Worms
Millions of people all around the world are affected by intestinal worms. These worms are most common in the tropical and the sub tropical areas and children are effected more than adults. It is possible for kids to have more than one kind of worm living in their intestines. Humans will usually have one of three type of worms that are common. The roundworm is the most common. The adult roundworm is a pinkish-white color and between ten and thirty-five cm long. The female of these worms will lay about two million eggs a day and these eggs leave the body with the feces. If the soil conditions are moist and warm, the eggs will be able to develop. They get into humans by being in the soil where vegetable and fruit grow and then are ingested when these foods are eaten.
The second worm is the whip worm. It is smaller worm at just about 40 mm. This worm feeds by burring its threadlike anterior into the intestinal mucosa and does not feed from blood like the roundworm. Because of this, the colon and cecum are usually the areas to be infected. These worms do not migrate but lay eggs and grow in the intestines. The female can lay her eggs for almost five years in this location. The third most common worm is the hookworm. This worm can enter the human body two ways. The foot is the usual place and from here it will migrate. The hookworm can only survive in tropical or sub tropical climates. The hookworm egg requires certain temperature and rainfall to be able to hatch and then develop into the larval state. Only when it gets to this stage can it penetrate the skin of travel toward the intestines.
This worm has a thirst for iron and it can find it in human intestines by the food the person eats which can then make this person anemic. To avoid getting hookworm while you are vacationing in a tropical location, be sure to wear shoes at all times. These hookworms eggs are in the dirt where they mature and wait for a human or animal to walk or lay down on them. This is when they will enter a human foot and work their way to the intestines where they will have the food they are looking for. De-worming your dog will also help to prevent hookworms from living in your dog.
