According to medical statistics, today helminth infections (infestations) are widespread in the world, as well as pathologies resulting from the presence of parasitic worms in the human body. Sometimes the prevalence of helminth infections is very high. For example, pinworms are often found in children, hunters suffer from trichinosis, and dysphilobotriosis is found in fish lovers. Against the background of helminthic invasion, a variety of diseases often arise, which, it would seem, have no connection with parasites. However, a similar fact has been proven to date thanks to numerous studies. Moreover, the theory that claims that there is a connection between parasitic diseases and oncology is especially relevant.
How to find out about the presence of worms in humans? Symptoms that indicate the presence of uninvited guests in the body are sometimes masked by a variety of diseases, such as the gastrointestinal tract and liver, as well as the gall bladder, etc. That is why a person is often treated for years from a certain pathology, without even knowing about the true reason for his malaise. Having passed only one or even several courses of taking anthelmintic drugs, he fully recovers. That is why it is so important to know the symptoms of the presence of worms in humans, which will be discussed in this article.
A bit about worms
Helminths are a large detachment of parasitic worms living at the expense of plants and living organisms. They feed and breed inside their donor. Man is no exception. It can also become a donor for parasitic worms, of which there are more than seventy species in Russia alone. According to statistics, every third inhabitant of our planet is infected with helminthic invasion. There is an opinion that it is impossible to find an adult who would not be infected with worms at least once in his life.
Especially often parasitic worms are observed in children. No matter how carefully the parents make sure that their child's hands are perfectly clean, it is impossible to protect him from getting into the body of worms. After all, the kids are engaged in studying the world around them and practically show genuine interest in everything. They strive to touch everything with their hands, as well as be sure to taste it.
Those people who eat the meat of wild birds and animals, fish and homemade milk are also at risk of contracting worms. They often have cases of diphyllobothriasis and trichinosis.
Infection pathways
What are the causes of the development of helminthiasis? In what ways do parasitic worms penetrate the human body?
Four methods of infection have been identified:
- Biohelminthiasis. Often parasites are found in poorly heat-treated meat or fish, or in their raw form. In this case, a person is able to become infected by eating fat and kebab, dried fish, sushi, etc.
- Geohelminthiasis. Parasite eggs found in water or soil are also able to enter the body. Invasions occur when a person comes into contact with animals, for example, during regular cleaning of dog and cat feces. A person can also become infected with helminthiasis by eating foods on which flies lay their eggs.
- Contact. Some worms, such as pinworms, can be transmitted from person to person.
Some parasites penetrate into a living organism after an insect bite. The main route of infection with parasites is oral-fecal. In other words, a person, not noticing it himself, swallows their eggs when he drinks water or eats food.
Signs of helminthiasis
There are certain symptoms of the presence of worms in a person, which everyone should know. When certain signs of the disease appear, it is necessary to immediately take up its elimination.
How to understand whether a person has worms? The most striking sign of infection with parasites is too sharp weight loss. In addition, such patients become pale skin. It is in the manner described that anemia is manifested.
Symptoms of the presence of worms in a person are displayed on his appearance. Such people look exhausted due to the increased level of fatigue.
Helminths affecting the intestines lead to itching in the anus. However, parasites are able to settle in other organs, for example, in the liver and in the lungs, in the bladder, and sometimes in the leg or arm.
The above symptoms of the presence of worms in humans are only the first common signs of the disease. Their development occurs with massive infection of the body and allows you to determine that not everything is in order with health.
There are other signs of the presence of worms in humans. Symptoms of helminthiasis of this type are considered more specific. They are similar to manifestations of other pathologies. The patient in this case has been trying for a long time to cure certain diseases. However, the passage of therapeutic courses does not bring relief.
What are the symptoms of the presence of worms in an adult?
Digestive disorders
Indicate the presence of worms in the human body, symptoms in the form of constant diarrhea or constipation, periodically repeated nausea and vomiting, flatulence, pain in the stomach, as well as discomfort near the navel and in the right hypochondrium. Similar symptoms occur if parasites have settled in the intestines.
Such symptoms of the presence of worms in the body of an adult and a child can be weak or very pronounced, periodic or prolonged. The presence of one or another indicator directly depends on the extent of infection.
Some types of helminths are capable of producing hormone-like substances. It is under their influence that constant diarrhea begins. And if the worms belong to large species (the tapeworm is an example), then, growing large, they begin to overlap the intestines. This parasites provoke the occurrence of constipation.
How to find out if a person has worms, because the above symptoms do not appear at the same time? In this case, it is important to monitor your health. After all, well-being will not necessarily be bad all the time. Some days it will seem to a person that he is absolutely healthy.
Nervous system and helminthiasis
Symptoms of the presence of worms in an adult and a child are manifested due to the fact that parasites that have settled in the body secrete a lot of toxic substances. This happens regardless of where they live. Moreover, the more massive the infection will be, the brighter the signs of intoxication of the body, which will certainly negatively affect the state of the nervous system.
How to determine whether a person has worms? Symptoms such as nausea, dizziness, and headaches will indicate this. Such symptoms are sometimes mistaken for migraine, which they try to eliminate with painkillers.
Sometimes infection with parasites is manifested by a rise in temperature and pain in the joints. In addition, the helminths that have settled in the body provoke a deficiency of nutrients and vitamins. All this depresses the nervous system and leads to the appearance of chronic fatigue syndrome. The patient in this case complains of drowsiness and a feeling of being broken.
Children infected with parasites are constantly nervous and capricious. They also have sleep disturbances, which is why babies cry and cry at night. Children attending school become inattentive. They get tired more often and their performance decreases.
Skin manifestations
There are other signs of the presence of worms in humans. Symptoms of the presence of parasites in the body can manifest themselves through a worsening of the skin. As mentioned above, worms secrete toxins, thereby infecting the body. Such a factor has a negative effect on the general condition of a person and is able to provoke the appearance of a variety of reactions on the skin. A person develops rashes that result from the release of histamine from mast cells, as well as the accumulation of the liquid part of the blood in the tissue, due to which the surface of the epidermis rises somewhat. The same phenomenon leads to the fact that allergic reactions begin to occur. In most cases, they manifest as itching, acne, red spots, hives, dry cough, allergic rhinitis, and bronchial asthma.
Symptoms of the presence of worms in an adult are cracks in the heels. Sometimes, when infected, nails begin to flake, hair becomes brittle.
Decreased immunity
Being in the human body, worms actively eat, while emitting toxic products. Their negative impact, along with a decrease in the amount of minerals and vitamins, leads to a weakening of the patient's immunity. The result is a deterioration in general condition. Chronic diseases occur, and inflammatory processes in the nasopharynx, such as stomatitis and sinusitis, are also increasingly developing.
Women and girls infected with helminthiasis suffer from vulvovaginitis and bacterial vaginosis. There is evidence that prolonged pinworm infection can cause inflammation of the appendages. That is why it is so important to timely detect the presence of uninvited guests in the body.
The presence of worms in a person who has settled in the liver can be recognized by a constant bad taste and bad breath coming from the mouth.
Parasites and pregnancy
How to recognize the presence of worms in the body of a woman preparing to become a mother? The very first sign of the presence of parasites during pregnancy is an upset stomach. In addition, weight loss occurs, which is simply unacceptable for women expecting a baby. Symptoms indicating the presence of worms are malaise and general weakness, irritability and dizziness. Of course, on such grounds it is rather difficult to clearly speak about the presence of parasites in the body. However, if itching is added to them in the area of the anus or a woman noticed worms in the feces, then such facts should become the reason for her immediate medical attention.
Helminthic invasion test
Does human worm eat? To understand this, a test to determine the likelihood of infection will help.
To check for the presence of helminthic infestation, you will need to carefully read the questions below and calculate the number of data on them of positive answers:
- Does itching in the anus constantly or periodically occur?
- Are there skin rashes?
- Do you often experience headaches, dizziness?
- Is there nausea, vomiting, and nausea?
- Do you often experience flatulence, bloating, diarrhea, and constipation?
- Is there a restless dream, are there cries during a night's rest, is insomnia tormenting?
- Do legs swell, and for what reasons?
- Does an allergic reaction occur in the form of cough, rhinitis, as well as bronchial asthma or urticaria?
- Are the lymph nodes enlarged?
- Do self-relieving abdominal pain occur?
- Is bitterness in the mouth noted?
- Are there any complaints of constant fatigue and fatigue?
- Do you work in a child care institution or do you have preschool kids in your family?
- Are there sudden, unreasonable increases in body temperature?
- Do mucous membranes and skin turn yellow?
- Is work related to animals or are they in the house?
- Do joint and muscle pain occur without physical exertion?
- Do you snore or grit your teeth during a night's rest?
- Do you eat sushi, lard with streaks of meat, dried fish and meat with blood?
- Has your weight decreased amid increased or decreased appetite?
- Do you often use berries, herbs, raw vegetables and fruits for food without scalding them with boiling water before eating?
How to recognize the presence of worms in the human body? With seven positive responses, the risk of infection by the human body is present. At fifteen - the likelihood of helminthiasis is very high. Then it’s worthwhile to see a parasitologist or infectious disease specialist.
Signs of helminthiasis depending on the type of parasites
- Pinworms. To determine this type of helminths is possible with the main signs of the presence of parasites in the body, as well as by the appearance of itching in the anus, the intensity of which increases at night. If the number of pinworms is small, then an unpleasant sensation in the area of the anus occurs for only a few days. Later it passes, appearing again a few weeks later. In the case of severe invasion, itching is felt almost constantly.
- Roundworm. Signs of the presence of these parasites in the body directly depend on their developmental phase. Then, when Ascaris larvae migrate to the lungs, heart, and other organs, the patient has a low-grade fever, weakness, and also a cough with sputum, and sometimes blood and pus. When an X-ray of the lungs is taken at this time, it will be possible to notice volatile infiltrates disappearing over time. With ascariasis, allergic reactions develop. Too many eosinophils are detected in a blood test. Severe invasion causes the development of pneumonia and bronchitis. The patient has asthma attacks. When infected, patients often suffer from coughing. They also have a sore throat. In the second phase of the development of parasites, digestive disorders occur. Roundworms produce substances that neutralize trypsin and pepsin, which are human digestive enzymes. As a result, the proteins cease to be digested, because of which the patient begins to lose much weight. Sometimes ascariasis causes complications. They appear in the form of appendicitis, bowel obstruction, obstructive jaundice and pancreatitis.
- Trichocephalosis, diphyllobothriasis, schistosomotosis, hookworm infection. With such lesions of the body, anemia and vitamin deficiency begins to develop. This is provoked by toxins of these types of parasites, leading to a deterioration in the intestinal microflora and the development of dysbiosis.
- Clonorchiasis, fascioliasis, opisthorchiasis. These diseases are caused by hepatic parasites. The negative consequence of their activity is icteric syndrome. The patient has an increase in organs such as the spleen and liver. Digestive tract pathologies, neurological disorders, cholecystocholangitis and pancreatitis develop.
- Trichinosis. With such a lesion, swelling of the face and eyelids most often occurs, fever occurs and muscle pain appears.
- Strongyloidosis. A similar pathology is caused by the presence of roundworms in the body. Moreover, its symptoms are very diverse. The patient shows signs of allergy and dyspepsia, bile duct function is impaired, and so on.
- Genitourinary schistosomiasis. This type of helminthiasis is caused by flatworms. It manifests itself in the form of diuretic disorders. At the end of the urination process, the patient exudes blood. All this can lead to pathologies of the seminal vesicles and prostate in men, as well as vaginal bleeding and damage to the genitals in women. Often in such patients, fibrosis is detected in the bladder.
- Cestodose This disease is caused by the presence of tapeworms. Echinococcus, sheep’s brain, bovine tapeworm, etc. belong to this species. Obvious signs of the disease are weakness, sharp weight loss, as well as disruptions in the digestive tract.
Parasites in the eyes
A similar phenomenon can be observed, as a rule, among residents of countries with a hot and humid climate.
In the eyes, roundworms, bull tapeworm and opisthorchis prefer to “settle”. They enter the organ of vision from the intestine or from the external environment. If they are found, an urgent consultation with a doctor is necessary.
Diagnosis
What to do when there are symptoms or signs of worms in humans? The diagnosis prescribed by the doctor, as a rule, is a study of feces. Sometimes, with severe invasion, a person can himself recognize this disease. Indeed, at night, parasites themselves sometimes come out of the anus and remain on the bed in the form of a ball. In this case, they must be taken to the laboratory, where the species affiliation will be recognized.
If there is indirect suspicion, you will need to pass a fecal analysis. It determines the presence or absence of eggs of parasites or the mature individuals themselves, which settled in the intestine.
To determine pinworms with the existing symptoms and signs of the presence of worms in humans, the diagnosis is carried out in the form of scrapings for enterobiosis. , . . , . . , , . . , .
Drug therapy
When diagnosing a disease based on the symptoms and signs of the presence of worms in a person, treatment for parasites should be started immediately. All anthelmintic drugs can eliminate such types of worms as trematodes, as well as cestodes and nematodes. There are medications that are detrimental to protozoa. Developed and a wide range of drugs. They are recommended by doctors in cases where worms are identified, and their appearance cannot be established.
One of the most common anthelmintic drugs is the Dekaris drug. It can be used for children from the age of three, as well as for adults. This medicine is quite toxic. In this regard, in addition to helminths, it affects the patient's body. That is why only a doctor should prescribe it to a patient. Pregnant and lactating women, this drug is contraindicated.
A universal remedy for parasites of all classes is Albendazole. The course of its administration is from 1 to 3 days.
The most famous anthelmintic drug is Vermox. It is very toxic to the body, and therefore it is not worth taking it only for the purpose of prevention. The medication is used once in a dosage of 100 mg. After two weeks, the reception should be repeated.
In addition, there are also folk remedies. So, getting rid of parasites will help the use of pumpkin seeds. Another fairly effective remedy is tansy grass. Judging by the reviews, garlic, ginger, etc.
An improvement in the general condition of a person will testify to the success of the fight against uninvited guests.