Intestinal worms are parasites, or organisms that depend upon other organisms for existence. Although many consider intestinal worms to be a problem affecting poverty-stricken people in poor countries, they are also a health problem in the United States.

Intestinal worms are parasites, deriving their nutrition from the human gut. Three types of worms can infest the human intestine: roundworms, tapeworms and flukes. The various species within these groups can live in different parts of the intestines, causing differing symptom patterns.

Human intestinal parasites are those that host themselves in the intestinal tract of the human body. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, there are two types of intestinal parasites.

Intestinal parasites and worms spend at least a part of their life cycles in the gastrointestinal tracts of host organisms. Intestinal parasites common in the U.S. include roundworms, tapeworms, hookworms and Giardia, a type of protozoa.

Intestinal parasites infect and reside your gastrointestinal tract. You can become infected with two types of intestinal parasites--protozoa and heleminths. Protozoa are microscopic parasites, where as heleminths are worms that are visible to naked eye in their adult stages.

Ascaris lumbricoides, also known as the giant intestinal roundworm, is one of several soil-transmitted nematodes that are infectious to humans. According to the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases, ascariasis is the most common human worm infection. More than 60,000 people die from the disease annually.

Intestinal parasites that may infect children come in two varieties: protozoa and helminthes. Protozoa are single-celled worms. They are able to multiply inside the human body and can be a major cause of infection. Helminthes are multi-celled organisms, the most common forms being pinworms and tapeworms.

Whether they are pinworms, tapeworms, or microscopic protozoa like Giardia lamblia or amoebas, intestinal parasites are never beneficial. They attach to the lining of your bowels, typically living off the food you eat and damaging your intestinal cells.

Intestinal worms grow in children who have ingested larva eggs, typically from exposure to soil or surfaces contaminated with human feces. Three common types of intestinal worm affecting children in the United States are pinworms, tapeworms and roundworms. Together, they make up a group of parasites called helminths.

Intestinal parasites such as parasitic worms infect more than one-fourth of the world's population, according to the World Health Organization. These infections result in disease, disability and death.

Many food-safety resources, including the USDA, recommend against consuming unbaked cookie dough because of the risk of illness. Eating raw cookie dough can result in gastrointestinal illness that may even lead to hospitalization in extreme cases.

Neem trees are native to drier regions of Burma, India, West Africa and Southwest Asia. They can grow to 50 feet tall and live for 200 years. In Ayurveda, a traditional Indian form of medicine, neem figures into treatments for many ailments, including intestinal and other types of parasites.