From the age of six months, the baby begins to actively learn the world around him, the organs of smell, hearing, vision, and taste sensitivity are used. During this period, the child shows an increased interest in everything that he meets in his path. This time is the most dangerous for his health, the risk of infection with worms increases.
And the older the child, the greater the likelihood of infection, as he begins to move a lot and communicate with peers. According to WHO, children under the age of three are most susceptible to this pathology. Why are helminths so dangerous? Are the symptoms and causes of their occurrence so easy to identify?
Parasitic worms: characteristics and varieties
There are a lot of types of worms that harm a person, more than two hundred, but some of them are extremely rare, only in certain areas. In the CIS countries and Russia, for the most part, roundworms, or nematodes, parasitize. The most common diseases caused by worms include hymenolepidosis (pathogen - dwarf tapeworm) and enterobiosis (pathogen - pinworm).
In most cases, transmission occurs by contact-household route from a sick child to a healthy one while using common items (toys, underwear, dishes). Also, the baby can become infected, being in the same room with the patient and inhaling dust. But with enterobiosis (pinworms), a person can "reward" himself through dirty hands or unwashed foods.
Certain groups of worms parasitize in different organs. Cestodes (dwarf, bovine, pork tapeworm) and nematodes (roundworms, hookworms, strongyloids) live in the large intestine. Trematodes are located in the biliary tract and liver. Larvae of pork tapeworm with blood flow settle in blood vessels, adipose tissue, brain and eye chamber.
In childhood, trematodes (flukes) and tape helminths are usually diagnosed. Symptoms in the acute phase (2-3 weeks) are caused by an allergic reaction. After a few months, in the absence of proper treatment, the chronic stage of the disease begins.
Clinical manifestations depend on the number and localization of pathogens, as well as on the characteristics of their nutrition. Worms located in the organs and tissues of the body squeeze and injure them, causing intoxication. In addition, parasites completely absorb all the nutrients supplied with the blood, thereby disrupting their absorption in the intestinal tract and causing disorders such as hypovitaminosis and anemia.
Helminths continue their harmful effects on humans even in the chronic phase. Symptoms in adults are practically no different from the manifestations of the disease in children. The immune system weakens, resulting in reduced resistance to pathogens of bacterial, viral and fungal infections. And some types of worms are able to form malignant tumors in places of localization.
Intestinal nematodes in children
More than 90% of helminthic diseases provoke precisely nematodes. This group includes roundworms - parasites round with pointed ends up to 15 cm long. They are white and translucent, live in the small intestine, making a constant movement.
Finding them in feces is quite difficult. To diagnose the disease, it is necessary to take feces for helminths several times. Without the implementation of therapeutic measures, their lifespan can be up to 2 years.
Pinworms
These are small (up to 1 cm) curved worms of a whitish hue. They live mainly in the large and small intestines. Often they can be observed in the feces of a child. And at night, they crawl to the surface of the skin to lay down their larvae. In girls, worms often penetrate the genitals, causing infection and severe irritation of the mucous membranes.
This disease is called enterobiosis. It can last up to 3 years, if you do not take therapeutic action. Although pinworms have a short life, their number is quickly restored due to the enormous amount of deposited larvae.
How do helminths enter the body of a child?
In children, the symptoms in the presence of single small individuals are erased, but if large worms live in the intestines, the clinical picture is quite pronounced. Ascariasis with massive invasion is complicated by obstructive jaundice, pancreatitis and intestinal obstruction. Enterobiosis is characterized by severe perianal itching, especially during sleep. The transmission path is airborne.
Eggs of parasites penetrate the environment along with the feces of sick animals and people. The microscopic size of the larvae is very resistant to external influences, therefore, they can retain their viability for a long period of time in soil, products, on skin or clothing. Once in the oral cavity of the child, they are partially destroyed by the acidic environment of the stomach. Penetrating into the intestines, they immediately activate and begin to multiply.
Particularly susceptible to worms are babies and babies up to the age of six. In children, the protective barrier of the gastrointestinal tract is still poorly developed. Based on this, parents should carefully monitor the hygiene of their child so that dangerous helminths do not enter his body. Symptoms are fatigue, weakness, lack of appetite and pallor of the skin.
Main manifestations
Often at the doctor’s appointment, the mother reports that in the feces of the child she found small worms or immobile pinworms. In this situation, the doctor should immediately prescribe an analysis for helminths and scrapings in order to accurately diagnose the disease and conduct treatment. Indirect manifestations in the baby also often warn parents about helminthic invasion. These include the following: frequent nausea, excessive salivation, pathological aggravation or loss of appetite, stool disorders for no apparent reason (diarrhea, constipation), dizziness. Also circles under the eyes, pallor, headache, cramping pain in the navel, fatigue - all this indicates infection. Often parasites lead to allergic reactions, and then the child has dermatitis, rashes, diathesis.
Other signs of helminths
In girls, all this is accompanied by inflammatory processes of the external genital organs. Children have causeless nervous excitability, moods, gnashing of teeth, poor sleep, accompanied by screams and tantrums. Constant itching in the anus makes the baby uncomfortable.
Symptoms of helminth infections sometimes include terminal hematuria (blood droplets at the end of urination), frequent urges and pain. Bloating, colic, stool with blood may be present. Cysticercosis, alveococcosis and echinococcosis often do not make themselves felt for a very long time, but after some time a person has suppuration or rupture of cysts in which parasites are located, which leads to peritonitis, anaphylactic shock and other serious consequences.
Helminths in children (symptoms in a third of babies are similar) are often characterized by the described phenomena. Some have no complaints. Worms slowly poison the body of a child. Advice to parents: annually undergo a routine examination to prevent the disease in case of infection at an early stage.
Diagnostics
Diagnosis of feces is difficult, it is due to the fact that roundworms or pinworm eggs do not appear there daily. To ensure the reliability of the results, an analysis for helminths should be taken for three consecutive days. To detect parasites, a general blood test also helps.
Our circulatory system reacts sharply to helminthiases. This is manifested by the following indicators: increased direct bilirubin, the number of eosinophils, alkaline phosphatase, AST, ALT, thymol sample. In addition, the diagnosis is based on serological methods (ELISA, RNGA, RIF).
A biochemical blood test for helminths is necessarily prescribed . Samples of urine, sputum, bile, perianal and rectal mucus and feces are also examined. Enterobiosis is determined by detecting larvae in a material that is taken from the perianal folds using adhesive tape, a tampon, or spatula.
Parasites that live in the duodenum, biliary tract, pancreas, and liver can be recognized in bile and duodenal contents. Additional methods are used to clarify their habitat: computed tomography, endoscopy with endobiopsy, ultrasound.
If in children you observe similar manifestations (signs of perineal irritation, chronic intoxication), do not waste time and immediately go to the medical center. Sometimes a similar clinical picture appears in other pathological conditions. Only after a full examination will the doctor prescribe effective therapy.
Treatment methods
Modern pharmaceuticals offer a lot of synthetic pharmaceutical drugs that help fight this ailment. Highly effective drugs quickly destroy helminths in humans. Symptoms disappear after a full course of therapy. Depending on the variety of parasites, medications are prescribed. Three groups of drugs can be attributed to narrow-spectrum drugs: anti-cestodose, anti-trematode, and anti-nematode.
Anti-nematode drugs
Such drugs have a detrimental effect on roundworms: Levamisole, Mebendazole, Carbendacim, and Pirantel. Helminth tablets cause paralysis of worms and contribute to their rapid elimination.
Anti-cestic drugs
These include the medicines Praziquantel and Nicklozamide. These drugs paralyze flat parasites.
Anti-trematode drugs
Medicines “Perchloertilen” and “Hloxin” are prescribed against flukes. These drugs have a toxic effect on the metabolism of worms and are well absorbed when taken.
If your baby is diagnosed with this, other members of the family should also be treated to avoid reinfection. In addition, it is necessary to do a general cleaning with chlorine-based products and iron the clothes thoroughly so that all helminths are exterminated. Symptoms of helminthic invasion do not immediately appear, so be careful and prudent.
Preventative measures
The basis for the prevention of infection with all types of worms is the formation of a healthy lifestyle from early childhood (daily hygiene, thorough washing of vegetables, fruits). Accustom the kid after the street immediately wash their hands with antibacterial soap, use only your towel, washcloth. Prevent your child from contacting street animals that are likely to be infected by worms.
More often do wet cleaning in the house, do not allow the baby to play with shoes. Wash all toys in soapy water. While walking, look carefully so that the child does not stick various objects in his mouth. Never eat dirty foods and raw meat. Drink only pre-filtered and boiled water, as it can be a carrier of parasites.
Compliance with elementary rules will protect your baby from infection. Helminthiasis is also prevented by the use of drugs twice a year - in autumn and spring. For these purposes, medications "Albendazole" or "Pirantel" are used. The scheme is indicated in the instructions, usually children over two years old are given 10 ml of the suspension once a day for three days.
Nutrition during the illness
If you could not avoid infection, the main thing is not to despair and follow all the doctor’s recommendations. Dairy and sweet foods should be excluded from the diet. Offer your child freshly squeezed juices, vegetables and fruits. Iron bedding daily. With proper treatment, the disease will recede.
Alternative medicine can also help to exterminate helminths in humans (the symptoms are described above). For example, it has long been known that worms cannot stand the aroma of garlic, wormwood, tansy, onions and pumpkin. From the available components, you can independently prepare the drug and use it together with traditional means for greater effectiveness.
Onion infusion helps well. Onion cut into small slices and pour a glass of warm water. Such a decoction is insisted all night, and in the morning it is drunk before breakfast. Eat a handful of pumpkin seeds on an empty stomach and sing with a mild laxative - this is an excellent remedy against parasites.