Tapeworm Symptoms to Watch & Natural Tapeworm Treatments

More than 100 million cases of tapeworm infections occur globally every year. (1) Tapeworm infections affect the intestines of humans and occur when people eat raw or undercooked, contaminated animal foods. They can even affect other organs in rare instances, including the brain.

Surprisingly, tapeworms don’t always cause any noticeable symptoms at all. However when they do, tapeworm symptoms — and those caused by other similar parasitic infections — can sometimes become very serious, even life-threatening. When present, tapeworm symptoms include nausea, diarrhea, cramps, trouble sleeping and more.

The actual infections that tapeworms cause mostly affect the intestinal wall, but can become more complicated when tapeworm larvae/eggs move through the bloodstream and attach to skeletal muscle or tissues, where they’re able to form cysts. One rare example of a complicated tapeworm infection was discovered in a man who complained of splitting headaches and migraine symptoms like nausea and vomiting for years; it turned out that he was suffering from a condition called neurocysticercosis, which causes neurological symptoms when tapeworm larval cysts develop in the brain.

What can you do to help overcome a tapeworm infection and relieve tapeworm symptoms? Natural treatments include performing a parasitic cleanse, consuming supplements to help improve detoxification, and enemas or colonics.

What Is a Tapeworm?

Tapeworms are flat, sometimes very long worms that are able to survive inside the digestive system of both humans and animals.

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A parasite is an organism that lives on or in a host and gets its food from or at the expense of its host. A parasite’s eggs can even live inside raw meat, including beef, pork and fish.

Cysts that lead to tapeworms are what humans consume when they eat contaminated meat (especially pork) or fish. Eggs stored inside the cysts eventually hatch, and the newly born worms then continue the cycle by latching on to the host’s intestinal wall as an energy supply.

Six different species of tapeworms have now been identified that cause millions of human infections around the world every year — and the tapeworm symptoms that accompany them. (2)

Some of the most common types of tapeworm infections are caused by parasites, including beef tapeworms, pork tapeworms, fish tapeworms, dwarf tapeworms (Hymenolepis nana) and the Echinococcus species of tapeworms. Taenia saginata is the species found in beef, Taenia solium from pork and Diphyllobothrium latum from fish. Pork and fish tapeworms can sometimes grow up to 15—30 feet in length.

And because the worms can lay eggs inside of a human’s or animal’s digestive tract that make their way into stool, the eggs can sometimes spread to other people (referred to as “intermediate hosts”) through contact with feces or from environmental runoff.

Tapeworm Symptoms

It’s believed that the majority of people who become infected with tapeworms don’t ever know it or develop noticeable tapeworm symptoms or complications. The tapeworm is eventually killed off inside the intestines and excreted through a bowel movement. However, some people are not so lucky and manage to stay infected with a tapeworm for months or even years, left to deal with uncomfortable tapeworm symptoms.

The most common tapeworm symptoms and signs include: (3)

• An upset stomach or nausea


• Diarrhea or loose stools


• Muscle weakness and fatigue


• Cramps and abdominal pains


• Changes in appetite, including feeling very hungry despite eating or loss of appetite


• Weight loss (even despite eating)


• Signs of nutrient deficiencies, including cognitive problems like poor concentration and fatigue


• Trouble sleeping


• Changes in stool and sometimes segments of the worm appearing in a bowel movement. Some people can even feel a small piece of the tapeworm exit the anus or notice a moving, ribbon-like worm inside the toilet bowel.


• Animals, including pets like dogs or cats, can also become infected with tapeworms. Tapeworm symptoms in dogs or cats can include vomiting, loss of appetite, low energy or diarrhea.

Natural Treatments for Tapeworm Symptoms

1. Thoroughly Cook Meat and Fish

Because eating raw or undercooked meat and fish is the most common cause of tapeworm infections, the best way to protect yourself is to cook these foods thoroughly before consuming them. Most experts recommend cooking animal foods to at least 135 degrees Fahrenheit (57 degrees Celsius). Cysts and eggs within meat or fish also commonly die off at this temperature or when frozen for extended periods (more than several days). Unfortunately, drying or smoking meat and fish usually is not enough to kill all eggs.

Because freshwater fish are capable of passing tapeworms to their eggs, it’s recommended that these fish never be served raw (sushi-style). When consuming freshwater fish, ensure that it is cooked, preferably frozen after being caught or properly cured/brined. To prevent tapeworm infections from contaminated animal foods, it is advisable to have a trained health code advisor inspect the meat or fish before it is sold, as cysts within the meat/fish are often visible to the naked eye.

A parasitic cleanse diet can help alleviate symptoms of intestinal infections and prevent complications. Following a healthy diet can lower the risk of parasite infections by boosting immunity and avoiding certain high-risk foods (such as pork).

To complete a parasite cleanse, follow these steps for a week, while taking anti-parasitic supplements. After a week, take a break from the cleanse and supplements for one week before resuming for two more weeks. Steps include avoiding pork products, increasing organic vegetable intake, eliminating added sugar and refined carbohydrates, reducing fruit consumption, consuming coconut products, seeds, bone broth, organic grass-fed meat, wild-caught fish, probiotic foods, and avoiding processed foods and alcohol.

Certain supplements can help kill parasites and eliminate toxins from the body, including Paracomplete, grapefruit seed extract, black walnut, garlic, wormwood, oregano oil, olive leaf, and clove oil.

Improving detoxification through colon cleanses can enhance the effectiveness of a parasite cleanse. Consider using coffee enemas or salt water flushes.

The most common cause of tapeworm infections in humans is consuming undercooked meat from an infected animal or contaminated freshwater fish. Risk factors for tapeworm infections include drinking contaminated water, imbalanced gut flora, leaky gut syndrome, and a weakened immune system. Tapeworm infections develop when tapeworm eggs or larvae are ingested through infected meat or contact with infected stool. Tapeworm eggs have the ability to hatch inside the intestines of a new host and survive. If left untreated, human or animal waste containing tapeworm eggs can be released into the environment and then ingested by another host. Animals like horses, cattle, and pigs often get tapeworm infections from grazing in contaminated pastures or drinking contaminated water. Additionally, fish can become infected with tapeworms by consuming small crustaceans carrying tapeworm eggs or cysts. sentence: The cat chased the mouse around the house.

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