If matter arises that is not any nature, it is given the best form and image possible for it. The structure of such matter does not deprive it of the natural perfection that you expect from every creation of an omnipotent creator, and therefore worms, flies and the like are born from bad, putrid and damp types of matter, for the best form that it can take is the life of a worm and the life flies, and this is better for them than existing in a state of pure rotting. At the same time, worms and flies rule over putrefactive substances scattered in the world, and feed on them due to their similarity with them, extracting them from people’s homes and from the surrounding air.
Worms in the stomach are creatures of the same kind, and they do not arise from any juice. They are never born from red or black bile, for the first is very hot, so that moist worms cannot be born from it, and they are even contrary to its nature, while the other is cold and dry and far from corresponding to the life of living beings. As for blood, vigilant guard rules over it, and the organs’ need for it is great. It corresponds to the fleshy and bony substance of the human body, and not to the substance of worms, and also does not belong to the juices that pour into the intestines and remain in them, from which worms are born. Neither the shape nor the color of the worms indicate that they come from blood matter; on the contrary, the matter of worms is mucus when it heats up and rots, multiplying in the intestines and remaining there, and you already know that the cause of the abundant formation of mucus can be food, indigestion or weakness of digestion, whatever it may be caused by, but also the cold nature of the organs. The substances from which worms are formed include soft and sticky foods, such as wheat, beans, beans; they are also formed from flour dust, from the consumption of raw meat and fresh fruits, milk, vegetables, herbs and fats, from washing in hot water after eating, as well as from bathing after eating and from copulation with a full stomach.
There are four varieties of intestinal worms: large and long, round, flat, and these are “pumpkin seeds”, and small; their generation occurs differently, depending on the difference in the substance from which they are born and the place where they are born. As for the difference in the substance from which worms are born, some of them are born from moisture that has not undergone division and absorption due to its attraction by the liver or severe decay, while others are born from moisture that has been divided, reduced and diminished by the continuous attracting action of the liver, decay and frequent passage of feces; When such worms are born, passing them out in the feces before they grow helps to keep them small, especially since they are located near the narrow posterior opening. Some worms are born from a liquid whose quality is between the two indicated liquids. The fluid in the upper intestines belongs to the category we mentioned first, the fluid in the rectum to the category mentioned secondly, and the fluid in the cecum and in the colon to the category mentioned third. Long worms are born from the first kind of liquid; sometimes they reach a length of an elbow. Round and flat ones are generated from the third type of fluid, although they sometimes also arise in the upper intestines, especially thick and large worms; sometimes they originate only in the column and in the cecum, and then spread on one side - to the stomach, and on the other hand - to the anus. Small worms belong to the second category. Round and flat appear as if directly from viscous substances adhering to the surface of the intestines, which are enveloped by the mucous membrane; It is in this shell that they apparently originate and rot in it.
Small worms are the least harmful, since they are small, located far from the main organs and are expelled by strong, dense feces; however, if these worms increase in size and happen to spend so much time in the intestines to grow, they become more harmful than all worms, as coming from the worst matter. Then come the long worms; they are not as harmful as flatworms, because their matter, that is, the matter of flatworms, is the most putrid. Small and flatworms often come out of the anus, since they are located close to it and are also weak and cannot stick to the intestine as firmly as long worms stick to it.
The more long worms hold on tighter, the smaller ones are more easily expelled.
When a person suffering from worms has a fever, the manifestations of the vital activity of the worms are strong and malignant, for the fever destroys the food of the worms, and they move, looking for it, and stick to the intestines; fever causes suffering to the very substance of the worms and makes them agitated; Fever increases putrefaction, sharpness and restlessness in their nature, and the bile pouring into the intestines during fever causes pain to the worms, and they, wriggling in the intestines and stinging them, cause severe irritation. One of the doctors says that the worms bored into the patient’s stomach and came out, but this, in my opinion, is incredible. Bad fumes also rise from the worms to the brain, causing excruciating pain. Sometimes the retention of worms in the intestines and the resulting putrefaction is the cause of fever. With regard to the usefulness of worms for cleansing the intestines, the situation is different from the question of the usefulness of them and similar creatures for cleansing the world of putrefaction. The fact is that the intestines are inherent in nature with something that cleanses and expels; Moreover, the number of nascent worms in relation to the putrefaction remaining in the intestines after its natural eruption is greater than the number of worms and similar creatures in relation to the putrefaction of the air and earth in the world. Finally, illnesses arise from worms, since worms extract the food they need from the intestines, the movements of the worms and intestines are mutually opposite, they generate kulanj, the quality of the substance from which they grow is dissimilar. with the nature of the body, and so on. Worms and snakes sometimes cause fainting, hunger, and “dog hunger,” because they intensively steal nutrients. Worms often cause insatiable hunger and weaken the strength of the mouth of the stomach, rising to it and polluting it; sometimes both of these phenomena are accompanied by a strong heartbeat.
Most often, worms appear in childhood, adolescence and adolescence. “Pumpkin seeds” most often appear in those who have left childhood, and roundworms mostly occur in children, then in young men and rarely in old people, although all this happens in old people. In autumn, worms are born more often than in other seasons, because this is preceded by the consumption of fruits and similar foods, and the air is putrid. Worms are more excited in the evening and during sleep. Fatigue and intense physical work sometimes cause worms to emerge from the bottom. If the worms of a person suffering from acute fevers come out alive, they are not very harmful, and this indicates that the forces are healthy and capable of expelling the worms; This is especially significant after the disease has subsided. If worms come out dead, this is a bad sign, and in general, worms coming out in feces during fevers, especially before the disease subsides, is by no means a good sign, but live worms are still better. As for the release of worms in the absence of fever, then if blood is released with them, this is also a bad sign, indicating damage in the body or intestines. The release of worms in the vomit indicates the presence of bad juices in the stomach.
Signs. As for the general signs, these are drooling, wet lips at night and dryness during the day. The latter is caused by the fact that heat spreads during the day and contracts at night. When heat spreads, it carries away moisture, the worms become hungry, draw moisture from the stomach and dry out the surface of the organs connected to the stomach, that is, the surface of the mouth and lips. The outside air also contributes to drying of the lips, so the patient constantly moisturizes the lips with the tongue. The person suffering from worms sometimes becomes irritable, reluctant to talk and has the appearance of an angry, embittered person. Often he reaches the point of delirium, as harmful fumes rise to his head. Such patients also experience symptoms of faranitus, but they do not collect fluff from themselves, do not suffer from headaches, and do not have ringing in their ears. Such patients sometimes grind their teeth, especially at night, and often seem as if they are chewing something and that they want to stick out their tongue. They twitch and cry out in their sleep, are in a sad and restless mood and are angry with those who wake them. After eating, they sometimes feel nauseous and dizzy, their voice breaks and their pulse weakens; when the worms are excited, the pulse seems to drop. The stool in such patients is usually moist. As for the decrease and increase in appetite, this corresponds to what we said in the paragraph about the reasons for the appearance of worms. Sometimes patients have thirst, during which it is impossible to drink enough. In addition, they develop diseases that we talked about there. If the illness and pain intensify, then the patients fall, writhe and squirm, as if struck by epilepsy. Sometimes at such a moment they happen to vomit worms, the color of their face and eyes changes: the color of the eyes and face either fades or returns again. Sometimes patients become bloated and swollen, and their abdomen becomes tense, like dropsy, and seems hard. Often their testicles also become swollen and their whole body becomes covered in profuse, cold and very foul-smelling sweat.
As for the characteristics of individual types of worms, a common characteristic for all varieties is the exit of one or another type of worm through the corresponding place. The presence of long worms is indicated by tickling and burning at the mouth of the stomach, pain in the surrounding areas, difficulty swallowing, loss of appetite observed in most cases, aversion to food and hiccups. Sometimes long worms irritate the lungs and heart with their proximity, resulting in a dry cough, palpitations and uneven pulse. Sleep and awakening from sleep are disordered. There is also lethargy, a reluctance to move, look, gaze intently, and even open your eyes; on the contrary, the patient prefers to keep his eyes closed. His eyes alternate between turning red and colorless. The abdomen of such patients sometimes becomes tense, and they become similar to dropsy: they often have diarrhea. In the presence of flat and round worms, appetite in most cases increases, because the worms are most often located far from the stomach, so they do not damage it, but steal nutrients. When hungry, they begin to move and cause excruciating cutting pain near the navel, which debilitates and relaxes. As for small worms, they are indicated by itching in the anus and constant tickling near it; sometimes these phenomena become so intense that they cause fainting. When such worms accumulate in the intestines, the patient feels heaviness under the ribs and near the spine. One of the useful remedies for such patients is to drink a little vinegar before going to bed.
Treatment. The goal pursued in the treatment of worms is to deprive them of the matter that gives rise to them, formed from the mentioned food, as well as to cleanse the intestines of the mucus that gives rise to worms and kill them with the help of drugs that are poisons for them. These are medicines that taste bitter, both cold and hot, which we will mention below, as well as those medicines that act according to their special properties, and then, having killed the worms, remove them, if nature itself has not expelled them. Killed worms should not remain in the stomach for long after they die and dry out, so that the fumes from them do not cause harm, like poison. Medicines hot to the third degree are at any time most suitable for the treatment of worms, unless the patient has fever or swelling. Hot and bitter medicines counteract the nature of the worms with their warmth and are the opposite of the quality that the worms most seek, which is fatty and sweet. There are drinks and enemas that combine the three mentioned properties; As for suppositories, they remove rather than kill worms, unless they are small worms located in the rectum. Sometimes suppositories are prepared from sweet and fatty substances, so that the worms are drawn to them out of love for fatty and sweet foods and come out when feces are released.
Drinking aids are best used when the stomach is empty; if you add poisons that kill worms into milk, roast or other food, the worms will absorb them more greedily, and this will be more deadly for them; Sometimes a person who has worms is given milk for two days, for example, and on the third day they give a medicine in the milk that kills the worms. Or the patient is given fried meat to suck; when the worms smell the roast, they begin to suck up what comes down to them, and if after this the appropriate medicine is given, it will be more deadly. When using poisonous and worm-killing enemas, it is best to coat the stomach with astringent medicines, especially those that have worm-killing power, such as sumac, tarasis and acacia dissolved in wine, as well as red ocher and dill with wine. And if patients cannot tolerate the astringent effect of such agents, then they are given printed clay with wine. When patients take drinking medicines for worms, they should close their nostrils tightly and exhale and inhale air as little as possible, because it is best not to have the smell of these medicines mixed in with their breath. Among the treatment measures associated with treatment for worms is correcting appetite when it decreases. Sometimes among the medicinal dressings and drinking products there are those that, while increasing appetite, at the same time kill and remove worms; These are sabur with bitter wormwood, which are either drunk in the form of pills prepared from them, or used as an ointment, as well as sabur with thickly brewed sour juices.
It happens that along with worms there is diarrhea; then you only need to kill the worms; for they will be driven out by the movement of nature. Sometimes circumstances require the killing of worms with bitter astringents, so that their killing is combined with the strengthening of nature; this happens when there are worms and diarrhea and one may fear loss of strength. Such agents are especially useful in astringent medicinal dressings, which have to some extent the property of killing worms and do not cause loss of strength; after their use, the worms come out either expelled by nature, or from drinking medicine or suppositories. Sometimes, along with worms, there are tumors in the insides; this requires gentle treatment measures. Medicines that kill pumpkin seeds are stronger than those that kill longworms, and drugs that kill pumpkin seeds and roundworms also kill longworms. The reason for this is that “pumpkin seeds” are located further from the medicine being drunk, are hidden deeper into the liquids that protect them and sometimes end up in a bag. Finally, they are born from thicker and denser matter, closer to hot nature and more similar to poison; therefore, they are not affected by the poison of a substance similar to them until its strength becomes significant.