Worms in the human body: signs and sources of infection

Helminths (worms) in the human body are a problem that almost everyone has encountered. The main reason for the appearance of such parasites is unwashed hands. Some species are not particularly dangerous and quite simply treatable. But there are also worms that are fatal for the patient.

Parasite worms

Helminths are parasitic worms that live off a human or animal organism and cause serious illness. They affect the vital organs - the lungs, liver, heart. They can penetrate the ears, eyes and even the brain!

The worst are tapeworms in the human body, which, without having their own digestive system, support their existence at the expense of the carrier, sucking out blood and all useful substances from it.

Children are most susceptible to helminth infections. This is because they do not properly follow hygiene rules. And the main way of infection, as you know, is through dirty hands and household items.

The first symptoms that indicate the development of helminths can appear as early as three to four days after infection, and sometimes after a year and a half (filarias). The most common worms in the human body are pinworms affecting the colon and cecum. Second in popularity are roundworms. They cause serious illness and inflammation.

If there are suspicions of worms, you need to urgently consult a doctor for qualified help. Treatment is mostly quick and effective.

Types of Worms in the Human Body

Helminthiasis - infection with worms - can be caused by one of 150 types of parasites (in total, scientists studied 12 thousand types of worms!).

The most common of them:

1. Pinworms. Small gray-white worms that live and multiply in the gastrointestinal tract. The main harm that this species causes is a fatal effect on the intestinal microflora. As a result, there are such phenomena as enterobiosis, inflammation of the genitourinary system, nervous disorders, mental and physical growth retardation. Worms get in the way of unwashed hands, dirty foods, pets.
2. Roundworm. A worm in the human body, which can reach up to 40 cm in length. This type of worms is able to migrate from the intestines to the lungs, while injuring the tissues and causing hemorrhages in them. Symptoms of helminthiasis caused by this species are often confused with diseases of the upper respiratory tract. Roundworms violate the intestinal microflora, suck out nutrients. They can cause allergic reactions, sometimes even asthma and suffocation. Parasites get to people through unwashed foods and hands.
3. Whispers. A worm in the human body, which ranks third in terms of its prevalence. They get through food. They cause a disease - trichocephalosis, which is accompanied by abdominal pain, lack of appetite, diarrhea, anemia. Often the symptoms of the disease are confused with appendicitis.
4. Wide ribbon. One of the most dangerous species, which reaches 10 meters (and sometimes more!) In length. The path of infection is freshwater fish. The worm lives completely at the expense of the owner, "sucking out all the juice from it." It affects absolutely any organ. Symptoms - nausea, vomiting, headache, sometimes hallucinations (when the worm gets to the brain). Similar species - pork and bovine tapeworm - are the largest worms in the human body.
5. Hookworms. Enter through the skin along with contaminated soil. The lungs and intestines are affected. They feed on the blood of the carrier. Symptoms of infection resemble those of a respiratory tract. Abdominal pain and disruption of the esophagus are also observed.
6. Trichinella. Infection occurs through meat food (meat of wild animals is especially dangerous). Worms infect muscle tissue - the face, limbs, respiratory organs, heart. Symptoms - very high temperature (two weeks after infection), intestinal tract disorders, abdominal pain, itching, rashes on the skin. With a huge number of larvae, a lethal outcome is possible.
7. Hepatic fluke. Penetrates into the body along with infected fish. It affects the intestines and gall bladder. Symptoms - pain and cramping in the abdomen, fever, “aches” in the body and joints, nausea, allergic reactions. The chronic form of such helminthiasis can cause hepatitis. The worst complication is cirrhosis and cancer. Even if you recover from the hepatic trematode, the “traces” of the parasite remain in the form of inflammation on the liver.
8. Echinococcus. Representative of tapeworms. Reaches a length of 4-5 meters. It parasitizes on cats, more often on dogs and wolves. Getting to a person, worms first affect the intestines, and then, together with blood, are carried throughout the body. Most often settle in the lungs and liver. Outwardly, the lesion sites resemble cysts that grow and are mistaken for malignant tumors. Complications caused by the worm are rupture of cysts and sharp intoxication of the body with its contents.

Often people underestimate the danger of being infected with worms. Therefore, do not take timely measures. It should be remembered that some worm parasites in the human body lead to death.

Reasons for the appearance of worms

There are two main causes of helminth infection - unwashed hands and improperly processed food. All types of worms enter the body through:

• Contaminated soil.
• Water supply (drinking water).
• Vegetables, fruits, berries.
• Raw meat and fish, eggs, milk.
• Carriers can be pets - cats and dogs, as well as flies that carry eggs of parasites.

The best prevention of helminthiasis is personal hygiene.

Signs of Worms in the Human Body

The following symptoms may indicate that a person has become infected with one or another kind of worms:

1. Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, pain, abdominal cramps.
2. Lack of appetite, weight loss.
3. Elevated body temperature, sometimes reaching 39-40 degrees.
4. Rashes and redness on the skin.
5. For certain types of worms - a dry, prolonged cough, liver disease (depends on which organ is affected by the worms). Worms living in the human body can cause a wide variety of organ responses to “invasion”.
6. The appearance of circles under the eyes.
7. Bad breath.
8. Itching in the anus, especially at night.
9. Teeth grinding in a dream, snoring, restless sleep.
10. Lymphadenitis is an inflammation of the lymph nodes, which is accompanied by an accumulation of pus.
11. Swelling.
12. Fatigue, general weakness, irritability.

Most often, some symptoms are either absent or perceived for some other disease. Therefore, the visit to the doctor is delayed. Accordingly, the risk of complications increases.

Diagnosis of worms

There are several types of diagnostics by which helminths are determined in the human body. All of them are based on the symptomatology of the patient, which helps to determine the path of infection with parasites.

1. Micro and macro analysis of feces. Used to detect all types of worms.
2. Blood test for the presence of larvae.
3. Ultrasound diagnostics.
4. Roentgenography.
5. A muscle biopsy.
6. Endoscopic studies that involve the use of special devices - endoscopes. One of these species is fibrogastroduodenoscopy. This is a study of the esophagus using a special probe.

If ordinary pinworms are suspected, feces will be sufficient. More complex types of helminths require more complex diagnostics.

Helminthiasis treatment

If worms appear in the human body, treatment should be started immediately to avoid complications. For this, first of all, you should contact a specialist who will diagnose and determine the tactics of therapy.

Worm treatment includes:

1. Taking medications with a wide or narrow spectrum of action. The medicine is used once or according to the scheme. Such drugs include the medicines “Piperazin”, “Pirantel”, “Mebendazole”, “Albendazole”, “Levamisole”, “Medamine” and others.
2. Reception of probiotics, since all types of worms mainly violate the intestinal microflora.
3. The use of antiallergic drugs.
4. Compliance with the diet. Limit sweet foods.
5. Strict hygiene (food processing, disinfection of bed and underwear, household items).
6. Helminth control after a certain time. It is a mandatory measure for determining larval residues.

When worms are found in the human body, preventive measures must be taken by all family members. Prevention means a single dose of medication.

Folk methods

Alternative methods for treating helminths can be effective and efficient if they can be used correctly.

Helminthiasis is not only a disease that causes discomfort to a person, it is a disease that can cause complex health problems. Therefore, treatment of the disease should be started immediately.

Folk recipes:

1. The method for the prevention of worms known to everyone since childhood is garlic and onion. These two vegetables create an aggressive environment in the intestines, which helminths really do not like.
2. Decoctions of herbs (chamomile, fennel).
3. Add medicinal oils to food (bergamot, tea tree, lavender).
4. Onion tincture. Cut one onion into several parts and pour water until morning. In the morning, drink on an empty stomach. The course of treatment is a week.
5. Horseradish with garlic (one to one) pour half a glass of alcohol. Insist ten days, strain and drink one tablespoon three times a day before meals.
6. Garlic with milk. Eat the largest amount of garlic and drink everything with milk. After two hours, either make an enema, or drink a laxative.
7. Carrot juice. Drink in the morning on an empty stomach.
8. Eat pumpkin seeds, walnuts, pomegranate, mint.

Worm Prevention

Like any disease, helminthiasis is best prevented. The best prevention for worms is with clean hands and clean foods.

Also follows:

1. Refuse untreated drinking water, milk. Such products must be processed at high temperatures (boiling).
2. Follow the rules of heat treatment of food.
3. Refuse to eat meat “with blood”, as well as raw minced meat.
4. Vegetables and fruits before meals should be doused with boiling water.
5. Refuse to purchase products in natural markets.
6. If there are pets, they should be examined by a veterinarian.
7. In the spring and autumn, regardless of whether there are worms in the body, drug prophylaxis is necessary.
8. People at risk (employees of kindergartens, schools, zoos, veterinary clinics) need to be tested periodically for helminths.

Helminthiasis Complications

Worms living in the human body not only cause discomfort to their host, but can also cause serious complications:

1. Moving through the human body, parasites damage organs and tissues, disrupt their normal functioning. Thus, various inflammations can occur, including cancer.
2. There is a sharp intoxication of the body with the decomposition products of helminths. As a result, there are frequent allergies, asthma, suffocation.
3. Ascaris worm causes the most complex diseases of the upper respiratory tract (pneumonia, bronchitis).
4. Parasites attack the human genitourinary system, provoking cystitis, urethritis, pyelonephritis and other diseases.
5. A dangerous phenomenon that occurs as a result of infection with worms is peritonitis - inflammation of the abdominal cavity.
6. Frequent internal bleeding, anemia, complete exhaustion of the body.

If we talk about all the complications that may arise as a result of infection with helminths, then a person clearly underestimates "these little animals"! You should never ignore the symptoms of infection!

How to recognize worms in young children?

Diagnosing helminths in children is sometimes more difficult than in adults. Few people know that worms can infect a child’s body for up to a year. Therefore, they do not pay due attention to the symptoms.

If the child has the following signs of malaise, you should consult a specialist. Perhaps the baby suffers from helminthiasis.

1. The appetite sharply decreased, weight loss is observed.
2. Interest in sweets has grown. All sorts of “snacks” are liked not only by people, but also by parasites.
3. The child is tormented by morning sickness, sometimes vomiting.
4. The stomach constantly hurts for no apparent reason.
5. The kid grinds his teeth in his sleep, snores.
6. Prolonged dry cough.

This is about the main symptoms. Worms in the human body, especially a small one, can cause a wide variety of reactions, which parents often confuse with other diseases. Anyway, the child in any case should be shown to the therapist.

The main type of diagnosis of helminths in children is the study of feces. A variety of anthelmintic drugs allows you to choose a medicine for treatment for any "taste" and age. But the best prevention is clean hands, disinfection in the house and the proper processing of products.

Worms during pregnancy

Helminths, although dangerous "creatures", but very quickly respond to treatment. Unfortunately, this does not apply to pregnant women. Infection with worms during pregnancy can cause severe complications in the development of the fetus, during childbirth, as well as many other troubles.

Almost all drugs that are used to treat worms are contraindicated in pregnant women, as they can harm the baby. Therefore, it is forbidden to self-medicate. The only right way out is to visit a doctor and get expert help.

An effective remedy for pregnant women in the fight against worms is folk methods - carrot juice in the morning, garlic and onions, pumpkin seeds. You also need to eat more fiber foods and probiotic yogurts.

Conclusion

Worms in the human body are a serious problem that should not be ignored. Some types of parasites can grow up to 20 meters, draining and sucking all the forces of people, bringing the latter to death.

Timely diagnosis of worms allows you to make treatment quickly and effectively. And the best prevention is the observance of personal hygiene.