Parasites are organisms that live inside of a host from which they live off of. The host of a parasitic infection can be anything from a small rodent to a human. Once these parasites find themselves a host, they seek the most suitable location in the body where they can thrive and multiply.

The colon is a very common place for these parasites to be within the body. The reason for this is that the colon holds a lot of things. Waste, toxins and excessive food that you have eaten can end up sitting in the colon for a while. This makes it a perfect home for parasites.

So let’s take a look at a couple of the most prevalent intestinal parasites.

– Roundworms

Roundworms are a very common source of parasites in humans. About one billion people worldwide are affected by roundworms. Where do they come from? Generally, from undercooked meat or from animals, usually cats which can transfer them to humans. For this type of parasite, symptoms can include pain in the abdomen, not sleeping well or even weight loss.

– Trichinella Spiralis

This small parasite is not transmitted through soil contaminated by feces like other worms. Instead, it becomes enclosed in a cyst inside the muscles of mammals, especially pigs. If the meat that is eaten is not cooked thoroughly, the cysts are dissolved by the host’s digestive juices, releasing the worm in the intestinal area where it matures, mates, and releases a huge number of young worms. Some of its symptoms include fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and possibly muscle soreness.

– Giardia Lamblia

This is another very common of the parasites in humans. These intestinal parasites usually come from food and water contaminated by the feces of humans or animals, including dogs, cats, muskrats, and sheep. When it comes to symptoms of parasites from this particular bug, there are quite a few of them including diarrhea, cramping, bloating, and weight loss.