About 80% of the planet's inhabitants are infected with various helminths. Often it is necessary to long and unsuccessfully treat a disease, the real cause of which is parasites. Worms that can live in a person violate the integrity of the walls of the vessels, block the intestinal lumen and cause damage to internal organs. They produce toxic substances that enter the bloodstream.
What worms do humans have?
Helminths inhabit the intestines or parasitize and inhabit every other organ. There are different varieties, the most common of which are nematodes. Their body is elongated in cross section - round, in shape, narrowed at the ends. The most common infection is:
- roundworms, trichinae that settle in the small intestine and other organs;
- whipworms that live in the large intestine and feed on blood and mucous membranes;
- pinworms that accumulate in the caecum and large intestine.
Pinworms are particularly common in children when the feces are examined for enterobiasis.
In addition to the ones listed, there are more than a hundred less common parasites that live in different parts of the intestine. For example, in humans, such worms as hookworm and roundworm are in a thin segment, the thick section is often clogged with whipworms. Humans become hosts to adults of tapeworms with a flat, long body. Large intestinal and pork tapeworms, cestodes and echinococci settle in the intestines.
Fluke worms have suction cups on their bodies that range in length from several millimeters (Siberian fluke) to 7 cm (Fasciola). Parasites are transmitted to humans through the consumption of raw fish with uncooked water. Sometimes when swimming in lakes and rivers (schistosome), infection with worms occurs through the skin. Once settled, they can be comfortable in various human organs for several years.
Methods of infection
The way different types of worms get inside is different. The main method of infection with parasites is fecal-oral. It is associated with the ingress of helminths along with food and water. People simply swallow invisible organisms when they forget to wash their hands before eating. Worms in the feces are rarely seen with the naked eye. But flies circling over the excrement always carry their eggs. If the insect sits on a piece of food, the risk of infection increases significantly.
Worms in humans appear after working with earth and sand without gloves. In the latter case, young children are more likely to suffer from parasites, for which the sandpit is a favorite place to play. On the surface of the ground, helminths fall along with the feces of animals - cats, dogs, farm animals - and are carried by flies. They enter the human body through unwashed hands, micro-injuries on the skin and underprocessed vegetables. Inhaling road dust saturated with very tough larvae 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 the liquid while swimming in the ocean, river, or lake. It contains large numbers of parasites from the feces of fish, waterfowl, and domestic animals. Human consumption of raw fish and meat threatens infection, and parasites - cattle, pork tapeworms, wide tapeworms - settle in the body. In medical reference books there are photos of worms, the length of which reaches several meters.
Symptoms and signs of a helminthic invasion
As hosts of parasites, people quickly lose weight, feel exhausted and look pale. Indicate the presence of worms:
- body pain;
- painful sensations in the joints;
- general weakness;
- loss of appetite;
- diarrhea or constipation;
- attacks of nausea.
However, to make sure helminths are present in the body, an examination must be done. It helps identify worms in stool or specific antibodies in the blood.
Symptoms are worse if there is no timely treatment. Depending on which worms predominate in the body, the places of their accumulation differ in the signs of the disease. Gallstasis occurs when the ducts are blocked by parasites. A person feels heaviness and pain in the right hypochondrium, bitterness in the mouth. Periodically tormented by nausea and constipation.
Many worms secrete substances that irritate the intestinal walls - diarrhea occurs, in which the feces are watery and foamy. In addition, the patient has increased gas production, loud rumbling in the abdomen, pain in the navel.
Worms that are once inside the human body can migrate. Your progress is accompanied by severe pain. Most often, a patient with helminthiasis will believe that their arthritis is exacerbated. In fact, unpleasant sensations with worms are the body's reaction to tissue damage.
A person experiences a state of apathy, deterioration in concentration, and memory problems. This happens when parasites have been present in the body for a long time. There is a previously unusual allergy, intolerance of the body of some products. Worms are the culprit for skin problems. Most common:
- acne, pimples all over the body;
- urticaria, neurodermatitis, eczema;
- Wrinkles form too early;
- Hair loss, bald spots.
More commonly, rhinitis, bronchitis, asthma, and pneumonia can be caused by the migration of worms into the bloodstream. Sometimes parasites settle in the lungs, lay eggs there, which mature and develop into full-fledged individuals. On x-rays taken after tomography, worms look like a focal darkening of a round or oval shape.
The release of toxic waste products from helminths into the bloodstream leads to complaints about:
- constant fear, irritability;
- depression;
- insomnia.
Both obesity and underweight are common symptoms of worms. Digestive problems, poisoning lead to loss of appetite. A person loses body weight. Prolonged presence of parasites is the reason for a decrease in blood sugar levels and a constant feeling of hunger. At the cellular level, there is a lack of nutrients, which is offset by the accumulation of adipose tissue.
Drug therapy
Treating helminthiasis without first consulting a specialist is not recommended for several reasons. The first is that it is not always possible to identify parasites, even if the feces have been passed over for analysis several times. To determine exactly what type of worms have settled in a person, you need to conduct a more detailed study, including:
- general blood test with leuco formulas;
- biochemical blood test (liver function tests);
- Analysis of feces and rectal mucus.
Sometimes the bile, sputum and small areas of skin need to be examined to identify the worms that have invaded the body.
The self-treatment of worms in adults or children is a dubious undertaking. Pharmacological preparations are quite toxic. At the same time, many of them have an action against a certain species without influencing others.
If, according to the test results, worms were detected in a person's feces or the presence of parasites was confirmed by other diagnostic procedures, then the infectious disease doctor will choose the most effective drug. The doctor prescribing the pills should indicate exactly how often the medicine should be taken and its dose based on the patient's weight. Treatment of worms is carried out:
- albendazole;
- paraziquantel;
- medamin;
- mebendazole;
- Pirantel.
The procedure for eliminating worms is complemented by drugs that remove poisoning (sorbents), antiallergic drugs and vitamins.
Preventive measures
Since worms can be very easily transmitted from animals or an infected person, every effort should be made to prevent their occurrence. To do this, you need to strictly adhere to hygiene. An important protection factor against worms is the correct preparation of the products from which food is prepared.
Doctors recommend an annual prophylactic procedure for cleaning worms in the spring and fall. Even when there are no obvious symptoms of infection in a person. To achieve its maximum effectiveness, it is achieved if all family members take the drug recommended by the doctor. Most parasites are so small that if you examine feces, another biomaterial, all you can see is a photo of the eggs of some worms, taken with a powerful microscope.