Helminths In Humans: Signs, Symptoms And Treatment

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

Helminths are common among humans. Signs of infection with worms can proceed differently for each person, but most often patients complain of general malaise, stomach pains, fever and other manifestations of the disease. The reason for this is the wide habitat of various types of helminths in nature, moreover, it is not at all difficult to become infected with them: the source of infection can be water, food, dirty hands, contact with pets.

The content of the article:

1 Helminths in the human body
2 In which organs can parasites live
3 How can you get infected with worms
- 3.1 Infection with helminths through the soil
- 3.2 Infection with helminths from a sick person
- 3.3 Infection with helminths through water
4 Determination of infection with worms in humans
5 Symptoms of human worm infection
6 Treatment of helminths in humans
7 Folk remedies for worms in humans
8 Prevention of infection with worms in humans

Helminths in the human body

Worms are scientifically called helminths. Helminths mean any worms that parasitize in the organisms of people, animals, plants. Accordingly, helminths are not a specific type of parasite, but a whole group of different worms, three of which are the most common.

In modern society, helminths are still widespread. Especially often, helminthic infestation occurs in children, hunters, fishermen and their families, as well as rural residents.

Helminths are a large group of parasitic worms that live off animals and plants, feeding and reproducing inside the donor's body. Man is no exception. There are more than 70 types of parasites in our country alone. According to statistics, every third inhabitant of the Earth is infected with parasitic worms. It is assumed that there is not a single adult person, during whose life not a single worm has settled in his body.

Helminths. No matter how carefully parents watch the cleanliness of their children's hands, it is almost impossible to protect them from worms (pinworms). Children explore the outside world, nature awakens a special interest. They want to touch everything, taste it. People who eat fish, meat of wild animals and birds, homemade milk are at risk of contracting trichinosis and diphyllobothriasis.

Modern medical data show that many diseases occur due to helminthic invasion. For example, the link between oncology and long-term parasite infection has been clinically proven. Signs of the presence of worms in humans are often misinterpreted by doctors and patients. They begin to treat non-existent diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.

Patients can go to doctors for a long time, complaining of discomfort. They waste time, money, and further damage their health by taking unnecessary medications. Ultimately, recovery occurs only when the cause of the symptoms is eliminated. After proper treatment, all accompanying symptoms cease to bother patients.

In what organs can parasites live?

Worm parasites are divided into two categories, which correspond to the site of activity in the donor's body:

abdominal - helminths 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 - helminths 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.

How can you get infected with worms

Infection with helminths through the soil

Almost any contact with the soil is dangerous in terms of infection with parasites, therefore, after working with the soil, it is necessary not only to wash your hands with soap, but to thoroughly process your nails. It is important to monitor the length of the nails in children and cut them off in time. All products that grow in the ground and which a person eats raw should be washed under running water and scalded with boiling water.

This applies to vegetables, fruits and greens. Pets that walk on the street can carry a huge amount of dirt, including parasites. Therefore, contact between children and pets always carries the threat of infection. Moreover, cats and dogs can be carriers of almost all types of helminths. Among the insects that spread the infection, flies are recognized as the most dangerous. They are frequent inhabitants of toilets, cattle corrals, after which they can completely freely crawl on food, carrying helminth eggs on their legs and wings;

Infection with helminths from a sick person

When female pinworms mature in the child's body, they crawl out onto the skin of the anal folds in order to lay eggs. One individual leaves about 5000 eggs near the anus. The process of laying them provokes the appearance of severe itching, as a result of which the child begins to comb the problem area.

The eggs are spread on underwear, bedding, and the arms of a child. Then he touches toys, doorknobs, furniture and other household items with these hands. Other children and adults also touch them.

The eggs of the helminths are attached to their hands, after which they are brought into the mouth during a meal. The risk of infection increases many times over if you neglect the rules of hygiene and do not wash your hands before eating, after using the toilet and public places. This is the mechanism of transmission of helminths from person to person;

Infection with helminths through water

The waterway of the spread of helminths is also an urgent problem. A huge number of eggs end up in open reservoirs, wells, springs, etc. Therefore, it is so important to use filters with a bactericidal effect, especially for those people who live in rural areas. Always boil it before drinking.

Parents need to ensure that children do not swallow water while swimming in lakes and rivers. Moreover, you should not drink water from open sources, even from springs. Children are more susceptible to helminthiasis. This is due to certain reasons. Firstly, it is easier for helminths to get along in the child's body, since its defenses are not yet fully formed, and the acidity of gastric juice is low compared to the acidity of an adult's gastric juice. Secondly, the child learns independently by about 5-6 years to observe hygiene rules. Until that time, he “tastes” the whole world around him.

Helminths. Therefore, the risk of invasion not only of the child, but also of all members of his family remains, at least until the baby enters school. No helminths are able to reproduce and exist in the human body indefinitely. All of them have a certain life span and after a while they simply die. For example, roundworms live no more than a year, and pinworms no more than 2 months. In order for a person to become infected again, it is necessary to re-enter the eggs into the digestive tract. Only in this way can the life cycle of helminths continue.

If you exclude the possibility of re-infection, that is, reduce the likelihood of swallowing invasive helminth eggs to zero, you can get rid of them without any treatment. But for this it is necessary to observe strict hygiene rules. Thus, pinworms can be removed from the body in 3-4 weeks. However, preschool and primary school age children will definitely not be able to adhere to all the recommendations.

Determination of infection with worms in humans

The test to determine the possible helminthiasis involves counting positive answers to the questions presented. By their number, conclusions can be drawn regarding the risk of the presence of helminths in the body:

itching in the anus bothers you periodically or constantly; headache often, dizziness occurs; rashes appear on the skin; often there is nausea, which can result in vomiting; disturbed by bloating, unstable stools (constipation is replaced by diarrhea);
the quality of night sleep has worsened.

Disturbed by insomnia, crying in a dream; the lower limbs often swell; the lymph nodes are enlarged; allergic reactions occur (bronchial asthma, urticaria, cough and rhinitis of an allergic nature); periodically there are abdominal pains that go away on their own; a bitter taste appears in the mouth; is pursued by chronic fatigue and fatigue; there are preschool children in the house. Work in a preschool educational institution;
the skin and mucous membranes are yellow; body temperature periodically rises for no apparent reason; sometimes joints and muscles hurt; teeth grinding or snoring is heard during sleep; the diet includes products such as: sushi, dried fish, lard with meat inclusions; weight is reduced. Appetite increased or decreased; fruits and vegetables that a person eats may not be washed or scalded with boiling water.

If there are more than seven positive answers, then there is a risk of the presence of helminths in the body. If there are more than 15 positive answers, then the probability of helminthiasis is very high and it is necessary to seek the advice of a specialist.

Symptoms of human worm infection

Signs of worms in the body are not always easy to discern. Very often they are confused with symptoms of other diseases or are completely ignored, believing that nothing special is happening, and the body is simply tired. However, this carelessness in the end may end up visiting the surgical table due to a neglected case, instead of buying pills, if a person immediately consulted a doctor.

Therefore, you should definitely consult a doctor if you have any suspicions or if you have several symptoms of helminths from the list below. And it's certainly time to take care of yourself, if suddenly the helminths come out with feces (it's hard to believe, but there are people who cannot be scared even with this unambiguous symptom of helminthiasis!):

itching (an overwhelming urge to scratch) near the anus; this sensation is usually pronounced at night before going to bed. This symptom of pinworms can be called almost the main sign that parasites have gotten in your body;
rashes and skin irritation. Helminths are not the first thing that comes to mind when such changes take place in the body. Usually people think about allergies, exposure to chemicals, or mild poisoning. However, some worms provoke symptoms similar to these in adults and children. The reason is simple - the immune system is fighting against unexpected "parasitic guests";

headache. This symptom is suitable for almost every disease, but it was still worth mentioning. Dizziness and pain occur again due to the work of the immune system and the release of harmful substances by helminths;
involuntary abdominal pain and mustard taste in the mouth. This is due to the fact that human helminths do not behave peacefully enough, stick to the circulatory systems, travel through the body, establish their own rules in the gastrointestinal tract (gastrointestinal tract) and release harmful substances in the course of their vital activity;
dead worms come out with feces. They are not always distinguishable, but in which case they are a sure symptom of helminthiasis.

Do not think that feces with worms are a sign that they are leaving, and the body will independently defeat the parasites. Not at all! The fact is that some types of helminths (for example, pinworms or roundworms) can live no more than a month or two. But this does not mean that they did not have time to leave offspring and through you infect the people with whom you closely communicate;
loss or increase in appetite and inexorable weight loss. As much as you want to lose weight, worm infestation is unlikely to be a better idea. And although there are clinics that offer weight loss services by introducing parasites into the body, the safety of their services is questionable (more about the transplantation of feces and microorganisms;
a symptom of worms in humans, but an obvious provoking factor of the disease. So if you have other symptoms and have a pet, be sure to get tested for worms in your body. It is possible to become infected with worms from a cat or dog, and this often happens to their owners, if preventive measures are abandoned;

diarrhea, constipation, flatulence. The main symptoms of worms in humans are manifested in their habitat, usually the abdomen, intestines and all nearby places;
it is impossible to get enough sleep, teeth grinding, frequent change of sleeping positions. In most types of helminths, the main activity occurs at night, and therefore, while you sleep, inside you "boils with life";
work among animals or in public places. Working in a kindergarten, school, farm or shop assistant, the likelihood of contracting helminths from someone is significantly higher than if you worked in an office or at home.

Unfortunately, there are no identical symptoms for all types of worms in an adult or children, since each species manifests itself in different ways, is located in different places and parasitizes on various aspects of the work of our body.

Treatment of helminths in humans

Treatment for helminths is called deworming. It can be medication or surgical (some helminths can only be removed by surgery). Alternative methods of treating helminthic invasion are also popular. In addition, you should also take care of personal hygiene and follow the rules of food preparation. It is very important to take measures to stimulate immunity, because during helminthiasis it is depressed.

To rid the human body of helminths, you will need to take antiparasitic drugs. They are active against various types of worms, so a doctor should prescribe them. In addition, there are drugs with a wide spectrum of action, but this does not mean that they can be used alone.

In Russia, about 70 species of helminths parasitize, including: trematodes, nematodes and cestodes. It is only a doctor who can determine which parasite lives in the human body on the basis of laboratory tests (feces analysis, scraping for enterobiasis, blood test for giardiasis, etc.).

Currently, parasitologists in their arsenal have about 10 different drugs that can treat patients with helminthiases. The dosage and course of treatment is selected in each case individually and depends on the patient's age, on the type of helminths, on the presence of concomitant diseases.

Used drugs for the treatment of worms in humans: Pirantel (Kombantrin, Nemocid, Helmintox); Nemozole, Vormil based on Albendazole; Piperazine; Decaris (Levamisole); Pirvinium, Vanquin, Pircon (Pirvinium embonate); Vermox, Vermacar, Vormin, Mebex, Vero-Mebendazole with the main active ingredient Mebendazole; Medamin (Carbendacim).

Since some drugs are not able to destroy the larvae of helminths, but only act on adults, the risk of re-self-infection remains. To reduce it to a minimum, it is necessary to undergo a second course of treatment after 14-21 days.

Folk remedies for worms in humans

To get rid of helminthiasis, you can try various foods that have worked well enough in the fight against parasites. Our grandmothers were also treated for such a misfortune by clicking pumpkin seeds (by the way, they also contain a lot of zinc).

Red beet juice helps well - you need to drink it in 1 tbsp. every day for a week. Watermelon is considered an effective remedy, but pregnant women should not get too carried away with it: after all, there is a lot of liquid in watermelons, and this is fraught with additional stress on the kidneys and edema.

A useful remedy for worms during pregnancy is pomegranate fresh. In addition to the fact that it cleanses the body of worms, everyone knows its magical property - to increase hemoglobin, and it is recommended to pregnant women very often. So there is a double benefit to the body.

Useful and effective herbal teas: lingonberry, marigold, valerian. Moreover, they can be drunk both in pure form and in combination with each other. The leaves of these medicinal herbs will help get rid of worms, but at the same time they have a mild, gentle effect.

You can use not only teas, but also medicinal decoctions. In your case, chamomile, lavender and strawberry are the best options.

Prevention of infection with worms in humans

Despite the significant difference in the development cycles of various worms, a number of preventive measures can be identified, the observance of which will help to avoid the disease.

It is important to remember that the likelihood of infection with worms depends on the person's compliance with the simplest rules of personal hygiene, the most important of which are:

obligatory hand washing with soap after contact with the ground and animals, going to the toilet and outside, as well as before eating;
short clipping of fingernails and toenails (especially in children), and keeping them clean;
thorough washing of vegetables, fruits, berries, herbs and other products, which could get soil and eggs of worms;
eating meat and fish purchased only in reliable places (trade and public catering enterprises) and subjected to thorough heat treatment to destroy worm eggs;
using water only from comfortable water supply sources;
refusal to swim in water bodies located near pastures and watering holes due to the high probability of worm eggs entering them with animal feces;
destruction of flies and other insects that carry worm eggs on their paws.

Currently, there are recommendations for regular prophylactic deworming (treatment of worms) with drugs without preliminary laboratory research.

To exclude re-infection with worms, such activities should be carried out by all family members at the same time, as well as by pets, since they are often the source of worm infestation. Nevertheless, it is important to remember that the prevention of worms with such drugs is carried out only by a doctor and only after an in-person consultation.

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