About 80% of the planet's inhabitants are infected with various helminths.Diseases whose real cause is parasites often require long and unsuccessful treatment.Worms that can live in humans disrupt the integrity of vascular walls, block the intestinal lumen and damage internal organs.They produce toxic substances that enter the blood.
What types of worms do people have?
Helminths colonize the intestines or parasitize, living in any other organ.There are several varieties, the most common being nematodes.Their body has an elongated, round cross-section, which narrows at the ends.Infection occurs more often than others:
- roundworms, trichinella, which live in the small intestine and other organs;
- whips that live in the large intestine and feed on blood and mucus;
- pinworms that accumulate in the cecum and colon.
Pinworms are especially often found in children when doing a stool test for enterobiosis.
In addition to the above, there are more than a hundred rarer parasites that inhabit different parts of the intestine.For example, in humans, the thin segment contains worms such as hookworms and roundworms;the thick part is often clogged with whips.Humans become hosts to adult tapeworms, which have a flat, long body.Large beef and pork tapeworms, cestodes and echinococci live in the intestines.
Fluke worms have nipples on their bodies ranging from a few millimeters (Siberian fluke) to 7 cm (fasciola).Parasites are transmitted to humans as a result of consumption of raw fish and unboiled water.Sometimes infection with worms occurs through the skin when swimming in lakes and rivers (schistosoma).Once established, they can feel great in various human organs for several years.
Methods of infection
The routes by which different types of worms enter are different.The main way of infection with parasites is fecal-oral.It is associated with the penetration of helminths together with food and water.People simply ingest invisible organisms when they forget to wash their hands before eating.Worms in feces are rarely visible to the naked eye.But the flies that hover over the excrement always carry their own eggs.If an insect lands on a piece of food, the chances of infection increase significantly.
Worms appear in people after working with soil or sand without gloves.In the latter case, small children, for whom the sandbox is a favorite place to play, are more likely to fall ill with parasites.Helminths reach the soil surface together with the feces of animals - cats, dogs, cattle, and are transmitted by flies.They enter the human body through unwashed hands, microtrauma on the skin and insufficiently processed vegetables.By inhaling street dust, saturated with very hardy larvae, one can also become infected.
Another factor that contributes to the appearance of worms is the use of poor quality water.It is highly undesirable to swallow liquid while swimming in the sea, river or lake.It contains a huge number of parasites from the feces of fish, waterfowl and domestic animals.If a person consumes raw fish or meat, there is a risk of infection and parasites - beef tapeworm, pork tapeworm, tapeworm - settling in the body.In medical reference books there are photographs of worms, the length of which reaches several meters.
Symptoms and signs of helminthic infestation
After becoming hosts to the parasites, people begin to lose weight rapidly, feel exhausted and look pale.Indicate the presence of worms:
- pains in the whole body;
- painful sensations in the joints;
- general weakness;
- loss of appetite;
- diarrhea or constipation;
- bouts of nausea.
But to be sure that helminths are present in the body, it is necessary to undergo an examination.It will help to identify worms in the stool or special antibodies in the blood.
Symptoms increase in the absence of timely treatment.Depending on which worms prevail in the body, where they accumulate, the signs of the disease will differ.Bile stagnation occurs when the ducts are blocked by parasites.A person feels heaviness and pain in the right hypochondrium, bitterness in the mouth.They occasionally suffer from bouts of nausea and constipation.
Many worms secrete substances that irritate the intestinal walls - diarrhea appears, in which the stool is watery and foamy.In addition, the patient feels increased gas formation, loud rumbling in the abdomen and pain in the navel area.
Worms, once inside the human body, can migrate.Their progress is accompanied by severe pain.Most often, a person with helminthiasis thinks he has worsening arthritis.In fact, the unpleasant sensations caused by worms are the body's response to tissue injury.
A person experiences a state of apathy, has a deterioration in concentration and memory problems.This happens if the parasites are present in the body for a long time.A previously unusual allergy or intolerance of the body to a certain food appears.Worms become the culprit of skin problems.Most common:
- acne, pimples all over the body;
- urticaria, atopic dermatitis, eczema;
- premature formation of wrinkles;
- hair loss, bald spots.
More frequent runny noses, bronchitis, asthma and pneumonia can be caused by worms migrating through the bloodstream.Sometimes parasites settle in the lungs, lay eggs there, which mature and turn into full-fledged individuals.On X-rays and images obtained after tomography, the worms appear as a focal darkening of a round or oval shape.
The entry of toxic waste products of helminths into the blood causes people to complain of:
- constant anxiety, irritability;
- depression;
- insomnia.
Both obesity and underweight are common symptoms of worms.Digestive problems and intoxication lead to poor appetite.A person loses body weight.The long-term presence of parasites causes a decrease in blood glucose levels and a constant feeling of hunger.At the cellular level, there is a lack of nutrients, which is compensated by the accumulation of fat tissue.
Drug therapy
Treatment of helminthiasis without prior consultation with a specialist is not recommended for several reasons.The first is that even after the feces are submitted for analysis several times, it is not always possible to identify the parasites.To determine precisely which type of worm has settled in a person, you will need to do a more detailed examination, including:
- general blood test with leukemia formula;
- biochemical blood test (liver tests);
- stool and rectal mucus analysis.
Sometimes, to detect the worms that have colonized the body, it is necessary to examine bile, sputum and small parts of the skin.
Self-treatment of worms in an adult or a child is a dubious idea.Pharmacological drugs are quite toxic.At the same time, many of them have an effect directed against a certain species without affecting others.
If the test results revealed worms in the person's feces or the presence of parasites was confirmed by other diagnostic procedures, the infectious disease specialist selects the most effective drug.The doctor who prescribes the tablets must indicate exactly how many times the medicine will have to be taken and its dosage, based on the patient's weight.Worm treatment is carried out:
- albendazole;
- Paraziquantheloma;
- Medamine;
- Mebendazole;
- Pyrantel.
The procedure for removing worms is supplemented with agents that alleviate intoxication (sorbents), anti-allergic drugs and vitamins.
Preventive measures
Considering that worms are very easily transmitted from animals or an infected person, it is necessary to do everything to prevent their occurrence.To do this, you must strictly adhere to hygiene.An important factor in protection against earthworms is the proper preparation of food products.
Doctors recommend carrying out an annual preventive procedure for cleaning worms in spring and autumn.Even if the 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 photographs of the eggs of some worms, taken with a powerful microscope when examining feces or other biomaterial.