About 80% of the planet's inhabitants are infected with various types of helminths.It often takes a long time and is unsuccessful to treat a disease whose real cause is parasites.Worms can live in humans, violating the integrity of blood vessel walls, clogging the intestinal lumen and damaging internal organs.They produce toxic substances that enter the blood.
What kind of worms do humans have?
Helminths invade the intestines or parasitize, living in any other organ.There are many types, the most common being nematodes.Their bodies have an elongated cross-section, narrowing at both ends.More often than others, infections occur:
- Roundworms, trichinae, colonize the small intestine and other organs;
- Whipworms live in the large intestine and feed on blood and mucus;
- Pinworms accumulate in the cecum and colon.
Pinworms are especially commonly found in children when they have stool tests for intestinal disease.
In addition to the species listed, there are more than a hundred less common types of parasites that live in different parts of the intestines.For example, in humans worms such as hookworm and roundworm are found in thin segments;The thick part is often adhered to by whipworms.Humans become hosts to adult tapeworms, which have flat, long bodies.Large tapeworms and pork tapeworms, cestodes and echinococci live in the intestines.
Helminths have suction cups on their bodies ranging from a few millimeters long (Siberian fluke) to 7 cm (trematode fluke).Parasites are transmitted to humans by eating raw fish and unboiled water.Sometimes worm infection occurs through the skin when swimming in lakes and rivers (schistosomiasis).Once established, they can feel great in many different human organs for several years.
Infection method
The routes through which different types of worms enter are very diverse.The main method of transmission of the parasite is through the fecal-oral route.It is associated with the ingestion of helminths with food and water.People simply ingest invisible creatures when they forget to wash their hands before eating.Worms in feces are rarely seen with the naked eye.But flies hovering over feces always carry their eggs.If an insect lands on a piece of food, the risk of infection increases significantly.
Worms appear in humans after working with soil or sand without wearing gloves.In the second case, young children, for whom the sandbox is a favorite place to play, are more likely to suffer from parasites.Helminths rise to the soil surface with the feces of animals - cats, dogs, cattle and are carried by flies.They enter the human body through unwashed hands, small wounds on the skin, and incompletely processed vegetables.Inhaling street dust filled with very tenacious larvae can also cause infection.
Another factor that contributes to the appearance of worms is the use of poor quality water.Swallowing liquid while swimming in the sea, river or lake is extremely undesirable.It contains a large number of parasites from the feces of fish, waterfowl and pets.If a person eats raw fish or meat, there is a risk of infection and parasites - beef tapeworm, pork tapeworm, tapeworm - will reside in the body.In medical reference books, there are pictures of worms up to several meters in length.
Symptoms and signs of helminth infection
After becoming a host to the parasite, humans begin to lose weight rapidly, feel exhausted and look pale.Indicates the presence of worms:
- pain all over the body;
- feeling of pain in the joints;
- general weakness;
- loss of appetite;
- diarrhea or constipation;
- Nausea attack.
But to be sure that helminths are present in the body, it is necessary to conduct a test.It will help identify worms in the stool or special antibodies in the blood.
Symptoms increase if not treated promptly.Depending on which type of worm predominates in the body and where they accumulate, the signs of the disease will be different.Bile stasis occurs when the bile ducts become blocked by parasites.A person feels heaviness and pain in the right hypochondrium, a bitter taste in the mouth.Periodically suffers from bouts of nausea and constipation.
Many types of worms secrete substances that irritate the intestinal wall - diarrhea, loose and foamy stools appear.In addition, the patient feels increased gas formation, rumbling in the abdomen and pain in the navel area.
Worms when inside the human body can move.Their progress comes with intense pain.Often, a person with helminthiasis thinks he has more severe arthritis.In fact, the discomfort caused by worms is the body's response to tissue damage.
A person experiences lethargy, impaired concentration, and memory problems.This happens if the parasite remains in the body for a long time.The body has a previous allergy or unusual intolerance to certain foods.Worms become the culprit causing skin problems.Most popular:
- acne, pimples all over the body;
- urticaria, atopic dermatitis, eczema;
- formation of wrinkles too early;
- hair loss, baldness.
More frequent runny noses, bronchitis, asthma and pneumonia may be due to worms traveling through the bloodstream.Sometimes the parasite settles in the lungs, lays eggs there, matures and turns into a full-fledged individual.On X-rays and scans obtained after a CT scan, the worms look like round or oval shapes with a localized dark color.
The entry of toxic waste products from helminths into the bloodstream causes people to complain of:
- often worried and irritable;
- depression;
- insomnia.
Both obesity and underweight are common symptoms of worms.Digestive problems and poisoning lead to poor appetite.A person loses body weight.The long-term presence of the parasite causes a drop in blood sugar levels and a constant feeling of hunger.At the cellular level, nutrient deficiency is compensated for by the accumulation of adipose tissue.
Treatment with medication
You should not treat helminths without first consulting a specialist for many reasons.The first is that even after repeated analysis, it is not always possible to identify the parasite.To accurately determine which worms have settled in humans, you will have to make a more detailed examination, including:
- General blood test with leukemia formula;
- biochemical blood tests (liver tests);
- analysis of stool and rectal mucus.
Sometimes, to detect that worms have invaded the body, it is necessary to examine bile, phlegm and small parts of the skin.
Treating worms in adults or children on your own is a questionable idea.Pharmacological drugs are quite toxic.At the same time, many of them are effective against one specific species without affecting another.
If test results show the presence of worms in human feces or the presence of parasites is confirmed by other diagnostic procedures, the infectious disease doctor will choose the most effective medication.The doctor prescribing the medicine must tell you the exact number of times to take the medicine and the dosage based on the patient's weight.Worm treatment is carried out:
- Albendazole;
- paraziquanthelome;
- Medamine;
- Mebendazole;
- Pyrantel.
The anthelmintic procedure is supplemented with toxic reducing agents (absorbents), antiallergic drugs and vitamins.
preventive measures
Because worms are easily transmitted from infected animals or people, every effort should be made to prevent their occurrence.To do this, you must strictly adhere to hygiene.An important factor in protecting against worms is the correct preparation of products used in food preparation.
Doctors recommend carrying out an annual worm prevention procedure in spring and fall.Even if a person has no obvious symptoms of infection.Its maximum effectiveness can be achieved if all family members take the medicine recommended by the doctor.Most parasites are so small that you can only see images of the eggs of some worm species, taken through a powerful microscope when examining stool or other biological material.