There are 4. 5 billion registered people in the world who suffer from parasitic infections (infestations). Moreover, the number of people infected with worms (worms) is constantly increasing.
Causes of helminthiasis infection
It is not difficult to get worms into your body. Here are some common causes of infections that everyone has since childhood:
- Lack of hygiene.The desire to eat unwashed fruits and vegetables, not wearing gloves when working in the garden and not interfering with hygiene procedures, leads to infection with various helminths.
- Addicted to street fast food.It’s no secret that such food vendors don’t always come for medical checkups and often neglect basic hygiene. And their products are not stored in the best condition. Fans of whites and pasta are another risk group.
- Love the exotic cuisinecontains dishes of raw fish and shellfish that contain parasites. For fans of sushi and rolls this is what causes an increase in the incidence of flukes, tapeworms, nematodes, ringworms, and belts.
- Hthe ability to protect oneself from infection during rest properly.Love for the "Turkish coast" has led to cases of infection with exotic helminthiases - schistosomiasis, ankylostomiasis, dracunculiasis. After a barefoot walk on a foreign beach, you can bring not only interesting effects, but also harmful worms.
- Infections from petswho often sleeps with its owner. Lovers of "kissing" pets are at risk of contracting parasites.
What parasites live in the human body
If an adult gets a chance to see his body, he will be horrified:
- Roundworm -cream worms, ringworms, whip worms, nematodes, toxocaras, trichinella. Large helminths accumulate in large tangles, clogging the intestinal lumen and causing blockages that require surgical treatment. During surgery, doctors remove large numbers of parasites from the intestines of such people.
- Tape wormappeared among those who liked to taste meat with blood and raw fish. They cause digestive problems, anemia, allergies. Children experience seizures similar to epileptic seizures. The most dangerous worms of this group are echinococcus, larvae that form large cysts in the human body. When ruptured, the parasite spreads throughout the body. Infections can be fatal.
- Inhaler- Fluxes, flukes and fascioli are dangerous parasites that suck blood from the liver, pancreas, intestines, and bladder.
- The easiest- Leishmania, amoeba, lamblia, etc. Although this tiny parasite can only be seen under a microscope, it can cause dangerous complications up to perforated intestines and liver abscesses, which can be fatal.
On what grounds one can suspect the presence of a "stranger": if the stomach hurts, it means someone lives in it
Signs of the presence of helminths:
- Stomachache- the most common sign of helminth infection. It can be persistent, periodic, affecting certain areas of the abdomen. Pain in the right hypochondrium with helminthiasis indicates damage to the liver and gallbladder by worms.
- Senak- diarrhea, constipation, irregular bowel movements. Sometimes in the stool, the patient sees parts of the worm crawling or even the whole parasite. Disorders of food absorption and dysfunction of the gastrointestinal tract cause weight loss.
- Anemia.Worms suck blood out of the body and interfere with digestion of food. The host does not feed on himself, except on the worms. Patients complain of weakness, fatigue, loss of strength, dizziness.
- Urinary tract damage,caused by parasites that live in the kidneys and bladder. The patient complained of back pain and swelling. Sometimes traces of blood are visible in the urine.
- Irregular chronic vaginitis. . . Ringworm and cream worms crawl from the anus to the genital tract, causing vaginal dysbiosis and provoking the development of thrush. Women are treated for itching and itching, not realizing that it is a parasite.
- Skin manifestations.Infection with worms poisons the body and suppresses the immune system, which causes allergies. The rash varies - from small vesicles to large focal areas.
- Inflammation of the mucosaand itching in the anus caused by irritation of crawling worms.
- Deterioration of health in general.Weak immunity, poor digestion, and anemia weaken the body, which is unable to withstand infection. A person is haunted by persistent colds, acute respiratory infections and acute respiratory viral infections.
Why ultrasound is more effective than traditional screening for worms and other parasites
Dirt or debris does not always show worms. The fact is that parasites have a specific developmental cycle and do not always lay eggs. There is a group of extraintestinal helminthiasis, in which the worms live outside the intestine. In this case, stool analysis will not provide information.
Ultrasound of the abdominal cavity shows characteristic changes of the presence of parasites in the liver, pancreas. It is harmless, non-traumatic and can be used many times.
If the ultrasound doctor does not detect a live worm and the signs of its presence are 100%, he or she will suspect an infection and order additional examinations. It is useful to undergo an ultrasound scan and with a positive test for I / worm. Research will show where parasites hide.
Signs of helminthiasis, determined by ultrasound of the abdominal cavity - semi -living organs and live worms
When examining the gastrointestinal tract on modern 3D and 4D devices, doctors often see live parasites in the gut. If helminths are not found, their presence can be suspected by an enlarged pancreas, which is compacted in the head area. The spleen is also too large.
Liver with parasitic lesions by flux, trematodes and enlarged flux. Above it, there are areas of dystrophy that impede organ function.
The gallbladder also suffers. In patients, there is bile stagnation, causing pain in the right hypochondrium. Sometimes the function of the bladder is disrupted so that the organ on ultrasound is not determined at all.
The presence of parasites leads to the formation of abscesses - life -threatening purulent hepatic lesions. In 85% of cases, an abscess forms in one lobe of the liver. Other departments are not often affected. Purulent lesions are characteristic of hepatic amoebiasis - an infection with the simplest - amoeba that penetrates into the hepatic area from the intestine.
Significant changes in the liver are observed in echinococcosis, a parasitic disease in which cavities filled with helminth larvae form in organs. On ultrasound, round formations with clear boundaries are visible. This is a cyst with parasites in it. Over time, calcium is stored around the echinococcal focusSuch formations have a dense structure, therefore, on ultrasound, they appear lighter than the surrounding tissue.
With prolonged infection, large cysts with septa form, resembling wheel fingers or large beehives. Destruction of the bile ducts was observed. With Doppler examination, there is a violation of blood flow.
For lovers of Japanese cuisine. Parasites as a gift
Fans of Asian exoticism have many different types of parasites, but the most common opisthorchiasis is an infection with Chinese ugliness. The source of helminths is unprocessed fish that contain parasites.
At the onset of the disease, ultrasound of the liver and gallbladder shows eosinophilic infiltrates - dense formations with clear boundaries. If the fight against helminths is delayed until a better time, a focus of dead cells will appear in these organs, look like a varied area, and the hepatic ducts will lose elasticity. The condition can lead to the development of liver failure.
If the urinary tract becomes a victim of parasites
Echinococcus not only affects the liver, but also the kidneys. When the parasite enters the kidney tissue, a single -chamber cyst (bubble) containing the larvae forms. Gradually in size, echinococcal cysts damage the organ. Large parasitic cysts are soldered to the liver, spleen and intestines.
Schistosomiasis is invited by those who like to stroll barefoot along the warm beaches abroad. The parasite larvae enter the bloodstream through the skin, and are then carried with the blood into the bladder. Once settled there, they cause the appearance of seals - infiltrates that appear in response to irritation of the bladder wall. When the infection spreads, the kidneys are affected.
Enzyme immunoassay - we bring helminths to clean water
This test detects infection with one or more types of parasites. It is performed for the presence of ascaris, toxocara, trichinella, opisthorchis flukes, echinococci, Chinese flukes, etc.
The principle of testing is based on the body's immune response to the presence of helminths. Infection with worms causes the production of protein antibodies, which are detected during analysis. Since each parasite provokes the formation of specific immunoglobulins, the results of the analysis show which helminths are present in the human body.
This analysis responds to all forms of parasites - eggs, larvae, adult worms. Its accuracy exceeds 90%. Surveys show not only the presence of infection, but also its degree.
After treatment, the analysis was repeated. Positive results can be seen for some time after the death of the parasite. Immunoglobulin concentrations will gradually decrease over the next few months. Then the analysis will be "clean". For research, blood was taken from a vein on an empty stomach in a volume of 3-5 ml. The analysis was performed twice.
Ultrasound and studies for immunoglobulins can detect helminthiases and initiate treatment. Thanks to its use, the number of cases of misdiagnosis, which leads to complications, has decreased. The main thing is to see a doctor in a timely manner if you suspect helminthic invasion.