Parasites often prevent a person from living normally because they severely weaken the body. Which representatives most often parasitize in us, as well as how to deal with them - the article will say.
Parasites are creatures that live and feed on their host. They can inhabit all animals, fish, birds, as well as humans. This causes a lot of problems, because these creatures pretty much damage their health. Parasites in the human body can live in the liver, intestines, blood, and even attack the brain and lungs. What are the most common types? There are several different categories of parasites: flatworms and roundworms, protozoa and insects. How they affect the body and how to get rid of them - the article will say.
Types of parasites
As already mentioned, there are different types of parasites in the human body:
- protozoa (trypanosome, Plasmodium malaria, lamblia, amoeba dysentery);
- flatworms (cat fluff, beef liver and swine tapeworm);
- roundworms (roundworm, pinworm);
- insects (lice, gadfly, fleas);
- chelicerae (mites).
These species most commonly attack the human body. All of them are united by the fact that they feed on the juices and tissues of the host, slowly killing it. It is difficult to get rid of any of them, because each one has a lot of fastening devices (pumps, hooks, helicers), and some even settle in the cells of the body, from where it is simply impossible to get them out.
Probably everyone knows about lice, fleas and ticks, because these creatures live on the surface of the body, they are easy to find, and a little easier to fight. But not everyone is aware of the internal parasites in the body, and they are actually the most dangerous to health.
The simplest
These small organisms are found everywhere:
- in water;
- Earth;
- air.
It is impossible to see them because they consist of only one cell. There are harmless representatives: ciliary shoe, proteus amoeba, green euglena and others. Some even help animals, for example, some Cilians digest the pulp of grass from cows, but there are many parasites among that abundance.
Plasmodium malaria
This native of Central Africa haunts many countries today. Plasmodium malaria is transmitted by mosquitoes of the genus Anopheles, which are not too picky, and their main thing is heat and water. Many countries have carried out disease prevention: they have drained wetlands, destroyed larvae and the disease has receded there, but this parasite is still raging in the region of Central Africa and South America.
Once in the body, Plasmodium falciparum goes through two phases: the liver and erythrocytes. The first passes after a few hours. Plasmodium attacks the liver cells, enters them, begins to multiply and feeds on the nutrients of the host. At that time, the person already feels the first unpleasant symptoms:
- headache;
- nausea;
- lack of appetite.
After a few days, the parasite leaves the liver in the bloodstream and settles in red blood cells. He has lived there for a long time. He leaves one every 3-4 days and enters the other. The output is accompanied by the release of protozoan waste products, therefore, the owner's temperature rises rapidly and strongly, fever, vomiting and intestinal disorders begin.
Treatment of Plasmodium malaria is difficult because the parasite hides in the host cells. When the main symptoms of the disease appear, it is necessary to call an ambulance and water the patient constantly before his arrival, because the temperature and fever cause dehydration. A type of plasmodium (there are more than 5 of them) will be installed in the hospital and treatment will be prescribed.
Prevention is simple - fencing the habitat with a mosquito net if there are Anopheles mosquito farms in the district, as well as draining wetlands or flooding their surface with special means that create a film through which mosquito larvae cannot breathe and die.
Giardia and amoebic dysentery
Both of these parasites live in the human digestive organs and any animal can become their host. They penetrate the body along with dirty water, unwashed fruits or vegetables. Their favorite places are the ducts of the liver, the small intestine and the upper part of the large intestine.
The symptoms will not wait long and it is difficult not to notice them. The first manifestations are stool disorders. Over time, the temperature rises sharply, severe diarrhea and vomiting begin. Most often a person dies from dehydration, because the last two symptoms practically do not stop, the patient quickly loses water.
The fight against these parasites consists of drinking a lot of clean boiled water and taking special packages of salt - preparations that contain a special composition of salts that help retain water in the body. Prevention is also simple - washing the product, monitoring the state of drinking water, because it is the source of reproduction of these parasites.
Flatworms
Parasites in the human body can be both unicellular and multicellular. These are flatworms. The name comes from their shape, because they are really flat, because they breathe all over the body, so they try to reduce the volume as much as possible. There are 3 types of flatworms: ciliates, flukes and tapeworms. The former are fairly harmless, living in land or water. But the other two classes are exclusively parasites.
Naive people
These are small worms that have tits on their mouths and bellies. They prefer to live in our body inside the liver and gallbladder ducts. These helminths have two main life stages - a larva and an adult. The larvae can host aquatic mollusks (liver fluke), fish (cat fluke), but cattle and humans are permanent.
Adults most often settle in the liver area, but can sometimes enter the intestines, lungs, and even the brain. Their accommodation is accompanied by:
- headache;
- weight loss;
- lack of appetite;
- anemia.
They can only be killed by special anthelmintic drugs that your doctor will prescribe, depending on the type of parasite.
Prevention is simple: do not drink water and do not try to swim in the bodies of standing water, and also do not chew blades of grass in the field, as many like to do, because the larvae of flatworms can also be on the grass.
Cassette
Tapeworms are so called because these parasites are of great length (with the exception of echinococcus), so they really look like tapeworms. They also develop with a change of "place of residence", but most often it is the person who is the permanent owner for them.
Beef and pork tapeworms attack the small intestine. They are attached with vacuum cups and hooks so that feces cannot take them out of there. They are constantly growing, they can reach a length of 10 meters or more. From there they can be expelled only by special drugs that will kill the parasite, the mammals will relax, fall off and come out with the feces.
One of the most dangerous representatives of tapeworms is echinococcus. Its larvae are hosted by humans and herbivores, and the adult worm settles in predators. The larval stage of the parasite is dangerous because it differs in structure from the one that forms the tapeworm.
The echinococcus larva is a sac in which many larvae develop. Such a structure can attack the brain, lungs, intestines, liver. It is dangerous with its unlimited growth, because sooner or later the owner simply tears the tissues. If an echinococcus has struck the brain or lungs, then only surgery can save the patient, but it can also be dangerous.
If tapeworms have settled in our body, then we urgently need to go to the hospital because they are constantly growing, clogging the intestines (tapeworms), affecting the lungs or brain (echinococci), drinking all vital juices and killing their host. Prevention consists of checking meat and fish for small white or yellowish larvae. If such are present, such a product should never be eaten!
Roundworms
Many have also heard of roundworms, because they poison people's lives no less often than flat ones, especially small children suffer from them. The most famous are the representatives of earthworms and earthworms, which inhabit the human intestine. Sometimes they can reach other organs: liver, eyes, brain.
Roundworms develop with habitat change: larvae live in a person’s lungs and adults in the intestines. The name "round" characterizes their cross-sectional shape - they are really round.
These worms do not have binding devices, but they have muscles that help them resist feces. Sometimes they crawl out of the body (pinworm) and lay eggs on the anus.
Children suffer from them because babies do not know the rules of hygiene, so by combing the place where the eggs are laid, they can pull their fingers into their mouths and become infected again.
Treatment is possible with medication prescribed by a doctor. If the mother of a child with pinworm is afraid to give him pills, then you can cure him without them. To do this, it is necessary at 5-6 in the morning (just at this time the female leaves the body and lays eggs around the anus) to wipe the inside of the priest with vodka, and then lubricate the treatment site with baby cream so as not to dry out the delicate skin.
Prevention consists in the fact that you must constantly monitor hygiene: wash your hands after touching the ground, do not drink dirty water.
Parasite testing
If you doubt your own health, you can test for the presence of parasites in your body. If any of the following symptoms are present, put a plus sign.
- Weight loss will be followed by diet and changes in diet.
- The temperature is constantly rising in the range of 37-37, 5 grams.
- No appetite or, conversely, constantly want to eat.
- There is often a desire to eat something sweet.
- Increased headaches.
- Attacks of weakness.
- Stool disorders.
- Nausea or vomiting
- Allergic rash or swelling.
- Pain in the liver and intestines.
- Unconsciousness (if the brain is affected).
- Trembling hands.
- Constant pallor.
If there are 1 to 4 pluses, it means that there are no worms, but the person is under constant stress, is ill or has problems with the digestive tract. If there are 5 to 7 pluses, then there is a suspicion of the presence of parasites, but more than 8 positive answers indicate real problems, so there is an urgent need to consult a doctor.
Parasites poison the human body, weaken the immune system, prevent them from leading a normal active life, so you need to remember the symptoms of their manifestation and methods of treatment, as well as preventive measures, because only then can you protect yourself and your family.