Helminthic infection of the human body can be quite a serious problem. The invasion can manifest itself in anyone, regardless of a person's gender, age and social status.
Worms can settle in the small or large intestines, penetrating there in different ways.
They have a serious toxic effect on the organ system as a whole, producing the products of their vital activity.
All this negatively affects a person's resistance to all kinds of infections that strike the body.
Division of worms by species
More than 300 different helminth pathologies are known today. They are provoked by nematodes and cestodes.
The former are roundworms, and the latter are flatworms. They parasitize various organs and their tissues.
For this reason, specialists have carried out work on the classification of parasites. Two groups of worms are known according to the possibility of parasitizing the human body:
- intestinal;
- extraintestinal
The representatives of the intestinal group settle in the area of the small or large intestine, while the second extraintestinal ones live in the heart, liver, lungs and even muscles.
They travel through the body thanks to the flow of blood. As a rule, a person with a good immune system has several protective barriers that prevent worms from entering the body.
There is a special enzyme in the mouth that affects them negatively. If this barrier is crossed by worms, they enter the stomach, where the acidic environment kills their eggs.
It is also common to divide worms according to the diseases they cause. For example, liver flukes cause fascioliasis, bovine tapeworms - taeniarhynchosis, pinworms - enterobiosis, roundworms - ascariasis, etc.
Thanks to the immunity of the intestines, certain antibodies are formed that oppose helminths.
Only these barriers are not of particular importance in the event that a person has been seriously ill, i. e. the immune system is weakened.
Appearance of human worms
To date, a large number of helminths have been presented, which differ in appearance and have special characteristics. All will not be described in this article, but the main features are still worth identifying.
Helminths in adults can be presented in the form of roundworms, which are commonly called pinworms, roundworms, trichinella.
The next variety is elongated individuals with pointed edges, but flukes have a flattened body.
They are named so not by chance, because they stick to the area of the excretory paths in the human body.
This is a special type of worm that does not have its own respiratory and circulatory system. Flukes feed on feces and mucous membranes, blood.
A special group should include tapeworms, they have a flattened ribbon-like body shape.
Their habitat is the intestine. An intermediate place of residence can be fish and animals for banded individuals.
They have special suction cups that allow them to attach to the intestinal walls. There the worms settle down and lead their lives, feed and multiply.
Appearance of human worm eggs
For a long time, helminths can live in humans, the symptoms will not be noticeable.
Many people only accidentally become aware of their pathology when they start doing stool tests or feel much worse.
In feces, it is not always possible to notice them with the naked eye, and even if there is no microscope at hand.
The presence of worm eggs in people whose symptoms are also not noticeable at first cannot be seen without the use of special laboratory tools.
If you pass a stool analysis, then the laboratory technician will be able to determine if there are worms in the body and determine the type of these parasites.
The data will be based on the type and type of worm eggs, which look different from each other.
These. if the question arises: "how to determine if a person has worms? "", The answer to it will come down to the fact that to begin with it is worth going to the hospital and taking the tests prescribed by the doctor.
Ways of infection of the body
Worms are in the human body in the form of several ways of infection. The most important is oral.
In this case, worms enter the human body through dirty hands, unwashed fruits and vegetables. The eggs of the parasites are inside the person because they live in the ground. It is for this reason that after working in the garden it is worth washing your hands well and only then sitting down to eat. Otherwise, only a few will be able to avoid the question of how to treat a helminthic infestation.
It is also important not to eat meat and fish that have not been thermally processed and not approved by sanitary control.
Here it is worth noting that some types of helminth eggs remain alive even if the meat is cooked.
Another way to infect the body with worms is contact. These. infection occurs through feces.
Feces of infected people or animals may contain helminth eggs. They enter the human body and begin to reproduce when they become sexually mature individuals.
Experts identify other ways of infection. One of them is related to the skin. Helminths from the aquatic environment penetrate the human body through the epidermis.
Invasion by worms is also possible through the bite of a vector insect. This method is widespread in tropical countries.
But even in the southern part of our country or in exotic countries, this type of parasite is very easy to catch, which will lead to the fact that a person will have to be interested in how to treat helminths.
The ways of transmission of worms are truly countless, there is also a path from an infected person to a healthy one.
But this does not mean at all that being together with an infected person, you will catch helminthiasis from him.
The pathology cannot be transmitted by air-droplet route, there is only a contact method of transmission of worms. Here it is necessary to define other nuances.
The peculiarity of the ways of infection with worms is that the eggs of the parasites can get into the human body. They will lose their ability to develop and become adults.
They will be able to grow if they are in the environment. If the necessary nutrients are found together with the larva, then the egg will begin to develop and grow.
Inactive eggs of helminths will be excreted together with feces from the body, a person will begin to infect and harm others if the principles of the hygienic regime are not followed.
The clinical picture of the presence of helminths in the human body
Many people are interested in the question of how to find out that you have worms. The answer to it can be obtained if you pay attention to your well-being.
Symptoms of worms in adults will vary depending on the types of parasites that are in the body.
Many of them live in the digestive tract, and therefore the signs of the presence of worms in humans will be as follows:
- state of drowsiness;
- loss of previous results;
- weakness;
- intoxication of the body with helminths;
- increased appetite or, on the contrary, its sharp absence;
- weight loss with normal eating;
- constipation;
- diarrhea;
- scanty stools with blood;
- feces with worms;
- itching sensation in the anus;
- headache with migraine attacks;
- violation of healthy sleep;
- allergic reactions to certain products, this is due to the fact that some types of worms secrete special substances.
Signs of worms in adults can be accompanied by symptoms similar to hepatitis.
The thing is that the parasites affect the liver and the gallbladder area. There are types of trematodes that can be confused with the manifestation of pancreatitis.
In case of manifestation of pain in the muscles, excessive sweating and a feverish condition, it is worth suspecting that there may be trichinella in the body.
Very rarely, however, cases have been recorded when signs of the presence of worms in a person are accompanied by a deterioration in the functioning of the brain, eyes and lungs.
After all, these parasites can settle even in those places that are not characteristic of them at all. Therefore, the signs of worms in people were accompanied by exactly such painful sensations in the area of \u200b\u200btheir settlement.
Symptoms in an adult for the appearance of helminths are different, for this reason there are different methods to find out that you have worms, but in reality they turn out to be ineffective.
Symptoms in adults appear only in cases where a severe infection is observed. A person can lose a lot of weight, his skin will become pale and the itching in the anus will not stop.
As you can see, the symptoms of helminthic infestation in adults are very similar to other signs of pathologies.
Below will be considered cases of deviation of some systems of the human body if worms settle in certain organs.
Malfunctions of the immune system
Worms provoke a strong weakening of the body's immune forces, taking away all useful elements and vitamins.
A person can begin to get seriously ill with a cold, although until recently he did not have a tendency to such pathologies.
It is vulnerable to many infectious or viral diseases, and therefore no minerals and vitamins can help restore immunity.
First of all, you need to find out if a person has worms, and then start treatment for parasites.
Respiratory disease
If the worms get into the respiratory system, they deal a merciless blow to it. Asthma, pneumonia, chronic bronchitis and other lung pathologies may begin to appear.
One way to determine if a person has worms is to pay attention to the presence of a constant runny nose.
Disturbance of the functions of the gastrointestinal tract
Helminths can settle in the intestinal area. Symptoms in an adult will manifest themselves in this case in the form of problems with stool disorder or constipation.
Nausea and vomiting are not excluded. There is also pain in the intestines, excessive swelling.
A person can eat more than normal and not improve for a long time or, on the contrary, suddenly refuse to eat.
There are cases when mild symptoms and treatment of pathologies of another kind do not bring the desired result.
But there are cases when the signs of helminth infection are clearly expressed. There can be severe diarrhea if helminths have settled in the body, when large worms block the intestinal passage, causing complete constipation.
CNS disorder
A huge number of helminths in the body requires the earliest possible treatment of worms, since the central nervous system can be seriously affected.
The products secreted by parasites are capable of inflicting a heavy blow on the nervous system, they send the body and cause malfunctions.
A person may suffer from memory loss, frequent headaches with migraine attacks, depression and fatigue.
It will not be easy for him to contact other people, and often communication can lead to arguments.
Correct treatment of worms in adults is an important measure, as serious complications in the work of the central nervous system are possible.
They will be accompanied by a feverish condition and an increase in body temperature up to 39 degrees.
The lack of useful elements due to parasite infection can provoke fatigue syndrome on a chronic level, start the process of anemia and make a person constantly irritable.
Skin pathologies
If the worms enter the human body, the skin deteriorates. In many cases, acne and pimples will be observed.
No matter how much effort a person makes, it is simply impossible to cure these pathologies.
Helminths provoke such pathologies as dermatitis, seborrhea and papillomas. They can be manifested by cracks on the heels, itching of the skin and lamination of the nail plate.
A person begins to suffer from serious skin allergic reactions that cannot be treated, so it is important to start a course of treatment for worms in an adult. Otherwise, the skin is likely to age and fade quickly.
It is important to note that the brightness of the clinical picture will largely depend on the number of individuals in the human body, the place of their localization and immunity.
Some helminths, for example, roundworms, can provoke a general violation of normal well-being when filariae go through an incubation period throughout the year.
The danger of worms to humans
We understood what helminths are, now it remains to understand what harm they can cause to a person.
In this case, it is necessary to point out that helminths release active substances that poison the human body.
Helminths feed on digested nutrients, blood, and also like different types of tissue. All this provokes the loss of iron, proteins and other vital vitamins for the development of the body.
Worms can provoke a malfunction in the digestive tract, disrupt the stool, it turns out that at best only a person will feel much worse.
An adult has every chance to get rid of worms if he seeks help from a doctor in time. Today, many means are known that help to cleanse the body of parasites without disturbing its integrity.
Diagnostic measures
During the week, the doctor will prescribe 3 tests to the patient that can detect eggs. This measure is necessary to obtain a reliable result.
It is also very important to find effective tablets for worms, for this purpose a person should undergo a complete medical examination, which includes:
- general and biochemical blood tests;
- scraping;
- analysis of urine and feces.
The specialist has a serious task of interviewing the patient and examining him to identify the characteristic signs of worm infestation.
Symptoms may include itching of the anus, bitterness in the mouth, swollen lymph nodes, and joint and muscle pain.
The greater their number, the higher the risk of worms in the human body.
Medical therapy
After carrying out the above tests, it is necessary to select special anthelmintics. What is an anthelmintic drug and how it works, the attending physician will be able to tell.
If it is chosen incorrectly, then there is a chance that the body will suffer even more, but it will not be possible to eliminate the parasites.
Each patient will need to take medication according to a specific treatment regimen. The doctor will do this based on the patient's weight, the form of parasite infestation, the patient's age and the extent of the disease.
In order to avoid the facts of self-infection, it is recommended to re-take anthelmintic drugs a few weeks after the course of treatment. This method allows you to remove the rest of the larvae and eggs of the parasites from the body.
Traditional medicine to remove worms
Pumpkin seeds are known for their high efficiency in helping to eliminate parasites from the body. It should be clarified that such a medicine should be eaten with a thin film, necessarily raw.
It is recommended to take it in the morning on an empty stomach. If necessary, you can mix them with honey or jam.
The next stage of treatment will be an enema. Only 2 hours after this measure you can start eating. The course of treatment with pumpkin seeds should be repeated after another 14 days.