Helminth Worms. What Worms Live In A Person. Types Of Parasites

2023 Author: Riley Dean | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-11-27 09:15

Helminth worms. Parasites - helminths live everywhere: in the earth, water, human and animal organisms. As soon as the helminth has entered the body, it begins its activity in it. The worms in the human body feel great, as it has everything they need. Usually, helminths multiply very quickly, and the depletion of the body is a consequence of the vital activity of parasites.

The content of the article:

• 1 In what organs can worms live in humans

  • 1.1 Cavity worms in the human body
  • 1.2 Tissue worms in the human body

• 2 What worms live in the human body

  • 2.1 Roundworms (nematodes) in the human body
  • 2.2 Tapeworms (cestodes) in the human body
  • 2.3 Flukes (trematodes) - worms in the human body

• 3 Types of subcutaneous worms in humans

  • 3.1 Type of subcutaneous worm in humans causing the disease dirofilariasis
  • 3.2 Worms in the human body causing the disease filariasis
  • 3.3 Worms in the human body that cause cysticercosis disease
  • 3.4 Worms in the human body causing schistosomiasis disease
  • 3.5 Worms in the human body causing dracunculiasis disease
• 4 The tapeworm in the human body
• 5 Symptoms of parasites (worms) in humans
• 6 Methods for diagnosing parasites (worms) in the human body
• 7 Prevention of worms in the human body

In what organs can worms live in humans

The helminthic parasites (simply worms) are divided into two categories, which correspond to the site of activity in the donor's body.

Helminths can settle both in the body of an animal and a person. They are not in vain called parasites, since they feed on the resources of the body they infected. And worms harm not only by eating the food we are entitled to, they also disrupt the normal functioning of the liver, heart, lungs and other organs. There are known cases of their penetration into the hearing aid, eyes and brain.

Cavitary worms in the human body

Cavity: worms that live in various parts of the gastrointestinal tract. There are about 100 varieties of intestinal parasites, and there are a couple of dozen species for each section of the intestine.

The small intestine is ready to accept roundworm, antilostomy, broad tapeworms and other less common "brethren". The small intestine "will share living space" with pinworms, dwarf tapeworm and others. The medical literature describes cases when one person was simultaneously infected with several types of parasites.

Tissue worms in the human body

Helminth worms. 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 larvae of worms move through the body through the circulatory system and randomly attach to any organ. If many eggs are introduced, the entire body may be infected.

What worms live in the human body

Roundworms (nematodes) in the human body

Roundworms (nematodes): Roundworms are so named because their body is round in cross section. These parasites are found most often in a child's body.

Types of roundworms (nematodes):

• pinworms: parasitizes in the large as well as the small intestine. Their body does not exceed 1 cm in length. Most often, helminthic infestation with pinworms affects children. These parasites live for 1-2 months. If you strictly follow personal hygiene, you can be cured even without taking medication. If it is not observed, repeated self-infection is possible;
• roundworms: worms up to 45 cm long, which parasitize the small intestine. They can move freely within the intestines. Their life expectancy is 14 months. During this period, they release toxins into the bloodstream, systematically poisoning the body;
• whipworm: worms, the body length of which is 3-4 cm. They parasitize in the colon and cecum, digging into their mucous membrane to suck blood. Very toxic. Live up to 5 years;
• Trichinella: a parasite with a valley of 3-4 mm, which can be transmitted through meat that has not been properly cooked. Helminths live in different organs, settling in the muscles of the eyes, heart, lungs. Life expectancy - up to 2 years;
• hookworm and nekator: they have the same biological characteristics, developmental cycle and parasitic mode, therefore they are combined under the same name "hookworm". These helminths 10-15 mm long are localized in the duodenum 12. Penetrates the body through the skin upon contact with contaminated soil. It feeds on blood by biting through blood vessels, which leads to iron deficiency anemia. This parasite is difficult to identify.

Tapeworms (cestodes) in the human body

Helminth worms. The tapeworm has a flat body that is divided into segments. As the worm grows, the segments are detached from the body and expelled with feces. These ribbon-like individuals are up to 18 m in length.

They parasitize in the intestine, attaching to its walls with suction cups. To infect humans, tapeworms must go through one of the developmental stages in the animal's body. These parasites live in the body for years.

Representatives of this group:

• broad tapeworm: reaches a length of 20 m. It parasitizes in the small intestine, causing severe dysfunction of the digestive tract. You can get infected by eating freshwater fish and crayfish meat that have not been heat treated;
• bovine tapeworm: helminth 6-12 m long. It lives in the small intestine, attaching itself with suction cups to its mucous membrane. The source of infection is beef meat that has not undergone proper heat treatment;
• pork tapeworm: a parasite up to 2 m long that enters the body through raw or poorly processed pork. Attaches to the walls of the small intestine;
• echinococcus: a parasite that can be contracted from cats, dogs. A person is an intermediate host for this helminth, therefore, entering the body, the larvae penetrate the tissues, into any organs and form echinococcal cysts. They are removed exclusively by surgery;
• alveococcus: a type of echinococcus. Very dangerous helminths that can live in any organs, but mainly parasitize in the liver. They actively grow and develop according to the principle of cancer metastases, gradually infecting the entire body. You can remove worms surgically.

Flukes (trematodes) - worms in the human body

Helminth worms. Flukes are a type of worms that parasitize in any organs and tissues. They feed on epithelial cells. They reach a length of up to 1.5 m. The body is shaped like a leaf.

The route of infection is the consumption of fish, seafood raw, or after insufficient heat treatment.

This type includes: hepatic fluke: a worm 7-20 mm long. It parasitizes the liver and bile ducts.

1. The liver fluke settles in a person through the consumption of fish, previously affected by it. This worm damages the gallbladder and intestines. Signs of infestation by the fluke: allergies and nausea, abdominal pain and cramps, joints also hurt, and a high temperature rises. If the disease has become chronic, then the next stage is possible hepatitis. More terrible consequences of the invasion of the hepatic fluke are cirrhosis and cancer. If this helminth is destroyed and removed, the harm caused to it will be quite noticeable, and liver inflammation remains.
2. Echinococcus. Tapeworms are also quite large in length and grow up to 5 meters. They lead a parasitic lifestyle on dogs, wolves and cats. When a person comes into contact with them, the worms first harm the intestines, and then migrate throughout the body. The more favorite places for their settlement are the liver and lungs. The places where they are located are mistakenly diagnosed as a cancerous tumor or cyst. Some doctors use the term "cyst" in this way because it looks like a growth and becomes very large. When an imaginary tumor bursts, its contents sharply poison the entire human body.

It provokes the development of serious diseases and functional disorders. Siberian fluke: a worm 4-13 mm long, localized in the gallbladder.

Types of subcutaneous worms in humans

Helminth worms. For the first time, a subcutaneous worm was discovered in India, but now modern medicine knows several types of such helminthic invasions. Finding such a “guest” eating at his expense, a person experiences shock, stress and horror, and after healing, negative feelings and experiences haunt him for a long time.

Worms (or worms) living under the human skin are parasites that invade the skin in various ways and parasitize there.

To get rid of such subcutaneous helminthic invasions, not only medication, but also surgical techniques are used to remove the parasite from the patient's body.

The type of subcutaneous worm in humans causing dirofilariasis disease

Helminth worms. Dirofilariasis: The disease is caused by the larval stage of the nematode of the genus Dirofilaria, which is transmitted to humans by the bite of a vector mosquito. Sexually mature individuals of dirofilaria are round filamentous worms with narrowed ends about 1.5 mm wide and up to 30 cm long.

Their larvae are microscopic in size and, after being bitten by an infected mosquito, develop under human skin for 90 days. It is possible that other blood-sucking insects (fleas, ticks, lice, etc.) can become carriers.

The source of this helminthic infestation is domestic animals (usually dogs, less often - cats).

More often, a person becomes infected with such types of dirofilaria as Dirofilaria Immitis (parasitizing in the right atrium of the heart or in the pulmonary artery) and Dirofilaria repens (parasitizing in the subcutaneous fatty tissue or under the conjunctiva).

Worms in the human body causing the disease filariasis

Filariasis: These helminthic infestations are caused by various types of nematodes. Onchocerca volvulus (female about 0.3 mm thick and up to 50 cm long, male up to 13 cm) provoke onchocerciasis. Dipetalonema perstans (female about 0.14 mm thick and up to 80 mm long, male up to 0.08 mm thick and up to 45 mm long) cause dipetalonematosis.

Loa loa (female about 0.25 mm thick and up to 70 mm long, male up to 35 mm) provoke loiasis. Mansonella ozzardi (female about 0.25 mm thick and up to 81 mm long, male about 0.005 mm thick and up to 0.24 mm long) cause mansonellosis. Filaria larvae are transmitted to humans through the bites of blood-sucking insects (mosquitoes, horseflies, midges, biting midges), which are intermediate hosts and carriers of these worms.

Worms in the human body that cause cysticercosis disease

Helminth worms. Cysticercosis: caused by the larvae of the pork tapeworm (cysticercus) Cysticersus cellulosae, which enter the human stomach when the larvae are thrown from the intestine into the stomach during vomiting or from dirty hands and food.

The cysticercus is an oval-shaped vial containing the head of a pork tapeworm, with four suction cups and a crown of hooks.

In the skin or organs of a person, the vesicle can change from a round shape to a fusiform one up to 15 mm in size.

Occasionally, the appearance of giant blisters with branched or uviform forms of the cysticercus is observed. After invasion, a person becomes an intermediate host. The main intermediate hosts of these worms are pigs.

Worms in the human body that cause schistosomiasis

Schistosomiasis: Caused by Schistosoma haematobium trematodes (fluke worms), the length of which reaches 20 mm.

Their eggs enter the water with the feces and urine of a sick person and penetrate the molluscs. There they go through a certain stage of development and are released into the water in the form of cercariae. The larvae swim freely in water and penetrate human skin.

Worms in the human body that cause dracunculiasis disease

Dracunculiasis: Caused by the subcutaneous worm of the risht, which is a large nematode Dracunculus medinensis.

Helminth worms. They enter the human stomach along with the water in which their intermediate hosts are located - the copepods-cyclops. From the stomach they penetrate into the retroperitoneal space, mature there and penetrate under the skin. The size of the male is 12-10 cm, and the size of the females is up to 32-120 cm.

The tapeworm in the human body

Soliters, like pinworms, live in the human intestine. They are long, flat worms that look like a white ribbon. There are many types of tapeworms.

In the intestines of humans, two types of tapeworms are most often found: pork, which a person becomes infected by eating poorly cooked or roasted pork meat, and bovine, the source of infection is cattle meat. Pork tapeworm is more common in Ukraine.

The bovine tapeworm is more common in Siberia and Central Asia. Once, having settled in the intestine, a tapeworm in a person can live there for years if it is not expelled from the intestine with medications, for example, fern extract.

The structure of the tapeworm, in contrast to the structure of the earthworm, is associated with the conditions of its habitation in the human intestine. His body is flat. Therefore, tapeworms, like other worms with a similar body, are called flatworms. The long, ribbon-like body of an adult porcine tapeworm reaches a length of 1.5 - 2 m, and sometimes even more.

Helminth worms. Solitaires cause great harm to both humans and animals. They cause excessive appetite in a person, indigestion, abdominal pain, anemia, sometimes insomnia and nervous diseases.

Like other animals that live in the dark, these parasites have a colorless, white or yellowish-white body. It consists of a tiny, pinhead-sized, round head, thin neck, and a large number of segments. The number of segments can reach 1000.

The further from the head, the larger and wider the segments become, since reproductive organs with a huge number of eggs develop in them. New segments are formed at the back of the neck. Four suction cups are located crosswise on the sides of the head. In front of the tubercle, the head has a double rim, consisting of 22 - 32 hooks.

With these hooks, the tapeworm is introduced into the intestinal wall, and then sucked by its suction cups. The tapeworm is attached to the intestinal walls not only by the head, but also by the entire surface of its body, the irregularities of which it replaces the walls of the human intestine.

The entire surface of the tapeworm's body is covered with dense skin, which protects it from the action of human digestive juices. The tapeworm has no mouth and digestive organs. Yes, he does not need them, since he eats already digested human food. Its tapeworm absorbs in liquid form the entire surface of the body.

Helminth worms. In addition to the pork tapeworm, a bovine tapeworm can also live in the human body. The bovine tapeworm is longer than the pork tapeworm. The length of its body reaches 4 - 10 meters or more, and in some cases - 25 - 30 meters.

In such conditions, a huge number of tapeworm generations existed. As a result, the digestive organs of this animal completely disappeared. Due to the parasitic lifestyle, the nervous system of the tapeworm has a very simple structure, and it has no sense organs at all.

Symptoms of parasites (worms) in humans

The symptoms are very varied and depend on the specific parasite. Accordingly, where the worm lives, what it parasitizes, then it will give different symptoms.

In addition, helminthiasis can be suspected if spots begin to appear on the skin, it becomes coarser, pimples are poured abundantly. The fruits of the life of worms can lead to sore throats, snoring, sinusitis, cystitis, irritable bowel syndrome, etc. If the parasites settle in the muscles and near the joints, they begin to cause pain similar to arthritis.

Helminth worms. Often, due to the presence of parasites in the human body, sleep problems begin. The quality of the night's rest deteriorates, because at this time the liver is trying to get rid of unwanted residents.

In addition, helminths migrate and can go outside and then hide back, causing itching. If the worms get to the heart, they can cause inflammation of the heart muscle. Parasites that live under the skin cause the appearance of seals under it, worms in the eyes provoke inflammation.

But a number of characteristic manifestations can also be distinguished:

• malfunctions of the digestive system;
• allergic reactions;
• anemia.

Methods for diagnosing parasites (worms) in the human body

Special diagnostic methods will help to identify parasites. They make it possible to establish not only their presence, but also determine which types of helminths live in the body.

Methods for diagnosing worms in the human body:

• analysis of feces for eggs of worms: detects eggs of helminths (worms), as well as fragments of parasites in the feces. The accuracy of this diagnostic method is 30-35%, since the parasites lay eggs at a certain frequency, and not daily. For the analysis to be reliable, with a single negative result, it must be repeated 3-4 times. The method allows you to identify worms that parasitize in the intestines, in particular pinworms, ascaris;
• scraping or smear: an effective diagnostic method for detecting ascaris, as well as pinworms that lay eggs in the area around the anus, as well as in the perineal area. To obtain an objective result, you also need to go through 2-4 procedures. A single negative result is not 100% reliable;
• general blood test: with a decrease in the level of hemoglobin and an increase in the concentration of leukocytes, it is possible to assume the presence of helminthic invasion;
• enzyme immunoassay: the most accurate diagnostic method that allows you to determine the type of parasites, as well as to establish their approximate number, even if they are localized directly in the organs and cannot be detected by other methods. Worm infestation is evidenced by the presence of certain antibodies that are formed as a protective reaction of the body to infection. For each type of worm, a separate enzyme immunoassay must be performed;
• analysis of the secretions produced by the duodenum: it is necessary to identify worms localized in the internal ducts.

Helminth worms. If, as a result of diagnostics, it was possible to confirm the presence of worms and determine their type, treatment should be started immediately. Finding out which worm parasitizes in the body is important in order to choose the most effective medicine.

Prevention of worms in the human body

Preventive rules will help prevent the occurrence of worms of various forms:

• wash your hands thoroughly with soap before each meal;
• all products of animal origin must undergo appropriate heat treatment;
• the fish used for food should be well salted, fried or boiled;
• vegetable products must be scalded with hot water or washed with water and soap;
• when resting in nature, it is imperative to use special insect repellents;
• taking anthelmintics twice a year will also prevent the development of helminthiasis.

Find out more:

• Worms - folk remedies - recipes
• How to remove worms from a person with folk remedies
• Worms in a child - symptoms and treatment
• How to get rid of parasites in the body - recipes