms

If a person does discover a Human Tapeworm in their digestive system, they can consult a doctor who would carry out some Antibody tests. If the test proves positive, and there is definitely a Tapeworm present, then the doctor can give the patient some conventional drugs which will remove the tapeworm from the patients body. Most people tend to make a full recovery once they have been diagnosed and treated.

How You Can Avoid a Human Tapeworm Growing Inside Yourself 

Here are some simple tips on how to prevent being infected by a Tapeworm parasite:

• Make sure meat and fish are cooked properly.
• Treat Tapeworms in pets as soon as discovered.
• Wash hands regularly e.g. before eating, after using the toilet, when touching meat etc...

I know that these steps sound pretty simple and obvious, however it is when not following these simple steps, which causes most people to become infected by Tapeworm parasites. So make sure that you follow these easy steps, and hope that there's not a monster growing inside you.