Beware before eating cabbage, 8-year-old girl complains of a constant severe headache

NP NETWORK

New Delhi

An eight-year-old girl was diagnosed with it because of eating a contaminated cabbage. Especially in the monsoon many of the vegetables contain many bacteria. When the girl consumed the cabbage it entered her stomach and lather in her brain. The insects then laid eggs in her brain. After that, we used to suffer from an extreme headache and often strokes. Since six months was ill and her health was not recovering even after treatments. Her parents were also unable to know the reason behind this suffering of their daughter.

After which they started their daughter’s treatment under Dr. Pravin Gupta’s observation who is one of the best and most awarded neurologists of Gurgaon. When the girl visited Dr. Gupta, she was first CT Scanned and was diagnosed with Neurocysticercosis.

Dr. Gupta said, “At the time when the girl was brought to the hospital, she was not conscious. She was diagnosed with more than 100 tapeworms. Those who were seen as small clots in the brain in the CT Scan report were Tapeworm’s eggs. That the eggs not even one or two in the count but more than hundred. She was getting treatment for swelling and seizures in the brain.”

When the girl’s parents approached Dr. Gupta, the pressure on the girl’s brain had increased a lot. Egg pressure was so much on the brain that it had stopped working properly. To reduce the swelling in the brain, the girl was given steroids due to which the eight-year-old girl’s weight increased to 60 Kgs from 40 Kgs. She started facing problems to do her day to day work as she gained weight and had completely become dependent on steroids.

Dr. Gupta further said, “First of all, we reduced the pressure of the brain with medicines (if any external thing enters the brain then it reduces the inner balance of the brain). After that, she was given the medicine to kill the cyst. It is also very dangerous as the pressure of the brain can increase during this time.”

At present, the first dose of elimination of eggs is given to the girl, but all the eggs are not killed yet. As per Dr. Gupta, these eggs continue to grow in the brain and causes swelling and seizures. This disease is caused if one intakes contaminated food, water or do not look after personal hygiene which includes washing hands before having food. Tapeworms are very small and invisible without the use of a microscope. Access to improved sanitation is key to prevention.

As Dr. Gupta says, “Tapeworm can reach the human body if Leaf-cabbage, even if the spinach is not cooked well. Therefore it is advisable to wash the vegetables that are grown in dirty water or soil. Even the meat is advised to cook well and wash the hands and nails after using the toilet.”

Tapeworm infection in India is very common. About 12 million people are suffering from Neurocysticercosis, which is one of the major causes of epilepsy attacks.

As per the information shared by Dr. Gupta, “If the vegetables or any other food remains half cooked, if it is not washed properly then tapeworm can reach the body parts through blood flow. One of the major causes of epilepsy in India is the tapeworm. Epilepsy is a disorder in which nerve cell activity in the brain is disturbed, causing seizures. The cost for the treatment is nearly five thousand but the amount can increase based on severity”

Assuming that Tapeworm is not life-threatening, there should not be negligence. It can enter any part of the body, which can cause that part of the body to be paralyzed.