Various scientific studies have confirmed the connection of many human pathological conditions with parasitic diseases. Often, worms in humans do not give any characteristic symptoms of the disease, so they can exist in the body for many years, provoking dangerous complications and pathologies. Sometimes the only symptom of a parasitic disease may be black dots in the feces or light-colored helminth eggs and worms in the feces. To find out if there are worms in the human body, it is necessary to conduct a diagnosis. First of all, a study of feces is carried out, so it is so important to know what worms look like in a person's feces, and also to understand the types of parasites in humans. In addition to the types of parasites, our article will describe the symptoms of worms in humans and methods for diagnosing a parasitic disease.
Symptoms of worms in humans
It is easy to understand how the eggs of worms look in the feces and the worms themselves, from the photo. Different worms in a person in the photo can differ significantly. Some eggworms or adults are very small, other parasites in the stool and their eggs can be seen without a microscope. That is why, when answering the question of whether eggs can be seen with the naked eye, it is necessary to take into account which worms live in a person.
Eggs in the feces do not always appear, sometimes the only symptoms of helminthiasis may be the following conditions:
- weight loss;
- general weakness;
- often there is rapid fatigue;
- the skin turns pale;
- itching in the anal region.
However, some symptoms of the disease, which are caused by worm larvae or adults, the patient does not even associate with worms. These symptoms include the following:
- flatulence, diarrhea and constipation;
- nausea and vomiting;
- pain in the navel and right hypochondrium.
When such symptoms appear, it is necessary first of all to conduct a study of fecal masses. In this case, the smallest eggs of worms in the feces can be detected. Since self-identification of worm eggs is difficult, it is better to take the feces for analysis to the laboratory. Only a specialist knows what worm eggs look like.
Sometimes there are no parasites in the feces, but the patient has signs of general intoxication. When parasite toxins affect the human nervous system, the following symptoms of the disease appear:
- dizziness;
- fatigue;
- headache;
- increased irritability;
- drowsiness;
- depression;
- convulsions;
- temperature rise.
If worms and their eggs are found in the feces of a child, then often the symptoms of the disease are supplemented by various allergic manifestations:
- urticaria, dermatitis;
- skin rashes;
- skin itching, redness.
Worms in the feces of an adult or a child can be detected only at a certain stage of the disease, and even then not always. That is why it is not so important to know what parasite larvae look like, as it is necessary to understand the symptoms of a particular parasitic disease:
- Pinworms that cause enterobiasis usually provoke severe itching in the anal area, which worsens at night. This is due to the fact that these nematodes (roundworms) lay their eggs on the perianal folds, crawling out of the anus.
- A characteristic symptom of ankylostomiasis, diphyllobothriasis and trichuriasis will be anemia and beriberi.
- The symptomatology of ascariasis depends on the stage of development of the helminth. In the migratory stage, the clinical picture is expressed by a complex of symptoms from the respiratory system (shortness of breath, cough, bronchitis, pneumonia). In the intestinal stage, symptoms appear that are characteristic of gastrointestinal pathologies. In this case, black blotches may appear in the stool.
- Fever, swelling of the face and muscle pain occur with trichinosis.
- If trematodes have settled in the liver, then pancreatitis develops, yellowness of the sclera and skin appears, and the spleen enlarges. With this form of the disease, black threads and dots in the fecal masses may be absent.
- Schistosomiasis provokes bleeding in the genitourinary system, so there may be urine mixed with blood. Often the parasite causes digestive disorders.
Types of worms
In the photo, worms in a person can differ dramatically depending on their belonging to a particular species. So, tapeworms and roundworms parasitize in the human body. In the photo, helminths of the same variety may also differ. So, pinworms, nematodes, trichinella, roundworms, hookworms belong to the order of roundworms. There are two classes of flatworms:
- cestodes (this is pork and bovine tapeworm, echinococcus, wide tapeworm, alveococcus);
- trematodes (these include schistosomes, opisthorchis, paragonim).
What this or that helminth looks like, you can find out from the photo. We will describe the features of the existence of the main parasites of the human body:
- Pinworms provoke enterobiasis, the symptoms of which appear on the third day after infection. Eggs enter the body with unwashed hands, fruits and herbs.
- Vlasoglav causes a disease called trichuriasis. Its first symptoms can be seen 21-35 days after the invasion. Infection occurs when cooking in unsanitary conditions. Usually the patient is tormented by diarrhea, loss of appetite, abdominal pain. It could be an inflammation of the appendix.
- The culprit of diphyllobothriasis is a wide tapeworm. The disease manifests itself in 2-5 weeks from the moment of infection. The parasite enters the body with infected poorly fried fish. This helminth can live in the human body for decades, causing anemia, beriberi, intestinal obstruction, allergies and intoxication.
- Roundworms are the culprits of ascariasis. It is when infected with these worms that black dots can appear in the feces of an adult and a child. From the moment of invasion to the appearance of a clinical picture, it takes up to three months. The parasite enters the intestines with plant foods.
- Roundworm - hookworm provokes hookworm. Infection can occur when working in the ground, walking barefoot on the soil. The disease manifests itself 5-8 days after infection. First, there is itching and swelling at the site of penetration of the parasite, then cough with copious sputum, dizziness, weakness.
- The giant liver fluke causes fascioliasis. The parasite enters the body with contaminated water and plant foods. The first signs of the disease can be seen after 0. 5-1 month from the onset of the invasion. The disease is manifested by dry cough, fever, abdominal pain and loss of appetite.
- A worm called trichinella is the culprit of trichinosis in humans. Helminth can enter the human body with poorly processed meat and fat. The first symptoms appear two days after infection. Usually the patient is tormented by diarrhea, heartburn and nausea.
Diagnosis of helminthiases
When diagnosing many helminthiases, a study of feces is performed first. If you find black dots in feces or white worms in feces, then this analysis should be done as soon as possible.
However, not only feces with black dots is an indication for a coprogram. Often, even eggs invisible to the eye can be easily identified under a microscope. A more accurate diagnosis of fecal masses for the detection of helminth DNA particles is done using the PCR technique.
If a person has a lot of black dots in the feces, then among other diagnostic methods it is worth mentioning the following:
- Scraping from the area near the anus;
- Blood test by ELISA, PCR, RNGA and other methods;
- Be sure to do blood biochemistry and KLA;
- In some cases, ultrasound, MRI and CT are performed to identify the localization sites of parasites;
- To diagnose the migratory stage of helminths, an x-ray examination is indicated.
In certain forms of helminthiases, sputum, rectal mucus, urine, and gallbladder contents can be examined. Also, endoscopic examination is sometimes used in the diagnosis.