About 80% of Earth's inhabitants are infected with various helminths.Often the treatment of a disease whose true cause is parasites takes a long time and is unsuccessful.Worms that can live in humans violate the integrity of the vascular walls, block the intestinal lumen and damage internal organs.They produce toxic substances that enter the blood.
What kind of worms are there in humans?
Helminths colonize the intestines or parasitize and live in every other organ.There are different types, the most common being nematodes.Its body has an elongated, round cross-sectional shape that tapers at the ends.Infection occurs more often than others:
- roundworms, trichinae, which settle in the small intestine and other organs;
- whipworms, which live in the large intestine and feed on blood and mucus;
- Pinworms that accumulate in the appendix and large intestine.
Pinworms are especially often found in children when conducting a stool test for enterobiasis.
In addition to those listed, there are more than a hundred rarer parasites that colonize different parts of the intestine.For example, in humans, worms such as hookworms and roundworms occur in the thin segment;The thick area is often clogged with whipworms.Humans become hosts for adult tapeworms, which have a flat, long body.Large beef and pork tapeworms, cestodes and echinococci inhabit the intestines.
Fluke worms have suckers on their bodies ranging in length from a few millimeters (Siberian fluke) to 7 cm (Fasciola).Parasites are transmitted to humans through consumption of raw fish and uncooked water.Sometimes an infection with worms through the skin (Schistosoma) occurs when swimming in lakes and rivers.Once settled, they can thrive in various human organs for several years.
Infection methods
The entry routes of different types of worms are different.The main method of infection by parasites is fecal-oral.It is associated with the penetration of helminths into 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 flies hovering over excrement always carry their eggs.If an insect lands on a piece of food, the chance of infection increases significantly.
Worms occur in humans when 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 suffer from parasites.Helminths reach the surface of the soil along with the feces of animals - cats, dogs, farm animals - and are carried by flies.They enter the human body through unwashed hands, microtraumas on the skin and insufficiently processed vegetables.Inhaling street dust saturated with very persistent larvae can also lead to infection.
Another factor contributing 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 large number of parasites from the feces of fish, waterfowl and domestic animals.When a person consumes raw fish or meat, there is a risk of infection occurring and parasites - beef tapeworm, pork tapeworm, tapeworm - settling in the body.In medical reference books there are photos of worms whose length reaches several meters.
Symptoms and signs of helminthic infestation
When people are infected with parasites, they quickly lose weight, feel exhausted and look pale.Indicate the presence of worms:
- pain throughout the body;
- painful sensations in the joints;
- general weakness;
- loss of appetite;
- diarrhea or constipation;
- Attacks of nausea.
However, to make sure that helminths are present in the body, an examination is required.It helps identify worms in stool or special antibodies in the blood.
Without timely treatment, symptoms increase.Depending on which worms predominate in the body and where they accumulate, the symptoms of the disease are different.Stagnation of bile occurs when the bile ducts are blocked by parasites.A person feels heaviness and pain in the right hypochondrium, bitterness in the mouth.Suffer from regular bouts of nausea and constipation.
Many worms excrete substances that irritate the intestinal walls - resulting in diarrhea in which the stool is watery and foamy.In addition, the patient feels increased gas formation, a loud rumbling in the abdomen and pain in the navel area.
Once worms are in the human body, they can migrate.Their progress is accompanied by severe pain.Most often, a person with helminthiasis believes that they have an exacerbation of arthritis.In fact, the unpleasant sensations caused by worms are the body's reaction to tissue injury.
A person experiences a state of apathy, he has a deterioration in the ability to concentrate and memory problems.This happens when parasites are present in the body for a long time.The body develops a previously unusual allergy or intolerance to certain foods.Worms become the cause of skin problems.Most frequently:
- acne, pimples all over the body;
- urticaria, atopic dermatitis, eczema;
- too early formation of wrinkles;
- Hair loss, bald spots.
Frequent colds, bronchitis, asthma and pneumonia can certainly be caused by the migration of worms through the bloodstream.Sometimes parasites settle in the lungs, lay eggs there, which mature and transform into full-fledged individuals.On x-rays and scans taken after tomography, worms look like a focal darkening of a round or oval shape.
The entry into the blood of toxic waste products of helminths leads to complaints about:
- constant anxiety, irritability;
- Depression;
- Insomnia.
Both obesity and underweight are common symptoms of worms.Digestive problems and poisoning lead to loss of appetite.A person loses body weight.The long-term presence of parasites leads to a drop in blood sugar levels and a constant feeling of hunger.At the cellular level, there is a lack of nutrients, which is compensated for by the accumulation of fatty tissue.
Drug therapy
It is not recommended to treat helminthiasis without first consulting a specialist for several reasons.The first reason is that even after several stools for analysis, it is not always possible to identify parasites.To determine exactly what type of worms have settled on a person, you need to conduct a more detailed examination, including:
- general blood test with leukemia formula;
- biochemical blood test (liver tests);
- Analysis of stool and rectal mucus.
To detect worms that have colonized the body, an examination of bile, sputum, and small sections of skin is sometimes required.
Treating worms alone in adults or children is a dubious idea.Pharmacological drugs are quite toxic.At the same time, many of them have an effect directed against a specific species without affecting others.
If the test results revealed worms in a person's feces or the presence of parasites was confirmed by other diagnostic procedures, the infectious disease doctor selects the most effective drug.The doctor who prescribes the pills must specify exactly how often the medicine needs to be taken and what the dose is, based on the patient's weight.Treatment of worms is as follows:
- albendazole;
- paraziquantheloma;
- Medamine;
- mebendazole;
- Pyrantel.
The procedure for eliminating worms is complemented by means of relieving intoxication (sorbents), antiallergic drugs and vitamins.
Preventive measures
Since worms can be transmitted very easily from animals or an infected person, every effort should be made to prevent their occurrence.To do this, you must strictly observe hygiene.An important factor in protecting against worms is the correct preparation of the products from which food is prepared.
Doctors recommend carrying out annual preventive measures to remove worms in spring and autumn.Even if a person has no obvious symptoms of infection.Maximum effectiveness can be achieved if all family members take the drug recommended by the doctor.Most parasites are so small that when examining feces or other biomaterial, one can only see photos of the eggs of some worms taken with a powerful microscope.