Helminths developing in a person are the cause of various diseases. Medical statistics have registered 300 pathological conditions caused by parasites. Distinguish between the intestinal and extraintestinal nature of the origin of the infection:
- The larvae are located in the intestines.
- They are found in the lungs, kidneys, liver, brain and other organs.
Common types of helminths
Worms penetrate the body of adults and children. Babies are most often infected by contact with animals (stray cats, dogs), ignoring careful hand hygiene. Worms harm individual organs and lead to a general deterioration in health. Roundworms and pinworms are considered common - round-shaped worms, photos of which are ubiquitous on the Internet. Popular tape types - tapeworms, tapeworms. An adult wide tapeworm reaches 9 meters. His life span is 25 years.
In medical practice, the popular diagnosis is enterobiasis - an intestinal infection caused by pinworms. Parasites are compact in size, they rarely reach a length of 1 cm, lead an active lifestyle at night for 1. 5-2 months. There is enough time for the pinworms to lay their eggs on the skin around the anus. The larvae contribute to the rapid development of the disease. After laying eggs, pinworms die, but fertile offspring are rapidly increasing the population in the tissues of the human body.
The second popular diagnosis in medical practice is ascariasis. The disease is caused by large types of pathogens, reaching a length of 20 cm. Living in the small intestine, roundworms are invisible to the eye. It is difficult to find roundworms in feces. Their lifespan is from one to several years.
Causes of infection with worms
What are the causes of the disease? What situations become a platform for the development of a dangerous infection? According to the analysis of the data, experts identify the following factors:
- Biohelminths (tapeworms) penetrate the body with meat dishes that have not undergone thorough heat treatment. The best prevention of contamination is to boil, fry, and steame meat for food. Raw beef is a breeding ground for bovine tapeworm, pork - pork tapeworm.
- Raw fish is an excellent breeding ground for broad tapeworm and opisthorchosis. If the dishes are cooked under insufficient temperature conditions, and people eat them, the tapeworm penetrates the body, fixing itself in the mucous tissues. An important rule for those who like to go to nature is that you cannot wash dishes in water bodies, it is forbidden to wash food in rivers, rinse your hands without soap in lakes, since the water is often contaminated with harmful larvae.
- Roundworms are found in the soil with the faeces of living beings. Digging in the beds, fingering the sand with your hands, loosening the ground with your fingers, you can easily pick up a dangerous pest. If you do not wash your hands at home with soap thoroughly, the disease is guaranteed.
- Domestic infection is a likely option for getting an infection. The method of transmission is through touching and shaking hands. Handrails in transport, doorknobs in public places, wardrobe numbers and seeds bought at the bazaar from grandmothers become a breeding ground for infection. Money is considered especially rich in the maintenance of infection. In a day, a paper bill makes a long journey, collecting germs and bacteria from dozens of dirty hands. Prevention instructions are always simple - you need to thoroughly wash your hands with soap and water after coming home from the street and before each meal.
Flies, midges and other insects are considered dangerous. Winged insects transfer eggs on their legs and proboscis, after which they lay the larvae on food. An insect bite also provokes disease. The most common type of transmission is animal hair. By petting a puppy or cat on the street, you run the risk of catching an infection. A pinworm egg that has fallen from the fur of a domestic kitten is able to maintain its life for about six months. A dangerous infection easily attacks a person at the first opportunity, is freely transmitted by contact with infected objects.
It is difficult to detect the symptoms of a disease immediately after it enters the body. In the early stages, there are no signs of the disease. The parasites need to multiply. The decision to take a special analysis does not come to the carrier of the infection immediately. Allergic reactions in the body and slight itching in the anus are rarely directly associated with helminthic invasions. If these signs are not eliminated for a long time, and no antihistamines help to remove the undesirable consequences of the disease, laboratory analysis with a high degree of accuracy establishes the presence of worms in the body.
How does the disease manifest
The presence of parasites in the body of an adult leads to the manifestation of the following reactions:
- Allergic skin rash. The effectiveness of antihistamine medication is not always confirmed in practice in the presence of worms. From time to time, unreasonable eczema, spots of urticaria, papillomas, acne and boils appear on the body.
- Anemia - iron deficiency develops rapidly in the blood of an infected person. Pulling out everything valuable from the host's blood, the worms deplete it, get rid of nutrients and substances.
- If you do not know how to get rid of a frequent cough, what to drink against an unpleasant phenomenon, if the best pharmacy remedy is powerless and does not give any result, you may soon need pills for worms. At least, it is worth checking for this pathology and passing feces for eggs when an obsessive cough persists for a long time.
- Inflammatory process. If you are suddenly attacked by all the misfortunes, including pneumonia, rhinitis, bronchitis and similar diseases, this should alert you, along with other symptoms listed in this section.
- If at home without an enema you cannot go to the toilet, there is a reason to be wary. It is possible that long worms accumulated in the feces block the passage of feces through the intestines. Another reaction is also likely, when the body itself tries to get rid of intoxication with the help of diarrhea and diarrhea. Loose stools can last from a couple of days to a month. In this case, the feces have a pronounced slimy character.
- The long debate about whether a general decrease in immunity can be considered a characteristic of the invasion has not yet found an exact answer to the question. But, together with other symptoms, this factor has a legitimate right to exist.
- You may not know what the disease looks like, but this does not mean that you have managed to avoid infection. Noting the general nervousness that has recently increased, signs of bruxism (pathological grinding of teeth) that have appeared in a dream, depressive states of the psyche, check for worm eggs. It is possible that the analysis will show the presence of dangerous symptoms.
- Rapid weight loss is regarded as a consequence of the loss of nutrients for the body.
- Feeling of bloating, increased gas formation.
- The presence of white bubbles in the vestibule of the mouth, on the inside of the lips.
- When tissues are traumatized, which is accompanied by the movement of helminths, articular pains, discomfort in the work of the musculoskeletal system appear.
How many symptoms should be from the above factors is difficult to say. You should not go to the doctor when you have found several matches from a large list. However, if you have more than 5 of them, and it is impossible to establish the true reasons for the manifestation of violations, there is a reason to be wary and visit a specialist. It is the doctor who is able to diagnose and determine how to remove the worms in a short time, so that you can return to your usual way of life.
Symptoms of worms in children
It is not too difficult to identify if children have worms. The presence of diseases such as opisthorchiasis, ascariasis or diphyllobothriasis can be determined by passing a special test. The following symptoms contribute to the diagnosis:
- Hyperactivity and excessive restlessness of the baby. It seems that he cannot sit still.
- Itching and burning in the anus. It is difficult for a baby to control himself, and the desire to scratch prevails over the rules of decency instilled by the parents. Obsessive scratching is not difficult to notice.
- Excessive salivation at night, during sleep and on awakening.
- Considering that helminths actively absorb valuable substances and components in the body, an uncontrollable craving for sweets awakens in children. Kids are asked to give them sweets and all kinds of delicacies in order to drown out the "shortage" formed in the body.
Reading reviews on the net, you pay attention to how parents record a strange anomaly in the behavior of their children. Not in all situations can be found parasites in the structure of the stool. Worms can be identified by flaky skin on the eyelids, split ends of hair, brittle marigolds, drowsiness and lethargy, by a general decrease in immunity. Having diagnosed three or more of the signs noted above, you should immediately consult a doctor. The specialist will conduct the necessary research and make an accurate diagnosis.
Helminthic invasion: complications of the disease
Worms eat up everything that is valuable inside us. By sucking out vitamins and minerals, helminths deprive cells of the ability to function normally. In the process of vital activity, parasites secrete antienzymes. This protects them from death inside the human body. Due to the spread of toxic substances in the blood, the carrier manifests bronchial asthma, dermatitis of varying severity and other similar diseases.
Devouring white blood cells, helminths cause irreparable harm to the immune system, destroying and destroying it. Lack of calcium, manganese, iodine, silicon and other important substances - all these are the consequences of the life of worms in our body. One of the most common failures that every carrier faces is dysbiosis. Destruction of normal intestinal microflora is a normal condition in the presence of parasitic invasion.
An interesting video seems to show how worms live and reproduce in the human body. Moving along the mucous membranes with the help of suckers, spikes and hooks, they cause irreparable harm, perforating their surface, irritating the nerve endings. This often leads to necrotization of the mucous membranes and the appearance of internal bleeding. Parasitic microorganisms can lead to irreparable consequences. Among them are blindness caused by toxocars, migraine provoked by roundworms, high blood pressure and epilepsy.
But one of the most dire consequences can be the infection of a pregnant woman with roundworms. Penetrating into the developing embryo, parasites cause disruptions in the formation of the baby's bronchopulmonary system, intrauterine growth retardation. Considering that mothers cannot take broad-spectrum antibiotics, and the list of approved drugs is very limited, roundworms find a free environment for reproduction. When a child is born from an infected mother, his height and weight significantly lag behind the indicators of a healthy baby.
Methods for diagnosing the disease
To make a diagnosis, you should contact the clinic at your place of residence or a pediatrician at any paid medical institution. After presenting your doctor with the symptoms that bother you, you will receive a referral for laboratory research. The diagnosis is confirmed by a routine test for eggs of worms, for which it is necessary to collect feces in a specialized container and bring the material for research. A situation is possible when the suspicion of parasites is high, but the analysis does not give a positive result. In this case, the study can be duplicated several times in a row.
The method of treating worms - from A to Z
There are many methods for treatment. Among them:
- drug therapy;
- time-tested folk remedies and recipes;
- special antihelminthic devices.
One thing is known for sure - it is imperative to get rid of the infection, otherwise the harm caused cannot be compensated for in any way. The doctor will tell you which drug to choose, and which treatment option to give preference to. Only a qualified specialist can make a decision on the methods of exposure. The information in this article is for guidance only. If you do not consult a professional, the price of health can be too high, and the time lost for self-medication can be incredibly expensive.
Stages of therapy
The question of how to be treated must have an unambiguous answer - comprehensively. It is important to follow the sequence. At the first stage of purification, it is customary to use oils and sorbents. Folk recipes suggest starting with pumpkin (linseed) oil. Activated carbon or any other profile suspension with a similar spectrum of action will help rid tissues of toxins. You can find out what drug names exist from your pharmacist by contacting your nearest pharmacy. It is known that helminths cannot tolerate bile, so it is recommended to use formulas that stimulate its production.
At the second stage, pills are used, selected individually by a doctor. They are selected depending on the specific clinical picture.
Despite the fact that today in the pharmacy you can find almost any drug, it is highly discouraged to prescribe it yourself. An incorrectly calculated dose and an incorrectly chosen medicine can cause irreparable harm to the work of the main systems of life, disrupting their normal functioning.
Enzymes, immunostimulating agents and vitamin-mineral complexes will help to stabilize the impaired functions after treatment. If allergic reactions are observed, the use of antihistamine formulas is recommended.
Herbal medicine, enemas and diet
Folk recipes recommend the best herbs for getting rid of worms. Among them are centaury, birch buds, valerian root, zhoster, elecampane. For adult patients, tincture of wormwood, tansy and St. John's wort are effective. In addition to using herbs, experts advise adhering to the principles of a healthy diet.
For the period of vaccinations or the use of potent drugs, it is necessary to adjust the diet, get rid of spicy and salty foods, smoked and fatty foods. Emphasis should be placed on:
- dairy products;
- vegetarian diet;
- herbal ingredients;
- fruits and vegetables.
Experts advise to eat nuts and garlic every day, drink a tablespoon of castor oil on an empty stomach in the morning. You should eat in small fractional portions with a large number of approaches to the table (at least 5-6 times). Of the additional procedures, an enema with a soda solution (10 grams per 1 liter of warm water), as well as room temperature milk infused with garlic, proved to be good.
Therapeutic devices
Special devices have appeared on the market relatively recently. Their principle of operation is based on the use of electromagnetic waves of a certain frequency. The most famous are the Zapper and Det devices. However, the studies carried out have shown that the effectiveness of the impact of the equipment is high only on adult worms. In addition, the action of the devices has a negative effect on blood cells, destroying their original structure. The use of equipment can have a beneficial effect, but only if the practice of an integrated approach is applied.
In addition to the listed options, other technologies are known. Among them, the oxygen expelling of parasites, when their habitat dramatically changes its physicochemical data. The bottom line is simple - on an empty stomach, a small tube is inserted into the stomach, delivering oxygen under pressure in certain portions. Tissues and mucous membranes are saturated with oxygen, and helminths leave the host due to unfavorable living conditions. The procedure has no side effects, therefore it is recommended for adults and children.
Ozone therapy is of interest. With the help of solutions enriched with ozone, microclysters, herbal teas, and intravenous preparations are used. The essence of the method is similar to the previous one. Ozone, together with oxygen, blocks the respiration of parasites. As a result, they are forced to leave the body of the carrier of the infection.
Traditional methods and recipes
Almost all folk recipes are taken orally in the morning on an empty stomach. Particularly popular are a decoction of bitter wormwood, walnut leaves boiled in boiling water, as well as fresh fresh carrot juice. Folk healers use a tincture of pomegranate peels and an extract of birch buds. The simplest, but no less effective method of therapy is pumpkin seeds. The delicious treat is incredibly effective. It is necessary to click a healing potion three times a day, at least 100-150 grams in one approach.
Another traditional remedy is herring with onion rings dipped in vegetable oil and lemon juice. But you need to eat the dish on an empty stomach twice a day. You cannot drink it for several hours. Given the amber that herring exudes, it is better to stay at home on the day of consuming the product.