Human parasites inhabit every organ and system. These creatures enter the body from the environment and are carried throughout the body by the bloodstream. There are a large number of types of parasites that can inhabit the human body. All of them pose a threat to human health and cause negative changes in the work of organs.
Human parasites. Signs of the appearance of worms in humans are visible and hidden. The most noticeable include "unreasonable" weight loss, pale appearance (skin anemia), chronic fatigue, itching at night in the anal canal. These manifestations are known and are indicators of contamination.
How can you become infected with worms?
Human parasites. To protect yourself, you need to know about the 4 ways worms spread and infect eggs with eggs:
- Through soil and water - geohelminthiases. They develop in sand, soil and water, then enter the human body and begin to lay eggs there. Further, the worm eggs enter the external environment along with the feces and wait in the wings to infect a young person. Eating poorly washed vegetables and fruits, dirty hands, dust in food can lead to human infection with geohelminths. Some parasitic eggs enter the human body through the skin of the feet and ankles.
- Through direct contact. Worms in pets and humans are transmitted through hand contact, games and joint activities.
- Through the use of contaminated food of animal origin - biohelminthiasis. Eating raw and poorly processed meat (kebab, bacon, canned food, home game) and fish (sushi, dried fish, canned fish) is potentially dangerous. There is a possibility of contracting intestinal infections and biohelminths.
- With insect bites. This type of infection is quite rare. These include intestinal myasia, candidiasis and scoliosis. Do not confuse parasite eggs and insect larvae, which are also deposited under the skin of animals and human skin (for example, fly larvae).
The main mechanisms of worm spread
- Soil, sand and other soil types are the most fertile habitat for worm eggs. Fruit plants are in constant contact with the soil. During the harvest, vegetables, fruits and vegetables come into contact with the hands of the workers, with the dusty shelves of vegetable shops and trucks. Under such conditions, contamination of food with parasitic eggs is very likely. Therefore, it is necessary for products of plant origin to be thoroughly washed under running water and then poured with boiling water. You need to be especially vigilant in the countryside, where pets walk around the yard and then enter the house. It is not hard to imagine what kind of sewage a cat or dog can bring into the house after a night walk. Flies and cockroaches are also carriers of helminth eggs. When you sit on food, insects can infect your food. Any contact with soil and sand can lead to the entry of parasites into the human body. Therefore, it is necessary to wash your hands thoroughly, especially under the nails. This is especially true for children.
- From person to person. This mechanism of infection is very effective. For example, breast worms lay eggs overnight in the area around the anus. A sleeping child scratches the place where the eggs were laid, as that is where the itching begins. Thousands of eggs fall on clothes, on the bed and in the morning on the door handles and on everything that touches a little nervous in the morning even before he washes his hands and washes his face. As a result, the whole family is at risk of infection.
- From contact with water. Open water bodies contain a large number of worm species. Accidental washing and swallowing of water is a serious risk of infection
Children are much more likely than adults to be susceptible to helminthic invasion. This is due to the fact that the child's body is poorly protected (defense mechanisms are just being formed), and the child is in active contact with the external environment. It takes tremendous effort for parents to teach him the basic rules of personal hygiene.
An infant under 6 years of age is at high risk of infection. According to statistics, about 95% of children under 4-5 years old are infected with worms. Therefore, it is necessary to pay special attention to prevention.
Most types of worms are found inside the body, only laying eggs there and after a certain period they die. For example, roundworms live 6-8 weeks, roundworms - up to 1 year. The number of parasites in the body increases only with the entry of new eggs from outside.
The treatment allows you to get rid of worms much faster and stop the laying of eggs in the intestines. It is almost impossible for children with helminth infection to be cured without medication. The new eggs will constantly enter the oral cavity, replenishing the rows of adults in the baby's body.
What are the signs to recognize helminthic invasion
Cases of helminthic invasion are not uncommon, in which diseases of the internal organs are aggravated, diseases appear that have not appeared before. These are considered hidden signs. A person is taken in the treatment of many diseases and the cause is left unattended. At the same time, the therapy does not bring results. Here are examples of such cases:
Infectious diseases as a result of reduced immunity
Parasites, being in the human body, consume many nutrients and release toxic substances. Such circumstances significantly reduce the patient's immunity. A worsening of chronic diseases, various inflammatory processes in the nasopharynx may begin. Treating sinusitis or stomatitis as standard is pointless. It is important to rule out the cause.
In girls and women, inflammation of the uterine appendages, vulvovaginitis, vaginosis of various origins can often begin.
General illness due to intoxication of the body
The more serious the helminthic invasion of the patient, the more harmful substances the parasites release. This has a detrimental effect on the well-being and nervous system of adults and children. An example of this is migraine, dizziness, joint pain. Overcoming nausea, the person gets sedatives, but the pain returns after a short time: the cause of the disease was ignored.
In children, nervous system disorders are associated with irritability, apathy and aggression.
If your child started sleeping badly, talking in a dream, seeing nightmares or slipping into school, then it is time to start preventing helminthiasis.
Allergic reactions, skin pathology
Human parasites. Worm waste products are perceived as stimulants for allergens. Skin reactions (redness, itching, redness, peeling of the skin) are the minimal symptoms that can appear when an allergy starts. There is a possibility of general reactions of the body: worsening of asthma, rhinitis, cough. Sometimes helminthic infestation is accompanied by brittleness and hair loss, cracking of the skin on the heels and the skin of the nails.
Gastrointestinal disorders
Depending on the severity of the infection, the symptoms can range from mild to severe forms of the disorder. From nausea and mild diarrhea, to chronic bloating, constipation, vomiting, umbilical cord pain and hypochondrium. Tissue worms do not affect the gastrointestinal tract as much as intestinal parasites.
In which organs can parasites live?
Human parasites are divided into two categories, which correspond to the place of activity in the donor's body.
- Cavity - worms that live in different parts of the gastrointestinal tract. There are about 100 species of intestinal parasites, and there are a couple of dozen species for each section of intestine. The small intestine is ready to accept roundworms, antilostomy, wide strips, and other less common "brothers. "The small intestine "will share the living space" with breast worms, dwarf tapeworm and others. The medical literature describes cases where a person is simultaneously infected with several types of parasites.
- Tissue - worms localized in organs, tissues and even in the blood. Modern medicine successfully treats paragonimiasis (lungs), cysticercosis (brain), echinococcosis (liver) and filariasis (lymphatic vessels). Some worm larvae move through the body through the circulatory system and connect randomly to any organ. If too many eggs are laid, the whole body can become infected.
Symptoms of worms depending on the type of parasite
Symptoms will vary for different types of worms in humans. It is also worth considering the duration and severity of the parasitic infection, the general condition of the patient before infection. The table below summarizes the main symptoms of the presence of worms in humans by their type.
| Type of parasite (disease) | The mode of infection | Symptoms | Time of onset of symptoms |
| Worms (enterobiasis) | With foods of plant origin. | Itching at night around the anus, the presence of parasites in the feces, sharp short-term pain in the navel. | 2-3 days after infection |
| Vlasoglav (trichocephaly) | With contaminated foods prepared in unsanitary conditions. | Symptoms are expressed only with severe invasion: diarrhea, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, inflammation of the appendix. In children, body growth may be delayed and even rectal prolapse may occur. | A couple of weeks |
| Broadband (diphyllobothriasis) | When eating infected river fish. | This parasite can live up to 25 years inside the patient. Mechanical damage to the intestines, lack of vitamins, intestinal obstruction, intoxication of the body, allergies. | A couple of weeks |
| Roundworm (breast worm) | When walking barefoot on loaded ground. | Itching, swelling of the feet and legs where the parasite enters. Cough, phlegm, bronchial and lung damage. Weakness, dizziness. The menstrual cycle in women is disturbed. Men have impotence. | Some day |
| Ascaris (ascariasis) | With foods of plant origin. | Pain in the intestine, peritonitis, bronchitis, pneumonia, liver disease, pancreas. May cause choking by crawling from gastrointestinal tract to esophagus or respiratory tract. | About 3 months |
| Trichinella (Trichinosis) | Poorly processed meat, lard. | Nausea and periods of heartburn, diarrhea. | 2 days |
| Hepatic and giant band (fascioliasis) | Sow food and water. | Fever, dry cough, loss of appetite, abdominal pain. | 2-4 weeks |
The symptomatology of helminthiasis is so diverse that the pathogens of parasitosis, their life cycle, routes of entry, migration and preferred localization are different from each other.
The general symptoms of parasitic diseases are explained by the fact that with helminthic infestations, parasites suppress a person's immunity, contribute to the development of inflammatory and autoimmune processes. General symptoms are associated with intoxication, death of parasites, vital activity and their reproduction, manifested as weakness, persistence and mood swings, decreased performance and academic performance, memory and ability to learn in children.
Pain in the right hypochondrium, soreness, the appearance of jaundice may indicate that the parasitic disease is localized mainly in the hepatoduodenal area (area of the liver and ducts). At the same time, the patient may notice nausea, episodes of regurgitation (vomiting).
Human parasites associated with damage to the liver and ducts belonging to the hepatobiliary system are observed, for example, when infected with the flatworm - opisthorchis. This helminth enters the body of the final owner - a person - when it eats poorly processed fish of certain breeds (carp).
Symptoms associated with damage to the liver and ducts connected to the hepatobiliary system are observed, for example, when infected with the flatworm - opisthorchis.
The disease is endemic and has specific areas of spread. For pathogen transmission, the parasite larva must go through a complex cycle with changing hosts (a mollusk of a certain species, a carp family fish).
Human parasites. Often, with many parasitic diseases, there are certain skin manifestations in the form of itchy skin, various rashes, itching, atopic dermatitis, eczema and the progression of other skin diseases. Skin processes are not always associated with helminthic invasion and are treated unsuccessfully by dermatologists.
It is important that with helminthiasis can affect any organ and tissue, patients often worry about headaches, arthralgia (joint syndrome), complaints appear from the upper and lower respiratory tract. Often, a prolonged cough, frequent SARS, pharyngitis, laryngitis, difficulty breathing are associated with inflammation, a key site in the pathogenesis of which is parasitic infection (helminth).
Giardiasis and its features
Giardiasis is a protozoan disease in which the pathogen exists in vegetative form and in the form of cysts. Giardia infection occurs by swallowing cysts, which are very stable in the environment and can persist for a long time in the environment (soil, food, water, various objects).
1 ml of feces can contain millions of lamblia cysts, which, when placed in a favorable environment, can turn into vegetative forms. In the human intestine, from the cysts for several hours a vegetative form is formed, mobile with flagella attached between the cells of the intestinal epithelium, where the pathogen finds a favorable environment for itself with a sufficient amount of carbohydrate food, whichis a preferred substrate. for lamblia.
Giardia in a favorable environment is divided binary (into two parts), and soon their number increases many times. In addition to the intestines, the vegetative forms of lamblia affect the hepatobiliary system (bile ducts, gallbladder).
Symptoms of giardiasis are associated with asthenia, poor academic performance, weakness, in combination with signs of damage to the intestines and hepatobiliary tract. The course of giardiasis and other parasitic diseases is mainly associated with the characteristics of the immune response. Intestinal form, gastroenterocolitis - a common form of giardiasis. Pathogen endotoxins can affect the nervous system, which explains the presence of many common extraintestinal symptoms.
Askariaza
Another common and widespread parasitic disease is ascariasis. This helminthiasis occurs most often in children, but in adult patients it often causes numerous complaints and symptoms. Many chronic inflammatory diseases, as well as somatic pathology, can be initiated by parasitic invasion and intensify in the presence of various parasites (including ascariasis).
Often, children and adults who are carriers of ascaris develop chronic colitis, enteritis, bronchitis, even a disease as severe as bronchial asthma can develop, other allergic processes can be supported (atopic dermatitis, eczema, rhinitis, psoriasis).
Human parasites. Ascaris enters the stomach when the eggs are swallowed. Upon entering the upper parts of the digestive tract (stomach), the larvae, being released from the capsule, migrate to the blood vessels, with the bloodstream entering the alveoli of the pulmonary system, thus causing the patient to cough, cough and. other occurrences of bronchitis.
Such a condition is often considered a viral infection, exacerbation of chronic bronchopulmonary disease and is usually accompanied, in this case, by the movement of parasite larvae.
After the ascaris larvae cough and the phlegm pathogens enter the pharynx, they are swallowed with saliva and re-enter the stomach, then pass into the intestine, where there are favorable conditions for the growth and further development of the parasite.
In the human gut, roundworms, feeding on its contents, turn into sexually mature individuals (female 50 cm, male 20 cm). In the process of growth and vital activity, as well as as a result of larval migration, the parasite has a negative toxic and mechanical effect on the human body.
In the process of growth, vital activity, egg laying and maturation, the pathogen has a suppressive effect on the body's immunity, can cause diseases of the lungs, intestines and other parts of the digestive tract, anemia. Ascaris can live in the human gut for up to a year.
Remedies for helminths
Medical treatment of a person with pills is possible with the help of a large number of modern anthelmintic drugs, which are prescribed by a specialist.
Since some funds do not work on worm larvae and eggs, and there is also a high risk of re-infection (self-infection with pliers worms), the course of treatment is repeated after 2-3 weeks. Among the popular methods, the most effective are the old time-tested methods - the use of pumpkin seeds and tansy grass.
The fact that pumpkin seed is a good anti-helminthic agent has long been known, it is good to buy unpeeled seeds, peel them yourself, store and eat a thin layer between the seed and the peel and consume 300 g inbreakfast. . within an hour, minced beforehand and mixed with honey or jam. Then do not eat for 3-4 hours and make an enema, you can repeat this treatment after 2 weeks.
Interesting facts about human parasites
- According to the WHO, about 3 billion people become infected with helminth infections each year. 1. 2 billion suffer from enterobiasis, 0. 9 billion from needleworm disease, 0. 7 billion from trichocephaly and this is only official statistics !;
- In European countries, every third inhabitant carries intestinal parasites;
- With severe invasions, a person loses up to 500 ml of blood per day. Hence the disease and chronic fatigue;
- Some parasites are localized in the brain, eyeball, bone marrow and can live there for up to 30 years. For example, cytisteryk;
- Ascaris females lay 240, 000 eggs a day. Persistent reinfection will not allow a person to recover the first time. Repeated courses of treatment are required;
- Parasitic wastes - poisons and toxins - harm human health 24 hours a day;
- Some species of tapeworms reach up to 12 meters in length. Sometimes threatens to obstruct the human intestine;
- Pumpkin seeds contain courgettes, which help cure worm infections without the use of medication. Pumpkin seeds are often given to children for prevention;
- It is optimal to treat pets every 3 months. Thus you will save yourself and your children from parasites;
- Worm eggs can wait in wings on door handles for up to 6 months;
- An infected dog scatters parasite eggs by breathing within a radius of 5 meters;
- In order not to be digested in the stomach and intestines, worms and their eggs release protective enzymes;
- Trichinella does not lay eggs, but produces ready-made worms. Therefore, it is impossible to detect the presence of this parasite in laboratory conditions;
- The most effective assay for detecting invasion is considered to be the enzyme immunoassay. Tampons, stool analysis may not provide reliable information.
In summary, regular prevention of helminth infections, even with cheap medicines (they are also considered the mildest), helps protect the whole family. Be responsible for hand and body hygiene and prepare food thoroughly for use. Children and pets need constant monitoring for parasites.