There are 4. 5 billion registered people worldwide who suffer from parasitic infections (infestations). In addition, the number of people infected with helminths (worms) is constantly increasing.
Causes of Helminthiasis Infection
Getting worms into your body is not difficult. Here are just a few of the causes of infection that everyone knows from childhood:
- Lack of hygiene.The desire to eat unwashed fruits and vegetables, not wearing gloves while working in the garden and not bothering about hygiene procedures leads to infection with a variety of helminths.
- Addicted to street fast food.It is no secret that sellers of such food do not always come for a medical examination and often neglect basic hygiene. And their products are not stored in the best conditions. Fans of street whites and pies are another risk group.
- Love for exotic cuisinewith raw fish and shellfish dishes that contain parasites. It is thanks to the fans of sushi and rolls that the incidence of fluke, broad tapeworm, nematodes, roundworm and the beltworm is increasing.
- H.the ability to calmly protect yourself from infection at rest.The love for the "Turkish shores" has led to more frequent cases of infection with exotic helminthiasis - schistosomiasis, ankylostomiasis, dracunculiasis. After walking barefoot on an overseas beach, you can bring back not only pleasant impressions, but also dangerous worms from your trip.
- Pet infectionwho often sleep with their owners. Lovers who "kiss" a pet run the risk of ingesting parasites.
Which parasites live in the human body?
If an adult had the opportunity to look inside their body, they would be horrified:
- Round worms -Pinworms, roundworms, whipworms, nematodes, toxocaras, trichinae. Large helminths accumulate in large entanglements, clogging the intestinal lumen and leading to blockages that require surgical treatment. During the operation, doctors extract an incredible amount of parasites from the intestines of such people.
- Tapewormsappear among those who like to try meat with blood and raw fish. They cause digestive problems, anemia, allergies. Children have seizures similar to epileptic seizures. The most dangerous helminth of this group is Echinococcus, the larvae of which form huge cysts in the human body. When they break, the parasites spread throughout the body. Infection can be fatal.
- Suction cups- Flukes, leeches and fascioles are dangerous parasites that suck blood from the vessels of the liver, pancreas, intestines and bladder.
- The easiest- Leishmania, Amoeba, Lamblia, etc. Although these tiny parasites are only visible under a microscope, they can cause dangerous complications, including perforation of the intestines and fatal liver abscesses.
What are the reasons for suspecting the presence of "strangers": if a stomach is sick, it means that someone lives in it
Signs of the presence of helminths:
- stomach pain- the most common sign of helminth infection. It can be constant and periodic, affecting specific areas of the abdomen. Pain in the right hypochondrium with helminthiasis indicates damage to the liver and gallbladder from worms.
- Indigestion- Diarrhea, constipation, irregular bowel movements. Sometimes patients see crawling segments of worms or even entire parasites in the feces. Impaired food intake and dysfunction of the gastrointestinal tract lead to weight loss.
- Anemia.Worms suck blood from the body and affect the digestibility of food. The host does not feed itself, but the worms. Patients complain of weakness, fatigue, loss of strength, dizziness.
- Damage to the urinary tract,caused by parasites in the kidneys and bladder. Patients complain of back pain and swelling. Sometimes traces of blood can be seen in the urine.
- Indolent chronic vaginitis. . . Roundworms and pinworms crawl from the anus into the genital tract, causing vaginal dysbiosis and provoking the development of thrush. Women are treated for itching and discharge without realizing they are parasites.
- Skin manifestations.An infection with worms poisons the body and suppresses the immune system, which leads to allergies. Rashes are different - from small vesicles to large areas of focus.
- Inflammation of the mucous membraneand itching in the anus caused by creeping worm irritation.
- General deterioration in health.Poor immunity, poor digestion, and anemia weaken the body, which cannot resist infection. A person suffers from constant colds, acute respiratory infections, and acute viral infections of the respiratory tract.
Why ultrasound is more effective than traditional tests for worms and other parasites
Feces or scratches don't always show worms. The fact is that parasites have a specific development cycle and do not always lay eggs. There is a whole group of extraintestinal helminthiasis in which the worms live outside the intestines. In this case, the stool analysis does not provide any information.
Ultrasound of the abdominal cavity reveals changes characteristic of the presence of parasites in the liver and pancreas. It's harmless, non-traumatic, and can be used many times.
If the ultrasound doctor does not find live worms and 100% signs of their presence, he suspects infection and prescribes an additional examination. It is useful to have an ultrasound scan and positive tests for I / worms. Research will show where the parasites are lurking.
Signs of helminthiasis, determined by ultrasound of the abdominal cavity - semi-living organs and living worms
When examining the gastrointestinal tract on modern 3D and 4D devices, doctors often see live parasites in the intestines. If helminths are not found, their presence may be suspected by an enlarged pancreas condensed in the head area. The spleen is too big.
The liver with parasitic lesions by leeches, trematodes, and leeches is enlarged. On top of it there are areas with dystrophy, which interferes with the functioning of the organ.
The gallbladder also suffers. Bile stagnation occurs in patients, causing pain in the right hypochondrium. Sometimes the function of the bladder is so impaired that the ultrasound organ is not determined at all.
The presence of parasites leads to the formation of abscesses - purulent liver lesions, which are life-threatening. In 85% of cases, abscesses form in a lobe of the liver. Other departments are less often affected. Purulent lesions are characteristic of hepatic amoebiasis - an infection with the simplest - an amoeba that penetrates the region of the liver from the intestines.
Significant changes in the liver are observed in echinococcosis, a parasitic disease in which organ-filled cavities with helminth larvae form inside. In the ultrasound, rounded formations with clear boundaries are visible. These are cysts with parasites inside. Over time, calcium builds up around the foci of echinococci. Such formations have a dense structure, therefore, on ultrasound, they look lighter than the surrounding tissue.
With prolonged infection, large cysts with septa that resemble wheel spokes or large honeycombs form. The destruction of the biliary tract is observed. A Doppler exam reveals a violation of blood flow.
For lovers of Japanese cuisine. Parasites as a gift
Fans of Asian exoticism have a wide variety of parasites, but the most common opisthorchiasis is infection with Chinese chance. The source of helminths is unprocessed fish that contain parasites.
At the onset of the disease, ultrasound in the liver and gallbladder reveals eosinophilic infiltrates - dense formations with clear boundaries. If the fight against helminths is postponed until better times, foci of dead cells appear in these organs, which look like colored areas, and the ducts of the liver lose their elasticity. The situation can lead to the development of liver failure.
When the urinary tract becomes a victim of parasites
Echinococcus affects not only the liver, but also the kidneys. When the parasite penetrates the kidney tissue, a single-chamber cyst (bubble) that contains larvae forms. The echinococcal cyst gradually increases in size and destroys the organ. Large parasitic cysts become soldered on the liver, spleen, and intestines.
Schistosomiasis is absorbed by people who like to walk barefoot on the warm beaches of overseas countries. The parasite larvae enter the bloodstream through the skin and are then carried with the blood into the bladder. After settling there, seals appear - infiltrates that appear in response to irritation of the walls of the bladder. If the infection spreads, the kidneys are affected.
Enzyme immunoassay - we put helminths in clean water
This test detects an infection with one or more types of parasites. It is done for the presence of Ascaris, Toxocara, Trichinella, Opisthorchis leeches, Echinococci, Chinese leeches, etc.
The test principle is based on the body's immune response to the presence of helminths. Infection with worms leads to the production of protein antibodies, which are detected during the analysis. Since each parasite provokes the formation of a specific immunoglobulin, the analysis results show which helminths are in the human body.
The analysis responds to all types of parasites - eggs, larvae, adult worms. The accuracy is over 90%. The survey shows not only the presence of an infection, but also its degree.
After the treatment, the analysis is repeated. A positive result can be observed some time after the death of the parasite. The immunoglobulin concentration will gradually decrease for a few more months. Then the analysis is "clean". For research purposes, blood is drawn from a vein on an empty stomach in a volume of 3-5 ml. The analysis is carried out twice.
Ultrasound and a study for immunoglobulins can detect helminthiasis and start treatment. Thanks to their use, the number of cases of misdiagnosis leading to complications has decreased. The main thing is to consult a doctor in a timely manner if you suspect a helminthic invasion.