The most common worms in humans are worms. These parasites lead to many complications in the human body, including: disruption of the gastrointestinal tract, physical damage to internal organs, and helminthiasis.
Helminthiasis is not a disease, but a group of diseases caused by parasites living inside a person. All helminths are divided into three main types:
- nematodes (belong to the order Nematodes), prominent representatives - nematodes, roundworms, whipworms;
- tapeworms, or tapeworms (a group of flatworms) are represented by tapeworms, cattle tapeworms;
- flukes or trematodes (detachment of flatworms) are represented by liver flukes.
Since the worms leave the host during the breeding season to preserve the species, they are also divided according to the type of transmission when moving to another vector or environment:
- Mechanical transmission means long-distance travel, while the development of worms in the body of the carrier does not occur. These include most arthropods (crustaceans, arachnids, and centipedes), which are often carried on the legs of common flies.
- An intermediate host is a special mode of transmission in which one stage of development occurs in the host. For example, in the case of the ox tapeworm, livestock acts as a carrier (intermediate host) and humans act as the final carrier.
Helminths differ in the way they are transmitted:
- active (contact);
- passive (food).
Contact worms can penetrate the human body through the mucous membrane and skin (schitosomes, hookworms). Foods occur more often, they develop in humans after eating unwashed food, coming into contact with sick people or not following personal hygiene rules.
In total, more than 250 species of lower worms live in humans. Since the symptoms of the presence of worms in humans have different manifestations, in case of the slightest suspicion, a specialist should be consulted and an examination should be carried out.
The life cycle of worms, their reproduction and development
One example of the development of helminths is the classic scheme of the life cycle of nematodes. Parasitic eggs are extremely resistant to external harmful effects and can remain in the soil for up to six months.
The development of the larva itself lasts from 2 weeks to 2 months, depending on the environmental conditions: temperature, humidity, oxygen supply. The mature egg is carried to the stomach with food, where the gastric juice corrodes the eggshell and releases the larva.
After that, the nematode enters the bloodstream through the intestinal wall and begins to move through the vascular system until it enters the alveoli of the lungs. The nematode larva is aerobic, only here it becomes active and continues to develop.
Feeding on blood, it grows up to 3-4 mm in length. After reaching primary maturity, 4-5 days after invasion, the nematode begins to move into the bronchi.
Its movement causes a cough in humans, as a result of which the larva enters the oral cavity and back into the intestines together with the mucous membrane. This is where the final stage of larval development into an adult takes place.
The life cycle of an adult nematode lasts about a year, during which it lays up to 250, 000 eggs. Human health and sometimes life directly depends on the presence and number of worms in the body, so it is important to start treatment as soon as possible.
Ascariasis is accompanied by poisoning, and intestinal obstruction becomes a complication that in some cases requires urgent surgical intervention.
Intestinal worm reproduction occurs in two ways, in which worms are divided into biohelminths and geohelminths. As a rule, parasite eggs enter the external environment - this is where they mature. The egg must then enter the host, where it becomes fully developed (geohelminths) or passes through the stage of transformation into a larva (biohelminths).
In biohelminths, the developmental process is more complex, the stages of development and reaching maturity in the adult individual are separate from the larval appearance stage. That is, from the external environment, the egg is first transferred to the intermediate carrier, where the larva hatches.
Therefore, it must enter the body of the last host to reach the adult form. Sometimes biohelminths change up to 4 intermediate hosts before reaching the final host.
Symptoms
How to determine the presence of worms? Polymorphic symptoms and the absence of pain in the early stages of the disease make diagnosis difficult.
The reasons for the appearance of worms in humans are often related to the consumption of stale or contaminated food, and the parasites themselves live directly in the digestive system, so the signs of their presence in the human body are in most cases related to the work of the human body. the intestines:
- liquid stool (unstable;
- pain and swelling;
- allergic skin rashes;
- bloating;
- nausea;
- vomited;
- loss of appetite or excessive appetite;
- at night - sleep disorders, tossing, teeth grinding, salivation;
- itching in the anus;
- the presence of mucus or blood in the stool.
These symptoms appear after infection and last for a short time (about 7 days). In case of re-invasion, they repeat after 2-3 weeks.
In the absence of treatment or due to the occurrence of an acute or chronic form of the disease, some symptoms do not disappear, and the consequences of the long stay of the parasites in the body are added:
- Poisoning occurs almost simultaneously with infection, but is not so noticeable in the early stages. The more worms there are in the human body, the more the symptoms of poisoning increase, from morning sickness to vomiting and abdominal pain.
- Congestion in the lungs (infiltrates), bronchospasm, pneumonia. The main culprits are parasites that develop in the alveoli of the lungs and damage them, causing inflammation.
- Inflammation of the heart muscle (myocarditis). An infectious disease, the result of the vital activity of helminths and subsequent poisoning.
- Meningoencephalitis is a dangerous inflammation of the brain and its membranes caused by bacteria and protozoa.
Different pathogens have their own manifestations and consequences, but most of the symptoms are common to all helminths.
Diagnostics
The diagnosis is made in the laboratory. Only in this case, in the presence of worm eggs and their signs in blood or feces, helminthiasis can be confidently diagnosed. However, the analysis of feces is not always sufficient: certain types of parasites do not appear in it.
A special method for determining the presence of worms is a serological blood test for antibodies. The following are used to diagnose helminthiasis:
- bile tests;
- macroscopy (to detect ascaris and pinworms);
- biopsy of muscle tissue during the control of trichinosis;
- x-ray and ultrasound.
Trichinosis is a parasitic disease in which the larvae of the pathogen spread throughout the host's body, causing great damage to organs and the central nervous system, and then settle in the muscle tissue.
The parasites gradually create an infiltrate capsule around themselves in the muscles of a person, and the symptoms of their presence in the body decrease, but by this time serious damage has already occurred to the owner's health.
One of the main symptoms can be considered eosinophilia, in which the number of eosinophils in the patient's blood increases dramatically. Eosinophils are a subtype of white blood cells that respond to tiny foreign bodies in the circulatory system.
Internal swelling and spots on the skin quickly appear in places where the parasite's larvae accumulate - signs of infiltration. They also remain in sputum and lung fluid.
Since the symptoms of helminthiasis are extensive and largely overlap with the signs of other diseases, self-diagnosis cannot be completely reliable.
There are cases when, after eating bananas, people noticed dark threads in their feces, which they took for worms. All tests for the presence and type of parasites must be passed before starting treatment.
Treatment of helminthiasis
Several general rules must be followed when treating parasitic diseases:
- Thorough disinfection of the patient's bedding and the room. Keep contacts to a minimum, plates must be separated.
- Strict alcohol-free diet. It is recommended to use carrot juice and birch sap infusion.
- Personal hygiene, frequent hand washing and washing, cleaning of premises.
- Monitoring the process and effectiveness of the treatment.
Modern treatment methods exclude the use of a separate drug, as this does not guarantee full coverage of all types of helminths. Most often, the doctor prescribes an initial drug that weakens the parasites.
If it is not possible to consult a doctor, folk remedies are used. They have a good anthelmintic effect:
- enema of garlic infusion, taking garlic on an empty stomach;
- infusion of tansy on an empty stomach, 4 times a day before meals;
- wormwood tincture on alcohol, take 20 mg three times a day.
In our time, worms in humans are diagnosed and treated within a short period of time. If you do not start the disease and start treatment in time, this will help to avoid complications and re-invasion.
Children are at the greatest risk of parasitic diseases: retardation of mental development, complications in the form of chronic diseases and inflammatory processes.
It is extremely important to explain to the child in time the need to wash hands and observe personal hygiene rules. At the same time, adults should also observe other preventive measures.
Prevention of helminthiasis
In addition to personal hygiene, many factors affect the elimination of the cause of the appearance of worms:
- washing vegetables and fruits in hot water;
- keep the house clean, perform wet cleaning regularly;
- a balanced diet that provides the body with a sufficient amount of vitamins from all groups;
- checking the condition of pets, annual visits to the veterinarian;
- proper heat treatment of fish and meat;
- fight against insects living in the house;
- refrain from bathing and resting on pastures.
Adherence to preventive measures and timely access to a doctor in case of infection will help to avoid complications. With the correct dosage of the drugs prescribed by the specialist, they get rid of the parasites quickly, and folk remedies can also be used together with the prescribed drugs.