According to statistics, more than a billion people in the world are infected with worms. This occurs regardless of the social status and age of the individual. Worms in the intestines parasitize for years and even decades, causing significant harm to health. Therefore, everyone should know the signs of their appearance and methods of struggle.
Types of intestinal parasites
Worms are a large detachment of parasitic worms living at the expense of a living organism. There are over a hundred varieties, ten of which are the most common. The following is a list of which worms live in the human intestines:
- Pinworms are the most frequent inhabitants of children under the age of fourteen. Small parasites are whitish in color and about a centimeter long populate the small, blind and colon. To lay eggs through the anus, creep out. The child, combing the folds of the anus, is re-infected with helminths through dirty hands.
- Roundworms are spindle-shaped and reach a length of up to forty centimeters. The main habitat is the small intestine, but with blood flow into the heart, lungs, liver and brain. They feed on blood, which over time leads to anemia.Ascaris eggs are stored in the ground for up to five years.
- Giardia is the habitat of this type of worm: intestines, gall bladder and liver. They break down the cell walls of the small intestine. The disease with untimely treatment leads to intoxication and damage to the nervous system.
- Trichinella - sexually mature individuals reach sizes up to 4 mm and settle in the small intestine. Only larvae enter the muscle tissue, gradually destroying them. Infection occurs through poorly processed meat products.
- Whipworm - a round fluke worm parasitizes in the cecum, its size reaches up to five centimeters. Infection occurs through dirty food and unwashed hands. With a long stay of this type of worms in the intestine, its walls are covered with cysts and polyps, anemia is possible.
- A wide ribbon - the main cause of infection - is the use of poorly processed fish products. The parasite attaches to the walls of the small intestine, causing damage, atrophy and obstruction. It can be reached ten meters in length and live in the human body up to 25 years.
- Hookworms are parasitic worms up to one and a half centimeters long. The individual becomes infected by working with the ground through the damaged surface of the skin. With blood flow, they enter the intestines, lungs, and heart, causing intoxication.
- Toxocara - worms live in the stomach, large intestine, bronchi, eyes, and even in the brain. They cause significant harm to the body.
- Bovine and pork tapeworm - parasitize in the digestive organs up to twenty years, reach a ten-meter length. They expose the intestinal wall to destruction, remaining undetected for a long time.
- Echinococcus and alveococcus - infection is carried out through dirty hands and water. From the intestines, parasites penetrate the bloodstream into the liver, causing tissue disruption and cyst formation.
All worms feed at the expense of man, taking away valuable nutrients from him.
Intestinal parasite habitats
All helminths, depending on their location, are divided into two classes:
- Enlightened - they most often live in the small and large intestines, occupying their different departments. For example, wide tape, hookworms, roundworms and pinworms are mainly located in the small, and whipworms occupy the large intestine.
- Tissue - settle in the muscles, tissues and organs. They can appear in the liver, lungs, heart, brain, eyes, blood vessels.
Some worms belong to both classes. For example, roundworms can live in the intestines and affect any organ of the human body.
Clinical picture
People infected with worms, as a rule, have a haggard appearance, pale skin and are prone to weight loss. Often helminthiosis in a person causes symptoms that resemble a variety of ailments, depending on where they are located. Consider the main signs of worms in the intestine:
- Frequent diarrhea or systematic constipation, constant nausea and periodic vomiting, pain in the abdomen: near the navel and in the right side under the ribs, bloating and flatulence. With a large accumulation of parasites, bowel obstruction is possible.
- Constant mood swings, apathy, irritability, dizziness and headaches, as with migraines, sleep disturbances, frequent insomnia, chronic fatigue.
- Dry or with phlegm cough, shortness of breath. Perhaps the occurrence of asthma attacks and manifestations of pneumonia.
- Worms in the human intestines, while actively eating, destroy a large amount of valuable nutrients. As a result, a person develops vitamin deficiency, anemia, and immunity decreases.
- Migrating to muscles and joint fluid, helminths, in the place of their localization, cause pain, which is easy to confuse with pain with arthritis.
- Rapid weight loss or vice versa, obesity with normal nutrition.
- Worm products in the intestines cause hives, eczema, dermatitis, pigmentation and the appearance of cracks in the skin.
All the symptoms with the appearance of helminths do not appear immediately. However, as they develop and reproduce, health deteriorates, therefore, in case of a sharp violation of well-being, you should consult a doctor.
Infection methods
Worm infection routes depend on their type. There are only three main methods for the ingestion of worm eggs in the human body. These include:
- Pathogens that develop without the participation of an intermediate host. Standing out eggs and larvae from the body with feces undergo development in the soil. Infection occurs through land and water.
- Contact - transmitted from person to person through dirty hands, clothes, various objects.
- Parasites that ripen in living beings, except humans: domestic and wild animals, fish. Infection occurs through thermally poorly processed meat and fish products.
As you can see, the development of worms takes place outside the human body, so an increase in their number occurs due to re-infection. Each type of parasite lives a certain time after which it dies. If you follow the rules of hygiene, then, for example, pinworms can be disposed of in three to four weeks without any treatment.
How to remove parasites?
For treatment, a whole range of measures is used. It all depends on the stage of infection and the type of worms. If parasites are detected at an early stage of development, then treatment is carried out with tablets from worms in the intestines, which are prescribed once. In advanced situations, therapy is longer.
When prescribing medications, the doctor takes into account the individual characteristics of the patient: chronic diseases, intolerance to individual components of the drug. Particular attention is required to pregnant and lactating women, as well as persons with weakened immunity. The effect of therapy depends on the correct dosage and the implementation of the doctor's prescriptions. In very complex cases and advanced helminthiasis, the intervention of surgeons is required. This happens when:
- necrosis and bowel obstruction;
- brain atrophy;
- liver abscess
- eye damage;
- rupture of a cyst.
The operation is performed only as a last resort, when there is no effect from conservative therapy.
Medications for getting rid of parasites
How to remove worms from the intestines? This question is of interest to those whose examination revealed the presence of any parasites. To destroy them, drugs are used that act on the nervous system or the vital activity of worms. As a result of their exposure, helminths cause paralysis or a disturbed nutrition process, as a result of which they die. Anthelmintic drugs according to the spectrum of action are divided into:
- Narrow - used to get rid of a certain type of worms. So for the destruction of tapeworms in the intestine, “Niclosamide” is prescribed, and with an extra-intestinal form, “Albendazole”.
- Wide - used for mixed helminthiases and make it possible to get rid of various types of parasites immediately. For example, the drug "Levamisole" helps to destroy toxocara worms. The duration of therapy is from 7 to 20 days, depending on the location of the lesion. It also affects pinworms, roundworms, pork tapeworms, lamblia, nematodes, cestodes, trematodes and many other varieties.
Depending on the situation, the doctor may use complex therapy, prescribing several drugs at the same time, or one drug with a wide spectrum of action. Most drugs can destroy only adults without affecting the larvae and eggs. Therefore, after 2-3 weeks, the course is repeated to completely cleanse the body. Most important: do not self-medicate. All drugs are toxic and should be prescribed by a doctor.
"Pirantel", suspension for the child. Instructions for use
Most often, children are exposed to helminthic invasions. Therefore, for their treatment it is very convenient to use the drug "Pyrantel", produced in the form of a yellow suspension. This drug has a wide spectrum of action and is able to destroy several types of parasites.
It affects individuals of both sexes, except for larvae that are in the migration stage. The drug in an unchanged form is almost completely excreted from the body with feces and urine. It should not be given to children with hypersensitivity to it. Information about the drug:
- Appointments - "Pirantel" is used in the treatment of roundworms and pinworms, as well as from mixed invasions by these parasites. For internal administration, give a single dose after breakfast at the rate of 10 ml per kilogram of weight. The course is repeated three weeks after the first dose to avoid self-infection.
- Side effects - sometimes there is nausea, vomiting, loose stools, pain in the stomach. Headache and dizziness, sleep disturbance, and weakness are possible. Hearing is very rarely disturbed, skin rashes appear.
- Release form - a suspension in a volume of 15 ml is in a dark-colored bottle, there is a measuring cap. Shelf life is three years.
After completing the course of treatment, according to the instructions for use of the “Pyrantel” suspension, the child is recommended to re-pass the control analysis of feces for the detection of worm eggs.
How to use pumpkin seeds in the fight against intestinal parasites? Opinion of the doctor Komarovsky
Pumpkin seeds have long been used to expel helminths. In addition, they have a general strengthening effect on the body and contribute to the support of the immune system, due to the high content of trace elements and vitamins. They include an amino acid called cucurbitin, it paralyzes parasites. As a result of this, they die and leave the body of the individual with feces. Most active substance is contained in the green film enveloping the core. Therefore, in many recipes, pumpkin seeds from worms should be used together with the peel. This remedy has a wide spectrum of action, is healthy and tasty. You can use the seeds in any form: raw, fried, dried, baked, with the addition of honey and sugar, in the form of tea or a decoction. Recommended Recipe:
- It will take 300 g of dry grains with peel, which must be ground in a coffee grinder or blender.
- Dilute the resulting powder to a state of liquid sour cream with cold boiled water. Add honey to taste.
- Eat the resulting drug on an empty stomach for an hour.
After three hours, put an enema or drink a laxative to cleanse the intestines.
Dr. Komarovsky notes that one should not rely on the elimination of helminths only with folk remedies, including pumpkin seeds. Firstly, eating 300 g of even peeled dried seeds is problematic, and secondly, parasites are found not only in the digestive tract, but also in other organs and tissues, so the remedy will be useless. Therefore, the best way to get rid of worms is to go to the clinic and follow the advice of your doctor.
The use of garlic as a traditional medicine
There are always many supporters of natural remedies. So worms are recommended to be removed using garlic. There are many recipes with its use. Especially recommend:
- crush five cloves of garlic;
- pour a glass of milk and boil for 10 minutes, let it brew;
- drink at bedtime or during the day, a third of a glass.
A substance that acts on parasites is called allicin. It is formed in case of any violation of the integrity of the garlic cloves (rubbing, chewing, cutting). But when heated, it collapses and it will no longer be in the finished drug. Therefore, the prepared medicine will not save you from parasites. And it is also recommended to do an enema with milk and garlic from worms, as follows:
- crush three cloves of garlic;
- pour a glass of milk, insist.
Before going to bed, strain the solution, make an enema. The procedure is carried out for a week daily. The fact is that helminths practically do not live in the large intestine. Their main location is the small intestine and other organs, so the injected medicine will not reach the parasites. You should not torment children and adults with daily useless procedures, as a result of which the following are possible:
- mechanical injuries of the anus;
- burn of the rectal mucosa;
- imbalance of beneficial and harmful bacteria.
Before using any popular recipes, first consult a doctor.
Basic preventive measures
To prevent helminth infection, it is recommended:
- Follow personal hygiene - wash your hands thoroughly after using the toilet and before eating. Children should be accustomed to this habit from early childhood.
- For drinking use only boiled water.
- Do not eat vegetables, fruits and herbs without first rinsing them with running water.
- Heat-treat meat and fish products.
- Do not work in the garden without the rubber gloves.
- Timely do wet cleaning in the apartment, monitor the cleanliness in the bathroom and toilet.
- Iron underwear and bedding.
If you suspect an invasion, consult a doctor immediately, do not self-medicate.
Instead of a conclusion
Now you know how to clean the intestines from worms. The latest developments in the field of parasitology can successfully combat helminths. In most cases, it is enough to take one tablet, and the parasites disappear. Moreover, modern drugs, adversely affecting the worms, the individual cause minimal harm. After treatment, a feces test for detection of helminth eggs is required three times. In this case, the result of the study is very accurate. If in doubt, an additional blood test is prescribed. If the answer is yes, the treatment is repeated.