Every person, regardless of age, gender and status, can become a host and habitat for parasitic microorganisms. Although the word "host" is a strong word, because they are worms that live in the human body, absorbing its nutrients and energy, poisoning and harming the body, causing a series of negative symptoms.
According to statistics from the World Health Organization, the vast majority of people live with at least one type of parasite. And in general, there are more than 70 species that can choose the human body as their home.
Some people think that parasites live exclusively in the intestines, while everyone remembers pinworms - small and white worms. However, in reality, worms can penetrate into any internal organ or system, thereby disrupting their functioning, which is dangerous not only for human health, but also for his life.
It is necessary to consider what types of helminths there are and which ones are most common. At the same time, find out what symptoms indicate its presence and what treatment will help cope with the disease with the least harm to health?
Types of helminths, their classification
There are more than 300 species of parasites worldwide, belonging to different classes and groups of microorganisms. Only 70 species are found in our country, and from this number we can single out 10, which are found in the vast majority of cases.
Parasitic worms can be divided into two groups depending on their parasitic properties: intestinal worms and tissue worms.
The first group chooses the human intestine as their home and can include pinworms, roundworms, lamblia, hookworms, whipworms, beef tapeworms, pork tapeworms and broadband worms.
The tissue group includes trematodes, trichinae, liver flukes, echinococci and alveococci. They can settle in any internal human organ and live there for years.
Depending on the life cycle of parasites (as well as the source of infection), they can be divided into the following types:
- Biohelminths – eggs and larvae of this group of parasites mature in animal organisms (cow, dog, cat) or insects (mosquito, fly). This means that humans are infected directly through them. And transmission from one person to another is not possible.
- Geohelminths – eggs and larvae of this group of parasites mature exclusively in the soil, i. e. outside the human body.
- Contact parasites - Infection occurs directly from a sick person to a healthy person (through handshakes, household items, bedding, etc. ).
Depending on the class, the types of worms are divided into the following varieties:
- Round parasites (nematodes) come in different sizes and appearances and are always of different genders. These include pinworms and roundworms (as in the photo).
- Cestodes or flatworms (tapeworms) are long worms that feed through their own skin. These include beef and pork tapeworms (common) and echinococci (as in the photo).
- Trematodes or leeches – opisthorchiasis, schistosomiasis and some other types of parasitic microorganisms.
Tapeworms and flukes are always parasites, but the group of roundworms includes more than 10, 000 species, only some of which can live in the human body.
Brief characteristics of common parasites
Pinworms that invade the human body cause a disease called enterobiasis. They look like small, round worms, white or yellowish in color and a maximum of one centimeter in size.
They penetrate the human body and settle in the intestines. Helminths are contact parasites, meaning they can be transmitted from a sick person to a healthy person. At night the female crawls out of the intestines and lays eggs. The main symptom of this disease is therefore unbearable itching in the anal area.
The life cycle of pinworms varies between 4 and 6 months. They can only be eliminated when the last larva dies. Parasite eggs have amazing vitality and can adapt to any unfavorable conditions.
The most common parasites in the human body include the following types:
- Roundworms (ascariasis disease).
- Toxocara (Toxocariasis disease).
- Whipworm (Trichocephalosis disease).
- Trichinella (Trichinosis disease).
- Tapeworm or bovine tapeworm (Taeniarinhoz).
- Pork tapeworm (diseases – taeniasis, cysticercosis).
Medical statistics say that the broad tapeworm is widespread and causes diseases such as diphyllobothriasis, as well as echinococci (echinococcosis), cat flukes (opisthorchiasis) and lamblia giardiasis.
All parasites negatively affect the human body in the course of their life activity and the symptoms of each disease are significantly different.
It is worth noting that treatment also depends on the type of parasitic microorganism, the intensity of the helminth attack and the number of helminths that have penetrated the human body.
Ascaris, Toxocara
The human roundworm is a large, round worm with a curved end (like a hook). The sizes vary between 50 cm and one meter in length and a diameter of around 6 centimeters.
The length of males is always much less than that of females. As a rule, the size of the male parasite does not exceed 25 centimeters. Ascaris larvae are relatively small. With the intensity of the helminth infestation, roundworms can multiply as quickly as possible, causing parasite balls to form in the intestines.
Ascaris (as in the photo) belongs to the geohelminths. Eggs can get from the ground into the small intestine, where over time they transform into larvae, which, in a favorable environment, can penetrate the circulatory system and from there travel through the blood to all internal organs - lungs, heart, kidneys, cerebral hemispheres, skin, eyes.
When the larvae settle in the lungs, they destroy the alveoli and enter the bronchi and then, together with bronchial secretions, into the oral cavity and back into the intestines. This leads to a secondary infection. Adults can lay several thousand eggs per day and live in the human body for several years. Symptoms of ascariasis:
- General malaise, weakness.
- Increased nervousness.
- Increase in body temperature.
- Shortness of breath, unproductive cough.
- Pain in the sternum area.
Treatment of ascariasis involves preliminary cleansing of the body; the doctor recommends taking laxatives and sorbents that help remove waste products from parasites. Anthelmintics are then prescribed, taking into account the patient's age and weight as well as the intensity of the helminth infestation.
Treatment of roundworms is advisable with medications aimed at killing them.
Toxocara is a round parasite (as in the photo) that is yellow in color and reaches up to 10 centimeters in length. Infection occurs through contact with animals; In the vast majority of cases you can become infected from cats and dogs.
The female parasite can release up to 250, 000 eggs per day. Worm eggs enter the human body through the oral cavity and then enter the intestines. Their life cycle can be compared to roundworms; they can also enter the circulatory system and then various internal organs.
In the human body, a helminth larva is unable to develop into an adult; their maturation takes place exclusively in the intestines of animals. In the human body, the larvae can live up to 10 years. The symptoms of toxocariosis vary greatly and depend on the organ in which the larva has nested. The most common symptoms of the disease include:
- An allergic reaction in the form of a rash, itching and redness of the skin.
- Shortness of breath, difficulty breathing.
- Unproductive coughing fits.
- Dry wheezing when breathing.
The acute form of the disease has more "traditional" symptoms, which include weakness and apathy, fever, increased body temperature, joint and muscle pain, headache and dizziness.
The treatment of toxocariasis begins with etiotropic therapy, which acts directly on the causes of the disease, i. e. the parasite larvae. Next, drugs are recommended that restore the functionality of the affected organs and systems.
Whipworm, Trichinella
In appearance, the whipworm is a thin worm, the approximate length of which is 3 to 5 centimeters and the diameter is similar to a human hair. It has a sharp end that fixes it in the intestinal lining.
The helminth can enter the human body from the ground and then migrates to the intestines, where larvae form. As a rule, this type of parasite settles in the area of the appendix and appendix. Can live in the human body for 3 to 4 years.
The peculiarity of infection with this parasite is that the disease can be asymptomatic. However, there are "classic" signs that are most often confused with respiratory illnesses - cough, fever, nausea.
The whipworm reduces the body's defenses, as a result of which, against the background of its infection, secondary infections can occur, which significantly worsen the patient's condition. The following clinical symptoms are distinguished:
- Pallor of the skin.
- weakness, nausea.
- Diseases of the digestive tract.
- Pain syndrome in the abdominal area.
- There is an admixture of blood in the stool.
- Increased irritability, convulsions.
- Headache and dizziness.
As a rule, it is quite rare to detect a parasite at an early stage of infection. However, treatment must be comprehensive. It includes narrow-spectrum anthelmintics that work exclusively against whipworms, painkillers and antispasmodics.
Trichinella is a small worm no more than 5 millimeters long. Refers to biohelminths that circulate between predators and domestic animals. The parasite can enter the human body along with animal meat.
The female trichinae enter the human small intestine, where the reproductive process takes place and new larvae are created. These larvae enter the circulatory system and can be spread throughout the human body via the bloodstream. The "favorite location" of Trichinella is the skeletal muscles, where it can live up to 5 years. The first symptoms are observed in the patient on the 8th - 10th day of infection:
- Painful sensations in the abdominal area.
- Regular nausea.
- Vomiting, disruption of the digestive tract.
- Loss of appetite.
After the larvae have migrated through the body, the symptoms described above intensify, joint and muscle pain and an allergic reaction (hives, itching, rash) also occur. If treatment is not started on time, the disease leads to complications in the cardiovascular system, central nervous system and respiratory system.
Treatment includes anthelmintics, as well as symptomatic therapy to combat allergic manifestations. At high temperatures, antipyretic medications are recommended. Therapy is usually carried out in a hospital setting.
Beef and pork tapeworm
The bull tapeworm can reach a size of thirty meters, it has a small head and there are thousands of segments on the body. There are 6 hooks on the parasite's head. Helminth larvae develop in cattle. It can enter the human body through poorly thermally processed raw meat.
Throughout its life cycle it remains in the small intestine where it forms new segments. They are then shaped and eggs are obtained from them. Each segment contains up to 100, 000 eggs.
The parasite feeds on the entire body surface and can live in the human body for up to 10 years. The most common symptoms of the disease include:
- Systematic pain in the abdomen.
- nausea.
- Loss of appetite, vomiting.
- Loss of body weight.
- Increased gas formation.
- Urge to defecate up to 5 times a day.
Treatment includes a health-promoting diet that creates an unfavorable environment for the life of the parasitic microorganism, as well as anthelmintic drugs. The tablets are taken according to the schedule recommended by the doctor. After taking the medication, the parasite dies and comes out naturally in the feces.
The pork tapeworm is similar in appearance to the beef tapeworm, but differs in length - it cannot be longer than 5 meters. Infection can occur both through eating raw meat and from a sick person. The life cycle of a tapeworm is 20-30 years. The parasite can cause two diseases:
- Cysticercosis, when larvae invade the body.
- Taeniasis – an adult "lives" in the body.
Cysticercosis occurs against the background of severe headaches, epileptic seizures, various skin rashes and pathological changes in the eyeball are observed. Symptoms caused by an adult parasite:
- Allergic reactions, shortness of breath.
- Pain in the abdomen, upset stools.
- Loss of appetite, disruption of the gastrointestinal tract.
- Sleep disorders, nervousness, excitability.
Treating larvae is a long process. Individual larvae are removed through surgery, after which anthelmintic drugs are prescribed.
To remove an adult from the human body, a narrow-spectrum antiparasitic drug is prescribed, which has a detrimental effect on a specific type of parasite. After the tapeworm leaves the body, it is examined to rule out that its body parts are in the intestines.
As medical practice shows, curing parasitic diseases is much easier than diagnosing them in the early stages. Against this background, it is advisable to pay attention to the smallest pathological changes in your body and immediately consult a doctor for adequate therapy. The video in this article will tell you about the types of parasites that live in humans.