Infecting a person with worms is medically known as helminthiasis.Hundreds of parasite species are known to cause this disease.Some of them do not cause noticeable damage, others cause discomfort, but there are also worms that pose a threat to human life.
Helminths enter the body in the form of eggs, which are covered with a protective shell and can withstand harsh conditions.Worms are very prolific and lay thousands of eggs per day, increasing the likelihood of infection.The eggs come out of the carrier of the parasites together with the faeces.Under favorable conditions, the shell falls off and the egg develops into a full-fledged parasite within a short time.Worms feed on human food or tissues, multiply rapidly and damage the body with toxins from the products of their vital activity, causing poisoning.
Causes of worms in humans
The disease can be related to lifestyle, diet or the presence of pets.You can get infected in different ways:
- swimming in ponds used for watering animals;
- non-compliance with personal hygiene rules;
- poor heat treatment of meat and meat dishes;
- eating unwashed vegetables and fruits;
- raw, unprocessed fish;
- contact with infected animals (cat, dog, cow);
- living with people carrying helminths;
- raw water consumption in rural areas.
It's important to know: Worms lay thousands or even hundreds of thousands of eggs every day, so any infected person or animal is a great danger as a source of infection.
Most often, children are exposed to infection, as they follow few hygiene rules and are constantly in contact with each other, spreading parasites.Pinworms and roundworms, which occur in almost all children, are especially easy to spread.They cause a lot of inconvenience and affect the well-being of the child.
Symptoms and signs of worms
The presence of worms in a person is quite easy to determine even without medical examinations.Their main habitat is the intestines, where they feed on human food and are often excreted with feces, and itching of the anus is observed, as the worms excrete their waste products and thereby irritate the rectal mucosa.Pinworms, for example, crawl out of the anus at night, so redness and allergic symptoms are often observed around it, which causes a desire to scratch in this place.
There are types of helminths that affect the liver and even the brain.For example, liver fluke (cattle tapeworm), when it enters the human body, "travels" through the body with the bloodstream until it stops in the liver or brain.It begins to develop there, devouring the surrounding tissues.One begins to experience illness and, upon contact with the brain, even mental disturbances and ultimately death.The parasite is spread by livestock (cows, sheep).
Another dangerous parasite is Echinococcus.These worms are parasites in dogs or wolves and spread from them to humans through contact.Helminths attack the liver and lungs.In this case, headache, dry cough and loss of appetite are observed.In addition, this type is difficult to diagnose and can be mistaken for a tumor during examinations.Echinococci are dangerous to health and can cause serious disorders in the body, including death.
The main symptoms of helminthosis:
- headache;
- nausea;
- vomit;
- weight loss;
- itching in the anus;
- bloating and flatulence;
- diarrhea and other digestive disorders;
- inflammation of the lymph nodes;
- increased body temperature;
- abdominal pain;
- cough for no reason;
- skin allergies.
Worms appear shortly after infection.At first, symptoms are absent or barely noticeable, since the amount of toxic substances emitted by the parasites does not cause serious problems.Then, as it develops and multiplies, the symptoms intensify and become more and more pronounced.The general state of health deteriorates sharply, so measures must be taken to detect and destroy them.
Treatment of helminthic infection
You should know that parasites do not disappear on their own.At the same time, health is constantly deteriorating due to poisoning caused by toxins.This weakens the body and the immune system, leaving a person vulnerable to inflammatory infections and other diseases.
Killing worms is called deworming.The process involves the use of drugs to kill the parasites and reduce the allergic reaction.Each type of parasite is sensitive to certain substances, so to get rid of the worms, it is necessary to determine their type.In this case, only a doctor will help, who, after performing tests and other examinations, will make a diagnosis and prescribe treatment.
In the most severe cases, doctors prescribe surgery to remove the worms.
Interesting fact:Cattle tapeworms in humans sometimes reach 10 meters in length.It consists of small units that can develop as independent organizations.Therefore, it can only be removed surgically, and if the body breaks into pieces, they continue to develop and grow.
Prevention
Helminths enter the body in the form of microscopic eggs, so in order to prevent this, several recommendations must be followed:
- observe personal hygiene rules (wash hands before eating, after contact with animals, after visiting the toilet, etc.);
- wash vegetables and fruits with clean running water, preferably boiled water;
- fry meat and fish thoroughly;
- if you have pets, have them regularly checked by a veterinarian for worms;
- Do an intestinal parasite test once a year.
Advice: Do not swim in bodies of water near which livestock graze.In this case, there is a risk of infection with cattle tapeworm, which is very dangerous.
Worms pose a great threat to human health and interfere with normal life.It is important to identify them as soon as possible and eliminate them with treatment, since it is easier to get rid of them in the early stages.In addition to the risk to your health, there is the possibility of infecting your loved ones with parasites, so at the first symptoms it is recommended to consult a doctor, who will make a diagnosis and prescribe a course of treatment.In addition, it is important to follow preventive measures to avoid infection.It is better to prevent the appearance of worms in the body in advance than to get rid of them later.