About 80% of the world's population is infected with various helminths. It is often necessary to treat the disease for a long time and unsuccessfully, the real cause is parasites. Worms that can live in a person violate the integrity of the vascular wall, block the intestinal lumen, and damage internal organs. They produce toxic substances that enter the bloodstream.
What worms do humans have?
Helminths inhabit the intestines or parasites, inhabiting other organs. There are several types of them, the most common being nematodes. Their bodies are elongated, transverse - round, shaped, narrow at the ends. Infections occur most often:
- ringworm, trichine, settles in the small intestine and other organs;
- whip worms that live in the large intestine and eat blood and mucous membranes;
- pinworms accumulate in the caecum and colon.
Cream worms are often found in children when feces are analyzed for enterobiasis.
In addition to those listed, there are more than a hundred less common parasites that inhabit different parts of the intestine. For example, worms in humans such as mine worms and ringworms are in thin sections, the thick part is often clogged with whip worms. People host tapeworm adults with flat long bodies. Pig and large swine worms, cestode, echinococcus settle in the intestine.
The fluke worm has suckers on its body that range from a few millimeters (Siberian fluke) to 7 cm (fasciola). Parasites are transmitted to humans as a result of consuming raw fish, with unboiled water. Occasionally infections of the worms occur through the skin while swimming in lakes, rivers (schistosomes). After settling once, they can feel great in various human organs for several years.
Infection Method
The way in which different types of worms enter is varied. The main method of infection with parasites is fecal-oral. It is associated with the penetration of helminths along with food and water. People only swallow invisible organisms when they forget to wash their hands before eating. Worms on stools are rarely seen with the naked eye. But flies that fly over dirt always carry their eggs. If the insect sits on a piece of food, then the chances of infection increase significantly.
Worms in humans appear after working without gloves with soil, sand. In the latter case, young children tend to suffer from parasites, whose sandbox is a favorite place to play. On the surface of the ground, helminths fall along with animal feces - cats, dogs, livestock, and are carried by flies. They penetrate into the human body through unwashed hands, microtraumas on the skin, and inadequately processed vegetables. Inhaling street dust filled with very strong larvae can also be infected.
Another factor contributing to the appearance of worms is the use of low quality water. It is highly undesirable to swallow fluids while swimming in the sea, river or lake. It contains a large number of parasites from fish feces, waterfowl, and pets. Consumption of raw fish, meat threatens that infection will occur and parasites - cows, swine tapeworms, broad tapeworms - will settle in the body. In medical reference books, there are photos of worms, up to a few meters long.
Symptoms and signs of helminthic invasion
Being a group of parasites, people begin to lose weight quickly, feel tired, look pale. State the presence of worms:
- body aches;
- painful sensation in joints;
- general weakness;
- loss of appetite;
- diarrhea or constipation;
- nausea attacks.
But to make sure the helminths are in the body, it is necessary to undergo an examination. It will help identify worms in the stool or specific antibodies in the blood.
Symptoms are worse if there is no timely treatment. Depending on which worm occurs in the body, the place of its collection will differ in the symptoms of the disease. Bile stasis occurs when the ducts are blocked by parasites. One feels heaviness and pain in the right hypochondrium, bitterness in the mouth. Periodically tormented by attacks of nausea, constipation.
Many worms emit substances that irritate the intestinal wall - diarrhea appears, in which feces are watery, foaming. In addition, patients have increased gas production, tremors in the abdomen, pain in the navel.
Worms, once in the human body, can migrate. Their progress is accompanied by severe pain. Often, patients with helminthiasis think he or she has exacerbated arthritis. In fact, the unpleasant sensation with worms is the body’s response to tissue injury.
A person suffers from a state of indifference, he suffers from impaired ability to concentrate, memory problems. This happens if parasites are present in the body for a long time. There are previously unusual allergies, intolerance to some products. Worms are the cause of skin problems. The most common:
- acne, acne all over the body;
- urticaria, atopic dermatitis, eczema;
- wrinkle formation too early;
- hair loss, bald spots.
More frequent rhinitis, bronchitis, asthma, pneumonia may be caused by the migration of worms by the bloodstream. Sometimes parasites settle in the lungs, lay their eggs there, mature and turn into full individuals. In X-ray images, scans obtained after tomography, the worm looks like a dark focus on a round or oval shape.
The release of toxic waste products from helminths into the bloodstream makes people complain:
- constant anxiety, irritability;
- depression;
- insomnia.
Both obesity and weight loss are common symptoms of worms. Digestive problems, intoxication cause poor appetite. Someone loses weight. Prolonged presence of parasites is a cause of decreased blood glucose levels and persistent hunger. At the cellular level, there is a lack of nutrients, which is compensated by the accumulation of adipose tissue.
Drug therapy
Treating helminthiasis without first consulting a specialist is not recommended for a number of reasons. The first is that even after several times of feces to be analyzed, it is not impossible to identify parasites. To accurately determine the type of worm that inhabits a person, you need to perform a more detailed examination, including:
- general blood tests with leukoformula;
- biochemical blood test (liver function test);
- stool and rectal mucus analysis.
Sometimes, to detect worms that have invaded the body, it is necessary to examine the bile, sputum, and small parts of the skin.
It is a dubious attempt to treat worms independently in adults or children. Pharmacological preparations are quite toxic. At the same time, many of them have actions aimed at certain species, without affecting others.
If, according to test results, a worm is detected in a person's stool or the presence of a parasite is confirmed by another diagnostic procedure, the infectious disease doctor chooses the most effective medication. The doctor prescribing the pill should indicate exactly how many times the medication should be taken and the dose, based on the patient's weight. Worm treatment is performed:
- Albendazole;
- Paraziquantel;
- Medamin;
- Mebendazole;
- Pirantel.
Worm removal procedures are complemented by poison removal (sorbents), anti-allergy medications, vitamins.
Precautions
Since worms are very easily transmitted from infected animals or people, every effort should be made to prevent their appearance. To do this, you must strictly adhere to hygiene. An important factor in protection against worms is the proper preparation of the product from which the food is prepared.
Doctors recommend an annual prophylaxis procedure to clean the worms in spring and autumn. Although there are no symptoms of infection in a person. To achieve maximum effectiveness is obtained if all family members take the medication recommended by the doctor. The large number of parasites is so small that you can only see photos of eggs from a few worms, made through a powerful microscope when examining feces, other biomaterials.