B81: Other intestinal helminthiases, not elsewhere classified

B81.2: Trichostrongyliasis

Some worms are parasites. Parasites gain a unilateral benefit from cohabiting with other living creatures. If you get the parasites, or their eggs, in your mouth, they can get into your stomach and intestine. There the parasites feed on the nutrients there. To be sure that worms in food are killed off, the food can be cooked. Another option is to freeze the food for a long time at a low temperature.

Trichostrongylus worms live as parasites in herbivores, in cows and sheep, for example. If excrement from these animals gets into water or onto food, humans can become infected.

Trichostrongylus worms can cause problems. Abdominal pain and diarrhea are possible. You may also not absorb enough nutrients from your food and lose weight. Trichostrongylus worms can also cause anemia. With anemia, you have insufficient hemoglobin in your body. This pigment is important for carrying oxygen in the blood.