According to WHO, every second person on the planet is infected with worms every year. Many people think that parasitic worms do not cause much harm to health. However, everything is not so simple: worms can affect vital internal organsThey are: heart, lungs and brain.
Helminths - who are they?
Helminths are parasitic insects that can choose a human, animal or plant organism as a host. Overall, there are three classes of helminths:
- tapeworm, This class includes about 3. 5 thousand species of helminths. The length of parasitic worms ranges from a few mm to 10-15 meters;
- agile.Parasites are so named because they have suckers that they use to obtain food. The human body can infect about 4 dozen species of fluke. As a rule, the length of the insects is 5 cmdoes not exceed;
- Roundworm.There are more than 24 thousand species of this class of worm. Roundworms are spindle-shaped. Usually their length does not exceed 0. 5 m.
You can become infected with a worm in a variety of ways. However, most often parasitic invasion occurs for the following reasons:
- Poor hand hygiene.
- unwashed vegetables, fruits; Undercooked or undercooked meat, fish - the use of such products increases the risk of parasite attack manifold.
- Keep food open outside the refrigerator. Insects are able to transfer helminth eggs to products stored without packaging.
- Contact pets.
The main symptoms of the presence of parasites in the body:
- nausea, vomiting, diarrhea;
- weight loss;
- allergic rashes;
- swelling;
- itching in the anus;
- Teeth grinding in dreams.
Learn more about the symptoms of parasites in the bodyread our article,
Which worms are found the most in our country? Consider the most common types of parasitic worms and the diseases they cause.
tapeworm
The body of a tapeworm consists of segments, the total number of which ranges from 3 to 5000. The main element of fixation of the helminth is the head, there are additional suction cups, hooks.
The most common causes of tapeworms are:
diphyllobothriasis
The causative agent of the disease is a wide tapeworm that affects the human intestines.The development of worm eggs takes place in fresh water. The scheme of getting tapeworms into the human body is as follows:
- The worm eggs are swallowed by crustaceans that live in a reservoir.
- Infected crustaceans are eaten by fish.
- A person becomes infected with the parasite by eating fish that has undergone inadequate heat treatment.
Symptoms of the disease develop after 1. 5 months after infection. The main sign of the pathology is the presence of white pieces of helminths in the feces.
Attaching to the intestinal mucosa, the tapeworm absorbs large amounts of vitamin B12. For this reason, people with diphyllobothriasis often develop anemia. In addition, the tapeworm can cause an increase in liver, spleen, intestinal obstruction.
teniyarinhozo
The causative agent of the disease is the bovine tapeworm, which lives mainly in the human small intestine. During its development cycle, the helminth replaces two owners: the intermediate is cattle, the main one is man. The bull tapeworm can live up to 20 years in the body. This disease is common in many areas, but is most common in areas where it is cold.
As a rule, people get taenorhynchosis after eating undercooked or undercooked beef.
The disease often progresses without obvious symptoms and is detected incidentally when a person sees worms in their stool. In some people, in addition to the main symptoms of worm infestation, pain may occur in the right side of the anterior abdominal wall. .
Adult worms are able to penetrate the appendix, pancreatic duct, bile ducts, causing acute inflammatory processes in them. With multiple parasitic invasions, intestinal obstruction can develop.
taeniasis
The causative agent of the disease is the pork tapeworm, which initially affects the human small intestine.Human infection occurs through consumption of raw or improperly cooked pork.
The parasite can enter various organs and tissues, causing pain in the abdomen, back and limbs. The most favorable pathology occurs when the worm is localized in subcutaneous fat and skeletal muscle tissue. Eye musclesWhen ingested, helminths cause a decrease in visual acuity, lacrimation and photophobia. The defeat of the pork tapeworm of the brain can be fatal.
flukes
Flukes have a leaf-like shape and are distinguished by a high ability to reproduce at different periods of the life cycle. Reproduction of worms is possible not only with fertilization, but also without it. In addition to suckers, worms have many hooks. And there are spikes, due to which they are securely attached to the mucous membrane of the organs.
Common deformities caused by flukes:
- fasciolosis;
- opisthorchiasis;
- Paragonimiasis.
fascioliasis
Fascioliasis occurs when the liver or gallbladder is damaged by a liver fluke.Basically, infection occurs when they eat vegetables, which are irrigated with water from open reservoirs.
In addition to the standard signs of infection with parasites, a person may experience asthmatic attacks, which are accompanied by shortness of breath, flushing of the face, dilated pupils, and tachycardia. If an adult develops a blockage in the bile ductsIf treated, obstructive jaundice develops. Symptoms of the pathology:
- cramping pain in the right hypochondrium;
- yellowing of the skin;
- fever;
- Colorless stools.
opisthorchiasis
The causative agent of the disease is feline fluke. The name of the parasite is due to the fact that, in addition to humans, it often infects cats and other mammals that eat fish.
As a rule, feline fluke affects the liver and pancreas, causing the organs to become inflamed. Symptoms vary and depend on the number of parasites. The patient may experience:
- symptoms of intoxication;
- fever,
- hives;
- skin itching;
- Pain in muscles, joints, right hypochondrium.
In some cases, worms cause an increase in lymph nodes, the development of jaundice. The chronic form of the pathology often leads to hepatitis, cirrhosis of the liver.
paragonimiasis
The culprit of the disease is a pleural fluke that enters the human body with infected crustaceans.
First, the parasite enters the human intestine, then into the abdominal cavity. The final point of their journey is the lung tissue. In addition, the worm is able to enter the brain and affect the central nervous system.
Typical symptoms of parasitic invasion of lungs:
- chest pain syndrome;
- cough with sputum, which may contain pus and blood;
- fever.
In some cases, helminths cause a violation of the ventilation function of the lungs and gas exchange during breathing.
Round
Due to their structure, roundworms (nematodes) are able to survive even in extreme conditions.Their body is covered with a three-layer skin-muscular sac, which reliably protects parasites from external influences.
Common diseases caused by nematodes:
- ascariasis;
- enterobiasis;
- trichinosis
ascariasis
The development of the disease provokes roundworms, which are initially fixed in the small intestine. The average length of adults is 40 cm.Parasitic larvae can enter the human digestive tract with unwashed vegetables and fruits, contaminated water.In addition, often the cause of ascariasis is poor hand washing before eating.
During the penetration of larvae into the body, a person may experience subfebrile temperature, allergic rash, cough with clear sputum. Symptoms of the intestinal stage of ascariasis (diarrhea, abdominal pain) are observed only in the presence of several parasites. As a rule, residing in the intestines of a worm is asymptomatic.
Complications with multiple parasitic invasions:
- obstruction of the bile duct;
- purulent inflammatory processes in the gallbladder, liver;
- inflammation of the appendix;
- Intestinal obstruction.
enterobiasis
The provocateurs of the disease are pinworms - small worms up to 1 cm in height.Helminths enter the human digestive tract in the same way as roundworms.
Currently, enterobiasis is the most common parasitic pathology in the world. Basically, the disease is diagnosed in children under 10 years of age.
Symptoms, as in previous cases, develop only with multiple parasitic invasions. Children often have diarrhea, mucus in the stool, difficult and painful digestion, itching in the anus and nausea. In severe cases of the disease, leg cramps can occur. In addition, pinworms are able to enter the genitals, causing intense inflammation.
trichinosis
The disease infects Trichinella - one of the smallest parasitic insects. The length of the parasite rarely exceeds 4 mm. In the larval stage, the worms can infect skeletal muscle. The exception is the myocardium - the heart muscle tissueAdults parasitize in the small intestine.
As a rule, human infection is caused by eating half-cooked pork.At the same time, it is enough to consume only 30 grams of meat affected by parasites for the development of the disease.
Pathology is manifested by standard symptoms of parasitic invasion. In advanced stages, there may be swelling of the eyelids, face, arms and legs, lower back pain, swelling of the chewing muscles. Possible complications include complete or partial loss of mobility, is paralysis of the respiratory tract.
How to avoid worm infestation?
To reduce the risk of infection with parasitic worms, it is important to observe the following rules:
18 signs of the presence of parasites in the body
Being present in the human body, the parasite has severe, pathogenic effects. At the same time, the same parasite can produce multiple mechanisms of action on humans simultaneously.
The WHO estimates that at present about 4. 5 billion people in the world are continuously affected by various parasitosis.
This problem is also very topical because parasitosis is very difficult to diagnose. Worm infections (a large collection of parasitic diseases) are present in humans even when the parasite has already gone away. And if the patient has taken care of it. If given, in this case, he will definitely come to the medical facility. Parasitosis can be detected even during preventive screening. But unfortunately, these cases are a drop in the sea.
Mechanism of Action:
mechanical effect.For example, if the roundworm is in the intestines, it will certainly press on and injure the intestinal wall. In some cases, cause an inflammatory process. If, for example, echinococcus in the liver, in the lungs, orLocated in the kidney, there will be tissue compression accordingly. This is a classic, mechanical effect: rupturing, pressure, dysfunction of the organ or system in which the parasite is present. Not only are many luminal parasites present in the gastrointestinal tract, but many tissuesThere are also parasites that can fully sense the so-called mechanical action.
exacerbation of allergic reactions.Unfortunately, when a person has an allergic reaction, he begins to go in circles: to a dermatologist, to a pediatrician, to a general practitioner, to an allergist, but doctorsDo not always rule out the presence of a parasitic invasion in the body. in the first place.
Any parasite, even a banana pinworm, can cause severe allergic reactions, and they can vary on the skin and affect the bronchopulmonary tree. Bronchitis can be caused by the fact that some kind of parasite lives in the intestines.
Effect on microflora.It is no secret that man is a globe for a vast world of microbiota. The microflora that lives in all our mucous membranes, skin, organs, tissues is the friendly microflora that produces vitamins, minerals, hormones, enzymes for us, and helps our body to live normally. And now, unfortunately, in the presence of parasites, it begins to actively die.
immunosuppressive action.Today it is clearly proven that the waste products of parasites dramatically disrupt the immune system. They simply block it. Furthermore, over millions of years, parasites have learned to mimic and hide from the immune system. , from which specific anti-enzymes are produced. Thus blocking the immune system, and sometimes a person can suffer from various parasites for decades. leads to.
The effect of antienzymes. Unfortunately, parasites can not only eliminate our body. If we try to drink vitamin food, mineralized, vitamins and minerals as a complex, they will not always benefit us, because ourFreeloaders will take the lion's share of them.
Mechanism of neural reflex action.The waste products of parasites poison the nervous system. And very often this can affect the psycho-emotional state of both an adult and a child. Any psychosomatic illness can be linked to a parasitic invasion. A child may have hyperactivityor vice versa, a tendency to lethargy, restlessness, depression - all this can be a consequence of the presence of a parasite in the body. For example, even the simplest Giardia produces toxins. Microdosing themBut they are still toxic substances that are similar to psychotropic substances. Of course, a child or adult with such persistent poisoning will experience severe stress on the functioning of the central nervous system. And from here all kinds of psychological andMental disorders can be: sleep disorders, neurological disorders, various psychological problems. Also, not the parent, not the patient himself, if he is an adult, the idea that this is due to parasitic invasion may not arise.
In my opinion, the most serious and terrible thing is the exacerbation of neoplasms by parasites. Prolonged presence of parasites in the body can provoke such a problem as the formation of neoplasms: benign and malignant. In addition, the exacerbation of neoplasms can be associated with two factorsIs.
The first factor is the direct, damaging effect of the tissues of a particular organ.
The second factor is action mediated through rapid inhibition of the immune system. The point is that the part of the immune system that is responsible for antiparasitic protection is also responsible for antitumor protection. As a result of improper division, A cancer cell may appear in the human body. In this case the immune system deficiency will manifest in such a way that this cell will not be recognized by our immune cells in time, and will not be destroyed in time.
When can a person suspect the presence of parasites?
Now I will tell you a list of clinical manifestations of parasitic invasions, in the presence of which, you should quickly contact your doctor to clarify whether you really have this diagnosis.
- The most common clinical symptom is itching in the anus. It is heard by many, therefore it is associated with the presence of parasites, especially in children's practice.
- Teeth grinding in a dream. Again, very often this can happen in pediatric practice. Mothers suddenly notice that the child began to grind his teeth in sleep. Why is this happening? Very often, twitching in children is associated with frightening dreams. It is precisely the mechanism of toxic effects on the central nervous system that we talked about. The child has a terrifying dream and gnashes his teeth in fear in his sleepThis is one of the reasons. There are other reasons as well. Formation of trismus or increased tone of the chewing muscles, can also be a symptom in this case.
- Drooling during sleep, drooling in the morning, nausea while brushing teeth in the morning. These are all manifestations that may indirectly indicate the presence of a parasitic invasion in the body.
- Peeling the fingers and toes, peeling off the skin in layers.
- Increased appetite, sometimes to the point of unconsciousness.
- Allergic rashes on the skin. When lecturing doctors, I often draw attention to the fact that doctors are in no hurry to prescribe antiallergic drugs to one or another patient. First understand to the end - is there a worm invasion. Because highLevel allergies, suddenly appearing in a person over a short period of time, may, at first, indicate that the patient has had a parasitic attack.
- Eyelid rashes, peeling, swelling. , Mental disorder without known cause.
- Itching of any skin. especially in children's practice. First of all, it is necessary to exclude the presence of parasitic invasions.
- Distressed by symptoms like bloating, measles in the abdomen, unsteady stools. Any problem with the gastrointestinal tract.
- There is a lack of body weight, or, conversely, overweight. With parasites, it can be both.
- the presence of several chronic diseases at the same time. diseases of the joints, bronchopulmonary tree, gastrointestinal tract. If a person suddenly begins to get sick in stages, then one, then the second, then the third, then the fifth, then the tenth, andInitially there were no obvious reasons for this, so this is an occasion to think about the appearance. of parasites in the body.
- Poor health, and the diagnosis is unclear. Such patients may also go to different specialists, trying to examine one or the other. And in the end, the diagnosis will still be unclear, and the state of health will remain poor.
- Unbearable pain in the abdomen, unsteady, sudden cramps, pulling pains. It is also necessary to exclude the presence of parasites, especially in pediatric practice.
- Prolonged toxic-allergic manifestations. Periodic sudden, incomprehensible allergies to food.
- Persistent anemia. When hemoglobin is significantly reduced and it is difficult to cure. First of all, it is worth thinking about the presence of a parasitic invasion in the human body.
- In children: physical, psychosomatic, psycho-emotional development, hyperactivity, or vice versa, lethargy, in schoolchildren, poor assimilation of material - all this may indicate the presence of parasites hidden in the body.
- Long-term lymphadenopathy (a condition manifested by enlargement of lymph nodes), recurrent lymphadenitis, may also indicate the presence of parasitic invasion.
I have listed the main clinical symptoms of parasitosis. Note how wide they are. And with these symptoms, the patient can go to almost any doctor. It is believed that if a person has two or moreIf three such symptoms are found, then he is already subjected to a more thorough examination for the presence of parasites, or an antiparasitic program.
During the consultation, you will be able to express your problem, the doctor will explain the situation, understand the tests, answer your questions and give necessary recommendations.
I want to draw the attention of those who want to be treated on their own. If you come to a pharmacy and ask the pharmacist: "Give me something for worms, " then you are making a big mistake - thisThings can't be done. First, the pharmacist isn't responsible for how you take this medicine. Second, it's not responsible for the consequences. Third, you could hurt yourself too much. Don't do it. KNOW ITTo determine whether you have a parasitic infection or not, it is very important to contact a specialist, study a certain list of studies and only then undergo an adequate course of treatment.
Which tests will show the presence of parasites in the human body?
According to WHO statistics, around 4. 5 billion people in the world are constantly infected with parasites. This situation is complicated by the fact that parasitic infections are very difficult to diagnose. How to know if the body has parasites? What laboratory and instrumental research methods can detect parasites? Let us consider these questions in detail.
Complications
Helminthiasis caused by common types of parasites can be treated with medication prescribed by a doctor. But if you do not pay attention to dangerous symptoms, deterioration of health, weakness, unexplained fatigue, decreased immunity, then this diseasecan cause serious complications.
If the parasite moved into the lungs, and the patient did not go to the doctor with complaints of cough, shortness of breath, chest pain, shortness of breath, pneumonia or even bronchial asthma, it could develop.
Parasites in the digestive tract can cause cirrhosis, liver abscess, hepatitis, colon cancer, gastrointestinal bleeding, fluid accumulation in the abdominal cavity (ascites) and peritonitis. They also often lead to the development of chronic kidney disease, meningoencephalitis, loss of visionSome cestodes (tapeworms) grow to more than 1 m in length, and small roundworms can form dense shells. This disrupts the normal functioning of the body, leads to severe intoxication, pronounced allergic reactions. Immediate medical attentionWithout it, death is possible.
Redressal
Helminthiasis often occurs when hygiene rules are not followed or food is not processed properly. To prevent helminthic invasion, you need:
- Do not wear someone else's underwear, do not share a towel with strangers.
- Wash your hands thoroughly before eating - it is important to do this not only before breakfast, lunch, dinner, but also before breakfast.
- Wash hands after using the toilet.
- Wash your hands thoroughly after working on beds and gardening with thick rubber gloves.
- Use only clean water for drinking and cooking.
- Wash fruits and vegetables thoroughly under running water.
- Eat meat, fish, seafood that has been heat treated.
- Do not buy products in spontaneous markets from persons who cannot verify the safety of the goods.
- Monitor the health of the pet, deworm regularly, even if the pet lives in an apartment and does not go outside. To select drugs and calculate the dosage, contact your veterinarian.
- Maintain cleanliness in living and working areas. Sometimes people bring helminth eggs on the soles of their shoes. To reduce the risk of infection, you need to regularly do wet cleaning, disinfect all surfaces.
Even following these rules, the risk of infection cannot be completely eliminated. To prevent the development of the disease, consult a doctor. The doctor will prescribe drugs for the prevention of helminthiasis. Be sure to tell us that youHow often do they travel, are there pets in the house, a personal plot. Drug prophylaxis of helminthiasis is recommended to be carried out 2 times a year.