Introduction
The human digestive system – especially the stomach and the intestines – is a host to a large number of parasitic worms such as hookworms, roundworms, flatworms, etc. Most of these parasites are essential to the digestive process, and hence are beneficial to the body. But sometimes, these parasites can produce several problems also, such as abdominal cramps, belly aches, constipation, diarrhea and even fevers, etc.
The major cause of worm problems with the digestive system occur because of the food that we eat. The following is a list of causes of infestation of worms in the human body:-
(i) Eating a lot of gassy foods which are difficult to digest
(ii) Eating a lot of foods that are too thin in their consistency
(iii) Eating a lot of sugary foods such as jaggery. Worms breed better in sweet environment.
(iv) Eating stale foods, or eating foods at the wrong time.
(v) Lack of exercise
(vi) Sleeping in the daytime
(vii) Eating foods that are not compatible with each other. The following is a list of incompatible foods:-
a) Warm foods with honey
b) Ghee and honey
c) Honey and buttermilk
d) Honey and radish
e) Water and ghee or oil
f) Ghee and oil dissolved in it
g) Mango pickle and curds
h) Warm foods with curds
i) Rice gruel and honey
j) Watermelon and milk
Home Remedies for Gastric and intestinal worms
Gastric and intestinal worms need not be such a major issue, because there are several simple home remedies available which can help deal with the issue. The following is a list of the most effective home remedies in case you ever become a victim of the problems caused due to gastric and intestinal worms:-
- Dry the peel of an orange and add vidanga (Embelia ribes) to it in equal proportion. Grind them to a very fine powder. When you have a worm problem, take three grams of this powder and dissolve it in water. Consume this thrice every day. This procedure must be continued for three days. In this time, the worms will be killed within the stomach. Then one tablespoonful of castor oil must be consumed. This will help to expel the dead worms.
- Get some vinegar made out of sugarcane juice. Add to this 25 grams of Bengal gram. Keep this overnight. In the morning, take the grams and eat them, chewing them thoroughly. After this procedure, do not eat or drink anything for eight complete hours. The worms will definitely be killed and will get expelled the next time stools are passed. This is one of the useful home remedies for gastric and intestinal worms.
- Extract the juice of a radish and add some salt to it. Drink this salty juice twice in a day. for four consecutive days. This consumption will eradicate all the worms from the intestines along with the accumulated waste products within the intestines. Though bitter, this is a very good remedy for expelling the gastric and intestinal worms. It must be remembered that bitter tastes work very effectively in solving endoparasitic problems.
- Take a portion of the root of the banyan tree (Ficus religiosa) and make a fine powder of that. Add some jaggery to it. Then add some fennel seeds (Fenneliculum vulgare) to the powdered mixture. This must be had twice a day – in the morning and in the evening – in quantities of five grams each time. Within three days of continuous consumption of this powder, all gastric and intestinal worms will be killed and will get expelled from the rectal cavity.
- The following is a very good remedy for people who are suffering from continuous worm problems and are not getting relief despite trying several treatment methods. Prepare buttermilk freshly. In this buttermilk, add some roasted cumin seeds (Cuminum cyminum), some rock salt and some black pepper (Piper nigrum). Make a good mix of the powders in the buttermilk. Have this buttermilk three to four times in a day, and keep the treatment continuous for a week. At the end of the week, all worms will be expelled. This treatment is effective in even removing the worms that remain hidden within the intestines.
- The following remedy works for children who are suffering from intestinal and gastric worms. Add some vidanga (Embelia ribes) in buttermilk and give them to drink once or twice in a day. The remedy helps to exterminate and expel the worms hidden within the digestive system of children.
- One very simple remedy that can be tried out is to drink one glass of boiled water with a tablespoonful of rock salt dissolved in it early in the morning, before eating anything else. Continue this for a few days and try out. Actually, this remedy is not very effective if the worm infestation is too chronic. It can cure only mild quantities of worm infestations. This is one of the best home remedies for intestinal worms
- This is yet another remedy that is especially effective in children. Take a piece of ginger and some vidanga. Make a pasty mixture of the two. Then add some honey to this paste. Consuming this paste helps to expel the worms out in just two or three days.
- Take the leaf of a bitter gourd (Momordica charantia) and coriander (Coriandrum sativum) in equal measures. Crush these two items to a powder and then put them in water. Keep this standing overnight. In the morning, filter and discard the water. To the residue, add some honey. Consume this with the diet thrice in a day. Doing so will expel out all the worms in a few days.
- Shell some seeds of the ash gourd and put them in a glassful of coconut milk. Drinking this once a day will help to expel worms such as tapeworm from the digestive system.
- Get some leaves of bamboo shoots and boil them in water for about half an hour. This decoction should then be cooled and drunk. This gives good relief from threadworms.
- Take the fruit of the belleric myrobalan (Terminalia belerica) and mix it with the seeds of the butea (Butea monosperma). These should be blended thoroughly and then consumed in quantities of one teaspoonful thrice in a day. This treatment helps to remove all the worms that are housed within the intestines.
- Take about one gram of the seeds of the butea and mix them with an equal proportion of honey. Make a good blend of the two, and consume the mix thrice a day. Within three days of continuous consumption, the worms will be killed within the body. On the fourth day, take a tablespoonful of castor oil. This helps to expel the dead worms from the body. This is one of the important home remedies for intestinal worms.
- For treating gastric and intestinal worms in children, an infusion of the Indian Spikenard (jatamansi, Nardostachys jatamansi) is provided to them. This acts like an enema and helps to kill and expel the worms along with the fecal matter.
- Mix the juice of the leaves of the aloe in an equal quantity of water. Then boil this mixture till it gets concentrated to half the quantity. This is to be drunk twice a day. This remedy is considered to be one of the simplest and the best remedies for the treatment of gastric and intestinal worms.
- For infants and toddlers, this is a good remedy to get relief from intestinal worms. The seeds of the Indian mallow are taken. These are burnt so that they begin to smoke. Then the rectum of the child is brought in contact with the smoke. The gastric and intestinal worms, especially if they are threadworms, get killed on contact with the smoke and are expelled out when the child passes stools.
- Carrot is good remedy for treating inestinal and gastric worms in children. If nothing else is available, you can use carrot, and that too with great positive benefits. Prepare a bowl of grated carrot each morning and give it to the child. You will have to continue this therapy for a week or so. The worms will all get killed and will be expelled from the body.
- Another good home remedy for gastric and intestinal worms is to add a teaspoonful of honey to a tablespoonful of papaya juice. Have it early in the morning without eating anything else. Then follow it with a glassful of milk to which a teaspoonful of castor oil has been added.
- Coconut is used in most houses as effective remedy for all kinds of gastric and intestinal worm problems. Coconut is grated and a tablespoonful of it is had in the morning. This is then followed by about forty milliliters of castor oil. Three hours after this, a glassful of milk is to be consumed. This must be done everything till the worms are fully exterminated from the system.
- Chomping on a few cloves of garlic each morning helps to keep the body free from worms.
- Scoop out the seeds of a ripe pumpkin and then allow them to dry in the hot sun. When they are perfectly dried, split them open and discard their outer hulls. Crush the seeds into powder, take about a tablespoonful of it and put it in a cup of water. Prepare an infusion of the seeds in the water. Drink this infusion. This therapy will help get rid of worms such as tapeworms. But, for better results you must fast for a day before this treatment. Thereafter, you need to continue the therapy for a few days to allow the worms to die and flush out completely. One of the useful home remedies for intestinal worms
- Wormwood is taken in several ways to get freedom from parasitic worms in the body. Eight to ten grams of the powder of its bark can be taken on a daily basis. Another method is to consume the oil of this plant, mixed with olive oil taken in eight-fold measure. About fifty milliliters of this oil can be drunk at a time without any problem.
- Simply eating a raw potato continuously for three days can also help to treat the gastric and intestinal worms.
Avoiding Gastric and Intestinal Worms
Gastric and intestinal worms cannot be completely eliminated from the human digestive system because they do play and important in helping us to digest food. But their infestation can definitely by avoided by taking a few simple measures. The following are some of the precautions that can be taken to prevent worms:-
(i) Always eat food that has been washed properly before cooking, and then cooked properly.
(ii) Be very particular to bring the water to a proper boil when cooking any kind of food that requires the addition of water. The same applied to milk.
(iii) Do not consume meat that is stale, which can be found out by its offensive odor.
(iv) Always put proper footwear when walking outside the home, especially in places like gardens. Some kinds of worms can enter into the human body by clinging to the soles of the feet and then working their way upwards.
(v) Always keep food covered. Do not eat food that has been unhygienically prepared, especially at roadside food stalls.
(vi) Do not consume too many sugary foods.
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2. It seems that many of these remedies, and the site in general, are geared towards Indian foods and herbs. Where do I find these things? Are there remedies that use ingredients more commonly found in the West and Middle East?