Parasitic infestations often go unnoticed. And the first symptoms of worms in humans are non-specific, so the patient does not go to the doctor for a long time. So the patient may think that he is overworked, 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 shortly after infection. Others appear after some time and indicate the migration of worms in the body, an increase in poisoning, a lack of nutrients or vitamins.
The most common signs of worms in adults include:
- Increase in body temperature. Fever can be unpronounced - up to 37. 5 ° C, in the short term. 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 movement. 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 with blockage of the intestinal lumen by parasites, the development of obstruction is also possible.
- Itching in the anus is the first sign and characteristic symptom of pinworms. It happens at night and forces a person to scratch the anus.
- Helminths cause allergic reactions of the skin or respiratory type as a result of the circulation of their decay products, toxins, in the body. So a person complains of exacerbation of bronchial asthma, the appearance of dermatitis, eczema.
- When infected with worms, beriberi develops. It manifests itself in the form of a deterioration in the condition of 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, decreased performance, intermittent sleep and emotional instability.
- Worms that migrate through the respiratory tract (roundworms) cause a person to have bouts of dry hacking cough. With the movement of parasites in the muscles, the development of poisoning, sick people complain of pain, sore muscles and joints.
On a note!
The first symptoms of infection may appear within a few days after the entry of helminths into the body of an adult. More often they occur after 2-3 weeks from the time of contact with the parasite, and with wandering worms - after months, years.
The combination of different symptoms does not unequivocally indicate a specific disease, but is a reason to worry about your health and see a doctor. If a sick person is engaged in self-diagnosis and is looking for information on how to understand that you have worms, he risks losing time and getting life-threatening complications.
What is the danger of parasitic infection
Helminths in the body not only take the necessary nutrients and vitamins from a person. Worms poison the patient with decay products, affect the internal organs. Parasitic worms in humans can lead to such serious disorders that require urgent surgery, and in some cases with the removal of part of the organ:
- acute intestinal obstruction;
- violation of the integrity of the intestine with the development of peritonitis;
- appendicitis;
- blockage of the bile ducts;
- eye damage.
Important!
Among the delayed consequences of the invasion that lead to a worsening of the condition, the death of the patient, cirrhosis and liver cancer, pneumonia, pneumonia, sclerosis of the lung tissue, myocarditis, meningitis, hearing and vision impairment, episyndrome.
How do worm infestations occur?
To solve the problem of helminth prevention, it is necessary to have information about where the parasites come from. The most common mechanisms of infection include: digestive, contact-household, percutaneous, transmissible (associated with blood-sucking insects).
Here are the most typical situations where worms appear in the body:
- The use of vegetables, fruits, berries or vegetables contaminated with the eggs of the parasite.
- Eating poorly cooked meat, fish with helminth larvae. Feed game that has not passed veterinary control. So trichins can withstand even long-term meat stewing and maintain their viability.
- Violation of hygiene rules: formal attitude to washing hands after returning from the street, contact with pets or street animals.
- Bathing in reservoirs containing worm larvae.
- Contact with soil containing parasitic larvae while working in the garden.
- Work in conditions where there is an increased risk of infection with helminths: in groups of children, food, livestock, poultry farming.
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 it. Humans can be the main hosts of the parasite. The so-called human worms go through the stage of sexual reproduction in the body and then pass out in feces. In the case of animal helminths, an individual is an intermediate host within which only an asexual (parthenogenetic) phase is possible. Parasites spread to the internal organs and cause damage to them. So worms in the human body can be detected:
- under the skin;
- in the liver;
- in the bladder;
- In the eyes;
- in the muscles;
- in lungs and heart;
- in the brain.
If we consider the descriptions of the life cycle of the helminth in the form of a photo with explanations, we can trace 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 rash, cough with sputum, inflammatory and allergic changes in the blood picture are the basis for checking a person for parasites. Infection experts 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:
- analysis of feces for the eggs of the parasite;
- scraping or smear for enterobiasis;
- immunological tests for the detection of antibodies against helminths;
- PCR assays for worm DNA fragments;
- detection of the worm in the duodenal contents, tissue biopsy samples.
These methods help to find out the type of parasite and choose an effective drug. If the internal organs are damaged, the following will help to diagnose the helminth:
- X-ray of thorax;
- Ultrasound of liver, heart, pancreas;
- cystoscopy;
- MRI of the brain.
If necessary, the infection specialist will refer neurologist, ophthalmologist, cardiologist, urologist for consultations.
On a note!
You should not try to recognize the helminth on your own, resorting to "unique computer diagnostics" outside the medical institution. This will lead to loss of time, deterioration of health.
Treatment of worms in humans
If an illness is detected, the infectious disease specialist will give full recommendations on treatment of the illness, cure and diet. If necessary, the doctor will suggest hospitalization. There is no single "magic" drug for worms, the symptoms and treatment of helminth in an adult can vary.
You must know the basic principles of parasite therapy:
- Medicines are used to control worms. The choice of treatment regimen (dose, duration of the course, frequency of administration) depends on the type of helminth, the body condition of the sick person.
- In cases of severe illness, assistance is provided in a hospital environment.
- You should not independently reduce the dose, reduce the duration of treatment with tablets or suspension from worms.
- Some drugs require a diet, refuse to drink alcohol.
- There are no "magic" means that will allow you to quickly get rid of any helminths in 1 day. To treat some worms in humans, short courses are certainly used, but it is impossible to destroy all the parasites in the body with a tablet, tincture or ointment.
- Herbal preparations are used for sick people who, for health reasons, are contraindicated in medicine in the form of tablets or suspensions.
- Antiallergic drugs, hepatoprotectors, enterosorbents, immunomodulators are prescribed as adjuvant therapy. By themselves, they do not help remove worms from a person, but improve a person's general well-being, remove unpleasant symptoms of the disease and side effects of the treatment.
Important!
Folk remedies are used only as an auxiliary method for therapy. Independent use of alternative medicine is fraught with deterioration.
Pharmacy products
Treatment with drugs from the group of anthelmintic drugs helps to destroy, expel parasites from the body. Pharmaceutical drugs have different areas of application:
- interfere with the absorption of nutrients by parasites;
- disrupt the metabolism of worms;
- cause paralysis of the musculature of helminths.
On a note!
With proper use and prevention of helminthiasis in the future, anthelmintics really help to permanently rid a person of parasites that have settled in the intestines and internal organs. But if the patient neglects the elementary rules of hygiene, re-infection with parasites is possible.
An infectious disease specialist can also prescribe herbal remedies to help detoxify and drive away worms in humans. The doctor will recommend certain herbs, based on information about the condition of the body and the type of parasites. To heal the patient, use: pumpkin seeds, horseradish seeds and centaury.
Folk remedies against worms
Many patients refuse traditional methods of therapy, hoping for help from traditional medicine. Infectious diseases warn that attempts to get rid of worms at home with dubious solutions, infusions can lead to increased poisoning, allergic reactions. If you miss the time, the disease will develop, a fatal outcome is possible.
To drive the helminth out of the body, the following home remedies are widely used:
- onion decoction;
- pomegranate bark;
- enemas and ingestion of pumpkin seeds;
- juices from vegetables and sour berries 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 and try to understand how to poison helminths correctly. In their reviews, people who have had helminthic invasion describe traditional drug therapy as a fairly effective method. It is extremely rare to get rid of helminths with folk remedies.
- "I began to worry about itching in the anus. Have turned to the therapist, received an instruction about scraping. It was very unpleasant that pinworm was found in the scraping. I read how dangerous helminths are and decided not to poisonmyself with self-medication. On the advice of the doctor, she drank an anthelmintic drug - 1 tablet 1 time a week. The course took 2 weeks, I immediately felt relief, the itch went away. I think it was not such a terrible infection, but the drugseemed "perfect".
- "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 takingan anthelmintic drug. I was embarrassed to go to the doctor. The drug did not help. I tried to fight worms with folk methods: I cleaned the liver with bitterness, drank milk with garlic and put an enema. But it did not get better. I had to turnto an infectious disease specialist, I am being treated with an anthelmintic from the benzimidazole class. While I "matured" to go to the doctor, I lost 4 kg, became pale, nervous. "
Prevention
By knowing how worms behave in the body, anyone can protect themselves and their loved ones from infection. Prevention includes:
- Wash hands with soap after contact with animals, returning home.
- Regular deworming for pets.
- Timely change of bed linen.
- Regular wet cleaning, ventilation, cleaning of carpets and upholstered furniture.
- Eating meat that has passed veterinary inspection.
- Thorough heat treatment of meat and fish.
- Refusal to eat raw meat, fish, offal.
Infection with helminths requires immediate treatment. You should be aware of symptoms such as: diarrhoea, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, weight loss, skin rash, cough, fever and immediately consult a specialist. After treatment, precautions must be taken to prevent reinfection.