Tapeworm Treatment for Children: Symptoms, Diagnosis & Medication

Tapeworms infect the body in a variety of ways, usually as a result of consuming under-cooked meat or exercising poor hygiene skills. If your child has a tapeworm, his pediatrician can prescribe medication to treat the parasite and remove it from his system.

Diagnosis

• Your child's pediatrician will diagnose his tapeworm using either a stool sample, blood test, or CT scan. You may be able to self-diagnose if you see a tapeworm in your stool at home.

Prescriptions

• Biltricide and Albenza are two medications commonly used to treat a tapeworm infection. These drugs dissolve or attack the adult tapeworm.

Re-check

• At one and three months after treatment, your child's pediatrician will want to do a follow-up exam to check for signs of reinfection.

Success Rates

• According to the Denver Pediatric Cancer Center for Children, treatment for tapeworm is 95 percent effective for people who receive it in a timely fashion.

Whole-Family Treatment

• When one family member is infected with a tapeworm, doctors will often treat the entire family just to prevent a spread of the parasite. Practicing proper hygiene can also prevent this from happening.