Human infection with worms in medicine is called helminthiasis.Several hundred species of parasites are known to cause this disease.Some of them do not cause noticeable harm, others cause inconvenience, but there are also worms that pose a threat to human life.
Helminths enter the body in the form of eggs, which are covered with a protective shell and withstand harsh conditions.The worms are very prolific and lay thousands of eggs every day, increasing the chance of infection.From the carrier of the parasites, the eggs come out together with the faeces.When exposed to favorable conditions, the shell is separated and the egg develops into a full-fledged parasite, and in a short time.Worms feed on human food or tissues, multiply rapidly and damage the body with toxins from the products of their vital activity, causing poisoning.
Causes of worms in humans
The disease can be related to lifestyle, diet or the presence of pets.You can get infected in different ways:
- swimming in ponds used for livestock watering;
- non-compliance with personal hygiene rules;
- weak heat treatment of meat and meat dishes;
- eating unwashed vegetables and fruits;
- raw, unprocessed fish;
- contacts with infected animals (cats, dogs, cows);
- cohabitation with people carrying helminths;
- raw water consumption in rural areas.
It is important for you to know: Worms lay thousands or even hundreds of thousands of eggs every day, so any infected person or animal poses a great threat as a source of infection.
Most often, children are exposed to infection, since they follow few rules of hygiene and are constantly in contact with each other, transmitting parasites.Pinworms and roundworms, which can be found in almost any child, are particularly easily transmitted.They cause a lot of inconvenience and affect the well-being of the child.
Symptoms and signs of worms
The presence of worms in a person is quite easy to determine even without the help of medical examinations.The main habitat for them is the intestine, where they feed on human food and are often excreted together with feces, itching in the anus is observed, as the worms excrete their waste products and thus irritate the rectal mucosa.Pinworms, for example, crawl out of the anus at night, so redness and allergic symptoms are often observed around it, which causes a desire to scratch in this place.
There are types of helminths that affect the liver and even the brain.For example, the liver fluke (tapeworm), when it enters the human body, "travels" through the body with the blood stream until it stops in the liver or brain.There it begins to develop, eating the surrounding tissue.A person begins to experience illness, and in the case of contact with the brain, even mental disorders and eventually death.The parasite is transmitted by livestock (cows, sheep).
Another dangerous parasite is Echinococcus.These worms are parasitic in dogs or wolves, transmitted from them to humans by contact.Helminths attack the liver and lungs.In this case, headache, dry cough and loss of appetite are observed.In addition, it is difficult to diagnose this type and during examinations it can be mistaken for a tumor.Echinococci are dangerous to health and can cause serious disorders in the body, including death.
The main symptoms of helminth infection:
- headache;
- nausea;
- vomiting;
- weight loss;
- itching in the anus;
- bloating and flatulence;
- diarrhea and other digestive disorders;
- inflammation of the lymph nodes;
- increased body temperature;
- abdominal pain;
- cough without reason;
- skin allergies.
Worms manifest some time after infection.Initially, symptoms are absent or barely noticeable, as the amount of toxic substances released by the parasites does not cause serious problems.Then, as it develops and multiplies, the symptoms intensify and become more pronounced.General health deteriorates sharply, so measures must be taken to detect and destroy them.
Treatment of helminthic infestations
You should know that parasites will not go away on their own.At the same time, health will constantly deteriorate due to poisoning with toxins.This will weaken the body and immune system, making the person vulnerable to inflammatory infections and other diseases.
The destruction of worms is called deworming.The process involves the use of drugs to kill parasites and drugs to reduce the allergic reaction.Each type of parasite is sensitive to certain substances, so in order to get rid of worms, it is necessary to determine their type.In this case, only a doctor will help, who, after conducting tests and other research, will make a diagnosis and prescribe treatment.
In the most severe cases, doctors prescribe an operation to remove the worms.
interesting:The beef tapeworm sometimes reaches a length of 10 meters in humans.It consists of small units that can develop as an independent organism.Therefore, it can only be removed surgically, and if the body is torn into pieces, they will continue to develop and grow.
Prevention
Helminths enter the body in the form of microscopic eggs, so to prevent this, it is necessary to follow a number of recommendations:
- observe the rules of personal hygiene (wash hands before eating, after contact with animals, after visiting the toilet, etc.);
- wash vegetables and fruits with clean running water, preferably boiled water;
- fry the meat and fish well;
- if you have pets, regularly check them for helminths by a veterinarian;
- Get tested for intestinal parasites once a year.
advice: Do not swim in bodies of water near which livestock graze.In this case, there is a risk of infection with bovine tapeworm, which is very dangerous.
Worms pose a great threat to human health and interfere with normal life activity.It is important to identify them as soon as possible and eliminate them with treatment, since it is easier to get rid of them in the early stages.In addition to the risk to your health, there is a possibility of infecting your loved ones with parasites, so at the first symptoms it is recommended to consult a doctor who will make a diagnosis and prescribe a course of treatment.In addition, it is important to follow preventive measures to avoid infection.It is better to prevent the appearance of worms in the body in advance than to get rid of them later.