Ancylostomiasis. Infestation of the small intestine with tiny worms (Ancylostoma duodenale). Common in children from hot, damp earth in which larvae thrives. Worms enter feet via the skin and are borne to lungs and intestine. Prolonged infestation leads to anaemia and retarded development in children.
In the 1860s Thymol was the important medicine, but was later superceded by Chenopodium (oil of American Wormseed) as an anthelmintic for expulsion of hookworms.
Should be supervised by a practitioner.
Patient to receive a light meal at night followed next morning by the oil in a capsule: 6-8 years, 6 drops; 9-10 years, 8 drops; 11-16 years, 10-12 drops; over 16 years, 12-16 drops. Dose is repeated two hours later. Two hours afterwards, give Senna purgative. No food should be taken until after bowel movement. Repeat procedure after one week. Less drastic treatments are available, but for the intractible stubborn hookworm desperate measures are sometimes called for.
A parasitic nematode found in the intestines of humans and animals. They are usually transmitted byinfection with the third stage filariform larva orally or through the skin. Examples include Ancyclostoma duodenale and Necator americanus. See also associated diseases such as eosinophilic enteritis and cutaneous larva migrans.
n. either of two nematode worms, *Necator americanus or *Ancylostoma duodenale, which live as parasites in the human intestine. Both species, also known as the New and Old World hookworms respectively, are of great medical importance (see hookworm disease).
a condition resulting from an infestation of the small intestine by hookworms. Hookworm larvae live in the soil and infect humans by penetrating the skin. The worms travel to the lungs in the bloodstream and from there pass via the windpipe and gullet to the small intestine. Heavy hookworm infections may cause considerable damage to the wall of the intestine, leading to a serious loss of blood; this, in conjunction with malnutrition, can provoke severe anaemia. Symptoms include itching and rash at the site of infection, followed by abdominal pain, diarrhoea, debility, and mental inertia. More serious effects can include difficulty in breathing, heart enlargement, and irregular heartbeat. The disease occurs mostly in the tropics and subtropics; mebendazole is used in treatment.... hookworm disease
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