If you suspect you have a parasitic infection, you should consult a healthcare professional immediately for a proper diagnosis and medical treatment. Home parasite cleanses or detox diets lack clinical evidence of effectiveness and may be unsafe.
Knowing if you have parasites involves recognizing symptoms like digestive issues (diarrhea, bloating, pain), unexplained weight loss, fatigue, skin rashes, or muscle aches, but often infections are subtle or asymptomatic, so a doctor's diagnosis through stool samples or blood tests is crucial for confirmation, especially if you have persistent symptoms like fever, extreme fatigue, or blood in your stool.
A clinical trial in Nigeria involving 60 children found that those given papaya seeds attained a 76.7% clearance rate of intestinal parasites.
How is a worm infection treated? The treatment for threadworms is worming tablets, which are available from the pharmacy. The whole household should be treated at the same time, even if they have no symptoms. When taking the medicine, you should also ensure you follow strict hygiene practices to prevent reinfestation.
You'll get a pharmaceutical antimicrobial which is designed to kill the parasite quickly. This usually works within a week. However some infections don't respond to these antimicrobials. They're also very powerful, so they're likely to cause quite a bit of damage to the rest of your microbiome while they do their job.
👉 Common types found in stool: Pinworms – thin, white, thread-like worms (often cause itching at night). Roundworms – can look like long spaghetti-like strands. Tapeworms – flat, ribbon-like, sometimes seen as small white segments. Protozoa (microscopic parasites) – usually invisible, but lab tests can detect them.
Ivermectin is an antiparasitic agent used to treat a variety of infections, both in people and animals. Albendazole is also a broad spectrum antiparasitic used to treat several intestinal parasite infections. Both ivermectin and albendazole are included in WHO's list of essential medicines .
If you continue to experience symptoms like stomach cramps and pain, nausea or vomiting, dehydration, weight loss, and digestive problems, including unexplained constipation, diarrhea, or persistent gas even after trying several treatments, you may have a parasite.
Albendazole is a first-choice treatment for these infections. Common side effects of albendazole include nausea, stomach pain, and headache. These usually resolve after finishing the treatment.
Common types of intestinal parasites include hookworms, tapeworms, pinworms, roundworms, flukes, and giardia. What can I drink to deworm myself? Drinks that may help to fight parasites include teas made with wormwood or barberry, and smoothies or juices that contain papaya seeds, pomegranate, or coconut.
While these studies demonstrate the potential of ACV as an antimicrobial agent, they do not provide evidence regarding its effectiveness against parasitic organisms. Interestingly, while ACV has shown effectiveness against a range of bacteria and fungi, its efficacy is not universal across all microbial species.
While bananas typically are not on the list of foods that directly manage parasites, one study showed that ground banana plant leaf and pseudostem extracts contain antimicrobial activity against food-borne pathogens and infections.
10 Warning Signs of Parasitic Infections
Food
To avoid health risks, it's important to check yourself over for parasites regularly. You can do this by: Looking for the signs. Common symptoms of a parasitic infection include diarrhea, bloating, gas, fatigue, weight loss, and itching around the anus.
Roundworms and tapeworms typically appear as long, spaghetti-like, or segmented flat worms in stool, whereas hookworms and pinworms are smaller, thread-like worms. Stool tests, particularly the Ova and Parasite (O&P) test, along with blood tests and imaging, are effective for assessing parasitic infections.
Some of the most common signs of a parasitic infection include:
Some parasites are visually comparable to undigested foods that can appear in the stool, namely germinated bean sprouts; physicians should not only be mindful of such similarities, but should also take a full dietary history and consider any such correlations before requesting microbiologic analysis.
Berries- Berries are rich in a particular type of antioxidants known as polyphenols. They also have a compound called ellagitannin which stops the spread and growth of the intestinal parasite Giarda. Add strawberries, blackberries and blueberries in your diet to keep your intestines healthy.
1. Pumpkin Seeds. Pumpkin seeds are an extremely effective deworming agent because they contain an amino acid called cucurbitacin.
Parasite Cleanse Diet Changes
Some natural medicine providers also suggest a gut cleanse or detox. This involves pairing a high-fiber diet with supplements to clear out your intestines. These supplements include psyllium, beetroot, and flaxseeds.
In particular, both gastrointestinal diseases and parasitic infections have been shown to impair micronutrient absorption. Several of these micronutrients, including vitamin A, selenium and zinc, play critical roles in immune function and resistance to parasitic infections.
Parasites and parasitic infections are common. They affect millions of people throughout the entire world. Many people may not notice they have an infection because they have few symptoms. Others may have serious illnesses.