Parasites can inhabit the human body, in any of its organs and systems. These creatures enter the body from the environment and are carried throughout the body with the bloodstream. There are a large number of varieties of parasites that can inhabit the human body. All of them pose a threat to human health and cause negative changes in the work of organs. So, today we are going to talk about the varieties of human parasites. In the next article, you will learn which parasites can take up residence in the human body.
How can you get infected with worms
To protect yourself, you need to know 4 ways to spread and infect worm eggs with eggs:
- Through soil and water - soil-transmitted helminths. They thrive in sand, soil and water, then enter the human body and begin to lay eggs there. In addition, the eggs of the worm enter the external environment with the feces and wait in the wings to infect a new person. Eating improperly washed vegetables and fruits, dirty hands, dust on food can lead to human infection with soil-transmitted helminths. Some parasite eggs enter the human body through the skin of the feet and ankles.
- By direct contact. Worms in pets and humans are transmitted through hand contact, games and joint activities.
- Through the use of contaminated food of animal origin - biohelminthiasis. Eating raw and poorly processed meat (kebabs, bacon, canned food, homemade game) and fish (sushi, dried fish, canned fish) is potentially dangerous. There is a possibility of contracting intestinal infections and biohelminths.
- With insect bites. This type of infection is quite rare. These include intestinal myiasis, cantariasis and scoleciasis. Do not confuse parasite eggs with insect larvae, which also settle under the skin of animals and the skin of people (for example, larvae of horseflies).
The main mechanisms of the spread of worms
- Soil, sand, and other types of soil are the most fertile habitat for worm eggs. Fruit plants are in constant contact with the soil. During harvesting, green vegetables, fruits and vegetables come into contact with workers' hands, dusty shelves in vegetable stores and trucks. Under such conditions, contamination of food with parasite eggs is very likely. Therefore, it is necessary to wash products of plant origin well under running water, and then pour them with boiling water. You need to be especially vigilant in the countryside, where pets roam the yard and then re-enter the house. It is not hard to imagine what kind of sewage a cat or dog can throw into the house after a night walk. Flies and cockroaches are also carriers of helminth eggs. When you sit on food, insects can infect your food. Contact with soil and sand can lead to the entry of parasites into the human body. It is therefore necessary to wash your hands well, especially under the fingernails. This applies in particular to children.
- From person to person. This infection mechanism is very efficient. For example, pinworms lay eggs at night in the area around the anus. A child, in a state of sleep, scratches the place where the eggs are laid, because the itching begins there. Thousands of eggs fall on clothes, on the bed, and in the morning on doorknobs and everything a little fuss touches in the morning even before washing your hands and washing your face. As a result, the whole family is at risk of infection.
- In contact with water. Open water bodies contain a large number of types of worms. Bathing and accidentally swallowing water is a serious risk of infection
Children are much more likely than adults to be susceptible to helminthic invasion. This is due to the fact that the child's body is poorly protected (defense mechanisms are being formed) and the child is actively in contact with the external environment. It takes an incredible effort for parents to teach him the basic rules of personal hygiene. Children are much more likely than adults to be susceptible to helminthic invasion.
A baby less than 6 years old is at high risk of infection. According to statistics, about 95% of children under 4-5 years old are infected with worms. It is therefore necessary to pay particular attention to prevention. Most types of worms are inside the body, it is only there that they lay eggs and die after a while. For example, pinworms live 6-8 weeks, roundworms up to 1 year. The number of parasites in the body increases only with the entry of new eggs from the outside.
Treatment allows you to get rid of worms much faster and to stop egg laying in the intestines. It is almost impossible for children with helminthic infestation to recover without medication. New eggs will constantly enter the oral cavity, replenishing the ranks of adults in the child's body.
What are the signs to recognize a helminthic invasion
The signs of the appearance of worms in humans are obvious and hidden. The most obvious include "unreasonable" weight loss, a pale appearance (skin anemia), chronic fatigue, nighttime itching in the anal canal. These manifestations are well known and are indicative of contamination.
Cases of helminthic invasion are not rare, in which diseases of internal organs are aggravated, diseases that have not manifested themselves before occur. These are considered to be hidden signs. A person has to deal with many illnesses and the cause is ignored. At the same time, the therapy does not bring results. Examples of such cases are:
Infectious diseases due to decreased immunity
Parasites, being in the human body, consume many nutrients and release toxic substances. Such circumstances greatly reduce the patient's immunity. An exacerbation of chronic diseases, various inflammatory processes in the nasopharynx can begin. Standard treatment for sinusitis or stomatitis is unnecessary. It is important to rule out the cause. In girls and women, inflammation of the appendages of the uterus, vulvovaginitis, vaginosis of various origins can often begin.
General discomfort as a result of intoxication of the body
The more severe the helminthic invasion of the patient, the more harmful substances the parasites release. This has a detrimental effect on the well-being and the nervous system of adults and children. An example of this is migraine, dizziness, joint pain. Overcoming the nausea, the person takes pain relievers, but the pain returns shortly afterwards: the cause of the illness has been ignored. The more severe the helminthic invasion of the patient, the more the parasites release harmful substances
In children, disorders of the nervous system are accompanied by irritability, listlessness and aggression. If your child is starting to sleep poorly, talk in a dream, have nightmares, or have slipped in school, it's time to start preventing helminthiases.
Allergic reactions, skin pathologies
Worm waste is seen as triggering allergens. Skin reactions (rash, itching, rash, peeling of the skin) are the minimum symptoms that can occur when an allergy starts. There is a risk of general reactions of the body: exacerbation of asthma, rhinitis, cough. Sometimes helminthic invasion is accompanied by brittleness and hair loss, cracking of the skin on the heels, and peeling of the nails.
Gastrointestinal issues
Depending on the severity of the infection, symptoms can range from mild to severe forms of the disease. From mild nausea and diarrhea to chronic gas, constipation, vomiting, pain in the navel and hypochondrium. The worms in the tissues do not affect the gastrointestinal tract as much as intestinal parasites.
What Organs Can Parasites Live In?
Parasitic worms are divided into two categories, which correspond to the site of activity in the donor's body.
- Cavity - worms that live in various parts of the gastrointestinal tract. There are about 100 varieties of intestinal parasites, and there are a few dozen species for each part of the gut. The small intestine is ready to accept roundworms, antilostomies, large tapeworms and other less common "brothers". The small intestine will "share living space" with pinworms, dwarf tapeworm and others. The medical literature describes cases when a person was infected simultaneously with several types of parasites.
- Tissue - worms localized in organs, tissues and even in the blood. Modern medicine successfully copes with paragonimiasis (lungs), cysticercosis (brain), echinococcosis (liver) and filariasis (lymphatic vessels). Some worm larvae move around the body through the circulatory system and randomly attach themselves to any organ. If many eggs are introduced, the whole body can be infected.
Symptoms of worms by type of parasite
The symptoms will be different for different types of worms in humans. It is also necessary to consider the duration and the strength of the infection with the parasites, the general condition of the patient before the infection. The table below summarizes the main symptoms of the presence of worms in humans according to their type.
| Type of parasite (disease) | Method of infection | Symptoms | Time of onset of symptoms |
| Pinworms (enterobiasis) | With foods of plant origin. | Nighttime itching around the anus, presence of parasites in the stool, sharp short-term pain in the navel. | 2-3 days after infection |
| Vlasoglav (trichocephalosis) | With contaminated food prepared in unsanitary conditions. | Symptoms are only expressed in cases of severe invasion: diarrhea, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, inflammation of the appendix. In children, the growth of the body may be stunted, and even rectal prolapse may occur. | A few weeks |
| Large tapeworm (diphyllobothriasis) | By eating infected river fish. | This parasite can live up to 25 years inside the patient. Mechanical damage to the intestines, vitamin deficiency, intestinal obstruction, intoxication of the body, allergies. | A few weeks |
| Ascaris (hookworm) | When you walk barefoot on heavy ground. | Itching, swelling of the feet and legs where the parasite enters. Cough, phlegm, damage to bronchi and lungs. Weakness, dizziness. The menstrual cycle in women is disturbed. Men are helpless. | Several days |
| Ascaris (ascariasis) | With foods of plant origin. | Pain in the intestines, peritonitis, bronchitis, pneumonia, liver disease, pancreas. May cause suffocation by crawling from the gastrointestinal tract to the esophagus or respiratory tract. | About 3 months |
| Trichinella (trichinosis) | Poorly processed meat, lard. | Nausea and fits of heartburn, diarrhea. | 2 days |
| Liver fluke and giant fluke (fascioliasis) | Vegetable food and water. | Fever, dry cough, loss of appetite, abdominal pain. | 2-4 weeks |
The symptomatology of helminthiasis is as diverse as the pathogens of parasitosis, their life cycle, entry routes, migration and preferred localization are different from each other.
The general symptoms of parasitic diseases are explained by the fact that with helminthic invasions parasites suppress a person's own immunity, contribute to the development of inflammatory and autoimmune processes. General symptoms are associated with intoxication, death of the parasites, their vital activity and reproduction, manifested by weakness, lability and mood changes, decreased performance and school performance, memory and learning ability in children.
Pain in the right hypochondrium, bitterness, the appearance of jaundice may indicate that the parasitic disease is localized mainly in the hepatoduodenal zone (the region of the liver and ducts). At the same time, the patient may note nausea, episodes of regurgitation (vomiting).
Symptoms associated with damage to the liver and ducts related to the hepatobiliary system are observed, for example, when infected with the flatworm - opisthorchis. This helminth enters the body of the final host - a human - when it eats poorly processed fish of certain breeds (carp). Symptoms associated with damage to the liver and ducts related to the hepatobiliary system are observed, for example, when infected with a flatworm - opisthorchis
The disease is endemic and has special ranges. For the transmission of the pathogen, the parasitic larva must go through a complex cycle with a change of host (a mollusc of a certain species, a fish of the carp family).
Often with many parasitic diseases, there are some skin manifestations in the form of itching of the skin, various rashes, scratching, atopic dermatitis, eczema and other skin diseases progress. Skin processes are not always associated with helminthic invasion and are unsuccessfully treated by dermatologists.
It is important that with helminthiasis all organs and tissues can be affected, patients often worry about headaches, arthralgia (joint syndrome), complaints of the upper and lower respiratory tract appear. Often a persistent cough, frequent ARVIs, pharyngitis, laryngitis, difficulty breathing are associated with inflammation, a key place in the pathogenesis of which is infection with parasites (helminths).
Giardiasis and its characteristics
Giardiasis is a protozoan disease in which the pathogen exists in vegetative form and in the form of cysts. Giardia infection occurs during the ingestion of cysts which are very persistent in the environment and can persist for a long time in the environment (soil, food, water, various objects).
1 ml of feces can contain millions of lamblia cysts, which, placed in a favorable environment, can turn into vegetative forms. In the human intestine, a vegetative and mobile form is formed from cysts for several hours with flagella attached between the cells of the intestinal epithelium, where the pathogen finds a favorable environment for itself with a sufficient amountcarbohydrate food, which is a preferred substrate for lamblia. Giardia in a favorable environment are divided binarily (into two parts), and soon their number increases several times. In addition to the intestines, vegetative forms of lamblia affect the hepatobiliary system (bile ducts, gallbladder).
Symptoms of giardiasis are associated with asthenia, poor academic performance, weakness, associated with signs of intestinal and hepatobiliary damage. The course of giardiasis and other parasitic diseases is largely associated with the characteristics of the immune response. Intestinal form, gastroenterocolitic - a common form of giardiasis. Endotoxins from the pathogen can affect the nervous system, which explains the presence of many common extra-intestinal symptoms.
Ascariasis
Another common and ubiquitous parasitic disease is ascariasis. This helminthiasis occurs more often in children, but in adult patients it often causes many complaints and symptoms. Many chronic inflammatory diseases, as well as somatic pathologies, can be initiated by a parasitic invasion and intensify in the presence of various parasites (including roundworms).
Often, children and adults with roundworms develop chronic colitis, enteritis, bronchitis, even such a serious disease as bronchial asthma can develop, other allergic processes (atopic dermatitis, eczema, rhinitis, psoriasis) can be supported.
Ascaris enters the stomach when the eggs are swallowed. After entering the upper parts of the digestive tract (stomach), the larvae, releasing from the capsule, migrate into the blood vessels, together with the blood flow they enter the alveoli of the pulmonary system, causing coughing, coughing andother phenomena of bronchitis.
Often, this condition is considered a viral infection, an exacerbation of chronic bronchopulmonary disease and is usually associated, in this case, with the movement of parasite larvae.
After spitting up roundworm larvae and introducing pathogens containing phlegm into the pharynx, they are swallowed with saliva and enter the stomach, then pass into the intestines, where there are favorable conditions for growth. and the subsequent development of the parasite. After spitting up roundworm larvae and introducing pathogens with phlegm into the pharynx, they are swallowed with saliva and enter the stomach, then pass into the intestines, where there are favorable conditions for growth. and the development of the parasite.
In the human intestine, roundworms, feeding on its contents, develop into sexually mature individuals (female 50 cm, male 20 cm). During the process of growth and vital activity, as well as as a result of the migration of larvae, the parasite has a negative toxic and mechanical effect on the human body.
In the process of growth, vital activity, laying and maturation, the pathogen has a suppressive effect on the body's immunity, can cause diseases of the lungs, intestines and other parts of the digestive tract, anemia. Roundworms can live in the human intestine for up to a year.
Drugs for helminths
Medical treatment of a person with pills is possible with the help of a large number of modern means.
Since some funds do not work on the larvae and eggs of worms, and there is also a high risk of re-infection (self-infection with pinworms), the treatment is repeated after 2-3 weeks. Of the folk methods, the most effective are the old, proven methods - the use of pumpkin seeds and tansy grass. Medical treatment of a person with pills is possible with the help of a large number of modern means.
The fact that pumpkin seed is a good deworming agent has long been known, it is better to buy unpeeled seeds, peel them yourself, keep and eat a thin film between the seed and the skin, and consume 300 g in the morning. within an hour, previously chopped and mixed with honey or jam. Then do not eat for 3-4 hours and do an enema, you can repeat this treatment after 2 weeks.
Interesting facts about human parasites
- According to the WHO, around 3 billion people are infected with helminthic infestations each year. 1. 2 billion suffers from enterobiasis, 0. 9 billion from hookworm, 0. 7 billion from trichocephalosis. And these are only official statistics!
- In European countries, one in three inhabitants carries intestinal parasites in their body;
- With severe invasions, a person loses up to 500 ml of blood per day. From this are born ailments and chronic fatigue;
- Some parasites are localized in the brain, eyeball, bone marrow and can live there for up to 30 years. For example, cytisterk. ;
- Ascaris females lay 240, 000 eggs per day. Constant reinfection will not allow a person to be cured the first time. Repeated treatments are necessary;
- Waste from parasites - poisons and toxins - harms human health around the clock;
- Some types of tapeworms reach lengths of up to 12 meters. Sometimes it threatens to obstruct the human intestine;
- Pumpkin seeds contain cucurbitins, which help cure worm infestations without the need for medication. Pumpkin seeds are often given to children as a preventive measure;
- It is optimal to treat the animals every 3 months. So you will save yourselves and your children from parasites;
- Worm eggs can wait up to 6 months in the wings of doorknobs;
- An infected dog disperses the parasite eggs by breathing within a radius of 5 meters;
- In order not to be digested in the stomach and intestines, worms and their eggs release protective anti-enzymes;
- Trichinella does not lay eggs, but produces ready-to-use worms. Therefore, under laboratory conditions, it is impossible to detect the presence of this parasite;
- The most effective assay for detecting invasion is considered the enzyme immunoassay. Swabs and stool analysis may not provide reliable information.
In summary, it must be said that regular prevention of helminthic infections, even with cheap drugs (they are also considered the mildest), helps to protect the whole family. Be responsible for hand and body hygiene and prepare foods carefully before use. Children and pets need constant parasite monitoring.