Abdominal Pain
One specific cause of abdominal pain many people are unfamiliar with are tapeworms. Tapeworms are flat, segmented worms that live in the intestines of humans and animals. The head of a tapeworm has hooks that attach to its host’s intestinal wall. These hooks lead to abdominal pain in humans. A person will experience this type of abdominal pain due to the head of a tapeworm moving around within their intestines, which causes irritation and inflammation in the intestinal walls.
Worms can live anywhere in the digestive tract but tend to congregate in the small intestine. Abdominal pain can be experienced when worms pass through the intestinal wall, often due to inflammation from an immune response. The body releases several chemicals to combat this invasion, including inflammatory mediators and other agents that increase pain sensitivity.
