Parasitic diseases are common and can occur not only in children, but also in adults.
About 80% of the world's population is infected with parasites. Having penetrated the human body, they are capable of causing organ dysfunctions, malfunctioning systems, as well as serious diseases.
Therefore, when the first symptoms and suspicions of infection appear, for example, parasites that leave with feces are observed, you need to immediately undergo examination and cleansing the body.
Reasons for the appearance
The main causes of parasites include:
- non-observance of personal hygiene, namely infrequent hand washing;
- eating dirty vegetables and fruits;
- weakened immunity;
- close contact with infected pets;
- eating poorly cooked meat or fish:
- drinking untreated tap water or other sources.
You can get infected from a person or animal, which are already carriers of parasites.
Symptoms
There are symptoms that directly indicate enterobiosis. These include the most characteristic symptom - itching in the anus. This happens because the female parasite at night descends to this area to lay eggs (often the parasite eggs in the feces are not immediately noticeable). Their attachment to the skin occurs with the help of a substance that causes itching and discomfort on the skin.
Itching is able to last a couple of days, after an unpleasant symptom can disappear for a month, but then repeats again. This is due to subsequent reproduction and deposition of larvae.
If the disease has not been cured at the initial stage, the itching manifests itself more and more, as parasites become larger and their reproduction occurs more often.
Constant itching leads to skin irritation or rashes, and general health worsens. Children often comb an itchy spot before wounds or eczema occurs.
If the child is infected, during sleep, he may begin to grit his teeth. This is not the main symptom of the disease, but more than half of patients infected with parasites grit their teeth in a dream.
When infected with pinworms, a person feels periodic pain in the abdomen. It can be acute or muffled, last long or be short-lived. But in any case, it arises and disturbs the patient with its manifestation.
In addition, the patient lost appetite, as a result of which weight decreases sharply. Constipation or diarrhea, flatulence occur. The chair becomes unstable and can change every day. Parasites can provoke nausea and vomiting, which are independent of meals.
In children, a sign of parasites in the body is vitamin deficiency, weakened immunity. This is due to the fact that worms feed on substances and vitamins obtained from food. Less and less beneficial substances enter the blood, and iron deficiency may occur. Reduces resistance to viral diseases.
Some people infected with parasites can observe the manifestation of allergic reactions that did not previously exist. There is dermatitis, in the worst case - allergic asthma or bronchitis.
Parasites, in addition to weakening immunity, cause poor health. Efficiency decreases, fatigue, headaches, dizziness, fatigue and apathy appear.
Species of parasites
Many do not know what parasites look like in the stool of a person (photo shows them). Several types can be found in feces, most often the patient becomes infected with pinworms or roundworms, which are white worms.
Species of such worms cannot lay eggs in the intestines, and do this in the anus, leaving with feces.
White round worms can move around the human body, causing harm to organs and interfering with the normal functioning of many systems. They move together with blood, while injuring the walls of blood vessels. They then enter the liver and pancreas, causing serious illnesses such as pancreatitis and hepatitis. Worms enter the feces from the stomach and intestines, where they can be found.
Roundworms have a pinkish tint or yellow color, the length can reach 40 centimeters, the shape of the body is spindle-shaped. Such feces with parasites (in the photo above) can be detected even by a non-specialist.
Pinworms in the human body are the small and large intestines. In feces, they look like thin white threads, about 1 centimeter long.
Larvae of tapeworms can enter the human body: pork or bovine tapeworm, wide ribbon and others. Worms of this species penetrate from fish or animal meat during improper heat treatment. Their eggs can not be seen on their own, only with the help of examination.
Worms are divided into species depending on their habitat in nature:
- Geohelminths - worms that live in the soil, these include roundworms, whipworms, necators, hookworms. They enter the human body with unwashed vegetables and fruits, after walking with dirty hands.
- Biohelminths are worms that mature in the body of mammals. For active reproduction, parasites must enter the body of a person or animal, which are warm-blooded. Chains, nematodes and echinococci are biohelminths. They enter the human body as a result of contact with an infected animal, when eating meat poorly exposed to heat treatment.
- Contact helminths are worms of the smallest group of parasites: pinworm, dwarf tapeworm. It is transmitted to a person in direct contact with an infected person or his personal belongings.
Diagnosis of the disease
The most common and quickest ways to detect the presence of parasites are the following tests:
- pass feces on parasites;
- scraping;
- blood analysis.
Analysis of feces reveals the presence of mature parasites, eggs and larvae in its composition. It will help detect worms that parasitize in the intestines.
For analysis, it is necessary to deliver feces to the laboratory in a sterile container, you can buy it at any pharmacy. It is necessary to pass stool for parasites before 11 o’clock in the afternoon, it is important that the material be examined within an hour after its delivery. In extreme cases, stool can not be stored for more than 8 hours in a cold place, otherwise they become unsuitable for research.
Before giving stool for parasites, you need to stop taking antibiotics and drugs that normalize digestion for a week. The effectiveness of this method is 35-40%, analysis must be done several times to fully confirm the presence of parasites or their absence. Between each study, 5 days should pass, since the worms do not lay eggs every day.
Scraping will help identify only pinworms, as they parasitize in the intestines and lay eggs in the anus every night. The material is taken for analysis using a wooden spatula, cotton swab or tape. Before delivery, you can not go to the toilet and wash the area of the anus.
A blood test is designed to detect roundworms, giardia, flatworms and trematodes. Since these worms are parasitic in the internal organs, an analysis of feces or scraping can not detect them.
For analysis, venous blood is taken on an empty stomach. For the correct result, you need to prepare. A week before the blood donation for analysis, antibiotics and other drugs that can affect the reliability of the study should be abandoned. The day before the analysis is taken, it is necessary to exclude sweet, fatty and fried foods from the diet, and refuse to use alcohol and carbonated drinks.
A blood test helps to identify the number and type of parasites in the human body. The uniqueness of the method is that the examination is carried out for each type of worms parasitizing in the body, as certain antibodies are produced for a specific type of parasite.
Special dyes are introduced into the blood, which stain and make antibodies to parasites glow. For example, if the body is infected with worms, the hemoglobin level decreases. And if helminths parasitize, the level of leukocytes in the blood rises.
Modern methods for detecting parasites
Ultrasound is not a new method for studying the body, but it is not so often used to detect parasites. Diagnosis allows you to detect the presence of parasites in a particular organ. In this way, the lungs, gall bladder, liver and pancreas are examined.
If an increase in the size of the liver was detected during the diagnosis, this may indicate the development of hepatitis provoked by the worms. With helminthiasis, the pancreas increases. If parasites enter the gallbladder, the duct obstruction is impaired, as can be seen on the ultrasound machine. The examination should be carried out comprehensively with other methods, since an enlarged organ can talk about other diseases.
A method such as fecal PCR for parasites is also used - an analysis based on the identification of DNA and RNA molecules. They are secreted from the patient’s biomaterial, most often it is saliva, blood. Material in test tubes is placed in a special apparatus that detects changes in DNA and RNA and detects the pathogen. The analysis will help to determine the type of parasites in the feces (pictured below). Infected organs and the severity of the disease are also detected.
Another effective way to clarify feces for enrichment on parasites is the flotation method. This is a method in which feces are enriched in a solution whose density is higher than the density of parasite eggs. The latter rise to the surface of the solution, the resulting film is removed and examined under a microscope. The study reveals roundworm, giardia, tapeworms, ekinococci and other types of parasites.
The analysis is collected in a sterile container. Before delivery, you need to do personal hygiene, do not do enemas and x-ray examinations of the intestine. The analysis can not be done during the menstrual cycle in women.
A few days before the delivery of the material, it is not recommended to take activated charcoal, Enterosgel, suppositories and laxatives.
It is necessary to prevent flatulence 2 days before the examination. To do this, you need to adhere to a diet and exclude legumes, sodas, fruits and dairy products from the diet. It is also worth refraining from eating foods that change the color of feces. These include beets, cherries, cherries, black currants, asparagus and lettuce leaves.
The fence is made in the morning, the material should not be stored in a cold place for more than 8 hours. The act of defecation must necessarily be natural, laxatives are prohibited.
If parasites are detected in any way in the human body, it is necessary to urgently begin treatment to get rid of them.
The danger of infection with parasites for humans
Parasites can cause serious harm to the human body:
- inflammatory processes;
- malfunctions of organs and systems, violation of the stool, decreased nutrients in the blood plasma, etc .;
- a decrease in the immune system, an increase in the incidence of influenza, the common cold, bronchitis, and pneumonia;
- waste products of parasites are toxic to the human body, poisoning it;
- neglected Trichomonas can cause a stroke or heart attack.
Drug treatment
For treatment, the doctor prescribes anthelmintic drugs. Children over 3 years old are recommended by Vermox and Albendazole, and children under 3 years old are recommended by Pirantel.
The latter can be prescribed for adults, only the dose varies depending on the age and degree of infection of the body. If at least one person is infected in the family, all other members also undergo deworming.
"Vermox" is taken for three days at 100 mg per day. If parasites are found after treatment and re-analysis, the course is repeated again until complete cure.
"Albendazole" is prescribed to adult patients in an amount of 400 mg in one dose after meals. The drug is washed down with plenty of water, if necessary, the medicine can be drunk again, but only after 21 days.
To fully remove worms and their larvae, you need to go through several courses.
Alternative methods of treatment
Folk methods will become an additional help for the body, they will help get rid of parasites faster.
Worms do not tolerate the bitterness contained in products, for them it is considered poison. Garlic, onions and decoctions of bitter herbs are effective ways to combat parasites.
It is also recommended to include fresh garlic in the diet, as an additive to the first and second courses. The crushed product will help get rid of pinworms - 2 slices need to be poured with 500 ml of water, let it brew for 5-6 hours and drink for 3 days. If necessary, you can repeat the course after 9-14 days. It is not recommended to use this method for people suffering from diseases of the stomach.
Raw pumpkin seeds have an anthelmintic effect. 100 grams of seeds need to be crushed and pour 100 ml of olive or vegetable oil. Drink the mixture 3 hours before a meal. The course is 3 days, the procedure is performed in the morning.
A four-day course of taking a wormwood decoction will help get rid of worms. To do this, 1 tablespoon of grass is brought to a boil in 0.3 l of water. The broth should be cooled and drunk before bedtime and in the morning on an empty stomach. Of course, the broth tastes unpleasant, but the result justifies it.
The most effective tool that inflicts a “blow” on parasites is the triad. The treatment method was developed by doctors of medical sciences, the tool consists of three components: tansy, wormwood, clove powder. It is necessary to mix 100 grams of tansy powder, 30 grams of chopped wormwood and 50 grams of clove powder. The mixture should be stored in a dry, dark place, in a closed glass container.
The course of treatment lasts 1 week. A teaspoon without a slide is the dose of medicine. On the first day, one dose is drunk in the morning before eating, for this a spoonful of the mixture is filled with half a glass of water. The second day you need to take two doses before meals, in the morning and at lunch. On the third day and before the end of the course, you need to take three doses a day, before meals, in the morning, at lunch and for dinner.
People who suffer from stomach problems can use a gentle food clay product. The course of treatment is 30 days. A little clay should be stirred in a glass of warm water so that the mixture in color resembles milk. You need to drink the liquid in the morning and before bedtime, before eating, drink the entire glass, but without sediment.
Simple and affordable ways to get rid of parasites is to take cinnamon and cloves. The treatment lasts 20 days. It is necessary to eat 2 cloves of spices, washed down with water 2 times a day, before eating. Cinnamon is also taken at the tip of a teaspoon. These funds can be used as a prophylaxis for a month once every six months.
Disease prevention
It is impossible to completely eliminate the risk of infection with parasites, but it is quite possible to reduce it.
To do this, you must follow the basic rules of personal hygiene, wash your hands with soap after each "trip" to the bathroom, before all meals and after visiting public places.
Dirty hands are one of the main causes of parasite infection. It is especially important to wash their children thoroughly after playing in the sandbox.
Only thoroughly washed vegetables and fruits should be consumed, drinking water should be purified through a filter or boiled. Eat meat and fish only in a fried and boiled form, meat with blood is especially dangerous, as parasite larvae can remain there.
If pets live at home, they should be regularly examined and parasites prevented. Contact with an infected animal is dangerous to humans. All family members are also recommended to take medications or folk remedies against parasites for prevention. For example, Vermox, Vormil. They are contraindicated in pregnant and lactating women.
After each use of underwear, towels and bedding, they must be replaced with a clean one. It is recommended to wash the used laundry thoroughly, and after ironing, dry it with an iron on both sides. A hot surface or steam kills germs and parasite larvae, if any.
Prevention of the disease is a regular examination for the presence of parasites. Periodically, at least once every six months, you need to take an analysis of feces and scraping.
Conclusion
By following all preventive measures, you can reduce the risk of infection with parasites and maintain health.
It is also not recommended to ignore the slightest suspicion of infection and consult a doctor in time for the appointment of complex therapy. It must be remembered that parasites adversely affect the general well-being of a person, and often cause irreparable harm to health.
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