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Herbal Remedies For Threadworms
By
Patricia | April 16, 2010
Threadworms are thin, small, white worms that look like pieces of thread. Normally, these worms can be anywhere between 2 to 13 mm long. They infect the gut area or the intestines of human beings. While threadworms are more commonly found in children, they can affect people of all ages.
These worms infect the intestines, but lay their eggs around the anus, which makes a person feel itchy. Fortunately, they do not cause any serious problems and can be treated with the right medication, coupled with hygienic measures. Medication alone may kill the worms but their eggs would still survive. These eggs can only be prevented from causing new infections, by taking the right hygienic measures. This could also mean that all the members in the house should undergo treatment at the same time, even if they have not been infected.
Herbal Treatment
While threadworms are not really harmful, they can cause a lot of itching around the anus, which could make the area sore.
There are some over-the-counter medicines like mebendazole and piperazine that could kill the worms. There are also many home remedies that you can try to tackle this infection. Include the following foods in your diet to get rid of the threadworms faster:
- Coconut: Coconut could be used to expel all types of worms. At breakfast, take a tablespoon of coconut, freshly ground, followed by castor oil, mixed with lukewarm milk.
- Raw carrots: Carrots are offensive to parasites and therefore they are very effective in eliminating threadworms. A small bowl of grated carrots eaten every morning would help eliminate the problem.
- Garlic: Both garlic oil and fresh garlic have anti-parasitic, antifungal and antibacterial properties that make them effective against many parasites and bacteria, including threadworms. Eat 3 to 4 cloves of fresh garlic everyday day, either grated or crushed in salads, olive oil or even honey.
- Pumpkin Seeds: Pumpkin seeds paralyze the threadworms, but do not kill them. Therefore a natural laxative like flaxseed oil should be taken along with the pumpkin seeds, to remove the worms from the digestive system. An adult can consume about 20 - 30 pumpkin seeds a day. This could be followed with a laxative after approximately an hour.
- Herbal remedies: Herbs can be very potent and could interfere with other medication and so it is best to consult a doctor, before trying any herbal remedies. A few herbs that may help in getting rid of threadworms are:
- Cloves
- Sage
- Tansy
- Wormwood
- Garlic
- Horsetail
- Black walnut
- Barberry
Remember that some herbs used in the treatments of intestinal parasites could have side effects and should only be used after checking with a doctor.