About 80% of the world's population is infected with various helminths. Often a disease caused by parasites needs to be treated for a long time and unsuccessfully. Worms that can live in a human being disrupt the integrity of blood vessel walls, close the intestinal lumen, and damage internal organs. They produce toxins that enter the bloodstream.
What worms do humans have?
Helminths live in the intestines or are parasites that live in another organ. There are several types of them, the most common being nematodes. The body is long, cross-sectioned - round, shaped, narrowed at the ends. Infection is most common:
- roundworms, triangles located in the small intestine and other organs;
- whipworms that live in the large intestine and feed on blood and mucous membranes;
- pinworms collected in the intestine and large intestine.
Pinworms are especially common in children when they are tested for fecal enterobiasis.
In addition to the above, there are more than a hundred less common parasites that live in different parts of the intestine. For example, in humans, worms such as howworms and roundworms are in a thin segment, and the thick part is often clogged with whipworms. Humans are home to adult tapeworms with straight bodies. Cattle and pork tapeworms, cestodes, echinococci are placed in the intestines.
Fluke worms have suckers on their bodies ranging from a few millimeters (Siberian fluke) to 7 cm (beans). Parasites are transmitted to humans as a result of depletion of raw fish with unboiled water. Infection with worms sometimes occurs through the skin while swimming in lakes and rivers (schistosomiasis). Once in place, they can feel great in different human organs for several years.
Methods of Infection
Different types of worms have different ways of entering. The main method of infection with parasites is fecal-oral. It is associated with the penetration of helminths along with food and water. When people forget to wash their hands before eating, they simply swallow invisible organisms. Worms in feces are rarely seen with the naked eye. However, flies that revolve around feces always carry their eggs. If the insect sits on a food, the likelihood of infection increases significantly.
In humans, worms appear after working with soil and sand without gloves. In the latter case, young children suffer more from parasites, where the sandbox is a favorite place to play. On the surface of the soil, helminths fall along with the feces of animals - cats, dogs, cattle and are carried by flies. They penetrate the human body through unwashed hands, micro-lesions on the skin, and poorly processed vegetables. Inhalation of street dust saturated with very strong larvae can also be transmitted.
Another factor that causes worms is the use of poor quality water. It is highly undesirable to swallow liquids while swimming in the sea, river or lake. There are many parasites in the feces of fish, waterfowl and domestic animals. Consumption of raw fish and meat by humans poses a risk of infection, and parasites - cattle, pork tapeworm, broad tapeworm - will be located in the body. Medical reference books contain photos of worms up to several meters long.
Symptoms and signs of helminthic invasion
People who become host to parasites start to lose weight quickly, feel tired and look pale. Indicate the presence of worms:
- body aches;
- painful sensations in the joints;
- general weakness;
- anorexia;
- diarrhea or constipation;
- nausea.
However, it is necessary to be examined to make sure that there are helminths in the body. It will help identify worms in the stool or specific antibodies in the blood.
Symptoms get worse without timely treatment. Depending on which worms predominate in the body, the sites of accumulation will vary with the symptoms of the disease. Bile stasis occurs when the ducts are blocked by parasites. A person feels heaviness and pain in the right hypochondrium, pain in the mouth. Periodically suffers from nausea and constipation.
Many worms secrete substances that irritate the intestinal wall - watery, frothy diarrhea. In addition, the patient increased gas production, high noise in the abdomen, abdominal pain.
Worms can migrate once in the human body. Their progression is accompanied by severe pain. Often, a person with helminthiasis thinks that his arthritis is getting worse. In fact, unpleasant sensations with worms are a response to tissue damage in the body.
People face apathy, impaired concentration, and memory problems. Parasites occur when they are in the body for a long time. Previously an unusual allergy, intolerance to the body of some products. The culprits of skin problems are worms. The most common:
- acne, pimples all over the body;
- urticaria, atopic dermatitis, eczema;
- very early appearance of wrinkles;
- hair loss, bald patches.
More common rhinitis, bronchitis, asthma, pneumonia can be caused by the migration of worms through the bloodstream. Sometimes the parasites settle in the lungs, where they lay eggs, grow and become full-fledged individuals. In X-ray images, scans obtained after tomography show that the worms have a round or oval focal darkening.
People complain about the release of toxic waste products of helminths into the bloodstream:
- constant anxiety, nervousness;
- depression;
- insomnia.
Both obesity and underweight are common symptoms of worms. Digestive problems, intoxication causes poor appetite. Man loses body weight. Prolonged presence of parasites leads to a decrease in blood glucose levels and a constant feeling of hunger. At the cellular level, there is a nutritional deficiency that is compensated by the accumulation of adipose tissue.
Drug treatment
Treatment of helminthiasis is not recommended for several reasons without prior consultation with a specialist. First, it is not always possible to identify parasites even after passing several stools for analysis. You will have to do more research to determine exactly what types of worms are present in a person:
- complete blood count with leukoformula;
- biochemical blood test (liver function tests);
- Analysis of feces and rectal mucus.
Sometimes it is necessary to examine small parts of the bile, sputum and skin to detect worms that have invaded the body.
It is questionable to treat an adult or child's worms independently. Pharmacological drugs are quite toxic. At the same time, many have an action against a particular species without affecting others.
According to the test results, if worms are found in a person's stool or the presence of a parasite is confirmed by other diagnostic procedures, the infectious disease doctor will choose the most effective drug. The doctor prescribing the pills should indicate exactly how many times the drug will be taken and the dose based on the patient's weight. Worms are treated:
- Albendazole;
- Paraqiquantel;
- Medamin;
- Mebendazole;
- Pirantel.
The procedure to get rid of worms is supplemented with drugs (sorbents), antiallergic drugs, vitamins that eliminate intoxication.
Preventive measures
Given that worms pass very easily through animals or an infected person, every effort should be made to prevent their appearance. To do this, you must strictly observe hygiene. An important factor in protecting against worms is the proper preparation of food products.
Doctors recommend an annual preventive procedure to clean the worms in spring and autumn. Even if there is no obvious sign of infection in a person. For maximum effectiveness, it is obtained if all family members take the medication recommended by the doctor. Most of the parasites are so small that you can see the eggs of some worms taken with a powerful microscope while examining the feces, which is another biomaterial.