What do tapeworms do to you if you have them?

Answer:
Most of the time in humans they are ingested as larvae and live in the intestines, where they are largely asymptomatic... they don't really do much of anything besides consume a small amount of nutrients from your food. Some people may experience discomfort, diarrhea, or loss of appetite, and they can potentially cause intestinal blockage, which is much more serious than the tapeworm itself.
More rarely, they're ingested as eggs, in which case they implant themselves into various body tissues and form cysts.

It's also possible in very rare cases for them to infect the brain, where they can cause severe headaches or seizures.

Fortunately, treatment is usually simple: a drug called niclosamide is very effective against tapeworms.
First answer by Ptorquemada. Last edit by Ptorquemada. Contributor trust: 553 [recommend contributor recommended]. Question popularity: 2 [recommend question].