There are 4. 5 billion registered people in the world suffering from parasitic infections (infestations). Moreover, the number of people infected with helminths (worms) is constantly increasing.
Causes of helminthiasis infection
It is not difficult to populate worms into your body. Here are just a few of the causes of infection, familiar to everyone from childhood:
- Lack of hygiene.The desire to eat unwashed fruits and vegetables, not to wear gloves while working in the garden and not to bother with hygiene procedures, leads to infection with a variety of helminths.
- Addicted to street fast food.It is no secret that sellers of such food do not always come for a medical examination and often neglect basic hygiene. And their products are not stored in the best conditions. Fans of street whites and pasties are another risk group.
- Love for exotic cuisinescontaining raw fish and shellfish dishes containing parasites. It is to the fans of sushi and rolls that the increase in the incidence of fluke, wide tapeworm, nematodes, roundworm, and the belt worm is due.
- Hthe ability to properly protect themselves from infection during rest.Love for "Turkish shores" has led to more frequent cases of infection with exotic helminthiases - schistosomiasis, ankylostomiasis, dracunculiasis. After walking barefoot on an overseas beach, you can bring from your trip not only pleasant impressions, but also dangerous worms.
- Infection from petswho often sleep with their owners. Lovers of "kissing" a pet run the risk of picking up parasites.
What parasites live in the human body
If an adult had the opportunity to look into his body, he would be horrified:
- Round worms -pinworms, roundworms, whipworms, nematodes, toxocaras, trichinella. Large helminths gather in huge tangles, clogging the intestinal lumen and leading to obstruction that requires surgical treatment. During the operation, doctors extract an incredible amount of parasites from the intestines of such people.
- Tapewormsappear among fans to taste meat with blood and raw fish. They cause digestive problems, anemia, allergies. Children have seizures similar to epileptic seizures. The most dangerous helminth of this group is echinococcus, the larvae of which form huge cysts in the human body. When they break, the parasites are dispersed throughout the body. Infection can be fatal.
- Suckers- flukes, flukes and fascioli - dangerous parasites that suck blood from the vessels of the liver, pancreas, intestines, and bladder.
- The simplest- Leishmania, amoeba, lamblia, etc. Although these tiny parasites are visible only under a microscope, they can cause dangerous complications up to intestinal perforation and liver abscesses, which are fatal.
On what grounds can one suspect the presence of "strangers": if a stomach is ill, it means that someone lives in it
Signs of the presence of helminths:
- Stomach ache- the most common sign of helminth infection. It can be permanent, periodic, affecting certain areas of the abdomen. Soreness in the right hypochondrium with helminthiasis indicates damage to the liver and gallbladder by worms.
- Indigestion- diarrhea, constipation, irregular bowel movements. Sometimes in the feces, patients see crawling segments of worms or even whole parasites. Impaired absorption of food and dysfunction of the gastrointestinal tract leads to weight loss.
- Anemia.Worms suck blood out of the body and interfere with the digestibility of food. The host man does not feed himself, but the worms. Patients complain of weakness, fatigue, loss of strength, dizziness.
- Damage to the urinary tract,caused by parasites living in the kidneys and bladder. Patients complain of back pain and swelling. Sometimes traces of blood are visible in the urine.
- Indolent chronic vaginitis. . . Roundworms and pinworms crawl from the anus into the genital tract, causing vaginal dysbiosis and provoking the development of thrush. Women are treated for itching and discharge, not realizing that it is parasites.
- Skin manifestations.Infection with worms poisons the body and suppresses the immune system, leading to allergies. Rashes are different - from small vesicles to large focal areas.
- Inflammation of the mucosaand itching in the anus caused by crawling worms irritation.
- General deterioration in health.Weak immunity, poor digestion, and anemia weaken the body, which cannot resist infections. A person is haunted by constant colds, acute respiratory infections and acute respiratory viral infections.
Why ultrasound is more effective than traditional examinations for worms and other parasites
Feces or scrapings do not always reveal worms. The fact is that parasites have a certain development cycle and do not always lay eggs. There is a whole group of extraintestinal helminthiasis, in which the worms live outside the intestine. In this case, stool analysis will not provide any information.
Ultrasound of the abdominal cavity shows changes characteristic of the presence of parasites in the liver, pancreas. It is harmless, non-traumatic and can be used many times.
If the ultrasound doctor does not detect live helminths and 100% signs of their presence, he will suspect an infection and prescribe an additional examination. It is useful to undergo an ultrasound scan and with positive tests for I / worms. Research will show where the parasites are lurking.
Signs of helminthiasis, determined by ultrasound of the abdominal cavity - semi-living organs and live worms
When examining the gastrointestinal tract on modern 3D and 4D devices, doctors often see living parasites in the intestines. If helminths are not found, their presence can be suspected by an enlarged pancreas, compacted in the head area. The spleen is also too large.
The liver with parasitic lesions by flukes, trematodes and flukes is enlarged. On it, areas of dystrophy are found that impede the functioning of the organ.
The gallbladder also suffers. In patients, there is stagnation of bile, causing pain in the right hypochondrium. Sometimes the function of the bladder is so impaired that the organ on ultrasound is not determined at all.
The presence of parasites leads to the formation of abscesses - purulent hepatic lesions that are life-threatening. In 85% of cases, abscesses form in one lobe of the liver. Other departments are affected less frequently. Purulent lesions are characteristic of hepatic amoebiasis - infection with the simplest - an amoeba that penetrates into the hepatic region from the intestines.
Significant changes in the liver are observed in echinococcosis, a parasitic disease in which cavities are formed inside the organ, filled with helminth larvae. On ultrasound, rounded formations with clear boundaries are visible. These are cysts with parasites inside. Over time, calcium is deposited around the echinococcal foci. Such formations have a dense structure, therefore, on ultrasound, they look lighter than the surrounding tissues.
With prolonged infection, large cysts with partitions are formed, resembling wheel spokes or large honeycombs. The destruction of the bile ducts is observed. With a Doppler examination, there is a violation of blood flow.
For lovers of Japanese cuisine. Parasites as a gift
Fans of Asian exoticism have a wide variety of parasites, but the most common opisthorchiasis is infection with Chinese fluke. The source of helminths is unprocessed fish containing parasites.
At the onset of the disease, ultrasound in the liver and gallbladder reveals eosinophilic infiltrates - dense formations with clear boundaries. If the fight against helminths is postponed until better times, foci of dead cells will appear in these organs, looking like variegated areas, and the hepatic ducts will lose elasticity. The situation may result in the development of liver failure.
If the urinary tract becomes victims of parasites
Echinococcus affects not only the liver, but also the kidneys. When the parasite enters the renal tissue, a single-chamber cyst (bubble) containing larvae is formed. Gradually increasing in size, the echinococcal cyst destroys the organ. Large parasitic cysts are soldered to the liver, spleen and intestines.
Schistosomiasis is picked up by lovers of wandering barefoot along the warm beaches of overseas countries. The parasite larvae enter the bloodstream through the skin, and then are carried away with the blood into the bladder. Having settled there, they cause the appearance of seals - infiltrates that appear in response to irritation of the walls of the bladder. When the infection spreads, the kidneys are affected.
Enzyme immunoassay - we bring helminths to clean water
This test detects infection with one or more types of parasites. It is carried out for the presence of roundworms, toxocaras, trichinella, opisthorchis flukes, echinococci, Chinese flukes, etc.
The principle of testing is based on the body's immune response to the presence of helminths. Infection with worms causes the production of protein antibodies, which are detected during the analysis. Since each parasite provokes the formation of a certain immunoglobulin, the analysis results show which helminths are in the human body.
The analysis reacts to all forms of parasites - eggs, larvae, adult worms. The accuracy is over 90%. The survey shows not only the presence of infection, but also its degree.
After treatment, the analysis is repeated. A positive result can be observed for some time after the death of the parasites. The concentration of immunoglobulins will gradually decrease for several more months. Then the analysis will be "clean". For research, blood is taken from a vein on an empty stomach in a volume of 3-5 ml. The analysis is done twice.
Ultrasound and a study for immunoglobulins can detect helminthiases and begin treatment. Thanks to their use, the number of cases of misdiagnosis, leading to complications, has decreased. The main thing is to consult a doctor in time if you suspect a helminthic invasion.