In the human body, more than 250 varieties of helminths can parasitize, which provoke the development of many diseases. One of them is trichocephalosis. This pathology is quite common. Although many people do not even know what trichocephalosis is, what are the causes of infection and the transmission of this disease. And only some patients understand what symptoms indicate a pathology.
Disease characteristics
So what is trichocephalosis? This is intestinal nematodosis. Pathology is characterized by a chronic course. In this case, the patient develops asthenic, dyspeptic and anemic syndromes.
The main carrier of the disease is a roundworm - whipworm. Trichocephalosis develops in the host after the penetration of the parasite into the intestinal mucosa. It causes her damage. Toxins and pathogens begin to flow through the formed wounds, which becomes a source of inflammation. Damage to the walls of the intestine leads to the development of anemia.
However, this is not the only negative effect of the parasite. It should be understood what trichocephalosis is. This is a pathology in which the whipworm, leaving the by-products of its life, affects almost all organs. It has a detrimental effect on the nervous system. Therefore, the patient develops nervous and functional disorders.
This pathology is common in the tropics, subtropics. Quite often they encounter it in the Central Black Earth Region and the North Caucasus. By the number of patients, the disease trichocephalosis takes 2nd place, second only to ascariasis.
Causes of pathology
The main route of infection is eating infected meat. Trichocephaliasis of animals is quite common, especially in carnivorous animals such as foxes, bears, walruses. The parasite larvae penetrate the human body when eating poorly prepared meat.
In addition to the above animals, trichinella can be found in pigs, wolves, horses. In non-predatory animals, this pathology is practically not observed. Most people and animals who eat meat products are affected by trichocephaliasis.
However, even a vegetarian can become infected with the pathology. In this case, infection occurs when mature parasite eggs are inserted into the mouth with dirty hands, poorly washed fruits, berries, vegetables or with water from the ground.
Most often, trichocephalosis is diagnosed in children 5-15 years old.
The primary symptoms of the disease
Primarily infected people initially do not experience certain signs of trichocephalosis. Symptoms develop in most cases after a week. During this time, the parasite larvae have time to penetrate into muscle tissue. The patient has the following symptoms:
- swelling of the eyelids, face, redness of the eyes ;
- muscle pain
- heat;
- photosensitivity;
- conjunctivitis;
- sometimes a cough appears;
- migraine headache;
- general weakness, chills.
Characteristic signs
The following symptoms indicate the period of parasites in the intestine with the pathology of trichocephalosis:
- fatigue;
- pain in the abdomen;
- nausea;
- diarrhea;
- vomiting
- spasms in the intestines.
The mild stages of the disease, in which there is a small number of trichinella in the body, may not cause any recognizable symptoms. Characteristic signs appear only in the case of moderate or severe invasion, which is characterized by the migration of the parasite through the body.
Neurological signs
At the height of the disease, along with intestinal symptoms, a disturbance in the functioning of the nervous system is observed. The patient may experience:
- hallucinations;
- sleep disturbance;
- depressive state;
- neurological disorders.
Diagnosis of the disease
To suspect the presence of this pathology allows classical symptoms - swelling around the eyes, temperature and inflammation of muscle tissue. Analysis of feces, as a rule, is an uninformative study. After all, a parasite in the form of cysts is localized in the muscles. In feces, it can be detected extremely rarely.
For the diagnosis, the following diagnostics are used:
- Blood analysis. In the case of a disease with trichocephalosis, the patient has an increase in certain white blood cells - eosinophils. If several weeks have passed after infection, the analysis will show the presence of antibodies developed by the body to this parasite.
- Muscle biopsy. A microscopic tissue fragment taken from a patient is examined under a microscope. The analysis reveals Trichinella larvae.
A blood test is often sufficient to make a diagnosis. But sometimes it is recommended that patients undergo such an examination as a biopsy of muscle tissues.
Possible complications
You should know not only what trichocephalosis is, but also what consequences pathology can lead to. The disease can be complicated:
- pneumonia
- myocarditis;
- renal, liver failure;
- inflammation of the veins;
- thrombosis
- impaired hearing, vision;
- paresis of limbs;
- muscle contractures.
Disease treatment
The best effect of therapy can be expected if the fight against the disease is started within 2 weeks after infection. At this time, the body is actively reproducing and settling parasites. Moreover, the larvae still have a rather vulnerable capsule.
It is advisable to put the patient, especially the child, in a hospital to fight the disease called "trichocephalosis". Treatment should be under the supervision of experienced doctors, since pathology can lead to serious complications.
The therapeutic regimen is selected for the patient individually. The choice is based on the condition of the patient, his age, the symptoms that are manifested.
The main drug for the treatment of pathology is an anthelmintic. Most often, one of the following medicines is prescribed:
- "Tiabendazole." The drug is recommended to be used per day at 25 mg / kg. Such therapy lasts ten days.
- Mebendazole The medicine is intended to combat the disease in adults. The daily dose is 300 mg. The duration of therapy lasts the same ten days.
- "Mebendazole" for children. This is a drug intended for the treatment of patients from 2 to 20 years. This tool should be consumed 5 mg / kg per day for ten days.
- "Albendazole". The medicine is taken for 10 days per day at 10 mg / kg.
The disease trichocephalosis causes an inflammatory process and unpleasant pain discomfort in the patient's body. To eliminate such symptoms, therapy is included in individual doses of NSAIDs. Optimal medicines are:
- "Diclofenac Sodium."
- Ibuprofen.
- "Nimesulide."
Antihistamines are in demand in treatment. Antigens of parasites can cause allergic reactions in a patient. These drugs allow you to fight them. In addition, they perfectly reduce swelling, which is an obligatory symptom of this pathology. Among antiallergic drugs, they are most in demand with trichocephalosis:
- Tavegil.
- Fenistil.
- Suprastin.
Glucocorticoids allow to prevent the development of an infectious toxic shock provoked by the destruction of parasites with anthelmintic drugs. They must also be used in case of severe organ damage. Therapy may include drugs:
- "Prednisolone."
- "Dexamethasone."
The patient will need detoxification treatment. The patient is prescribed sorbents. In addition, symptomatic therapy is recommended. She is prescribed according to indications. Correction of renal, heart failure will be required. Some patients will need treatment with certain drugs for mental disorders.