What does the terrible term "toxoplasmosis" mean? Deciphering it is simple - it is such an infectious disease that is provoked by the toxoplasma of gondia and can affect not only humans, but also animals, including those living near us, in our homes. More often, a person becomes infected by direct contact with the feces of cats, the ingestion of meat from parasitized animals. In addition, a medicine for toxoplasmosis in adults may be required for those who have transfused infected blood without first checking it for quality. If the toxoplasma of gondia affects a pregnant woman, the parasite easily penetrates the fetus and can nest there.
Features of the disease
It is known for certain that the disease cannot be obtained through breast milk. But pregnant women should be extremely careful, since congenital forms of the disease are the most difficult scenario for the development of toxoplasmosis. The consequences during pregnancy are not always predictable, but always strongly affect the development of the fetus. For this reason, when carrying a child, doctors always do laboratory tests for infection, so that if necessary, urgently take action.
If an infection has been diagnosed, a pregnant woman does not need to know herself which doctor treats toxoplasmosis in adults. The attending gynecologist, therapist will immediately write out a referral for additional research and to a specialized specialist doctor. Professional control over the course of the disease will allow you to get rid of unwanted "guests" quickly and without negative results.
How to suspect?
Symptoms of toxoplasmosis in adults:
- lymph nodes are larger than normal in size;
- the temperature rises;
- vision is fogging;
- eyes hurt;
- haunted by a feeling of weakness.
Laboratory tests are aimed at detecting antibodies. Additionally, a complex of studies is carried out to clarify the patient's condition. Usually, treatment of toxoplasmosis in adults begins with ultrasound and tomography. Medical statistics show that the bulk of those infected do not need specialized treatment. The exception is pregnant women, as well as children who were diagnosed with a parasite at birth. In addition, a person with a weak immune system requires a special approach.
Toxoplasmosis: know the enemy in person
Gondia toxoplasma, which provokes the disease, is just one cell. The parasite has a rather complex growth cycle. Sexual development - in the cat's body, cats are considered the owner. Most cats become infected by eating the meat of a sick animal, where toxoplasma nests. There is a high frequency of cases of catching an infection when hunting for pigeons and rodents.
The breeding ground of the parasite is the intestine, from where the toxoplasma of the gondia with feces gets out. Man is an intermediate host. Most often, infection occurs through contact with the feces of a pet. As soon as toxoplasma enters the body, it moves into the bloodstream, where it circulates. In addition, it accumulates in the tissues. The first to suffer are muscles, eyes, and the brain. Under the influence of the parasite, the tissues are destroyed, cavities appear, known to medicine as cysts, pseudocysts. When the gondium toxoplasma dies, its cell is saturated with calcium salts and also remains in the tissues of the body. These formations, characteristic of toxoplasmosis in adults, are called calcinates.
Where does trouble come from?
It is not always possible to say exactly how the introduction of the parasite occurred. Of course, the symptoms and treatment, photos of toxoplasmosis in adults are scary, and yet it is impossible to completely isolate yourself from all possible sources of penetration. It was mentioned that quite often infection occurs when interacting with ordinary cats. But in addition to cat feces, toxoplasma can live in the blood, food, organs. Each stage of parasite development is characterized by a specific habitat.
You can get the disease if the meat got toxoplasma infected animals. Parasites die with careful heat treatment, but in its absence or insufficiently high temperature, specimens can survive. Often this happens with lamb, pork. In addition, products can (even by accident) be contaminated with cat feces, and this also serves as one of the ways in which toxoplasma enters the human body. Inadequate hand hygiene when caring for a cat's toilet is another option for obtaining a single-celled infection.
Misfortune never comes alone
Quite often, infection with toxoplasmosis in adults occurs in a situation where there are already health problems. For example, if urgent blood transfusion is required, a certain percentage of probability remains that the liquid will be “enriched” with the parasite. The situation with transplantation is similar. If the donor was infected with Toxoplasma, the recipient receives not only an organ, but also an unplanned “appendage”.
It is much more common, but a little easier to tolerate the state of pregnancy. During this period, a woman can also get a harmful infection, so it is important to be extremely careful, carefully observe hygiene and monitor food.
Breastfeeding: is there a risk?
Symptoms of toxoplasmosis (photos on the Internet often show them even more scary than it is shown in reality, therefore doctors recommend a critical attitude to unverified sources) observed in the mother can signal an increased danger to the baby who is breast-fed. At the same time, studies have shown that only the active form of parasite damage is really dangerous for babies.
Medical statistics know cases of infection of breast-fed infants from mothers affected by the parasite through the nipples. Such situations are extremely rare, but some minimum percentage of cases still exists. When feeding on the nipples, erosion, bleeding cracks can appear, through which the parasite penetrates from the adult's body to the child. The situation is dangerous only in acute toxoplasmosis. If the active form has not been established, you can safely feed the baby with breast milk, without fear of the negative consequences in the form of a parasite transmission.
Symptoms and varieties of the disease
In most cases, infection with toxoplasma proceeds unnoticed, at least in adults, especially if the immune system is normal. Problems can occur in childhood if the parasite enters the embryo during the development period in the uterus. In addition, a severe clinic of toxoplasmosis in adults is observed if a person has cancer, AIDS is diagnosed. The situation may be complicated by taking medications that negatively affect immunity.
Toxoplasmosis happens:
- acute;
- congenital;
- ocular;
- common;
- affecting the central nervous system.
Acute form
Symptoms and treatment of toxoplasmosis in adults are complicated by the inconspicuous course of the disease. Even in the acute form of the appearance of violations, there is no violation if a person does not have concomitant health problems. Quite rarely, but the following symptoms are possible:
- temperature rises;
- sore muscles;
- the liver, spleen become larger in size, which hurts under the ribs on the right;
- the lymph nodes become larger in size. This manifestation is the most typical, the nodes become rounded, dense. The symptom is most pronounced in the armpits, less commonly the lymph nodes under the jaw, in the groin, on the neck.
If there are no symptoms of toxoplasmosis in adults and treatment is not required, the disease goes away on its own in just a couple of weeks. Often a person does not even suspect that he survived the infection with parasites.
Brain infection
The cerebral form develops if the parasite was able to nest in the human brain. For this form, inflammatory processes are characteristic. More often it threatens persons who are diagnosed with AIDS, as well as those suffering from other diseases that inhibit the immune system. Toxoplasma affects the nervous system, and treatment, symptoms of toxoplasmosis in adults is much more unpleasant. Typical manifestations of the disease:
- headache;
- clearly felt weakness;
- heat;
- some parts of the body lose their sensitivity;
- “goosebumps” run across the body;
- body parts are numb, paralysis appears.
Studying the symptoms and treatment of toxoplasmosis in adults, it is noted that with the cerebral form, the most severe manifestation of the lesion is coma, when the patient loses consciousness for a long time.
Pregnancy and parasites
When pregnancy is detected, the doctor must refer the woman to a series of laboratory tests for accurate and complete control of the state of the body of both the mother and the child. Among others, an analysis for the presence of parasites, including toxoplasma, will be mandatory. It is known that the probability of transmission of the parasite is high if a woman first encountered a disease while already pregnant.
A fairly strong influence on the course of the disease is exerted by the period when the parasite has entered the female body. Treatment and symptoms of toxoplasmosis in adult women bearing a fetus may vary, often the disease does not manifest itself at all. Nevertheless, a defeat in the first trimester, while pregnancy is still at an early stage, can lead to unauthorized termination. In general, the treatment and the consequences are the harder the closer the pregnancy to the beginning. But in the event that a woman already infected with a parasite becomes pregnant, the probability of transmitting it to the fetus tends to zero.
Toxoplasmosis: getting to know the disease from birth
The congenital form is diagnosed if the parasite enters the fetus in the mother's body. The channel through which a unicellular pest enters is the placenta. When infected during pregnancy, the risk of miscarriage is high, especially in the first three months of gestation, at later stages the probability of spontaneous abortion is reduced.
A child born with toxoplasmosis is seriously ill from birth, tolerates the disease with difficulty. High mortality rates soon after birth. There are also known cases when the congenital form practically does not manifest itself at first, but the disease is activated later. Pathology manifests itself as follows:
- eyes become inflamed, which leads to negative consequences (up to blindness), and chorioretinitis is invisible to the naked eye, and the child himself is still too small to complain;
- hearing is lost;
- yellowing of the mucous membrane of the mouth, sclera of the eyes, skin;
- reddish nodules appear on the skin;
- liver, spleen grow in size;
- the baby's head is disproportionately small or too large;
- psychomotor develops with a noticeable delay.
Eye damage
Often congenital toxoplasmosis causes eye damage. If the infant survives, the next attack of the parasite usually occurs in adolescence. In rare cases, the ocular form develops when the body is infected already in adulthood. Typically, the symptoms are as follows:
- eyes hurt;
- a person gradually goes blind;
- there is fog in the eyes;
- sometimes as if flashes appear before the eyes.
In severe cases and in an advanced case, it can cause complete blindness.
Common form
The disease in this form usually affects people with a weakened immune system. This is characteristic of late-stage AIDS patients or those who have undergone chemotherapy due to cancer. A common form involves a parasite and brain damage, and the visual system. There are a lot of symptoms of the disease, which is explained by the following disorders in the body:
- the heart muscle becomes inflamed;
- pneumonia develops;
- myositis.
The organs in which the inflammatory processes began and the parasite was nestled completely cease to function over time. The disease is associated with a serious risk to life.
Diagnostic Features
Two main methods for detecting a disease:
- determination of infectious traces (antibodies);
- instrumental research (CT, ultrasound).
When studying blood for toxoplasma, a serological examination is done - this method is considered the main and most accurate for determining antibodies. It is based on knowledge of the reaction of the human body to infectious processes. As soon as parasite cells enter the bloodstream, the immune system detects the presence of the antigen to be destroyed. Responsible for this, the cells of the body produce antibodies that can destroy the parasite. Immunoglobulins are specific, when they meet with an antigen, they attach to the cell. When a person’s immunity copes with the disease, the immunoglobulins are still in the blood for several years to prevent re-infection. In the case of some diseases, a person gains immunity for life.
If the analysis shows toxoplasma immunoglobulins, it can be concluded that the parasite once entered the human blood. Doctors conduct tests for two types of immunoglobulins, characteristic of a period of time about 2 weeks after the moment of infection. At some point, the substances reach a peak concentration, and by 8-10 weeks of the course of the disease, their amount is already close to zero.
What is this talking about?
The analysis allows you to determine whether an acute form of infectious lesion is present. Certain immunoglobulins reflect the fact of the victory of the body over the parasite. The presence of both types indicates that the infection was successfully defeated no later than 12 months before the study.
Another important concept for diagnosticians is avidity. This indicator reflects how well the immunoglobulin can bind to the antigen. It is higher if the moment of infection was recent, and decreases over time.
How to treat?
In most cases, specialized therapy is not required.
If the disease is detected in people with weakened immunity or in pregnant women, the following drugs are prescribed:
- "Pyrimethamine";
- Clindamycin;
- Spiramycin
- "Prednisolone."
Consultation with a specialist is in any case necessary.