Trichinosis-Symptoms,Effects,Prevention And Treatment
Trichinosis is a disease caused by roundworms which is in the family of Trichinella. These worms are never seen in the stool. They burrow through the person’s intestines and get into his or her muscles.
People get these worms like tapeworms from eating infected pork or other meat that is not well cooked.
EFFECTS ON HEALTH
Depending on the amount of infected meat eaten, the person may feel no effects or he or she may become very sick or even die. From a few hours to 5 days after eating the infected pork, the person may develop diarrhea and feel sick to his stomach.
TRICHINOSIS SYMPTOMS
- The infected person gets fever with chills.
- The infected person will develop muscle pain.
- There will be Swelling around the eyes and sometimes swelling of the feet of the infected person.
- He or she gets small bruises (black or blue spots) on the skin.
- The infected person will start bleeding in the whites of the eyes.
- Severe cases may last 3 or 4 weeks.
PREVENTION OF TRICHINOSIS
- Only eat pork and other meat that has been well cooked.
- Do not feed scraps of meat or leftovers from butchering pigs unless they have first been cooked.
TREATMENT OF TRICHINOSIS
Seek medical help at once. Thiabendazole or mebendazole may help. Make sure you do not give these drugs to pregnant women or children that are below two years old. (Cortico-steroids may help, but should be given by a health worker or doctor)
Dosage of mebendazole is 100 mg tablets. Give the same amount to adults and children.
For roundworms, whipworms, hookworm; give one tablet twice a day (morning and evening) for 3 days (six tablets in all).
Then for pinworms, give one tablet once a week for three weeks.
For thiabendazole : This is used to treat many worm infections, it is in 500 mg tablets or in a mixture with one gm in 5 ml.
Give thiabendazole twice a day for 3 days. The tablet should be chewed.
For adults : give 1500 mg thiabendazole (that is 3 tablets or one and half teaspoons).
For children 8 to 12 years : give 1000 mg thiabendazole (that is two tablets or one teaspoon).
For children 3 to 7 years : give 500 mg thiabendazole (that is 1 tablet or half teaspoon).
For children below three years : give 250 mg thiabendazole (that is half tablet or quarter teaspoon).
IMPORTANT : If several people who ate meat from the same pig get sick afterward, which is suspected to be trichinosis. It can be very dangerous; seek for immediate medical attention.
