A rather serious problem can be helminthic infection in the human body. Invasion can manifest in anyone, regardless of gender, age and social status of a person.
Worms can settle in the small or large intestine and penetrate there in various ways.
They have a severe toxic effect on the organ system as a whole and produce products of their vital activity.
All of this negatively affects a person's resistance to all kinds of infections that affect 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 performed work on the classification of parasites. Two groups of worms are known in accordance with the possibility of parasitism in the human body:
- gut;
- extraintestinal.
Representatives of the intestinal group settle in the area of the small intestine or large intestine, while the other extraintestinal 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 affects them negatively. If this barrier has been passed by worms, they enter the stomach, where the acidic environment kills their eggs.
It is also common to subdivide worms depending on the diseases they cause. For example, liver fluke causes fascioliasis, bovine tapeworm - teniarinhoz, pinworms - enterobiasis, roundworm - 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 where a person has been seriously ill, ie. the 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. Not all will 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 needleworms, roundworms, trichinae.
The next variety are elongated individuals with pointed edges, but the flies have a flat body.
They are so named for a reason because they stay in the area of the excretory ducts in the human body.
This is a special kind 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 body shape that resembles a ribbon.
Their habitat is the intestines. An intermediate residence can be fish and animals for band individuals.
They have special suction cups that allow them to attach to the intestinal walls. There the worms settle down and live their lives, feeding and reproducing.
Appearance of eggs of human worms
For a long time, helminth can live in humans, the symptoms will not be noticeable.
Many people only accidentally become aware of their pathology when they start taking stool samples 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, whose symptoms are also not noticeable at first, can not be seen without the use of special laboratory tools.
If you pass a stool analysis, the laboratory assistant 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 nature and type of worm eggs that look different from each other.
Those. if the question arises: "how do you determine if a person has worms? ", the answer to that 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.
Roads to infection of the body
Worms are in the human body in the form of several ways of infection. The most important thing is oral.
In this case, the worms enter the human body through dirty hands, unwashed fruits and vegetables. The parasites' eggs are inside a person because they live in the soil. It is for this reason that after gardening 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 helminthic invasion.
It is also important not to eat meat and fish that have not been thermally treated and have not been approved by sanitary inspection.
It is worth noting here that some types of helminth hedges remain alive even when meat is cooked.
Another way to infect the body with worms is contact. Those. infection occurs through feces.
Fecal material from infected humans or animals may contain helminths. They enter the human body and begin to multiply as they become sexually mature individuals.
Experts identify other ways of infecting. One of them is related to the skin. Helminths from the aquatic environment penetrate into the human body using the epidermis.
Invasion of worms is also possible by receiving bites of an insect vector. This method is widespread in tropical states.
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 a person having to be interested in how to treat helminths.
The ways of transmitting worms are really innumerable, there is also a path from an infected person to a healthy one.
But that does not mean at all that when you are with an infected person, you will get helminthiasis from him.
Pathology is not able to be transmitted by airborne droplets, there is only one contact method to transmit worms. Here it is necessary to determine other nuances.
The special thing about the ways of infection with worms is that eggs of parasites can enter 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 the necessary nutrients are found together with the larva, the egg will begin to develop and grow.
Inactive helminths will be excreted along with the feces from the body, a person will begin to infect themselves 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 that 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 past performance;
- weakness;
- poisoning of the body with helminths;
- increased appetite or, on the contrary, its sharp absence;
- weight loss with normal nutrition;
- constipation;
- diarrhea;
- sparse stools with blood;
- feces with worms;
- feeling of itching in the anus;
- headache with migraine attacks;
- violation of healthy sleep;
- allergic reactions to certain products, it 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, the parasites affect the liver and gallbladder. 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 fever, it is worth suspecting that there may be trichinae in the body.
Very rarely, however, cases were still recorded in which signs of the presence of worms in a person were accompanied by a deterioration in the function 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 of an adult on the appearance of helminth vary, it is for this reason that there are different methods of 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 becomes pale and the itching in the anus does not stop.
As you can see, the symptoms in adults on helminthic invasion are very similar to other signs of pathologies.
Below will be considered cases of abnormality of some systems in the human body if the worms settle in certain organs.
Malfunction of the immune system
Worms cause a strong weakening of the body's immune system and remove all the useful elements and vitamins.
A person may begin to become seriously ill with a cold, even though until recently he had no 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, find out if a person has worms, and then start being treated for parasites.
Respiratory disease
If the worms are in the respiratory system, they give it a relentless blow. It is possible that asthma, pneumonia, chronic bronchitis and other pathologies of the lung organs begin to appear.
One of the ways to determine if a person has worms is to be aware of the presence of a constantly running nose.
Violation of the functions of the gastrointestinal tract
Helminths can settle in the intestinal tract. Symptoms in an adult will manifest in this case in the form of problems with bowel movements or constipation.
Nausea and vomiting are not excluded. There is also pain in the intestines, excessive bloating.
A person may eat more than usual and not get better for a long time, or on the contrary abruptly refuse to eat.
There are cases where mild symptoms and treatment of other pathologies do not give the desired result.
However, there are cases where the signs of infection with helminths are pronounced. Severe diarrhea can occur if the helminth has settled in the body when large worms block the intestinal passage, causing complete constipation.
Disruption of the CNS
A large number of helminths in the body require the earliest possible treatment for worms because the central nervous system can be severely affected.
Products secreted by parasites are able to inflict a powerful blow on the nervous system, they send the body and cause malfunctions.
A person suffers 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 disagreements.
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 fever and a rise in body temperature up to 39 degrees.
The lack of useful elements due to parasitic infection can cause 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 gets 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 cause 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 severe skin allergic reactions that cannot be treated, so it is important to start a treatment course for worms in an adult. Otherwise, there is a chance that the skin will age quickly and become 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 location of their location and immunity.
Some helminths, for example roundworms, can cause a general disturbance of normal well-being when filariasis undergoes an incubation period throughout the year.
The danger of worms for humans
We found out what helminths are, now it's left 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, disturb the stool, it turns out that at best, only one person will feel much worse.
An adult has every opportunity to get rid of worms if you seek the help of a doctor in a timely manner. Today, many remedies are known to help cleanse the body of parasites without violating its integrity.
Diagnostic measures
During the week, the doctor will prescribe 3 tests for the patient that can detect eggs. This measure is necessary to achieve a reliable result.
It is also very important to find effective tablets for worms, for this purpose a person should 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 in the anus, bitterness in the mouth, swollen lymph nodes and joint and muscle pain.
The larger the number, the higher the risk of the presence of worms in the human body.
Medical therapy
After performing the above test, it is necessary to choose special anthelmintic agents. What is an antihelminthic 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 remove the parasites.
Each patient should take medication according to a specific treatment regimen. The doctor will make it based on the patient's weight, the form of parasite infestation, the patient's age and the degree of the disease.
To avoid facts about self-infection, it is recommended to take anthelmintics 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 helps remove parasites from the body. It should be clarified that such a remedy should be eaten with a thin film that is 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.