Common side effects of deworming: Symptoms, what to do (2024)

FAQs

Common side effects of deworming: Symptoms, what to do? ›

These side effects, such as lethargy, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhoea, usually subside on their own within a day or two. Understanding that these reactions are often a temporary response to the medication can help ease your worries as a pet owner.

Note: Deworming drugs can cause some side effects such as nausea, dizziness, headache, digestive disorders, abdominal pain, transient diarrhea. However, you do not need to worry too much, because these symptoms are usually mild and go away on their own.

Whether the patient eats or does not eat does not affect the effectiveness of deworming. Patients just need to be careful not to get too hungry before using the dewormer. After taking deworming medicine, about 8 - 12 hours the medicine will take effect. About 24-72 hours later, the drug will kill the worms.

Visit your pharmacist if the infection continues two weeks after treatment. They may recommend a second dose of medication. In rare cases, mebendazole can cause abdominal pain or diarrhoea, particularly if the threadworm infection is severe.

Lack of appetite, tiredness, anaemia, fever, itchy bottom, loose bowels, abdominal pain and vomiting are some of the common symptoms of worm infestation.

See a GP if you:

find a large worm, a piece of worm or worm eggs in your poo. have a red, itchy worm-shaped rash on your skin. have sickness, diarrhoea or a stomach ache for longer than 2 weeks. are losing weight for no reason.

Symptoms of threadworm infection usually disappear within one week of treatment. Threadworms are highly contagious. Hygiene measures should be followed for 6 weeks.

Pets can sometimes exhibit mild side effects after deworming, and these symptoms could include lethargy, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhoea. Whilst nobody wants to see their pet at anything less than 100%, these side effects are generally considered a temporary response to a wormer medication.

Foods to keep worms at bay

- Eat raw garlic, pumpkin seeds, pomegranates, beets and carrots, all of which have been used traditionally to kill parasites. - Drink a lot of water to help flush out your system. - Eat fibre, which may help get rid of worms.

After deworming the dog feed them in 30 mins to 1 hour, after deworming dog's appetite might be a bit low, but not to worry this is a common side effect of deworming offer them their favourite food or resume their normal feed. Just feed her normally. Modern deworming rarely causes an upset stomach.

Can worms cause flu like symptoms? ›

Paragonimiasis is an infection with parasitic worms. It is caused by eating undercooked crab or crayfish. Paragonimiasis can cause illness resembling pneumonia or stomach flu.

Intestinal worms increase your risk for anemia and intestinal blockages, as well as malnutrition. Complications occur more frequently in older adults and in people who have suppressed immune systems, such as people with HIV/AIDS infection. Intestinal worm infections can pose a higher risk if you're pregnant.

Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach/abdominal cramps, headache, drowsiness, dizziness, trouble sleeping, or loss of appetite may occur. If any of these effects last or get worse, tell your doctor or pharmacist promptly.

The deworming treatment has very few side effects. There may be some mild side effects like dizziness, nausea, headache, and vomiting, all likely due to the worms being passed through the child's body. These side effects disappear after some time. Side effects are usually experienced by children with high infections.

At night, the female adult worms deposit their eggs outside the rectum near the anal area. One way to detect pinworms is to shine a flashlight on the anal area. The worms are tiny, white, and threadlike. If none are seen, check for 2 or 3 additional nights.

If your pet appears to be unwell within 4-10 hours after taking a worming tablet or other worming treatment, it's likely that they are experiencing some mild reactions to the medication. These reactions can vary in intensity depending on the individual pet, the type of dewormer used, and their overall health.

It starts to work straight away but it may take several days to kill all the worms. Mebendazole kills worms but not their eggs. You may need to take a second dose after 2 weeks. It's also important to have good personal hygiene to help stop the worms coming back.

Deworming drugs may increase average weight gain in infected children, but single or multiple doses of deworming drugs have little or no effect on weight or other nutritional outcomes when all children living in endemic areas are treated.

Deworming leads to expulsion of adult worms which harbour large number of viable eggs and is also known to enhance egg output in stool samples¹¹.