Symptoms of presence of worms in child's body, causes of manifestation of parasites in children, treatment

Helminthiasis is a parasitic disease that is especially common in children. If worms appear in any organ or system of the child's body, their negative impact will not only affect its functioning, but also the work of the immune and nervous systemsSymptoms such as cough, loss of appetite, dyspepsia, allergies may be accompanied by other unrelated symptoms. If you suspect a helminthic attack, it is important to immediately contact a specialist, and not self-medicate.

Why is helminthiasis dangerous?

Most worms of the species most frequently found in children become parasitized in the intestines. This is where they live and feed, as a result of which they reproduce and release toxins. Parasitic worms mechanically damage the walls of the intestine. Also affect from. The result of the active life of worms in the child's body can be:

• Avitaminosis and weight loss. These problems arise due to a lack of nutrients and vitamins. As a result, children begin to lag behind in development. Pathological processes can begin in other organs.
• Inflammation in the intestines, colitis, dysbacteriosis, bleeding. All these unpleasant and serious complications are caused by mechanical damage to the body caused by worms in children.
• The development of inflammatory processes in the appendix, liver, gallbladder. These are organs adjacent to the intestines in which parasites can move.
• Intestinal obstruction. This can be partial or complete, and sometimes there is a risk of rupture of the intestinal wall.
• Intoxication of the body. When worms live inside a person and die, they release aggressive toxins.
• Allergies. The waste products of parasites are considered strong allergens.
• Violations in the functioning of the liver. For this reason the child has to follow a diet for many years and at the same time consume enzymes.
• Psychosis. Helminths have a negative effect on the patient's nervous system.

Types of worms affecting baby's body

A variety of parasites can appear in a child's body. They vary in size, both small and large, and manifest themselves in different ways and have a different incubation period, which is 1–1. Occurs from 5 months. In order to prescribe effective drugs that will help cure helminthiasis, you need to correctly determine their type. The most common types in children are:

1. Tape. This type of worm includes cestodes, pygmy tapeworms, tapeworms, and echinococcus.
2. Ringed. Among them are annelids.
3. Round. Their representatives are trichinella, pinworms, whipworms, nematodes, roundworms.
4. barbed-headed. They are represented by scrapers.
5. Flat. These include shiver and fluke.

Causes and methods of infection

Not only in a foreign country or by trying an unusual dish on the menu, you can become infected with helminthiasis. Playing in the sandbox and without washing hands is the easiest way for worms to enter the child's body. Children subject being studiedhave a tendency to touch and study everything, without thinking about its accuracy. After that, they can lick their fingers safely without washing them first. The worms are viable for a very long time (weeks to months)Live, live on the surface of various objects.

In addition to dirty hands, the main sources of infection include:

• dirty toys and surfaces;
• Clothes;
• shoes;
• railing at the entrance;
• door latch;
• raw water;
• Dirty vegetables and fruits;
• clay, earth, sand;
• contact with a sick child;
• insufficiently well-done meat;
• Poorly thermally processed fish or other seafood.

Symptoms of the presence of parasites in children

Any manifestation of the presence of parasites in the body is observed in isolated cases, usually in children under 1 year old. The first symptoms that indicate helminth infection in children attending kindergarten or other developmental organizationsare already recorded at older ages (about 2-3 years).

Helminthesis in children is represented by a huge variety, and each individual type has its own distinctive features. However, there are a number of symptoms that are characteristic of any type of worm:

• Irritability and moodiness for no apparent reason;
• restless sleep;
• Allergies;
• itching in the anus;
• increased secretion of saliva;
• impaired digestion, accompanied by diarrhea, constipation, nausea and bloating;
• loss of appetite;
• weight loss with good nutrition;
• Yellowing of the skin

In adult children, these symptoms may include:

• Headache;
• abdominal discomfort;
• dizzy;
• increased fatigue;
• poor concentration.

Enterobiasis (pinworm)

A disease when such parasites enter the child's body is called enterobiasis. This type of helminth is most common in young children of preschool age - from 2 to 5 years. They vary in size to medium-sized. are 5–13 mm long, and cause minimal damage compared to other types of parasites.

Their presence causes the appearance of the following symptoms:

1. Severe itching in the anus. Its intensity can reach such a strength that the child will not be able to sleep properly, the anus will itch, which can cause burning and swelling.
2. Urinary incontinence during a night's sleep. Seen in girls. This occurs when pinworms enter the urethra from the anus. As a result, the child begins to develop urethritis, vaginitis or cystitis.

Pinworms are easy to get rid of and are not as dangerous as other types of worms. It is important in time, when the first symptoms appear, to consult a doctor and pass the necessary tests. If pinworms have been found in a child, the mother-The father also needs treatment. All clothes, towels and other rags should be washed and ironed, and the room should be thoroughly washed, as the eggs of these insects are found on all surfaces of the infected person's home.

Ascariasis (roundworm)

The second most common in children are roundworms up to 40 cm in size, which live in the small intestine - roundworms. In addition to the usual symptoms of helminthiasis, as in the case of ascaris, an infected person at the initial stage is prone to any inflammatory process in the respiratory tract. Develops an inappropriate cough in the absence. Its presence is due to the fact that the larvae of this type of parasites enter the lungs and upper respiratory tract, and re-enter the stomach through coughing.

Other distinctive features include:

• headache and dizziness;
• Allergies;
• enlarged lymph nodes;
• high temperature;
• Intestinal disorders.

At the same time, the buttocks with roundworms do not itch. Not only the intestines, but also any other organ or system of the body can become a habitat.

Trichuriasis (mustache)

In children, these parasites are very slender bodied worms, whose length reaches 5 cm. Female whipworms can lay up to 2 thousand eggs at a time. Usually, such worms are more common in adolescence, and in young children they appear much less often.

A distinctive feature of trichuriasis is the almost complete absence of any signs of helminthic invasion. Possible symptoms include:

• disturbances in the work of the nervous system (irritability, headache);
• problems with the digestive system, accompanied by diarrhea, nausea or vomiting;
• Increase in body temperature.

Symptoms of other parasites

Among other types of worms that occur in children, the following can be distinguished:

• Hymenolepiasis or pygmy rat tapeworm. It has no specific symptoms. Its presence is characterized by nausea, loss of appetite, heartburn, diarrhea and constipation, headache, abdominal pain, increased salivation, dizziness, fatigue, skin rash, allergic rhinitisand can be recognized by bronchospasm.
• Opisthorchiasis or Siberian feline fluke. These worms in a child can cause subfebrile temperature, skin rash, swollen lymph nodes, pain in the joints and right hypochondrium, pancreatitis, gastritis and other signs of malfunction of the digestive system, permanent catarrhal syndrome and much morecauses are made.

• Toxocariasis. Transmitted through animals. The main symptom is an allergic cough with suffocation and skin rash, which is characterized by severe itching.
• Wide ribbon. The source of infection is not fried or boiled fish. Symptoms include abdominal pain, allergic reaction, B12 deficiency anemia, and other common symptoms of a bowel disorder.

How to check if your child has worms?

In most cases, it is difficult for parents to associate specific symptoms with helminthiasis or to understand why a child suddenly has vomiting or other symptoms for no apparent reason. At the slightest suspicion of the presence of worms, one canIt is necessary to go to specialists and conduct tests, which makes it easier to check the assumption of helminthic invasion. It will not take much time and effort, but the cause of the child's illness will be absolutely clear and it will be possible to carry out timely treatment.

self test

Self-diagnosis is the careful monitoring of changes in the child's behavior, development, habits, routine and general condition - both physical and emotional-psychological.

It contains:

• periodic examination of feces for the presence of worms;
• monitoring the frequency of going to the toilet;
• Examine the skin for rashes, redness, or irritation;
• Checking the amount of food consumed.

test

Medical diagnosis is necessary to confirm the diagnosis if the worms were found visually, or only if a helminthic invasion is suspected. To find the cause of the symptoms, you need to take a series of tests, including:

1. feces analysis. In it you can find eggs or parts of already ripe worms. The effectiveness of the method is maximum during the period when there are already mature individuals in the intestine, ie. about 3 weeks to a month after infectionThe faecal material should be collected in the morning and sent to the laboratory.
2. A smear or scrape from the anus. To do this, use a dry cotton swab dipped in glycerin, or adhesive tape. The analysis allows you to identify worm larvae that were deposited on the skin areas in the anus.
3. General blood analysis. Patients with helminthiasis in the blood may have an increased number of immune cells, a high erythrocyte sedimentation rate and a low level of hemoglobin.
4. ELISA blood test. Allows you to detect parasites at an early stage with the help of staining enzymes that attract worms, viruses and other foreign bodies.

Additional tests for parasites in a child that may be done in an outpatient setting include:

• analysis for the presence of IgG antibodies;
• ultrasound procedure;
• X-ray.

Features of drug treatment

The appointment of drugs to combat parasites in a child should be made by a doctor after passing all the necessary tests and establishing an accurate diagnosis and type of worms. Among the most common drugs against helminthic invasion, it should be notedshould:

1. Anthelmintic drug acting on nematodes. Acceptance is allowed from 6 months. Effective against all types of roundworms, but useless in case of flat parasites.
2. Anthelmintic drug of the benzimidazole group. appointed from 2-3 years. The dosage is determined at the rate of 10 mg per kilogram of body weight.
3. Antiprotozoal and antimicrobial drug from the group of nitroimidazoles. Suitable for any age, according to which the daily dosage is prescribed.
4. An anthelmintic drug of the benzimidazole group. For children from 2 years old against roundworms.

What folk remedies can help?

In addition to medicines, worms can be treated with folk remedies.

The most popular products that can provide effective treatment for worms in children are:

• Garlic. Successfully destroys roundworms, tapeworms, pinworms and combats many other types of parasites. Suitable for children up to 5 years of age and children with healthy stomachs. Take 1 clove once a day before mealsCan be taken with water or milk. Garlic is also an excellent antiviral agent.
• Pumpkin seeds. These should be eaten on an empty stomach and raw. Children generally like this treatment. Otherwise, if the child is not allergic to honey, they can be crushed and mixed with honey.
• Sagebrush. Allowed for children from 12 years. To make the reception easier, it should be mixed with a slice of bread and salt.
• Fresh carrot juice. Half a cup once a day on an empty stomach is enough for 7-10 days. You can also nibble raw carrots.
• Beet juice. It is given on an empty stomach. It is advisable to alternate it with carrots, so as not to provoke a violation of the stool.
• Walnuts. A few pieces a day will be enough for a child.
• A pineapple. Not fresh, canned fruit is a tasty and effective remedy.
• CitrusIn their "company" you can add berries and fruits with a sour taste.

Redressal

Regardless of the type of insects, prevention comes down to following the basic rules of personal hygiene:

1. Washed food. All vegetables, fruits and berries must be thoroughly washed before eating. As an additional measure, products can be washed with boiling water.
2. Clean hands. You need to wash them before eating, after walking, after going to the hospital and being in public places, after going to the toilet and playing with animals, even pets.
3. Anthelmintic for pets. It must be done at least twice a year.
4. Boiled or filtered water for drinking. Drinking water from open reservoirs is prohibited. Swimming should also be avoided to prevent splashes from entering the mouth. The exceptions are salt lakes and the sea.
5. Regular prevention with the help of folk remedies.
6. Caring for old and new toys. Soft toys should be washed from time to time, plastic and plastic toys should be washed with boiled water. Before giving to the child, new ones should be poured with boiling water without fail.
7. No Bugs! Flies, mosquitoes, cockroaches carry eggs of helminths on their paws. It is important to prevent them from entering the house. To do this, you can use fumigators, sticky tape and special crayons.
8. Exclusion from the child's diet of fish and meat dishes that require less frying of animal products.
9. Stool analysis once a year. This procedure will help to detect worms at an early stage.