The children received either 20 mL of dried papaya seeds and honey or just honey alone. So what about the rumor about eating papaya seeds for parasites? There was one randomized placebo-controlled study 7 published in 2007 that suggested this could work, but they only looked at 60 asymptomatic children in Nigeria who had lab tests confirming intestinal parasites. And, to clarify: 'A laxative is not a treatment for a parasitic illness.' One explanation is that products like these are 'using side effects of natural herbs to cause a laxative-a cathartic-effect,' says Dr. Data on antiparasitic effects of cloves and black walnut hull are similarly lacking. While wormwood has been researched 5 for its possible antiparasitic effects in animals, a recent study 6 looking at its efficacy in treating a type of flatworm infection in humans was later retracted. The ingredients typically included things like wormwood, cloves, and black walnut hull. They aren't claiming to be antiparasitic or antihelminthic, which is good because…they're not. The products I saw most frequently on TikTok were sold on Amazon and marketed for digestive support. 'And food as it's digested can have very odd appearances at times.' This can be especially true when food is partially or incompletely digested. 'I think they may be seeing mucus threads for example,' says Dr. Blass, the most likely explanation is that these products are triggering both bowel movements and a heightened attention to what's in your toilet bowl-both of which could lead to suspicious-looking poops. OK, so if intestinal worms aren't all that common, how do you explain the dozens of people on TikTok swearing that a 'parasite cleanse' had them pooping worms for days? According to Dr. Homeopathic “parasite cleanses” are probably just going to make you poop…a lot. But even these common creepy crawlies rarely show up in your poop. These little worms typically affect children (or those who care for them), and the most likely symptom is anal itching. Sears.Īnd then there's the most common worm infection in the U.S.: pinworm. Giardia and cryptosporidium are two other intestinal parasites that are actually not uncommon in the U.S., both of which are microscopic parasites that wouldn't cause worms but could cause diarrhea and other GI symptoms, says Dr. In most cases, it doesn't lead to any symptoms at all, though it's more serious in pregnant people and those with a weakened immune system. Toxoplasmosis is another parasite that you can pick up from your pet (particularly your cat's litter box) or even from eating undercooked meat. Instead, toxocariasis can lead to an infection in your eyes, liver, or central nervous system, though severe cases are rare. Toxocariasis, for instance, is an infection that you might be exposed to if your dog has roundworms (which is common in puppies and why deworming your dog is important!), but it wouldn't cause you to develop the same gnarly roundworm in your own gut.

And while some of these can cause GI symptoms (among other illnesses) they aren't characterized by worms in your gut. In 2014, the CDC 4 announced five neglected parasitic infections as public health priorities in the U.S.: trichomoniasis, toxoplasmosis, toxocariasis, cysticercosis, and Chagas disease. 'The people that get usually more ill from things like this are either, one, unlucky-it's just an unlucky event-or, two, they have some underlying immune dysfunction,' says Dr. Again, they can happen, especially if you've traveled somewhere that they're more prevalent, but they're certainly not as common as social media suggests. When you picture actual intestinal worms, you're probably thinking of helminths, like roundworm, tapeworm, or hookworm, all of which are relatively rare in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 3 (CDC). 'To say all of that is from an intestinal helminth, which is one of the worms that we can see, and to attribute all of those to it, I would say that that is singularly unlikely.' Most of the intestinal parasites you might have aren't something you would see in your poop as literal worms. 'Those symptoms are quite vague and they're quite nonspecific,' says Dr.

But these symptoms can also come along with so many other (more common) health issues. Many of the TikToks about this discussed a huge range of symptoms that could be associated with parasites-everything from diarrhea and bloating to fatigue and insomnia.

Pin worms on poop