It is difficult for an ordinary person to imagine how many parasites can threaten his health. These "settlers" can live for years in the human body, literally sucking life out of it and poisoning it with their poison.
Types of parasites
From a medical point of view, parasites include single cells and protozoa. Depending on their habitat, they are divided into exoparasites (lice, bugs and others) and endoparasites.
Endoparasites have their own subspecies:
- Larvae laid by insects.
- Protozoa (amoeba, lamblia).
- Helminths (worms or worms).
Infection Bull
Each parasite has its own path to penetration into the human body. The most common way is digestion, that is, using water or food. Many insects can carry parasitic larvae that pollute the environment. By consuming raw water, unwashed and not thoroughly cooked food, a person becomes infected with parasites.
Some species are transmitted directly by person-to-person contact - this path is called contact household. For infection it is not necessary to have direct contact with the distributor, it is enough to use household items. How to transmit enterobiasis and some other parasitic forms.
An equally popular vector-borne route of infection. In this case, the parasites are carried by blood-sucking insects. Thus, they can be obtained after being bitten by a mosquito or other insect.
The last method to get parasites is the percutaneous route, the second name is active. Infection occurs through penetration of the larvae through the mucous membranes and the skin. This occurs due to contact with contaminated soil or water in a body of water.
Symptoms
Parasites in the human body can live for a long time and do not manifest. The symptoms will of course be, but they are disguised as other diseases. Therefore, a person for a long time may not be aware that he is infected.
Symptoms most often appear depending on the location of the larvae, but the body may signal infection and other manifestations. The most common are:
- Flatulence,and constant, indicate the presence of worms in the small intestine;
- Diarrhea.Caused by the absorption of sodium chloride by parasites;
- Constipation.Worm forms can clog some organs;
- Pain in joints and muscles.These pains are caused by the migration of larvae through the human body, to which the immune system responds in this way;
- Allergy.The parasites themselves are an allergen to the body, and damage to the walls of the stomach contributes to indigestion and the penetration of food molecules into the blood;
- The appearance of granulomas.This is a kind of neoplasm that originates from the enveloping of cells in the body of the parasites' damaged eggs;
- Dermatological manifestations;
- Anemia.Often people suffer from anemia precisely because of the activity of parasitic forms;
- Sharp fluctuations in weight;
- Mental disorders.In the process of vital activity, parasites release toxins that adversely affect the host's nervous system. The consequence of poisoning of the body can be neurosis, depression, anxiety;
- Bruxism.These are teeth that grind during sleep. This is the reaction of the nervous system to foreign bodies. But this fact is not conclusively proved by science;
- Sleep Disorder.It usually occurs due to unpleasant sensations. An example would be pinworms of those here who lay their eggs at night. Leaving the rectum secretes pinworm a toxin that causes severe itching;
- Dysbacteriosis;
- Oncological diseases;
- Chronic fatigue.Occurs due to lack of nutrients that adversely affect the condition of the body;
- Respiratory diseases.A number of parasites can live in the airways and cause disease. Other parasites cause colds by moving through the airways;
- Immunity disorders.The absorption of most vitamins from parasites leads to a weakening of the body's barrier functions and a greater likelihood of getting diseases.
But there are also symptoms that are characteristic of the presence of parasites in a particular human organ. For example, papillomas, the appearance of bald spots on the head, broken heels and so on can indicate the life of the parasites in the liver. In addition, the presence of certain types of parasite forms can cause a certain type of disease in humans.
Disease Detection
Unfortunately, some doctors deny their duties and do not send a person for special examinations to identify parasites in the body. The most common analysis is the delivery of feces to worm eggs. The fact is that parasites can live in different organs.
There have been cases where worms were found in the human brain and eyes. Is it likely that their eggs will go from the brain to the feces? Most likely not. Although there are worms in the intestines, parasite eggs may not be present.
First of all, the doctor must perform a visual examination of the patient. Externally, one may suspect the presence of human parasites. The easiest way to detect them is to take a blood sample for the purpose of detecting special antibodies against worms.
Description of human parasites
There are several dozen types of parasites that live in the human body.
Worms or helminths are a type of worm.Their size depends on the species, for example, female roundworms reach 40 centimeters. Some species can exceed 10 meters in length. A favorite habitat for worms is the intestines, but they are often found in other organs, even the brain.
For example, roundworm larvae circulate through the body, collecting nutrients and returning to the intestines where they grow and reproduce. They often live in the respiratory system. The presence of ascaris in the human body is accompanied by a disturbance of the work of the internal organs, intoxication of the body, allergic manifestations and even a rise in temperature.
Among the tapeworms is the swine tapeworm, which migrates to the brain through the bloodstream.
This parasite enters the body through poorly processed meat products. This worm lives up to 20 years.
Pinworms often develop in children but are quite common in adults. These worms are small in size and reach 1 centimeter in length. The spread of pinworm eggs occurs in a contact-household manner. The female comes out of the rectum and lays eggs in the outer folds of the anus. The toxin released by the woman causes severe itching, which causes the eggs to fall on the human hands and be transferred to all surrounding objects.
The other name for enterobiasis is the disease in dirty hands. All people who come in contact with the carrier are likely to be infected. Therefore, when pinworms are found, it is recommended to treat the whole family.
Toxocarais a type of parasite that lives in dogs. They enter the human body and also develop well in it. Unlike these worms in the dog's body, human toxocars do not come out, but they do affect many organs and cause certain diseases. You can get infected with toxocars through the ground as the larvae in these worms come out with the dog’s feces. But also the parasite's eggs can spread from the dog's wet breath.
Alveococcus and Echinococcusinfect the body in many ways. Their danger lies in the fact that the larvae are transformed into cysts, which can be found in various internal organs.
Giardia is the simplest.Like pinworms, Giardia is the most common infection in children.
They not only reduce the child's immunity, but also cause a delay in children's mental and physical development.
This list is far from complete. The biggest danger of parasites is that no one is immune to infection. Their secrecy leads to a person feeding parasites for years without suspecting it. Adherence to personal hygiene, constant wet cleaning of the house and compliance with the norms for heat treatment of meat products is not a bad prevention of infection. It will be helpful to undergo a medical examination and pass the necessary tests every six months to prevent the spread of parasites.