Worming

Worming

by Tiffani M. Beckman, Vet Asst. & Student of Veterinary Medicine

Most animals get worms at some point in their lives. The key to successfully getting rid of worms and preventing their return is a healthy immune system. The common types of intestinal worms are tapeworms, roundworms, hookworms and whipworms. To see if your animal has an of these worms, as well as other intestinal freeloaders like Coccidia and Giardia, take a fresh (gathered that day) fecal sample in to the vet clinic, where they will float the fecal sample and look at it under the microscope (another type of test, called the smear test, is also sometimes done). Your vet can tell you if you animal suffers from any or all of these nasty parasites. Heartworms are a completely different type of parasite and are not covered in this post. How do you know if your animal has worms?? A heavy infestation of worms will leave an animal unthrifty looking - pot-bellied, thin or rough hair coat, dull eyes - the worms have been using the food that has been put into the animal for their own growth, and the animal can't utilize the nutrients. You may see parts of worms in your pet's stools....rice-looking moving segments means tapeworms, long spaghetti-looking things usually means roundworms. Your pet can get these worms from a variety of places - mother's milk, eating fleas, infested dirt, etc. It is a good idea to get your puppy or kitten tested ASAP, and your adults tested every year along with the physical. Always test before treating. Some ideas on worming using herbs and other gentle things are listed below - I would always try the natural way before resorting to the chemical, unnatural way. Never ever EVER go buy a chemical wormer without asking your vet - those wormers sold in stores can kill your pet as easily as it kills the worms.

1) Black walnut hulls, wormwood, clove buds and sage. Ask your homeopathic vet about supplementing a diet with these ingredients.

2) Grapefruit seed extract and kyolic garlic. Both given daily helps in worming your animal, among a host of other things. Fresh garlic can be substituted for kyolic garlic.

3) Parsley water - put one bunch of fresh parsley in one quart purified water, bring to a boil, simmer for 3 minutes. Let cool. Throw out parsley. Give one tablespoon of parsley water per 10 pounds of body weight to your animals once or twice a day.

4) Pumpkin seeds, freshly ground. Try to grind up pumpkin seeds finely right before feeding as opposed to grinding them several days in advance. If you must grind them in advance, keep them in a sealed container in the freezer and take out a day's portion right before feeding. You don't want moisture to enter the seeds. The seeds need to be raw, not baked and salted. Give 1/4 to 1 teaspoon per meal to your animal, depending on size (a cat will get 1/4 teaspoon, but a German Shepherd would get 1 teaspoon). This is effective
against tapeworms and very safe.

5) Sufficient Vit. A. Pitcairn comments that a long-term deficiency in Vit. A can result in worm reinfestation in otherwise immune animals. Vit. A can be supplemented by a good quality cod liver oil and adequate sunshine exposure.

6) Some homeopathic remedies are indicated for intestinal worms. Ask your homeopathic vet about Cina (wormseed) and Filix Mas (male fern).

7) Sometimes the addition of roughage helps carry the worms out of the tract. Try giving high roughage vegetables like grated raw carrot, turnips or beets. You may recall that the best way to feed vegetables is to puree them in the blender - however, since we are using them in a different manner here (for roughage as opposed to getting nutrients from them) grating is preferred. You will most likely see the grated veggies coming out in about the same state as they went in:)

8) Diatomaceous Earth. I have a separate post on DE, so if you are interested in learning more about it, please let me know. The info on DE is rather long, and I didn't want to take up more space on this post:)

9) Wheat germ oil can be a great tapeworm inhibitor. Get an organic cold-pressed bottle at the health food store and give in the same amounts listed above for pumpkin seeds.

10) Vegetable enzymes, such as the enzymes found in papaya and figs, can eat away at the outer coating of tapeworms.

11) Fasting is another great idea for getting rid of worms, as the lack of food weakens them. A 24 hour fast once a week for healthy adult animals helps clear out the digestive system. If your animals is not healthy, however, consult a vet about fasting, as it can be contraindicated. Same for kittens and puppies.

12) Herbal wormers are available in a variety of places. Read the labels carefully and follow the directions. I am hesitant to give a wormer that includes onion, as onion causes Heinz bodies in the blood which may lead to anemia in dogs and cats. Consult your homeopathic vet if you have questions.

The basis for getting rid of worms once and for all is a healthy system, which means feeding a good diet. A species-appropriate diet of raw bones and meat and vegetables with no grains or dairy goes a long way to help an animal regain health. Worms seem to like foods like fats, sugars (which means grains and fruits), eggs, and whole milk, so make sure to exclude these foods when trying to get rid of worms. Reintroduce eggs, fats and fruits after you are sure the worms are gone for good. It is best to worm your animals, wait 3 weeks and test for worms again, as some worms may hang on. The animals can then be treated again if need be.

If you have questions about starting a natural diet, please see Feeding Naturally in the links above. A healthy diet is the foundation for health for your animal. Some of you will notice a lot of mucous discharge with the feces when starting on a natural diet. This is a WONDERFUL thing, as the mucous that lines the gut is being expelled. Mucous in the gut is crucial for a worm's living and breeding - without lots of mucous the worms will die. I am always so pleased when I see mucous in one of my animal's feces!

Tiffani M. Beckman tabbique@yahoo.com