A rather serious problem can be helminthic infection of the human body. Invasion can manifest itself in everyone, regardless of gender, age and social status of a person.
Worms can settle in the small or large intestine, 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 into types
Today, more than 300 different helminthic pathologies are known. They are provoked by nematodes and cestodes.
The former are roundworms, while the latter are flat. They parasitize in various organs and their tissues.
It is for this reason that specialists have carried out work on the classification of parasites. Two groups of worms are known in accordance with the possibility of parasitism in the human body:
- intestinal;
- extraintestinal.
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 outflow 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 negatively affects them. If this barrier has been passed by worms, they enter the stomach, where the acidic environment kills their eggs.
It is also customary to subdivide worms depending on the diseases they cause. For example, liver flukes cause fascioliasis, bovine tapeworm - teniarinhoz, pinworms - enterobiasis, roundworms - ascariasis, etc.
Thanks to the immunity of the intestine, certain antibodies are formed that resist helminths.
Only these barriers are not of particular importance in the case when a person has been severely ill, i. e. immune system is weakened.
Appearance of human worms
To date, a large number of helminths are presented, which differ in appearance and have special features. 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 referred to as pinworm, roundworm, trichina.
The next variety are oblong individuals with pointed edges, but the flukes have a flattened body.
They are named so for a reason, because they stick in the area of the excretory tracts in the human body.
This is a special kind of worms 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 body shape, similar to a ribbon.
Their habitat is the intestines. An intermediate place of residence can be fish and animals for tape individuals.
They have special suction cups that allow them to attach to the intestinal walls. There, the worms settle and lead their lives, feeding and multiplying.
Appearance of eggs of human worms
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 taking 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 humans, the symptoms of which are also not noticeable at first, cannot be seen without the use of special laboratory tools.
If you pass an analysis of feces, then the laboratory assistant will be able to determine whether there are worms in the body and determine the type of these parasites.
The data will be based on the kind and type of worm eggs that look different from each other.
Those. if the question arises: "how to determine if a person has worms? ", The answer to it will come down to the fact that for a start 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, the worms enter the human body through dirty hands, unwashed fruits and vegetables. The eggs of parasites are inside a person, because they live in the ground. It is for this reason that after gardening it is worth washing your hands well, and only then sit down to eat. Otherwise, only a few will be able to avoid the question of how to treat helminthic invasion.
It is also important not to eat meat and fish that have not been thermally processed and have not been approved by sanitary control.
It is worth noting here that some types of helminth eggs remain alive even if meat is cooked.
Another way to infect the body with worms is contact. Those. infection occurs through feces.
Fecal matter of infected people or animals may contain helminth eggs. They enter the human body and begin to multiply 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 using the epidermis.
Invasion by worms is also possible through receiving the bite of an insect vector. This method is widespread in tropical states.
But even in the south of our country or in exotic countries, this type of parasite is very easy to intercept, 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 really countless, there is also a way 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.
Pathology is not capable of being transmitted by airborne droplets, there is only a contact method for transmitting worms. Here it is necessary to determine other nuances.
The peculiarity of the ways of infection with worms is that eggs of parasites can get into the human body. They will lose the ability to develop and become adults.
They will be able to grow if they are in the environment. If, along with the larva, the necessary nutrients are found, then the egg will begin to develop and grow.
Inactive helminth eggs will be excreted along with the feces from the body, a person will begin to infect himself and harm others, if the principles of a 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 understand that you have worms. The answer to it can be obtained if you pay attention to your well-being.
Symptoms of worms in an adult 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 performance;
- weakness;
- intoxication of the body with helminths;
- increased appetite or, on the contrary, its sharp absence;
- weight loss with normal nutrition;
- constipation;
- diarrhea;
- scanty stools with blood;
- feces with worms;
- sensation of itching 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 may be accompanied by symptoms close 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 state, it is worth suspecting that there may be trichinella in the body.
Very rarely, but cases were still recorded when signs of the presence of worms in a person were accompanied by a deterioration in the functioning of the brain, eyes, and lungs.
After all, these parasites can settle even in these places, which are not characteristic of them at all. Therefore, the signs of worms in humans were accompanied by just such pain sensations in the area of their settlement.
Symptoms in an adult of the appearance of helminths vary, it is for this reason that there are different methods for understanding that you have worms, but in reality they turn out to be ineffective.
Symptoms in adults appear only in cases where 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 in adults of helminthic invasion are very similar to other signs of pathologies.
Below will be considered cases of deviation of some systems of the human body, if the worms settle in certain organs.
Malfunctions of the immune system
Worms provoke a strong weakening of the body's immune forces, taking away all the 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 begin to be treated for parasites.
Respiratory disease
If the worms find themselves in the respiratory system, they deal a merciless blow to it. It is possible that asthma, pneumonia, chronic bronchitis and other pathologies of the lung organs will begin to appear.
One of the ways to determine if a person has worms is to pay attention to the presence of a constant runny nose.
Violation of the functions of the gastrointestinal tract
Helminths can settle in the intestinal area. Symptoms in an adult will manifest in this case in the form of problems with stool disorder or constipation.
Nausea and vomiting are not ruled out. There is also pain in the intestines, excessive bloating.
A person can eat more than normal and not get better for a long time, or, on the contrary, abruptly refuse to eat.
There are cases when mild symptoms and treatment for pathologies of another kind do not bring the desired result.
But there are cases when the signs of infection with helminths are pronounced. There may be severe diarrhea if helminths have settled in the body, when large worms block the intestinal passage, causing complete constipation.
Disruption of the CNS
A huge number of helminths in the body requires the earliest possible treatment for worms, because the central nervous system can be seriously affected.
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 make contact with other people and often communication can lead to disputes.
Proper treatment of worms in adults is an important measure, because serious complications in the work of the central nervous system are possible.
They will be accompanied by a feverish state and an increase in body temperature up to 39 degrees.
The lack of useful elements due to parasite infection can provoke fatigue syndrome at a chronic level, start the process of anemia and make a person constantly irritated.
Skin pathologies
If worms enter the human body, the skin becomes worse. 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 in 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, there is a chance that the skin will quickly age and turn pale.
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 disruption of normal well-being, when filariases go through an incubation period throughout the year.
The danger of worms for people
We figured out what helminths are, now it remains to understand what harm they can do to a person.
In this case, it is necessary to indicate that helminths secrete active substances that poison the human body.
Helminths feed on digested nutrients, blood, and they also like different types of tissues. 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 you seek help from a doctor in time. Today, many means are known to help cleanse the body of parasites without violating its integrity.
Diagnostic Measures
During the week, the doctor will prescribe the patient 3 tests that can detect eggs. This measure is necessary in order to obtain a reliable result.
It is also very important to find effective tablets for worms, for this purpose a person needs to undergo a comprehensive medical examination, which includes:
- general and biochemical blood tests;
- scraping;
- analysis of urine and feces.
The specialist has a serious task to interview the patient and examine 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 the presence of worms in the human body.
Medical therapy
After carrying out the above tests, it is necessary to select special anthelmintic agents. What is an antihelminthic medicine 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 remove the parasites.
Each patient will be required to take medication according to a specific treatment regimen. The doctor will make it based on the weight of the patient, the form of parasite infestation, the age of the patient and the degree of the disease.
So that there are no facts of self-infection, it is recommended to take anthelmintic drugs again a few weeks after the course of treatment. This method allows you to remove the rest of the larvae and eggs of parasites from the body.
Traditional medicine to get rid of worms
Pumpkin seeds are famous for their great efficiency, which help to remove parasites from the body. It should be clarified that such a remedy must 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.