Parasitic infestations often go unnoticed. And the first symptoms of worms in people are non-specific, so the sick person does not go to the doctor for a long time. So the patient may think that he is overtired, suffering from gastritis or poisoning, experiencing an exacerbation of allergies or arthritis.
How to suspect the appearance of worms
Signs of helminths in the body depend on the type and localization of the parasite. Some symptoms appear soon after infection. Others appear after some time and show the migration of worms in the body, an increase in intoxication, a lack of nutrients or vitamins.
The most common signs of worms in adults include:
- Increase in body temperature. Fever can be unexpressed - up to 37. 5 ° C, short-lived. Episodes of temperature increase coincide with periods of deterioration, accompanied by an increase in various groups of lymph nodes.
- One of the most common signs of the presence of helminths is abdominal pain. Discomfort sensations have one specific localization - in the navel, liver or gait. The pain is accompanied by a violation of the stool, the appearance of impurities in the stool - mucus, blood. More often there are bouts of diarrhea, but when the intestinal lumen is blocked by parasites, the development of obstruction is also possible.
- Itching in the anus is the first sign and characteristic symptom of shingles. This happens at night, forcing a person to scratch the anus.
- Helminths cause allergic reactions of the skin or respiratory type as a result of the circulation of their breakdown products, toxins, in the body. So a person complains of an exacerbation of bronchial asthma, the appearance of dermatitis, eczema.
- Beriberi develops when infected with worms. It manifests itself in the form of deterioration of the condition of the hair, nails, characteristic "jam" in the corners of the mouth, dry skin. The lack of iron in the body causes the development of anemia, paleness of the skin, the appearance of bruises under the eyes.
- Helminths also have a pathogenic effect on the nervous system, as a result of which the patient is disturbed by headaches, irritability, impaired working capacity, intermittent sleep and emotional instability.
- Worms migrating through the respiratory system (roundworms) cause a person to have bouts of dry cough. With the movement of parasites in the muscles, the development of intoxication, sick people complain of pain, pain in the muscles and joints.
For the record!
The first symptoms of infection can appear within a few days after the penetration of helminths into the body of an adult. More often, they appear after 2-3 weeks from the moment of contact with the parasite, and in the case of migrating worms - after months, years.
The combination of different symptoms does not clearly indicate a specific disease, but it is a reason to worry about your health and visit a doctor. If a sick person engages in self-diagnosis, looking for information on how to find out that you have worms, he risks wasting time and getting life-threatening complications.
What is the danger of infection with parasites
Helminths in the body not only take the necessary nutrients and vitamins from a person. Worms poison the patient with products of decay, affect the internal organs. Parasitic worms in humans can lead to such serious diseases that require emergency surgery, and in some cases, removal of part of the organ:
- acute intestinal obstruction;
- violation of the integrity of the intestines with the development of peritonitis;
- appendicitis;
- blockage of bile ducts;
- eye damage.
important!
Among the delayed consequences of the invasion, leading to deterioration of the condition, death of the patient, are cirrhosis and liver cancer, pneumonia, pleurisy, sclerosis of the lung tissue, myocarditis, meningitis, hearing and vision impairment, episyndrome.
How does worm infestation occur?
To solve the problem of prevention of helminths, it is necessary to have information about where the parasites come from. The most common mechanisms of infection are: food, contact-household, percutaneous, transmissible (associated with blood-sucking insects).
Here are the most typical situations in which worms appear in the body:
- The use of vegetables, fruits, fruits or vegetables infected with eggs of the parasite.
- Eating poorly processed meat, fish with helminth larvae. Eating game that has not passed veterinary control. So trichinella can withstand even long-term stewing of meat and retain their viability.
- Violation of hygiene rules: formal attitude to washing hands after returning from the street, contact with pets or street animals.
- Bathing in tanks containing worm larvae.
- Contact with soil containing parasite larvae while working in the garden.
- Work in conditions where there is an increased risk of infection with helminths: in children's collectives, food, animal husbandry, poultry.
Where are worms found in the human body
There are many medical myths about where worms live in the human body. Not all of them are based on parasitological data. Some helminths occupy different parts of the intestine and multiply in them. Humans can be the main hosts of the parasite. The so-called human worms go through the stage of sexual reproduction in the body, after which they come out in feces. In animal helminths, man is an intermediate host, within which only an asexual (parthenogenetic) phase is possible. Parasites spread to internal organs, causing them damage. So worms in the human body can be found:
- under the skin;
- in the liver;
- in the bladder;
- In the eyes;
- in the muscles;
- in the lungs and heart;
- in the brain.
If we look at the descriptions of the life cycle of the helminth in the form of a photo with explanations, we can follow its migration through the body and guess what the main symptoms of the disease will look like.
Diagnosis of worms
The appearance of abdominal pain, fever, skin rashes, cough with sputum, inflammatory and allergic changes in the blood count are the basis for checking a person for parasites. Infectious disease specialists recommend laboratory tests to detect the helminth or the immune response to its presence in the body.
The following methods help to identify worms in a person:
- stool analysis for parasite eggs;
- scraping or smear for enterobiosis;
- immunological tests to detect antibodies against helminths;
- PCR assays for worm DNA fragments;
- detection of a worm in the contents of the duodenum, tissue biopsy samples.
These methods will help you understand the type of parasite and choose an effective drug. If the internal organs are damaged, the following will help to diagnose the helminth:
- chest x-ray;
- Ultrasound of liver, heart, pancreas;
- cystoscopy;
- MRI of the brain.
If necessary, the specialist in infectious diseases will refer a neurologist, ophthalmologist, cardiologist, urologist for consultations.
For the record!
You should not try to recognize helminths yourself, resort to "unique computer diagnostics" outside the medical institution. This will lead to loss of time, deterioration of health.
Treatment of worms in humans
If a disease is detected, the infectious disease specialist will give full recommendations regarding the treatment of the disease, regimen and diet. If necessary, the doctor will suggest hospitalization in the hospital. There is no "magic" cure for worms, the symptoms and treatment of helminths in adults can vary.
You need to know the basic principles of therapy against parasites:
- Medicines are used to control worms. The choice of treatment regimen (dosage, duration of the course, frequency of administration) depends on the type of helminth, the condition of the sick person's body.
- In severe cases of the disease, help is provided in a hospital setting.
- You should not independently reduce the dose, reduce the duration of treatment with tablets or worm suspension.
- Some drugs require diet, refusal of alcohol.
- There are no "magic" means that allow you to quickly get rid of any helminths in 1 day. Short courses are indeed used to treat some worms in humans, but it is impossible to destroy all the parasites in the body with one tablet, tincture or ointment.
- Herbal preparations are used for sick people who, for health reasons, are contraindicated for medicines in the form of tablets or suspensions.
- Antiallergic drugs, hepatoprotectors, enterosorbents, immunomodulators are prescribed as adjuvant therapy. By themselves, they do not help to remove worms from a person, but they improve the general well-being of a person, eliminating unpleasant symptoms of the disease and side effects of treatment.
important!
Folk remedies are used only as an auxiliary method of therapy. Independent use of alternative medicine is fraught with aggravation.
Pharmacy products
Treatment with drugs from the group of anthelmintic drugs helps to destroy, expel parasites from the body. Pharmaceutical drugs have different points of application:
- disrupt the absorption of nutrients by parasites;
- disrupt the metabolism of worms;
- cause muscle paralysis of helminths.
For the record!
With proper use and prevention of helminthiasis in the future, worm medicines really help to permanently rid a person of parasites that have settled in the intestines and internal organs. But if the patient neglects elementary rules of hygiene, re-infection with parasites is possible.
Also, an infectious disease specialist can prescribe herbal medicines that help poison and expel worms in people. The doctor will recommend certain herbs based on information about the condition of the body and the type of parasites. To cure the patient, apply: pumpkin seeds, tansy grass, and St. John's wort.
Folk remedies for the treatment of worms
Many patients refuse traditional methods of treatment, hoping for the help of traditional medicine. Infectious diseases warn that attempts to get rid of worms at home with dubious solutions, infusions can lead to increased intoxication, allergic reactions. If you miss the time, the disease will progress, a fatal outcome is possible.
To expel helminths from the body, the following home remedies are widely used:
- onion decoction;
- pomegranate peel;
- enemas and ingestion of pumpkin seeds;
- juices from vegetables and sour fruits without sugar;
- garlic with milk;
- soda enemas;
- tincture of wormwood.
Treatment reviews
Before starting a course of therapy, patients consider various options for dealing with parasites, trying to understand how to properly poison helminths. In their reviews, people who have had a helminth infestation describe traditional drug therapy as a fairly effective method. It is extremely rare to get rid of helminths with folk remedies.
- "I started to worry about itching in the anus. He turned to the therapist, received a referral for scraping. It was very unpleasant that sedges were found in the scraping. I read how dangerous helminths are and decided not to poison myself with self-medication. On the doctor's advice, she drank an anthelmintic medicine - 1 tablet once a week. The course took 2 weeks, I immediately felt relief, the itching disappeared. I believe it wasn't such a terrible infection, but the medicine worked "perfectly well".
- "I got worms after eating fish at a party. Soon the diarrhea started. I lost weight, my skin became dry and itchy. I studied in detail the information on how to treat parasites and how to restore the body later, I started taking an anthelmintic drug. I was ashamed to go to the doctor. The medicine didn't help. I tried to fight the worms with folk methods: I cleansed the liver with bitters, drank milk with garlic and gave an enema. But it didn't get better. I had to see an infectious disease specialist, I am treated with an anthelmintic drug of the benzimidazole class. As I "matured" to go to the doctor, I lost 4 kilograms, became pale, nervous.
Prevention
Knowing how worms appear in the body, everyone can protect themselves and their loved ones from infection. Prevention includes:
- Washing hands with soap after contact with animals, returning home.
- Regular deworming of pets.
- Timely change of bed linen.
- Regular wet cleaning, airing, cleaning of carpets and upholstered furniture.
- Consumption of meat that has passed veterinary control.
- Complete heat treatment of meat and fish.
- Refusal to eat raw meat, fish, offal.
Helminth infection requires immediate treatment. You should pay attention to symptoms such as: diarrhea, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, weight loss, skin rash, cough, fever and immediately consult a specialist. After treatment, precautions should be taken to prevent reinfection.