The eggs of the worms are tiny in size. Invisible to the eye, they can be everywhere - on the ground, on the handrails of the carriage, on the door handles, on a children's beach, in the fur of our pet.
How to prevent worm infection or, if it has occurred, how to avoid dangerous complications?
Symptoms of helminths in humans
No one can consider themselves immune to worm infection. Even with the strictest observance of hygiene rules. To minimize the risk of infection, you need to be as informed as possible about the symptoms of helminths in humans, the prevention and treatment of helminth infections.
The most common helminths:
Round worm.The parasites belong to the category of nematodes, round worms in cross section. The length of the female reaches 350 mm, the males are much smaller. Roundworms are dangerous in both the intestinal and migratory stages.
Intestinal parasites detection in complex forms can lead to intestinal obstruction, adult roundworms with risk of suffocation, biliary obstruction and other complications. The migratory stage threatens the penetration of the larvae into the lungs and other organs with the appearance of serious pathologies.
Ascaris infection occurs from parasitic eggs that leave the patient's intestines with feces and mature in the soil until the invasive stage.
- Diphyllobotrium latum.This is a class of cestodes, one of the representatives of which is a wide band. Their feature is that they have 3 owners. The main organism in which worms grow in a sexually mature person is an individual and certain animals (cats, dogs, pigs, etc. ). Intermediates for diphyllobotrium latum are freshwater crustaceans. Intermediate additive - fish (perch, pike, berbo). The broadband is infected by eating perfectly infected fish infected with plerocercoids.
Pinworms.These are nematodes, like roundworms, but much smaller in size. The female is up to 10 mm long, the male up to 5 mm. Enterobiasis is one of the most common helminthiasis. Children are especially sensitive to them.
The most typical manifestation of enterobiasis is itching in the anus. Explained by the exit of females to the perianal area for spawning. In the folds of the skin, the embryos mature in the invasive stage in 5-6 hours. Taking them in the hands during scratching and then swallowing leads to re-infection.
Ways of infection
The methods of worm infection are determined by the penetrating form of the parasite and the ways in which they penetrate the host organism.
Most parasitic worms have two infectious forms - eggs (in some nests they are called oncospheres) and larvae. The latter are sometimes called Finns or Cistercians. The eggs are tiny in size, usually several tens of micrometers. The larvae can grow in size from several to tens of millimeters.
Most often, worms are infected through the mouth - through the mouth.But some types of parasites can invade through the skin or through insect bites. When eggs are swallowed, the embryos contained in them shed their shells, penetrate the intestinal wall into the bloodstream and are carried by the blood throughout the body. Depending on the type of parasite, they can settle in the liver, lungs, heart, pancreas, kidneys, brain, eyes.
When infected with larvae, intestinal localization of the parasite occurs more frequently. Due to their large size, the larvae can not penetrate the vessels and migrate with the blood. They remain in the intestine, attach to its wall and develop into a sexually mature state, after which they begin to multiply.
Worm eggs usually pass from the gastrointestinal tract with feces. In some cases, for example, with cestodosis, the evacuation of eggs from the intestinal tract can be carried out by fragments of worms - proglottids. They come out of the intestines on their own through the anus.
The main types of helminth lesions
The effectiveness of the treatment of helminths in humans depends on how accurately the clinical picture and the nature of the damage caused by parasites in the body are determined. And they, in turn, depend on the stage of the invasion - intestinal or migratory.
Intestinal stage of invasion.During the intestinal stage, the main damage occurs to the patient's digestive system, especially to the gastrointestinal tract. Worms injure the intestinal mucosa with their suckers. This leads to inflammatory processes and dysfunction of the gastrointestinal tract.
Apart from the fact that some of the nutrients are absorbed by the worms, the intestinal absorption function is also reduced.Due to the release of anti-enzymes from the parasites, the digestive capacity of the gastrointestinal tract is reduced. All this leads to a deficiency in the patient's body of nutrients, vitamins and minerals.
In addition to enzymes, worms secrete other metabolites that act as toxins in the host organism. To this is added the decomposition of the bodies of dead worms. As a result, the patient's body is severely poisoned.
Some types of parasitic worms are able to penetrate the gastrointestinal tract into adjacent organs and tissues - the bile duct, gallbladder, liver parenchyma and other systems. Adult roundworms, for example, at high levels of infection can penetrate the host's airway. With a large number of parasites, mechanical obstruction of the intestine is possible. This can be seen with both roundworms and tapeworms.
When parasitic worms enter the liver parenchyma, abscesses can develop, requiring surgery.Intestinal perforation is not excluded by the penetration of the contents of the gastrointestinal tract into the abdominal cavity and the development of peritonitis. Due to the destructive effect of adult worms, pancreatitis, cholecystitis and cholangitis can develop.
migration phase.Due to the possibility of larval embryos penetrating into almost any organ, the migratory stage of the invasion may exceed the intestinal phase in terms of the severity of the consequences.
The larvae that develop from the eggs into organs and tissues form inflammations and infiltrates. If this happens to the lungs, the invasion manifests as bronchitis, pneumonia, asthma syndrome.
If the eggs of the parasite penetrate the brain (such as, for example, the cestodes's spheres), single or multiple Finns with blisters form in its tissues. Their size can reach the size of a tennis ball. Due to the proximity of the cysts to the brain tissue, their surgical removal is associated with a high risk of purulent cyst rupture and the development of secondary infection.
Poisoning of the patient's body with metabolites of live worms and toxins from the decomposition of their dead bodies leads to allergic reactions. The result is fever, skin manifestations, headaches and dizziness.
Symptoms
The symptoms of helminthiasis depend on many factors. There are manifestations characteristic of a particular type of invasion, but they are few.Most parasitic worms have symptoms similar to those of other diseases.This makes diagnosis difficult. These common symptoms include the following:
- Total deterioration of the condition, physical and mental weakness.
- Nausea, vomiting.
- Stool disorders, constipation and diarrhea.
- Discomfort, feeling of heaviness, abdominal pain of various localizations.
- Change of appetite up or down.
- Weight loss without explanation. Including the background of increasing the amount of food consumed.
- Itching in the anal area, feeling like something is moving there.
- Allergic manifestations in the form of skin rashes.
- Cough.
- Difficulty breathing, asthma syndrome.
- Bruxism. Grinding teeth during sleep is typical for children with itchy anus.
- Increased irritability, irritability, insomnia, chronic fatigue, depression.
- Headache.
- Fever, most often fever. But sometimes it rises to high values.
- Dizziness.
In the initial stage of the invasion, the symptoms may be completely absent or so insignificant that they are not given much importance. In the future, as the severity of the disease increases, the symptoms become more intense.
The symptoms of helminths in human blood may vary depending on the organ in which the migratory embryos are installed.If their location is found to be the lungs, the patient may have a fever, respiratory problems may occur.Usually in these cases, the infection is accompanied by a cough - unproductive or with sputum, which may be orange in color. The latter suggests that the larvae destroyed small blood vessels in the lungs.
The symptoms of helminths are accompanied by nausea, vomiting, heaviness and abdominal pain, profuse salivation, decreased stools and weight loss.
Caution.In severe hepatic infiltration, abscesses may develop by cleavage of purulent contents in the abdominal cavity. This progression of the disease threatens the patient's life.
Drug treatment
Dealing with invasions depends on many factors. The main ones are the type of parasitic worms, their location, the stage of the disease (migratory or intestinal), the intensity of the infection, the condition of the patient. But in any case, treatment should precede the diagnosis of the disease.
The most common diagnostic test for parasitic worm infections is a stool test. If the diagnosis is not sufficient, a general, biochemical and / or enzymatic immunoassay is performed.Material diagnostics can also be used - ultrasound, x-ray, magnetic resonance imaging, etc.Having a complete picture of the disease, the doctor prescribes anthelmintic drugs.
Great.Treatment with drugs with strong active substance can cause side effects. This limits the use of drugs for certain categories of patients. In particular, for pregnant and lactating women, children under a certain age, patients with certain viral and infectious diseases.
Different drugs are prescribed to fight nematodes found in the gut and to destroy extra-intestinal nematodes.
Great.Often two cycles of treatment are performed with a break of 2-3 weeks between them. This is because most antiviral drugs kill only adults. The larvae and their eggs remain intact. After the incubation period, a new generation of worms may emerge from them, the destruction of which will require a second course.
The use of folk remedies
Treatment with folk remedies requires more time than medication. But this relative disadvantage is offset by the gentleness of herbal remedies and the absence of side effects.
There are many herbs that have anthelmintic action - nettle, tansy, fellant, wormwood, ponytail and more. Antiparasitic plants contain ingredients that are toxic to cysts, nematodes and tremors and usually have a bitter taste.
Many anthelmintic herbs are also endowed with antiseptic and antibacterial action. Their effectiveness depends on the proper preparation and administration of the dosage forms. Here are some of the most popular herbal remedies and products. But you have to understand that this is only a small part of what really exists.
Pumpkin seeds
It would not be an exaggeration to say that pumpkin seeds are the most popular anthelmintic. They contain cucurbitin, which is very effective against nematodes and cestodes. Pumpkin seeds can be used not only for treatment but also for prevention.
Above all, cucurbitin is contained in the film, which is located between the core and the shell.Therefore, the seeds are best consumed without the skin. For treatment, you should eat 300 grams of seeds at a time. For prevention, 100 g for adults and 70 g for children are enough. From pumpkin seeds, you can prepare solutions for enemas, which are effective against worms found in the large intestine.
Garlic
Garlic is a universal medicine that is not inferior in effectiveness to pumpkin seeds. Contains herbicides and essential oils, which have a depressant effect on parasitic creatures of all kinds. Garlic is particularly active against nematodes, especially roundworms.
Soda
Parasitic worms do not tolerate alkaline conditions well, so baking soda is an effective remedy against them. It can be taken orally, but the greatest effect of sodium bicarbonate is achieved by preparing an enema solution from it. It should be used when detecting nematodes or cestodes in the large intestine.
Honey
Honey does not need to be advertised as a medicinal product, but not everyone knows that it is effective as an anthelmintic. To take it for this purpose, you need half a teaspoon 9 times a day.During the treatment during the day you should refuse food.
The next day only fresh vegetables are allowed. As honey has no contraindications and side effects, it can be used to treat young children. It is recommended to give them a glass of sweetened water with a teaspoon of honey.
carrot juice
Even official medicine, which is sometimes very strict about folk remedies, admits that carrot juice has an anthelmintic effect. The amount of juice taken each time is not limited by any requirements, everything must be within reason.
castor oil
Many types of nematodes and cestodes are found in the intestine. Some laxatives work well against them, especially the well-known castor oil. For adults, this recipe is suitable. 80 ml of brandy are mixed with castor oil and drunk with a sip before going to bed.
The procedure is done for 3 days. Children at 1-2 o'clock in the morning are given a little sweet drink (compote, juice, tea) and after half an hour - 15-30 grams of castor oil.
conclusion
If the parasitic worms do not manifest themselves clearly (for example, in the form of whole individuals or their fragments in the feces), it is almost impossible to determine the presence of an invasion on your own. Therefore, at the first appearance of symptoms that may indicate infection, you should not hesitate to contact a specialist infectious disease specialist.
In its arsenal there are tools that allow you to create an invasion with one hundred percent chance. Delayed communication with a clinic or self-medication based on self-diagnosis can unfortunately end in death.