Tape worm/parasite concern

[PennStatePride]

Hello: last night i cooked a chicken roaster that i bought from the store. It was in the oven until the included thermometor popped. It seemed done but after i ate, i saw a few areas of the chicken that seemed to be underdone, and a part of the bone that i cut was red. To add to my concern, my wife had forgotten to take the bag of innerds out of the chickens cavity. We had potatoes that essentially were covered in the juices of this.

I am extremely worried about now having a parasite, especially a tapeworm. I am a bodybuilder and cannot afford to lose any weight. Should i be worried about this? Thank you.

[hemu50]

Hey Doc i am 37 year male, relatively healthy male, but since past 3 days i started getting chills in the evening and by 11PM in night it turns into temperature of 99.0 or 98.8. but my body temperature does not rise more then this. i take advil and allergic medicine and sleep. after like 3 hours or so i wake up with sweet all over my body which is sign of fever breaking after taking that pill. i feel perfectly alright in the morning and afternoon, these symptoms only comes in night. I have no disease,  BP is normal, urine is fine bile movement is also good. no headaches. My question is what happened to me all of a sudden. Please help.

[Poorna Chandra, SMD, DM]

Dear PennStatePride,

Getting tapeworm infestation by eating undercooked chicken is a possibility provided the local prevalence of tapeworm infestation is high.

Tapeworm cestodes are destroyed if cooked to a temperature of more than 135 degree Fahrenheit.

If you are too concerned, I would suggest you to take antihelmenthics like tablet albendazole after discussing with your physician. One tablet today and another taken after 15 days should be sufficient to protect you against the infestation. A prescription from your primary healthcare provider may be needed to take this drug.

Hope that this information helps and hope that you will get better soon.

Thank you for using MedHelp's "Ask an Expert" Service, where we feature some of world's renowned medical experts in their fields. Millions have benefitted from our service to get personalized advice for them and for their loved ones.

Best Regards
Dr. Poorna Chandra K.S