About 80% of the planet's inhabitants are infected with various helminths.It often takes a long time and is unsuccessful to treat a disease whose true cause is parasites.Worms that can live in humans break the integrity of the vascular walls, block the lumen of the intestine and damage the internal organs.They produce toxic substances that enter the blood.
What kind of worms do people have?
Helminths colonize or parasitize the intestines, live in any other organ.There are several types, the most common being nematodes.Their body has an elongated, round cross-sectional shape, narrowing at the ends.More often than others, infection occurs:
- Roundworms, trichins, settling in the small intestine and other organs;
- worms that live in the large intestine and feed on blood and mucus;
- Worms that accumulate in the cecum and large intestine.
Pinworms are especially often found in children when they do a stool test for enterobiosis.
In addition to those listed, there are more than a hundred less common parasites that live in different parts of the intestine.For example, worms such as hookworm and roundworm are found in the small segment in humans;The thick section is often clogged with worms.Humans become hosts for adult tapeworms, which have a flat, long body.Large bovine and porcine tapeworms, cestodes and echinococcus inhabit the intestines.
Roundworms have suckers on their bodies, the length of which varies from a few millimeters (Siberian roundworm) to 7 cm (fasciola).Parasites are transmitted to humans through consumption of raw fish and boiled water.Sometimes infection with worms occurs through the skin while swimming in lakes and rivers (schistosoma).After settling, they can feel great in different human organs for several years.
Methods of infection
The routes by which different types of worms enter are varied.The main method of infection with parasites is fecal-oral.It is associated with the penetration of helminths with food and water.People just eat invisible organisms when they forget to wash their hands before eating.Worms in feces are rarely visible to the naked eye.But flies that land on excrement always carry eggs.If an insect lands on a piece of food, the chances of infection increase significantly.
Worms appear in people after 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 get sick with parasites.Helminths reach the soil surface with the feces of animals - cats, dogs, cattle and carry flies.They enter the human body through unwashed hands, microtraumas on the skin and insufficiently processed vegetables.Inhalation of street dust, which is saturated with very resistant larvae, can also become infected.
Another factor contributing to the appearance of worms is the use of poor quality water.It is extremely undesirable to swallow the liquid while swimming in the sea, river or lake.It contains large amounts of parasites from fish, waterfowl and domestic animal feces.If a person consumes raw fish or meat, there is a risk of infection and parasites - cattle worm, pig worm, tapeworm - will settle in the body.In medical reference books there are photographs of worms that can reach several meters in length.
Symptoms and signs of helminthic infestation
After becoming hosts to the parasites, people begin to lose weight rapidly, feel tired and look pale.Indicate the presence of worms:
- pain in the whole body;
- painful sensations in the joints;
- general weakness;
- loss of appetite;
- diarrhea or constipation;
- Nausea attacks.
But in order to make sure that helminths are in the body, it is necessary to undergo an examination.This will help to identify worms in the feces or special antibodies in the blood.
Symptoms increase in the absence of timely treatment.Depending on which worms prevail in the body, where they accumulate, the symptoms of the disease differ.Bile stagnation occurs when the ducts are blocked by parasites.A person feels heaviness and pain in the right hypochondrium, bitterness in the mouth.Periodically suffers from nausea and constipation.
Many worms secrete substances that irritate the walls of the intestine - diarrhea occurs, during which the feces are watery and foamy.In addition, the patient has increased gas production, loud grumbling in the abdomen and pain in the umbilical region.
Worms, once in the human body, can migrate.Their progress is accompanied by severe pain.Most often, a patient with helminthiasis thinks that he has an exacerbation of arthritis.In fact, the unpleasant sensations caused by worms are the body's reaction to tissue damage.
A person experiences a state of apathy, he has decreased ability to concentrate and memory problems.This happens if the parasites stay in the body for a long time.A previously unusual allergy or intolerance to certain foods appears.Worms become the culprits of skin problems.The most common:
- Acne, pimples all over the body;
- Urticaria, atopic dermatitis, eczema;
- premature formation of wrinkles;
- Hair loss, bald spots.
More frequent runny noses, bronchitis, asthma, and pneumonia may be caused by worms migrating through the bloodstream.Sometimes parasites settle in the lungs, lay eggs there, which mature and become full-fledged individuals.On scans obtained after X-ray and tomography, worms look like focal darkening of round or oval shape.
The introduction of toxic residues of helminths into the blood causes people to complain:
- constant anxiety, irritability;
- depression;
- Insomnia.
Both obesity and undernutrition are common symptoms of worms.Digestive problems and intoxication cause loss of appetite.Man loses his body.Long-term presence of parasites causes a decrease in blood glucose levels and a constant feeling of hunger.At the cellular level, there is a lack of nutrients, which is compensated by the accumulation of fatty tissue.
drug therapy
It is not recommended to treat helminthiasis without prior consultation with a specialist for several reasons.The first is that it is not always possible to identify parasites even after several stool tests.To determine exactly which type of worms settled in a person, you will need a more detailed examination, including:
- general blood test with leukemia formula;
- biochemical blood test (liver tests);
- Analysis of feces and rectal mucus.
Sometimes it is necessary to examine bile, sputum and small sections of the skin to detect worms colonizing the body.
Treating worms on your own in adults or children is a dubious idea.Pharmacological preparations are quite toxic.At the same time, many of them have an effect directed against a specific species without affecting others.
If the results of the analyzes revealed worms in human feces or the presence of parasites was confirmed by other diagnostic procedures, the infectious disease specialist selects the most effective drug.The doctor who prescribes the pills must specify exactly how many times the drug will be taken and its dosage, depending on the patient's weight.Treatment of worms is carried out:
- Albendazole;
- Paraziquanteloma;
- Medamine
- mebendazole;
- Pyrantel.
Detoxifying agents (sorbents), anti-allergic agents and vitamins are added to the procedure to get rid of worms.
Preventive measures
Considering that worms are very easily transmitted from animals or infected people, every effort should be made to prevent their occurrence.For this, you must strictly observe hygiene.An important factor in protection against worms is the proper preparation of the products from which the food is prepared.
Doctors recommend an annual preventive procedure to clear worms in spring and autumn.Even if a person has no obvious symptoms of infection.Its maximum effectiveness can be achieved if all family members take the medicine recommended by the doctor.Most parasites are so small that you can only see photographs of some worm eggs taken under a powerful microscope when examining feces or other biomaterial.