Pumpkin seeds and areca-net help woman excrete 10-meter-long tapeworm

Local doctors used a traditional remedy, pumpkin seeds combined with areca-nut extract, to treat a patient with beef tapeworm.

The woman excreted a 10-meter-long parasite, Ruijin Hospital doctors said on Monday.

The 40-year-old woman said she started experiencing an itchy anus six months ago with it becoming more serious at night. She said she even felt something moving. One day while bathing she noticed a small white thing moving out of her body.

She checked online and found it may be a parasite and bought medications, but her condition didn't improve.

She went to Ruijin Hospital, where Dr Shi Dongmei said it was likely a parasite.

Through cooperation with doctors from the National Institute of Parasitic Diseases under the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention, doctors conducted checks on the woman and suspected it was a type of tapeworm.

"A tapeworm infection can cause diarrhea and even intestinal obstruction, hemorrhage and perforation," Shi said. "In addition to the adult worm in the intestinal tract, larva can even stay under the skin, muscles, eyes and even brain, causing blindness, brain edema and even death."

Doctors gave her pumpkin seeds, areca-nut extract, laxative and water the next day and required her to take them in a certain order and intervals.

Dr Zhang Yongnian said it's important to remove the entire tapeworm.

"The traditional Chinese method of pumpkin seeds and areca-nut can ensure the whole worm gets removed from the body. It is effective for us to determine the type of worm for follow-up treatment. Arecoline in areca-nut extract can numb the former part of the worm, while raw pumpkin seeds can numb the middle and back part. After taking a laxative and drinking a large amount of water, patients can remove the entire tapeworm out of the body," he said. "If the worm is only partly removed, the rest of it can keep growing inside the body."

According to doctors, the traditional therapy was reported in an ancient medical book over 1,200 years ago, but that it wasn't completely effective. The therapy was adopted by experts from the institute after changes in the 1950s, which has led to good results nationwide.

The patient excreted the 10-meter beef tapeworm completely that afternoon.

She told doctors she had eaten raw beef in early 2023 while traveling in Jiangxi Province.

Shi said eating raw or insufficiently cooked beef or pork raises the risk of getting a tapeworm, adding that eating sashimi as well as half cooked frog or snake increases the risk of getting a parasite.

"The best way to ensure food safety is to cook it thoroughly," Shi said. "If feeling sick, it is important to visit doctors in time instead of buying some random medication."