About this topic
Toxocariasis is an illness caused by roundworms. These roundworms most often infect animals like dogs, cats, or foxes. The worms live inside of the animals bowels. They produce eggs which are passed on through the animal's stool. The eggs can contaminate the dirt for a few years. You may come in contact with the eggs by accidentally eating small amounts of contaminated dirt. Then, the eggs grow inside of your body. They can travel to many parts of your body and cause problems. ‚
What are the causes?
This illness is caused by a worm called Toxocara canis. These worms normally infect dogs, cats, foxes, and other animals. ‚
What can make this more likely to happen?
- Touching the feces of infected cats and dogs
- People who accidentally ingest soil
- Touching your mouth while working with soil
- Eating undercooked meat
What are the main signs?
A mild form of this illness is covert toxocariasis. You may have signs like: ‚
- Dry cough
- Wheezing
- Headaches
- Lumps in your neck and armpits
- Belly pain
If the worms attack organs throughout your body, it is visceral larva migrans. You may have signs like: ‚
- Breathing problems
- Belly pain
- Skin rashes
- Lumps in your neck and armpits
- Seizures
- Loss of appetite
- Weight loss
- Fever
- Feeling tired
Sometimes the worms just attack your eyes. This is ocular larva migrans. It almost always occurs in just one eye. You may have signs like: ‚
- Blurred vision
- Loss of or change in your vision
- Eye redness
- Eye pain
- Sensitivity to light
How does the doctor diagnose this health problem?
Your doctor will take your history and do an exam. The doctor may ask if you have pets or often work with dirt. The doctor will feel your belly and look inside of your eyes. You may need to have tests like: ‚
- Stool tests
- Blood tests
- X-ray
- Ultrasound
- CT scan
- MRI
- Biopsy
How does the doctor treat this health problem?
- Doctors treat this illness by giving drugs to kill the worms.
- You may be admitted to a hospital if you have breathing troubles. Your doctor may connect you to a breathing device if it gets too hard to breathe.
- If the worm is inside your eyes, a special doctor may use a powerful beam of light directly on your eyes to kill the worm.
- Your doctor may want to biopsy or remove and test a sample of tissue from a part of your body.
Are there other health problems to treat?
Based on what is infected by the worms, you may have: ‚
- Liver problems
- Lung problems
- Breathing problems
- Spleen enlargement
- Brain or nervous system problems
- Eye problems
What drugs may be needed?
The doctor may order drugs to: ‚
- Kill the worms
- Help with pain and swelling
What can be done to prevent this health problem?
- Wash your hands with soap and water:
- After playing with cats or dogs
- After cleaning up after them
- After handling soil and plants
- Before eating
- Teach your children to wash their hands often with soap and water, always after playing outside and before eating.
- Avoid putting your hands near your mouth when working with soil or while gardening. Teach your children not to put their hands in their mouths when touching soil, dirt, or sand.
- Teach your children not to put dirt in their mouths.
- Wear protective clothes and shoes when working with soil.
- Take your pets to the vet. Deworm your pets regularly.
- Keep children out of areas soiled from pets.
- Cover sandpits and childrens sandboxes when not in use.
Where can I learn more?
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ‚
http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/toxocariasis/ ‚
KidsHealth ‚
http://kidshealth.org/parent/infections/parasitic/toxocariasis.html ‚
National Organization for Rare Disorders ‚
http://www.rarediseases.org/rare-disease-information/rare-diseases/byID/538/viewAbstract ‚
NHS Choices ‚
http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Toxocariasis/Pages/Introduction.aspx ‚
Consumer Information Use and Disclaimer
This information is not specific medical advice and does not replace information you receive from your health care provider. This is only a brief summary of general information. It does NOT include all information about conditions, illnesses, injuries, tests, procedures, treatments, therapies, discharge instructions or life-style choices that may apply to you. You must talk with your health care provider for complete information about your health and treatment options. This information should not be used to decide whether or not to accept your health care providers advice, instructions or recommendations. Only your health care provider has the knowledge and training to provide advice that is right for you. ‚
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Copyright ‚ © 2015 Clinical Drug Information, LLC and Lexi-Comp, Inc. ‚