An anthelmintic is a medicine used to kill, expel, or otherwise control parasitic worms that infect humans or other animals.
Anthelmintics are used against helminths, a group of parasitic worms that includes roundworms, tapeworms, and flukes. Different anthelmintic medicines work against different types or stages of worms.
Examples include albendazole, mebendazole, praziquantel, and ivermectin, although their appropriate uses differ according to the particular parasite and infection. Anthelmintics are therefore a specific type of antiparasitic treatment.
QUICK FACT
Anthelmintics target parasitic worms; antimalarials target malaria parasites. Both are antiparasitic medicines, but they are not interchangeable.
COMMONLY CONFUSED WITH
Antiparasitic — Antiparasitic is the broader category that includes medicines used against parasitic worms as well as medicines used against other parasites, such as protozoa.
SEE ALSO