Parasites can inhabit the human body in any of its organs and systems. These creatures enter the body from the environment and are transported into the body through the bloodstream. There are a huge number of species 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. So, today we will talk about the varieties of human parasites. In the next article you will learn which parasites can settle in the human body.
How can you get infected with worms
To protect yourself, you need to know about 4 ways to spread and infect worm eggs with eggs:
- Through soil and water - geohelminthiasis. They develop in sand, soil and water, then enter the human body and begin to lay eggs there. In addition, the worm's eggs enter the environment along with feces and wait in their wings to infect a new person. Eating poorly washed vegetables and fruits, dirty hands, dust on food can infect humans 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 (kebabs, bacon, canned food, domestic game) and fish (sushi, dried fish, canned fish) is potentially dangerous. There is a possibility of infection with intestinal infections and biohelminths.
- With insect bites. This type of infection is quite rare. These include intestinal myiasis, canthariasis and scoliosis. Do not confuse the eggs of parasites and insect larvae, which are also deposited under the skin of animals and human skin (eg ash larvae).
The main mechanisms of worm spread
- Soil, sand and other types of soil are the most fertile habitat for worm eggs. Fruiting plants are in constant contact with the ground. When harvesting, vegetables, fruits and vegetables come into contact with workers' hands, the dusty shelves of vegetable stores and trucks. Under such conditions, contamination of food with parasite eggs is very likely. Therefore, it is necessary to wash the products of plant origin well under running water and then pour them 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 difficult to imagine what kind of sewerage a cat or dog can put in the house after a night walk. Flies and cockroaches also lay helminth eggs. When you sit on food, insects can infect your food. Any contact with soil and sand can lead to parasites entering the human body. That is why it is necessary to wash your hands well, especially under the nails. This is especially true for children.
- From person to person. This mechanism of infection is very effective. For example, pinworms lay eggs at night in the area around the anus. A sleeping child scratches the place where the eggs were laid, as itching begins. Thousands of eggs fall on clothes, on the bed, and in the morning on door handles and on anything that touches a little nausea in the morning, even before washing your hands and face. As a result, the whole family is at risk of infection.
- In case of contact with water. The discovered water bodies contain a huge number of worms. Bathing and accidental ingestion of water is a serious risk of infection
Children are much more likely than adults to be susceptible to helminth infestation. This is due to the fact that the child's body is poorly protected (protective mechanisms are still being formed) and the child is in active contact with the external environment. It takes an incredible effort for parents to teach him the basic rules of personal hygiene. Children are much more likely than adults to be susceptible to helminth infestation.
A baby under 6 years of age is at high risk of infection. According to statistics, about 95% of children under 4-5 years are infected with worms. That is why it is necessary to pay special attention to prevention. Most types of worms are inside the body, only there they lay eggs and after a certain period of time they die. For example, pinworms 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 the outside.
The treatment allows you to get rid of worms much faster and stop laying eggs in the gut. For children with helminth infestation, it is almost impossible to recover without medication. New eggs will constantly enter the oral cavity, filling the ranks of adults in the child's body.
What are the signs of recognition of helminth infestation
The signs of worms in humans are obvious and hidden. Obvious include "unreasonable" weight loss, pale appearance (skin anemia), chronic fatigue, nocturnal itching in the anal canal. These manifestations are well known and are indicative of pollution.
It is not uncommon for helminth infestation in which diseases of the internal organs worsen, diseases that have not previously occurred. They are considered hidden signs. One is taken away for the treatment of many diseases, and the cause is ignored. 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 a lot of nutrients and excrete toxic substances. Such circumstances significantly reduce the patient's immunity. Exacerbation of chronic diseases, various inflammatory processes in the nasopharynx may begin. Treating sinusitis or stomatitis in the standard way is pointless. It is important to rule out the cause. Inflammation of the appendages of the uterus, vulvovaginitis, vaginosis of various origins can often begin in girls and women.
General malaise as a result of intoxication of the body
The more severe the helminth infestation of the patient, the more harmful substances are released by the parasites. This has a detrimental effect on the well-being and nervous system of adults and children. Examples are migraines, dizziness, joint pain. Overcoming nausea, the person takes painkillers, but the pain returns after a short time: the cause of the illness is ignored. The more severe the helminth infestation of the patient, the more harmful substances are released by the parasites.
In children, disorders of the nervous system are accompanied by irritability, apathy and aggression. If your child begins to sleep poorly, talk in his sleep, have nightmares or sneak into school, then it's time to start preventing helminthiasis.
Allergic reactions, skin pathologies
Worm waste products are perceived as triggers for allergens. Skin reactions (rash, itching, rash, scaling of the skin) are the minimal symptoms that can occur when an allergy starts. There is a possibility of general reactions of the body: exacerbation of asthma, rhinitis, cough. Sometimes helminth infestation is accompanied by brittleness and hair loss, cracked heel skin and flaky nails.
Gastrointestinal disorders
Depending on the severity of the infection, symptoms can range from mild to severe. From mild nausea and diarrhea, to chronic flatulence, constipation, vomiting, pain in the navel and lower ribs. Tissues in the tissues do not affect the gastrointestinal tract as much as intestinal parasites.
What organs can parasites live in?
Worm parasites are divided into two categories, which correspond to the site 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 several dozen species for each part of the intestine. The small intestine is ready to accept roundworms, antilostomies, tapeworms and other less common "brothers". The small intestine "will share living space" with pinworms, dwarf tapeworm, etc. The medical literature describes cases where a person iswas simultaneously infected with several species 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 (lymph vessels). Some worm larvae move through the body through the circulatory system and randomly attach to each organ. If many eggs are introduced, the whole body can be 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 parasite infection, the general condition of the patient before infection. The table below summarizes the main symptoms of worms in humans by species.
> zxtable border = "1" cellpadding = "0" >The symptoms of helminthiasis are as diverse as the pathogens of parasitosis, their life cycle, entry routes, migration and favorite localization are different from each other.
The general symptoms of parasitic diseases are explained by the fact that in helminthic invasions the parasites suppress a person's own immunity, contribute to the development of inflammatory and autoimmune processes. Common symptoms are related to intoxication, death of parasites, their vital activity and reproduction, manifested as weakness, lability and mood swings, decreased academic performance and performance, memory and learning ability in children.
Pain in the right hypochondrium, bitterness, jaundice may indicate that the parasitic disease is localized mainly in the hepatoduodenal area (liver and ducts). At the same time the patient may experience nausea, episodes of regurgitation (vomiting).
Symptoms associated with damage to the liver and ducts associated with the hepatobiliary system, such as flatworm infection - opisthorchiasis. This helminth enters the body of the ultimate host - man - when consuming poorly processed fish of certain breeds (carp). Symptoms associated with damage to the liver and ducts associated with the hepatobiliary system, such as flatworm infection - opisthorchiasis
The disease is endemic and has special areas of spread. For the transmission of the pathogen, the larva of the parasite must go through a complex cycle with the change of hosts (molluscs of a certain species, fish of the carp family).
Often in many parasitic diseases there are certain skin manifestations in the form of itchy skin, various rashes, scratching, atopic dermatitis, eczema and other skin diseases progress. Skin processes are not always associated with helminthic invasion and are unsuccessfully treated by dermatologists.
It is important that helminthiasis can affect all organs and tissues, patients often worry about headaches, arthralgia (joint syndrome), complaints of the upper and lower respiratory tract. Often prolonged cough, frequent SARS, pharyngitis, laryngitis, difficulty breathing are associated with inflammation, a key place in the pathogenesis of which is the infection with parasites (helminths).
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 when cysts are ingested, which are very resistant to the environment and can remain in the environment for a long time (soil, food, water, various objects).
1 ml of stool may contain millions of lamblia cysts, which, placed in a favorable environment, can be transformed into vegetative forms. In the human intestine, a vegetative, mobile form of cysts forms for several hours with flagella attached between the cells of the intestinal epithelium, where the pathogen finds a favorable environment for itself with sufficient carbohydrate food, which is a favorite substrate for giardia. Giardia in a favorable environment are divided binary (into two parts) and soon their number increases many times over. In addition to the intestine, the vegetative forms of lamblia affect the hepato-biliary system (bile ducts, gallbladder).
Symptoms of giardiasis are associated with asthenia, poor academic performance, weakness, combined with signs of damage to the intestinal and hepato-biliary tract. The course of giardiasis and other parasitic diseases is largely related to the characteristics of the immune response. Intestinal form, gastroenterocolitis - a common form of giardiasis. The endotoxins of the pathogen can affect the nervous system, which explains the presence of many common extraintestinal symptoms.
ascariasis
Another common and ubiquitous parasitic disease is ascariasis. This helminthiasis is more common in children, but in adult patients it often causes many complaints and symptoms. Many chronic inflammatory diseases, as well as somatic pathology, can be initiated by parasitic invasion and exacerbated in the presence of various parasites (including roundworms).
Often children and adults who are carriers of roundworms develop chronic colitis, enteritis, bronchitis, may even develop such a serious disease as bronchial asthma, other allergic processes can be supported (atopic dermatitis, eczema, rhinitis, psoriasis).
Roundworms enter the stomach when swallowing eggs. After entering the upper parts of the digestive tract (stomach), the larvae, releasing from the capsule, migrate into the blood vessels, with the bloodstream enter the alveoli of the pulmonary system, thus causing cough, cough and other phenomena of bronchitis.
Often this condition is considered a viral infection, exacerbation of chronic bronchopulmonary disease and is usually associated in this case with the movement of the larvae of the parasite.
After coughing up the larvae of roundworms and pathogens with sputum in the pharynx, they are swallowed with saliva and re-enter the stomach, then pass into the intestine, where there are favorable conditions for further growth and development of the parasite. After coughing up the larvae of roundworms and pathogens with sputum in the pharynx, they are swallowed with saliva and re-enter the stomach, then pass into the intestine, where there are favorable conditions for further growth and development of the parasite
In the human intestine, roundworms, feeding on its contents, become 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, laying eggs 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 intestine for up to a year.
Medicines for helminths
Medical treatment of a person with pills is possible with the help of a large number of modern means.
As some agents do not act on the larvae and eggs of worms, and there is also a high risk of re-infection (self-infection with pinworms), the course of treatment is repeated after 2-3 weeks. Among the folk methods the most effective are the old time-tested methods - the use of pumpkin seeds and tansy herb. Medical treatment of a person with pills is possible with the help of a large number of modern means.
The fact that pumpkin seeds are a good anthelmintic has long been known, it is best to buy unpeeled seeds, peel them yourself, can and eat a thin film between the seeds and bark and consume 300 g in the morning. within an hour, pre-cut and mixed with honey or jam. Then do not eat 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 are infected with helminth infestations each year. 1, 2 billion suffer from enterobiosis, 0, 9 billion from hookworm, 0, 7 billion from trichocephaly And this is only official statistics !;
- In European countries, every third inhabitant carries intestinal parasites in the body;
- In severe invasions, a person loses up to 500 ml of blood per day. Hence the ailments and chronic fatigue;
- Some parasites are localized in the brain, eyeball, bone marrow and can live there for up to 30 years. For example, cytisterk. ;
- Female roundworms lay 240, 000 eggs a day. Constant re-infection will not allow a person to be cured the first time. Repeated courses of treatment are needed;
- Waste products of parasites - poisons and toxins - undermine human health 24 hours a day;
- Some types of tapeworms reach a length of 12 meters. Sometimes it threatens to clog the human intestine;
- Pumpkin seeds contain cucurbitine, which helps to cure worms without resorting to drugs. Pumpkin seeds are often given to children for prevention;
- It is optimal to treat pets every 3 months. This will save yourself and your children from parasites;
- Worm eggs can wait in the wings of door handles for up to 6 months;
- An infected dog disperses the eggs of parasites by breathing within a radius of 5 meters;
- In order not to be digested in the stomach and intestines, worms and their eggs secrete protective antienzymes;
- Trichinella does not lay eggs, but produces ready-made worms. Therefore, in laboratory conditions it is impossible to detect the presence of this parasite;
- The most effective test for invasion is considered to be enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Tampons, stool analysis may not provide reliable information.
In summary, it should be said that regular prevention of helminth infections, even with cheap drugs (they are also considered the most gentle), helps to 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.