Toxoplasmosis Treatment: Medicines And Folk Remedies

2023 Author: Riley Dean | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-24 12:07

Treatment of toxoplasmosis is possible with the use of drugs of the drug group and folk remedies. Toxoplasmosis is a dangerous disease, the development of which is provoked by the simplest microorganisms. Signs of toxoplasmosis in humans are very ambiguous: you may not even suspect that you are sick. Toxoplasmosis can manifest itself during pregnancy, posing a huge risk to the fetus.

The content of the article:

• 1 What is toxoplasmosis
• 2 Toxoplasmosis: development factors
• 3 Causes of toxoplasmosis
• 4 Pathogenesis and symptoms of toxoplasmosis
• 5 Ways of infection with toxoplasmosis
• 6 Diagnosis of toxoplasmosis
• 7 Congenital toxoplasmosis
• 8 Acquired toxoplasmosis
• 9 Which doctor to contact
• 10 Treatment of toxoplasmosis
• 11 Medicines for toxoplasmosis
• 12 Treatment of toxoplasmosis - by means of traditional medicine
• 13 What a doctor can do
• 14 What You Can Do
• 15 Prevention of toxoplasmosis

What is toxoplasmosis

Treatment of toxoplasmosis is a complex of various measures aimed at eliminating the pathogen that causes the pathology from the human body or from the body of an animal. Among infectious diseases caused by protozoa, toxoplasmosis is one of the most widespread and most dangerous for expectant mothers. The prevalence of toxoplasmosis in the world is incredibly high, mainly due to the countries of Africa, as well as Latin and South America, in which the infection rate of the population reaches 90%. Rates in Europe and North America are below 25-50 percent of the population. Russia occupies the average position in Europe; up to 30% of the country's population is infected, approximately one infant in a thousand is infected with toxoplasmosis.

Toxoplasmosis is an insidious disease. It can be completely invisible and cause unpleasant complications during pregnancy. It can cause severe visual impairment or seizures. That is why it is better to know everything about toxoplasmosis. This is especially important if there is a cat or dog in the house, because pets are often very close to us, they need to be properly looked after and, if necessary, treated.

Toxoplasmosis: developmental factors

Infection with the parasite occurs from domestic animals, mainly from cats. Toxoplasmosis is especially dangerous for pregnant women, so it is better for them to avoid contact with cats. Additional sources of infection can be other animals, which are an intermediate host for Toxoplasma. These animals are not a direct source of Toxoplasma, since the parasite cannot exist in their body in the form of cysts and persist in the external environment. Therefore, upon contact with such an animal, infection does not occur.

At the same time, Toxoplasma is found in the meat of these animals (pork and lamb are especially dangerous). Therefore, you can become infected with Toxoplasma by eating meat products and eggs from infected animals. If the food has not gone through sufficient heat treatment, then the parasite can survive.

Toxoplasma can be carried by blood-sucking insects and enter the human body directly into the bloodstream through damage to the skin. There are cases of intrauterine development of toxoplasmosis. This is the most dangerous type of infection. Transmission of infection in this case occurs during primary infection, when the disease appears in a previously uninfected woman. Toxoplasma can penetrate the placenta and cause serious developmental disorders in an unborn child. The appearance of toxoplasmosis in a pregnant woman can also become an indication for artificial termination of pregnancy.

Treatment of toxoplasmosis. Factors contributing to infection are: non-compliance with hygiene rules, contact with animal excrement, the use of inadequately prepared animal products.

Since humans are not the final host for Toxoplasma, any contact with an infected person is completely safe. It is impossible to become infected with toxoplasmosis from a person: neither by airborne droplets, nor by household, nor by sex. In rare cases, infection occurs through blood transfusions and transplants.

Causes of toxoplasmosis

Infection with human Toxoplasma occurs from domestic animals, most commonly cats. Such an infection is especially dangerous for pregnant women, so it is better for them not to contact cats.

Infection can also occur when eating meat products, eggs from infected animals that have not undergone sufficient heat treatment. Toxoplasma can enter directly into human blood through damaged skin or be transmitted by blood-sucking insects. Finally, there are cases of intrauterine infection.

Factors that can contribute to the appearance of the parasite in the body and increase the risk of toxoplasmosis:

• Touch your mouth with dirty hands after touching the ground, after cleaning the litter box, or any other contact with cat feces.
• Eat raw or undercooked meats, especially pork, lamb, or venison.
• Touching your mouth after touching raw or undercooked / uncooked meat.
• Organ transplant or blood transfusion (very rare).
• If a woman is pregnant and contracted toxoplasmosis, the infection can be transmitted from her to the child, which can lead to serious consequences.

Pathogenesis and symptoms of toxoplasmosis

The life cycle of Toxoplasma includes the stages of sexual and asexual reproduction. Toxoplasmosis is common in many countries. A person becomes infected from pets, most often from cats, which are the final host of the parasite. In their body, sexual reproduction of the pathogen occurs. Animals sick with toxoplasmosis excrete parasites with urine, saliva, milk.

Man is an intermediate master. Infection occurs alimentary (most often), drip, through damaged skin and mucous membranes, transmissible (with an arthropod bite) by way. Perhaps intrauterine infection during the penetration of the parasite from the mother to the fetus through the placenta. Toxoplasma is infected from 50 to 80% of the adult population.

Ways of infection with toxoplasmosis

Human infection occurs when eating meat products and eggs that have not undergone sufficient heat treatment. The possibility of infection is not excluded when the pathogen gets on the mucous membranes and damaged skin, in a transmissible and other way. Intrauterine infection is also observed.

Factors that can contribute to the appearance of the parasite in the body and increase the risk of toxoplasmosis:

• Touch your mouth with dirty hands after touching the ground, after cleaning the litter box, or any other contact with cat feces.
• Eat raw or undercooked meats, especially pork, lamb, or venison.
• Touching your mouth after touching raw or undercooked / uncooked meat.
• Organ transplant or blood transfusion (very rare).
• If a woman is pregnant and contracted toxoplasmosis, the infection can be transmitted from her to the child, which can lead to serious consequences.

In the human body, Toxoplasma multiplies in the intestines, spreads by lymphogenous and hematogenous pathways. The phase of lymphogenous drift (lymph nodes increase and become inflamed) is replaced by hematogenous dissimination. The stage of finding the parasite in the blood is short (several days). Getting into the internal organs, Toxoplasma causes inflammation in them.

Treatment of toxoplasmosis. The nervous system, retina, liver, myocardium are especially often affected. In these organs, Toxoplasma are intracellular and extracellular. Clusters of parasites are called pseudocysts. Toxoplasmas are able to form cysts in tissues, causing a state of latent infection. The activation of the parasite occurs under conditions unfavorable for the macroorganism and a decrease in its immunological reactivity. In the pathogenesis of toxoplasmotic lesions of the nervous system, focal inflammation (necrotizing encephalitis), dyscirculatory disorders associated with vasculitis, obstruction of the cerebrospinal fluid, leading to hydro- and microcephaly, are important.

The most gross morphological changes in the nervous system are observed in children. Macroscopic examination reveals expansion of the ventricles with a periventricular zone of necrosis. Scars replacing areas of necrosis, obliteration of the interventricular foramen and the lateral aperture of the IV ventricle are found. Hydrocephalus can be expressed, leading to thinning and deformation of the hemispheric substance.

Morphological manifestations of toxoplasmosis of the brain in adults are diverse. On microscopic examination, miliary granulomas scattered throughout the brain and spinal cord are most characteristic, consisting of large epithelioid cells, lymphocytes, monocytes, and sometimes eosinophils. Granulomas contain numerous parasites, surrounded by a zone of edema with necrotic foci caused by vasculitis. Calcification of small foci is typical for toxoplasmosis. In the presence of toxoplasma in the subarachnoid space, serous-productive leptomeningitis occurs.

Treatment of toxoplasmosis. Most of those infected have no clinical manifestations of the disease. In some patients, sluggish chronic forms are observed and, extremely rarely, acute, with a severe course of the disease. With intrauterine infection in the first months of pregnancy, miscarriage and fetal death often occur. The possibility of intrauterine fetal deformities and the birth of children with developmental defects is not excluded. If the infection occurs late in pregnancy, a child is born with generalized toxoplasmosis.

Diagnosis of toxoplasmosis

The fact of infection with Toxoplasma gondii is established on the basis of clinical data, which must be confirmed by laboratory test data. When interviewing a patient, the doctor must specify the history of events:

• contact and conditions of communication with cats (especially!), dogs and other pets;
• the specifics of eating habits (trying raw meat or dishes from insufficiently heat-treated meat, eating unwashed vegetables, etc.);
• profession;
• compliance with the rules of personal hygiene, etc.

To detect toxoplasmosis, the following tests may be prescribed:

• parasitological techniques: microscopic examination of smears-prints or histological analyzes of biopsies of brain tissues, lymph nodes, internal organs of dead embryos or fetuses, or blood smears, cerebrospinal fluid sediment after staining according to Romanovsky-Giemsa;
• bioassays on white mice or other laboratory animals, carried out only for scientific purposes and consisting in infecting animals with biomaterial and performing several passages under special conditions (that is, when keeping animals in specially equipped laboratories in special conditions);
• immunological tests: carried out most often, in practice, serological enzyme immunoassays (RNIF, RSK, ELISA) are used.

Treatment of toxoplasmosis. Most often in clinical practice, immunological tests are used, since other types of laboratory diagnostics are used only for scientific purposes (bioassays) or are ineffective (parasitological methods).

In 2-4 weeks after infection with the parasite, such immunological tests as RSK, ELISA and RNIF can become reliable methods for clinical diagnosis.

• RSK is positive after 2 weeks, the indicators reach the highest titers (1:16 - 1: 320) by 2-4 months. For 1-3 months, such indicators can drop to low (titer 1: 5 or 1:10) or come to normal.
• RNIF indicates infection already from the 7th day after infection and reaches indicators 1: 1280 - 1: 15000 by 2-4 months.
• The most reliable, according to WHO, is such an immunological analysis as ELISA. Infection is indicated by an indicator of 1.5 (or more than 60 in enzyme immunoassay units, 1: 1600 and more in titers, more than 125 in international units).

If toxoplasma is detected in the body of a pregnant woman after the birth of a child, tests should be carried out for both the mother and the baby for 1 year. If in the first 3 months of life they give a positive result, then the child is considered infected and he is diagnosed with toxoplasmosis.

Congenital toxoplasmosis

A particular danger is the likelihood of intrauterine infection of the fetus. Toxoplasma is able to cross the placenta and cause illness in an unborn child. But this is only possible if the mother becomes infected with toxoplasmosis during pregnancy. If she became infected even before pregnancy, nothing threatens the unborn child.

With congenital toxoplasmosis, organ damage is very significant. So, congenital malformations of the eyeball are possible, up to the development of blindness, underdevelopment of the brain and spinal cord. The severity of fetal damage is closely related to the timing of pregnancy - the younger the fetus, the more severe the disease.

Treatment of toxoplasmosis. As a result of congenital toxoplasmosis, the fetus either dies as a result of deformities incompatible with life, or is born with symptoms of acute congenital toxoplasmosis - intoxication, fever, jaundice, lesions of the liver, spleen, lymph nodes and central nervous system (encephalomyelitis).

But toxoplasmosis can affect the fetus only once, all subsequent pregnancies will be reliably protected by the antibodies formed in the mother.

Acquired toxoplasmosis

Acquired toxoplasmosis often occurs in a latent (latent) form; the acute form may resemble typhus or encephalitis, and eye damage is not uncommon. The acute stage lasts for about 7 days. Acute toxoplasmosis begins with high fever, headache, seizures, and vomiting. The liver and spleen are enlarged, pneumonia and paralysis can join.

The most frequent is the chronic form of the disease, with a prolonged increase in temperature to 37.2-37.8 degrees, headaches, enlarged liver, spleen, lymph nodes; muscle and joint pain. Carriage of infection is also possible.

Chronic form and carriage often turn into an acute form against the background of stress, pregnancy, decreased immunity of various nature.

The severity of the manifestations of toxoplasmosis is significantly influenced by the general state of health, immune status. In people with immunodeficiency (including AIDS), the disease is extremely difficult, often fatal.

Which doctor to contact

If signs of toxoplasmosis appear - fever, pain in muscles, joints, or (in a more severe course) symptoms of brain damage - you should contact an infectious disease specialist, therapist or pediatrician. After interviewing the patient, the doctor will prescribe immunological tests and will be able to diagnose and prescribe treatment.

Treatment of toxoplasmosis. Toxoplasmosis is an extremely common parasitic infection, the main carriers of which are pets (mainly cats). In most cases, the disease proceeds in a chronic asymptomatic or asymptomatic form and does not pose a threat to life and health, but in an acute course, parasitic damage to the tissues of the nervous system, eyes and internal organs can lead to serious consequences (up to death). This infection is especially dangerous for women planning to conceive or carrying a child.

Toxoplasmosis treatment

Treatment of toxoplasmosis. With simple carriage of Toxoplasma, the intake of drugs is not indicated. However, laboratory-confirmed presence of such an infection in early pregnancy suggests a recommendation for an abortion.

Drug therapy for toxoplasmosis is prescribed after the pathogen is identified using immunological tests that confirm the diagnosis.

To treat this parasitic infection, chemotherapeutic agents are used:

• Delagil together with a sulfanilamide agent;
• Fansidar;
• antibiotics (metacyclin in combination with sulfonamide, lincomycin or rovamycin);
• Levamisole.

In the acute course, etiotropic therapy is complemented by the intake of symptomatic agents, the choice of which depends on the nature and severity of the symptoms.

Treatment of toxoplasmosis. Attempts to treat chronic forms of toxoplasmosis are especially difficult, since in this form, taking only antibacterial and antiparasitic agents is ineffective. With this course of infection, in addition to etiotropic treatment, agents to strengthen the immune system and vitamins are prescribed.

Medicines for toxoplasmosis

So, therapy of immunocompetent patients with toxoplasmosis is not carried out. If the disease is severe or patients are immunocompromised, they are prescribed medication for a period of 2 to 4 weeks.

Treatment of toxoplasmosis. Among the therapeutic regimens, those that use antiparasitic and antibacterial agents prevail. Most often, the combination of pyrimethamine and sulfadiazine or pyrimethamine and clindamycin is referred to as first-line therapy for toxoplasmosis. Treatment regimens that include pyrimethamine and spiramycin or pyrimethamine and atovaquone are considered as alternatives. Rovamycin is often used in the treatment of pregnant women. All treatment is prescribed after a high-quality diagnosis of pathology.

In addition to the main therapy, doctors for toxoplasmosis often prescribe to patients and drugs containing folic acid, as well as immunomodulators (Thymogen, Taktivin, and others), antihistamines (Ketotifen, Suprastin and others), prebiotics, probiotics to restore normal intestinal microflora.

Drugs used in the treatment of toxoplasmosis

Drug name	Pharmacological group	Purpose and action of the drug
Pyrimethamine	Antimicrobial and antiparasitic agents. Medicines for the treatment of protozoal infections. Antimalarial drugs	It is used for the treatment of toxoplasmosis in adult patients with an acute phase of the disease. It is forbidden to use during pregnancy and in children under 2 years of age.
Sulfadiazine	Antimicrobial drug	It is prescribed for toxoplasmosis in adult patients (children after 3 years), prohibited during pregnancy, release form - tablets for oral administration.
Clindamycin	Broad-spectrum antibiotic	It is used for the treatment of toxoplasmosis in adults and children from 3 years of age in the form of intramuscular injections. The frequency of injections is twice a day. In tablet form, the drug is used up to 4 times a day.
Prinidazole	Hormonal agents	It is prescribed for ocular toxoplasmosis in adults, children after 12 years. Pregnant women are not recommended to take the drug.
Spiramycin	Antibacterial agent	It is used for the treatment of toxoplasmosis in adult patients, the release form is tablets and solutions for injection. Can be used to treat pathology in pregnant women.
Doxycycline	Broad-spectrum antibiotic	Antibiotic therapy of toxoplasmosis is a direct indication for the use of the drug. Can be used in children over 8 years old, adults. Use is prohibited during pregnancy.
Metronidazole	Broad spectrum antibacterial drug	It is prescribed for toxoplasmosis in combination with folic acid preparations for 7 days in order to avoid problems with the brain.
Atovaquon	Antiprotozoal agent	Helps with all types of toxoplasmosis. It is used for the latent course of the disease, in patients with HIV status. The latent form is characterized by the formation of cysts in human tissues by the causative agent, which are not destroyed by conventional drugs. It helps kill cysts without causing side effects.
Rovamycin	Antimicrobial and antiparasitic agents. Antibiotics Macrolides	The most effective treatment for Toxoplasma. Has tablet and injection forms of release. The active ingredient is spiramycin. It is used even when carrying a fetus, but not recommended for lactation.
Taktivin	Immunomodulatory agent	It is used in adult patients with immunodeficiency conditions arising from infectious, septic, purulent processes, recurrent ophthalmic herpes (repeated appearance of a viral disease in the tissues of the eye), psoriasis and other diseases.
Suprastin	Antihistamines for systemic use	It is used to eliminate the manifestations of a seasonal and year-round allergic attack, with allergies caused by therapy with other medications.

Treatment of toxoplasmosis - traditional medicine

Treatment of toxoplasmosis. After the diagnosis of toxoplasmosis and the appointment of effective medicines, you can try to add well-known folk drugs to the therapy regimen, if the attending physician does not object to this. Among the most popular folk remedies for toxoplasmosis, it is worth highlighting:

1. Collection of medicinal plants - elecampane, calendula flowers, eucalyptus, aspen bark, calamus roots. The components are crushed to a powdery state, mixed, then brewed with boiling water for 1 hour. The infusion is filtered and used internally, 30-40 milliliters three times a day.
2. Tincture of the above medicinal plants. Herbs are also crushed and mixed in the same way, but they are filled with medical alcohol, infused for 72 hours. After that, alcohol tincture can be used in the form of an aqueous solution of 5-6 milliliters of the product in a glass of liquid for 5 days.
3. Bird cherry broth. Crushed bird cherry twigs are filled with cold water, boiled over low heat for 30 minutes, cooled and filtered. The ready-made broth is applied daily before meals, 50 milliliters for 1 month.
4. Garlic milk. To prepare the medicine, 2 peeled cloves of garlic are ground and poured with warm milk, then the mixture is boiled over low heat for 20 minutes. The medicine is taken in several small sips daily before meals for 10 days.
5. Herbal collection - chamomile, gentian and buckthorn roots, wormwood, tansy. All ingredients in equal parts are crushed and mixed, the dry powder is poured with boiling water, infused and drunk in the morning on an empty stomach for several sips.
6. Pumpkin seeds with milk. Crushed dry peeled pumpkin seeds are poured into a glass of warm milk. They need to be insisted a little and drunk every morning on an empty stomach before breakfast. You can also use pumpkin seeds on an empty stomach separately if it is not possible to prepare a milk mixture.
7. Horseradish root with sour cream. The root must be peeled and grated, and then mixed with sour cream and used three times a day as a sauce for any meal. The effectiveness of the treatment is usually noticeable already 3 days after the start of horseradish intake.

What a doctor can do

The need for treatment and the choice of drugs for treatment can only be selected by a specialist. Not everyone can treat toxoplasmosis. This is necessary only with pronounced signs of the disease in children and weakened adults. They are usually treated with several antibacterial drugs in various combinations.

Treatment of toxoplasmosis. Chronic toxoplasmosis is treatable with great difficulty, in this case, in addition to antibacterial drugs, agents that strengthen the immune system are used.

Toxoplasma carriers do not need treatment. If primary toxoplasmosis is detected in early pregnancy, the woman is invited to have an abortion.

What can you do

As mentioned above, toxoplasmosis poses the greatest danger to the fetus.

When planning pregnancy, it is better to protect yourself and the unborn child and stop any contact with animals and rodents.

If the above symptoms appear in an adult, you should immediately consult a doctor.

Prevention of toxoplasmosis

Good hygiene in food preparation is one of the main measures to protect against contamination.

Treatment of toxoplasmosis. Considering the possibility of a sexual route of infection, it is advisable to use barrier methods of contraception, antiseptic sprays. Particular attention to the prevention of toxoplasmosis should be paid in families where there are pets (in particular cats). Do not let cats run on tables, limit your interaction with a cat, wash your hands thoroughly after contact with animals. Do not bring the animal to your face, much less kiss it. Have other family members change cat litter.

Find out more:

• Toxoplasmosis - symptoms and treatment methods for the disease
• Toxoplasmosis in humans: signs, symptoms and treatment
• Toxoplasmosis in cats: symptoms, treatment, prevention