Helminths than dangerous worms-parasites for humans

According to WHO, every second person on the planet is infected with helminths every year. Many people think that parasitic worms do not cause much harm to health. However, not everything is so simple: helminths can affect important internal organs: the heart, lungs, and brain.

Helminths - who are they?

Helminths are parasitic worms that can choose a human, animal, or plant organism as a host. In total there are three classes of helminths:

• tapeworms. This class includes about 3. 5 thousand species of helminths. The length of parasitic worms varies from a few mm to 10-15 meters;
• flukes.Parasites are so named because they have suckers that they use to get food. The human body can infect about 4 dozen species of flukes. As a rule, the length of the worms does not exceed 5 cm;
• roundworms.This class of helminths has more than 24 thousand species. Roundworms are spindle-shaped. Usually their length is no more than 0. 5 meters.

You can get infected with helminths in various ways. However, most often parasitic invasion occurs for the following reasons:

1. Poor hand hygiene.
2. Unwashed vegetables, fruits; undercooked or undercooked meat, fish - the use of such products increases the risk of parasitic invasion many times over.
3. Keep food outside the refrigerator open. Insects are able to transfer helminth eggs to products that are stored without packaging.
4. Contact with pets.

The main symptoms of the presence of parasites in the body:

• nausea, vomiting, diarrhea;
• weight loss;
• allergic rashes;
• bloating;
• itching in the anus;
• teeth grinding in a dream.

Learn more about the signs of parasites in the bodyread our article.

What helminths are most often found in our country? Consider the most common types of parasitic worms and the diseases they cause.

Tapeworms

The body of a tapeworm consists of segments, the total number of which ranges from 3 to 5000. The main element of fixation of the helminth is the head, additional ones are suction cups, hooks.

The most common causes of tapeworms are:

Diphyllobothriasis

The causative agent of the disease is a wide tapeworm that affects the human intestines.The development of worm eggs occurs in fresh water. The scheme of getting tapeworm into the human body is as follows:

1. Worm eggs are swallowed by crustaceans that live in a reservoir.
2. Infected crustaceans are eaten by fish.
3. A person becomes infected with the parasite by eating fish that has undergone insufficient heat treatment.

Symptoms of the disease develop 1. 5 months after infection. The main sign of pathology is the presence of whitish fragments of helminth in the feces.

Attaching to the intestinal mucosa, the tapeworm absorbs large amounts of vitamin B12. For this reason, people with diphyllobothriasis often develop anemia. In addition, tapeworm can cause an increase in the liver, spleen, intestinal obstruction.

Teniarinhoz

The causative agent of the disease is bovine tapeworm, which mainly lives in the human small intestine. During its development cycle, the helminth replaces two owners: the intermediate is cattle, the main one is man. Bull tapeworm can live in the body for 20 years, multiplying and causing harm to health. The disease is common in many regions, but is most common in areas where it is cold.

As a rule, people get taeniarhynchosis after eating undercooked or undercooked beef.

The disease often proceeds without pronounced symptoms and is detected by chance when a person sees helminth elements in his feces. In some people, in addition to the main signs of infection with helminths, pain may occur in the right side of the anterior abdominal wall.

Adult helminths are able to penetrate into the appendix, pancreatic duct, bile ducts, provoking acute inflammatory processes in them. With multiple parasitic invasion, intestinal obstruction may develop.

teniasis

The causative agent of the disease is pork tapeworm, which initially affects the human small intestine.Human infection occurs through the consumption of raw or improperly cooked pork.

The parasite can penetrate into various organs and tissues, causing pain in the abdomen, back, and limbs. The most favorable pathology occurs when the worm is localized in the subcutaneous fat and skeletal muscle tissue. When penetrating into the eye muscles, helminths cause a decrease in visual acuity, lacrimation, and photophobia. The defeat of the pork tapeworm of the brain can be fatal.

flukes

Flukes have a leaf-like shape and are distinguished by a high ability to reproduce at various periods of the life cycle. Reproduction of worms is possible not only sexually with fertilization, but also without it. In addition to suckers, worms have many hooks and spikes, due to which they are securely attached to the mucous membranes of organs.

Common pathologies caused by flukes:

• fasciolosis;
• opisthorchiasis;
• paragonimiasis.

Fascioliasis

Fascioliasis occurs when the liver or gallbladder is damaged by a liver fluke.Basically, infection occurs when eating vegetables, which were irrigated with water from open reservoirs.

In addition to the standard signs of infection with parasites, a person may experience asthmatic attacks, which are accompanied by shortness of breath, redness of the face, dilated pupils, and tachycardia. If an adult has caused obstruction of the bile ducts, then obstructive jaundice develops. Signs of pathology:

• cramping pain in the right hypochondrium;
• yellowing of the skin;
• fever;
• colorless feces.

Opisthorchiasis

The causative agent of the disease is the feline fluke. The name of the parasite is due to the fact that, in addition to humans, it often infects cats and other mammals that eat fish.

As a rule, the feline fluke affects the liver and pancreas, causing inflammation in the organs. Symptoms vary and depend on the number of parasites. The patient may experience:

• symptoms of intoxication;
• fever,
• hives;
• skin itching;
• pain in muscles, joints, right hypochondrium.

In some cases, helminths cause an increase in lymph nodes, the development of jaundice. The chronic form of pathology often leads to hepatitis, cirrhosis of the liver.

Paragonimiasis

The culprit of the disease is a pulmonary fluke that enters the human body with infected crustaceans.

First, the parasite enters the human intestine, then into the abdominal cavity. The end point of his journey is the lung tissue. In addition, the worm is able to penetrate the brain and affect the central nervous system.

Specific signs of parasitic invasion of the lungs:

• pain syndrome in the chest;
• cough with sputum, which may contain pus and blood;
• fever.

In some cases, helminths cause a violation of the ventilation function of the lungs and gas exchange during breathing.

roundworms

Due to their structure, roundworms (nematodes) are able to survive even in extreme conditions.Their body is covered with a three-layer skin-muscular sac, which reliably protects parasites from external influences.

Common diseases caused by nematodes:

• ascariasis;
• enterobiasis;
• trichinosis.

Ascariasis

The development of the disease provokes roundworm, which is initially fixed in the small intestine. The average length of adults is 40 cm.Parasite larvae can enter the human digestive system with unwashed vegetables and fruits, contaminated water.Also, often the cause of ascariasis is poorly washed hands before eating.

During the penetration of the larvae into the body, a person may experience subfebrile temperature, allergic rashes, cough with clear sputum. Signs of the intestinal stage of ascariasis (diarrhea, abdominal pain) are observed only in the presence of several parasites. As a rule, dwelling in the intestines of one worm is asymptomatic.

Complications with multiple parasitic invasion:

• blockage of the bile duct;
• purulent inflammatory processes in the gallbladder, liver;
• inflammation of the appendix;
• intestinal obstruction.

Enterobiasis

The provocateurs of the disease are pinworms - small worms up to 1 cm long.Helminths penetrate the human digestive system in the same way as roundworms.

Currently, enterobiasis is the most common parasitic pathology in the world. Basically, the disease is diagnosed in children under the age of 10 years.

Symptoms, as in previous cases, develop only with numerous parasitic invasions. Children often have diarrhea, mucus in the feces, difficult and painful digestion, itching in the anus, and nausea. In severe cases of the disease, leg cramps may occur. In addition, pinworms are able to penetrate the genitals, causing acute inflammation in them.

Trichinosis

This disease provokes Trichinella - one of the smallest parasitic worms. The length of the parasite rarely exceeds 4 mm. In the larval stage, worms can infect skeletal muscles. The exception is the myocardium - the muscle tissue of the heart. Adults parasitize in the small intestine.

As a rule, human infection occurs when eating half-baked pork.At the same time, for the development of the disease, it is enough to consume only 30 g of meat affected by parasites.

Pathology is manifested by standard symptoms of parasitic invasion. In the advanced stage, swelling of the eyelids, face, arms and legs, pain in the lower back, masticatory muscles may occur. Possible complications are complete or partial loss of mobility, paralysis of the respiratory tract.

How to avoid infection with helminths?

To reduce the risk of infection with parasitic worms, it is important to observe the following rules:

18 signs of the presence of parasites in the body

Being present in the human body, the parasite has a serious, pathogenic effect. At the same time, the same parasite can simultaneously produce many mechanisms of action on humans.

WHO believes that at the moment about four and a half billion people in the world are constantly affected by various parasitosis.

This problem is very topical also because it is very difficult to diagnose parasitosis. Worm infestation (a large collection of parasitic diseases) is present in humans even when the parasite has already departed. And if the patient has noticed this, then in this case he will, of course, come to the medical facility. Parasitosis can also be detected during preventive screening. But unfortunately, these cases are a drop in the ocean.

Action mechanisms:

mechanical impact.For example, if roundworm is in the intestines, it will, of course, press and injure the intestinal wall. In some cases, cause an inflammatory process. If, for example, echinococcus is located in the liver, in the lungs, or in the kidneys, tissue compression will accordingly occur. This is a classic, mechanical effect: bursting, pressure, dysfunction of the organ or system in which the parasite is present. There are a lot of not only luminal parasites that are present in the gastrointestinal tract, but there are also many tissue parasites that can fully realize the so-called mechanical action.

Stimulation of allergic reactions.Unfortunately, when a person has allergic reactions, he begins to go in circles: to a dermatologist, to a pediatrician, to a general practitioner, to an allergist, but doctors do not always rule out the presence of parasitic invasions in the body in the first place.

Any parasite, even a banal pinworm, can lead to the formation of serious allergic reactions, and they can be varied, both on the skin and affect the bronchopulmonary tree. For example, frequent obstructive bronchitis in children may be due to the fact that some kind of parasite lives in the intestines.

Influence on the microflora.It's no secret that man is a globe for the vast world of the microbiota. The microflora that inhabits all our mucous membranes, skin, organs, tissues is that friendly microflora that produces vitamins, minerals, hormones, enzymes for us, and helps our body to live normally. And now, unfortunately, in the presence of parasites, it begins to actively die.

immunosuppressive action.Today it is clearly proven that the waste products of parasites dramatically inhibit the immune system. They just block it. Moreover, parasites over millions of years have learned to mimic and hide from the immune system, producing special anti-enzymes. Thus blocking the immune system, and sometimes a person can suffer from various parasitosis for decades. Which sooner or later leads to serious diseases in the body as a whole, or in a separate organ or system.

The effect of antienzymes. Unfortunately, parasites can not only deplete our body. If we try to consume vitamin food, mineralized, drink vitamins and minerals as a complex, they will not always benefit us, because our freeloaders will take the lion's share of them.

Nervous reflex mechanism of action.The waste products of parasites poison the nervous system. And very often this can affect the psycho-emotional state of both an adult and a child. Any psychosomatic disease can be associated with parasitic invasion. A child may have hyperreactivity, or vice versa, lethargy, tearfulness, a tendency to depression - all this may be a consequence of the presence of a parasite in the body. For example, even the simplest Giardia produces toxins. Let them be in microdoses, but they are still toxins that are identical to psychotropic substances. Of course, a child or adult with such persistent poisoning will experience a serious strain on the functioning of the central nervous system. And from here all sorts of psychological and mental disorders can follow: sleep disorders, nervous disorders, various psychological problems. Moreover, not the parents, not the patient himself, if he is an adult, cannot even have the idea that this is due to parasitic invasion.

In my opinion, the most serious and terrible thing is the stimulation of neoplasms by parasites. The prolonged presence of parasitosis in the body can provoke such a problem as the formation of neoplasms: benign and malignant. Moreover, the stimulation of neoplasms can be associated with two factors.

The first factor is the direct, damaging effect of the tissues of a particular organ.

The second factor is the action mediated through a sharp inhibition of the immune system. The thing is that the part of the immune system that is responsible for antiparasitic protection is also responsible for antitumor protection. As a result of improper division, a cancer cell may appear in the human body. In this case, the deficiency of the immune system will manifest itself in such a way that this cell will not be recognized by our immune cells in time, and will not be killed in time.

When can a person suspect the presence of parasites?

I will now tell you a list of clinical manifestations of parasitic invasions, in the presence of which, you should quickly contact your doctor in order to clarify whether you really have this diagnosis.

• The most common clinical symptom is itching in the anus. This is heard by many people, so it is associated with the presence of parasites, especially in children's practice.
• Grinding of teeth in a dream. Again, very often this can be in pediatric practice. Moms suddenly notice that the child began to grind his teeth in his sleep. Why is this happening? Very often, creaking in children is associated with frightening dreams. This is exactly the mechanism of toxic effects on the central nervous system that we talked about. The child has a terrible dream and he grits his teeth in fear in his sleep. This is one of the reasons. There are also other reasons. The formation of trismus or increased tone of the masticatory muscles, this can also be a symptom in this case.
• Salivation during sleep, salivation in the morning, nausea in the morning when brushing teeth. These are all manifestations that can indirectly indicate the presence of parasitic invasion in the body.
• Peeling of the fingers and toes, peeling of the skin in layers.
• Increased feeling of hunger, sometimes to the point of fainting.
• Allergic rashes on the skin. When lecturing doctors, I very often draw attention to the fact that doctors are in no hurry to give antiallergic drugs to one or another patient. Understand first to the end - are there any helminthic invasions. Because a high degree of allergization, suddenly appearing in a person within a short period of time, may indicate, first of all, that the patient has a parasitic invasion.
• Rashes in the eyelids, their peeling, swelling. , mental disorders without known causes.
• Any skin itch. Especially in children's practice. First of all, it is necessary to exclude the presence of parasitic invasions.
• Disturbed by such symptoms as bloating, seething in the abdomen, unstable stool. Any problems with the gastrointestinal tract.
• There is a lack of body weight, or vice versa, overweight. With parasitosis, it can be both.
• The presence of several chronic diseases at the same time. Diseases of the joints, bronchopulmonary tree, gastrointestinal tract. If suddenly a person begins to get sick in stages, then one, then the second, then the third, then the fifth, then the tenth, and initially there were no visible reasons for this, then this is an occasion to think about the presence of parasites in the body.
• Poor health, and the diagnosis is unclear. Such patients can also go to various specialists, try to examine one or the other. And in the end, the diagnosis will still be unclear, and the state of health will remain poor.
• Incomprehensible pains in the abdomen, volatile, sudden spasms, drawing pains. It is also necessary to exclude, especially in pediatric practice, the presence of parasites.
• Prolonged toxic-allergic manifestations. Periodically appearing suddenly, incomprehensible allergic reactions to food.
• Persistent anemia. When hemoglobin is significantly reduced and difficult to correct. It is worth thinking, first of all, about the presence of parasitic invasions in the human body.
• In children: a lag in physical, psychosomatic, psychoemotional development, hyperreactivity, or vice versa, lethargy, in schoolchildren, poor assimilation of the material - all this may indicate the presence of hidden parasitosis in the body.
• Prolonged lymphadenopathy (a condition manifested by an increase in the nodes of the lymphatic system), recurrent lymphadenitis can also indicate the presence of parasitic invasions.

I have listed the main clinical signs of parasitosis. Notice how wide they are. And with these symptoms, a patient can turn to almost any of the doctors. It is believed that if a person has found two or three such signs in himself, then he is already subject to a more thorough examination for the presence of parasitosis, or an antiparasitic program.

During the consultation, you will be able to voice your problem, the doctor will clarify the situation, decipher the tests, answer your questions and give the necessary recommendations.

I want to draw the attention of people who wish to be treated on their own. If you come to a pharmacy and ask the pharmacist: "Give me something for worms, " then you are making a gross mistake - these things cannot be done. First, the pharmacist is not responsible for how you take this drug. Secondly, it is not responsible for the consequences. Thirdly, you can hurt yourself very much. Do not do that. In order to figure out whether you have a parasitic infection or not, it is very important to contact a specialist, go through a certain list of studies, and only after that undergo an adequate course of treatment.

What tests will show the presence of parasites in the human body?

According to WHO statistics, about 4. 5 billion people in the world are constantly infected with parasites. This situation is complicated by the fact that diagnosing parasitic infestations is very difficult. How to find out if there are parasites in the body? What laboratory and instrumental research methods can detect parasitosis? Let's consider these questions in detail.

Complications

Helminthiasis caused by common types of parasites can be treated with medication prescribed by a doctor. But if you do not pay attention to alarming symptoms, deterioration of health, weakness, causeless fatigue, decreased immunity, the disease can lead to serious complications.

If the parasites got into the lungs, and the patient did not go to the doctor with complaints of coughing, shortness of breath, chest pain, shortness of breath, pneumonia or even bronchial asthma may develop.

Parasites in the digestive system can cause cirrhosis, liver abscess, hepatitis, intestinal cancer, gastrointestinal bleeding, fluid accumulation in the abdominal cavity (ascites), and peritonitis. They also often provoke the development of chronic kidney disease, meningoencephalitis, loss of vision. Some cestodes (tapeworms) grow over 1 meter in length, and small roundworms can form dense balls. This disrupts the normal functioning of the body, leads to severe intoxication, pronounced allergic reactions. Without urgent medical attention, death is possible.

Prevention

Helminthiasis often occurs when hygiene rules are not followed or food is not properly processed. To prevent helminthic invasion, you need:

• Do not wear someone else's underwear, do not share a towel with strangers.
• Wash your hands thoroughly before eating - it is important to do this not only before breakfast, lunch, dinner, but also a snack.
• Wash hands after using the toilet.
• Wash your hands thoroughly after working on the beds, and do all gardening with thick rubber gloves.
• Use only clean water for drinking and cooking.
• Rinse fruits and vegetables thoroughly under running water.
• Eat meat, fish, seafood that have undergone heat treatment.
• Do not buy products in spontaneous markets, from individuals who cannot confirm the safety of the product.
• Monitor the health of pets, regularly deworm, even if the pet lives in an apartment and does not go outside. To select drugs and calculate the dosage, contact your veterinarian.
• Maintain cleanliness in living and working areas. Sometimes people bring helminth eggs on the soles of their shoes. To reduce the risk of infection, you need to regularly perform wet cleaning, disinfect all surfaces.

Even following these rules, the risk of infection cannot be completely eliminated. To prevent the development of the disease, consult a therapist. The doctor will prescribe drugs for the prevention of helminthiasis. Be sure to let us know how often you travel, whether there are pets in the house, a personal plot. Drug prophylaxis of helminthiasis is recommended to be carried out 2 times a year.