Despite the current development of civilization and modern medicine, various microorganisms remain in this world to live, multiply and harm. These include: bacteria, germs and worms. 70-80% of people in the world are infected with helminths. These are the most terrible enemies of man, which must be fought.
The helminths and their larvae use the human body for their own growth and reproduction, while extracting nutrients from it, depriving the body of the opportunity to receive all the necessary micro and macro elements. They can live not only in the intestines, but also in the muscles, lungs, liver, joints, which leads not only to the destruction of organs, tissues and systems, but also causes a number of diseases that lead to death. This is why every person needs to prevent different types of worms in order to avoid the complications caused by helminthiasis.
Methods of helminth penetration into the human body
Given the number of helminths that can live in the human body, they have many ways to get into the body. They are the children who are most often infected because they often play in the sand, come in contact with the ground and animals and also do not always eat well-processed berries. Adults are most often infected precisely by their children or due to non-compliance with basic hygiene standards.
Experts have recorded the following ways in which helminths penetrate the body:
- If a person after an active day sat down to dine without washing his hands, then along with the food he will consume the germs, bacteria and helminth eggs collected during the day, which will lead to infection. Invasion can also occur if a person pulls dirty hands into their mouth.
- Unwashed vegetables or fruits come in contact with the soil or the edges of the infected. Inadequate processing of such products leads to contamination in the manner described above.
- Poorly processed meat and fish products. Processing of meat products is required to destroy the helminth larvae in them, preventing them from entering the body and starting to grow.
- The use of untreated water can also serve as a source of contamination, as there may be worm larvae in the water.
- Flies and insects come into contact with soil containing helminth eggs, so they can carry worm larvae on their feet and place them in food consumed by humans.
- When swimming in open water, a person can swallow water containing parasite eggs and thus cause infection.
- In direct contact with contaminated soil, helminth infestation can also occur, as some helminths can enter the human body through micro-cracks in the skin.
- Regular treatment of pets is required because animals do not follow a nutritious diet at all and often eat raw meat from tapeworm-infected mice.
- Exotic cuisine, water from an unverified source, foreign insects and animals can immediately strike a person, because in exotic countries it is not common to process every product well (there are countries where a diet with raw food or meat is welcomewith blood).
Symptoms of helminth infestation
Sometimes the disease can occur without symptoms, so an annual examination of the body for helminthiasis is recommended. The diagnosis must be made by the whole family, because the infection of one person endangers the other members of the family. When signs of helminth infestation appear, it is urgent to see a doctor for timely medical attention.
Helminths cause the following symptoms:
- Physical weakness and increased thermometer readings.
- Headache and edema.
- state of apathy.
- Stomach ache.
- Itching sensation in the anus.
- Spleen and liver enlargement.
- Skin rashes, in the form of skin disease or urticaria.
- Nausea, diarrhea alternating with constipation, vomiting.
- Anemia, hypovitaminosis.
- Bad breath.
- Sudden weight loss or sudden hunger can occur, leading to obesity.
After hearing your complaints, the parasitologist will prescribe treatments to eliminate the helminth symptoms and their pathogen, based on the severity of the invasion. If the worm larvae were not found during the examination, then he will advise medicines suitable for use as a precaution.
Advantages and disadvantages of worm prevention
Many are wondering if it is still necessary to take measures and use specially designed drugs for worms for prevention? Here the views of experts differ. Some people think that preventive treatment is not necessary, as a non-specific technique is enough to prevent the invasion and use folk remedies.
Others argue that only drugs serve as a barrier between large-scale invasion and health, so only pharmacological drugs will help prevent the onset of helminthiasis in the population.
It is known that it is easier to prevent a disease than to get rid of it later, and prevention by various types of worms makes it possible to prevent large-scale invasions by destroying individual helminths in a timely manner.
Helpful tips. In order to avoid infection of the whole family, it is recommended to drink a series of worm tablets in spring and autumn, to use periodically folk remedies that allow you to create a microflora in the body that is not suitable for helminth life. and also implements non-specific preventive measures that protect against accidental penetration of parasites into the body. This is especially true for people who keep pets and eat low quality food.
Non-specific anthelmintic protection
These precautions allow you to protect yourself from helminth attack at no financial cost.
This will require:
- Regularly follow hygiene standards: change beds and underwear on time, perform water treatments, wash your hands with soap and water before eating (especially after visiting public transport, bathrooms and shops).
- Visit the beach with beach shoes. There are many helminth larvae in the soil, which enter the sand from the animal's feces and enter the human body through cracks in the legs. Even after walking on the beach in slippers, it is recommended that you wash your feet with soap to prevent worms from settling on your body.
- It is good to wash fruits and vegetables, to fry meat and fish to destroy all the available helminth larvae in these products.
- Strengthen the immune system so that the body can more easily deal with helminth infestation and parasitic diseases.
- Give anthelmintic treatment to pets, because they too are infected with helminths and transmit them to humans.
- Do not drink water from unverified sources. Worm larvae can live in water for a long time, so before drinking it, they must be boiled and it is best to replace it completely with clean water.
Sometimes a person does not have the opportunity to implement these security measures, for example, during a long journey by train, bus, etc. Then the parasites have the opportunity to penetrate the unprotected body and attack it, so it is necessary to prevent worms in children and adults.
Prevention of helminths in humans: medicines
There are currently many anthelmintic drugs, but self-prescribing therapy is not recommended. This should be done by a specialist who knows the characteristics of the medication and how to choose the dose that is right for your body. Preventive treatment for human worms should be aimed at destroying young worms and preserving the body.
As you know, many drugs are not allowed to be taken with alcohol. This reduces the effect of the drug and increases the side effects. If you want to have a positive effect from the treatment, you should exclude alcohol from your diet 1 week before taking medication and for 30 days after the prevention of helminth infection.
Folk methods for the prevention of worms in humans
Traditional medicine also shows good results in preventing helminthiasis. Some herbal medicines create an uncomfortable atmosphere in the digestive system for the worms to live in, forcing them to leave the host's body. Before using these recipes, you should consult a doctor, because due to their bitter properties, they can further injure a person who has diseases of the digestive system or kidneys.
- Tincture of nuts in alcoholis prepared as follows: take a glass of chopped walnut partitions, pour a glass of vodka. The finished infusion can be taken daily, 5-7 drops on an empty stomach, for 10-15 days.
- Absinthe decoction and tansy: first you will need to rub the herbs, resulting in 2 tbsp. Pour boiling water over spoons of the collection, insist and take 100-150 ml. within a month.
- Garlichas no contraindications and is available to everyone. To prevent helminthiasis, you should eat 2-3 cloves of garlic daily.
- Pumpkin seedshave good antiparasitic action. You should eat 2 cups of pumpkin seeds on an empty stomach at least once a week. Also from this product you can prepare therapeutic anthelmintic tinctures.
- carrot rootwill be useful for the prevention of helminths in the form of juice. You will need to crush 1 carrot, drain the juice and drink it before meals.
- Linden branch ash: ash has long been famous for its healing properties. The ash of the linden branches has anthelmintic properties, so it is still used today. To prevent helminthiasis, you should add 1 teaspoon of ash to a glass of milk and drink it on an empty stomach.
Medications according to the above prescriptions should be taken once a week. If a person has no protection against helminths for a long time, then these funds should be drunk daily for 2 weeks and then switched to weekly use.
Traditional medicine has many anthelmintic agents to fight parasitic worms. In the past, grandparents used these remedies because they act on worms and do not harm the human body. Consequently, prevention with folk remedies does not require much effort and spending money on drugs, but you can not do without drug prevention, especially if you suspect the presence of an early stage of invasion.