Helminths in humans: symptoms of the disease and treatment

Many studies of modern medicine prove that helminths in humans are the cause of many diseases. The entry of the parasite into the body does not cause immediate sensation, and often the symptoms are disguised as other diseases. Many people have been treated for many years for liver, kidney, and gallbladder diseases, looking for the cause of allergies. But they don't even think about checking the body for a worm infestation.

Methods of infection

The boy ate a dog bowl and got worms

There are about 250 types of helminths in nature. Moreover, each parasite causes a certain disease with characteristic symptoms. The problem is common in both children and adults.

There are several reasons for failure:

  1. Method of contact - some parasites, including pinworms, are transmitted from person to person by shaking hands.
  2. Diet - eat raw or semi-raw meat, fish of poor quality infected with helminths entering the body.
  3. Through soil and water - if soil and water are contaminated with helminths, are shed from the feces of infected people or animals.
  4. Contact with animals infected with helminths.
  5. Transfer worm eggs of insects to food.
  6. Insect bites can carry several types of parasites into the body.

Doctors note that the main mode of transmission is considered to be the oral - fecal route. In other words, human helminths are affected by eating contaminated food and water.

Also often the reason for the spread is the lack of basic hygiene. After being outdoors, and especially after working with soil, you should wash your hands thoroughly.

Children are especially susceptible to helminth infections. Walking on the street, contact with pets leads to the rapid spread of the problem. Pinworm infection is very simple. Because female pinworms can come out of the intestinal tract at night to lay eggs near the anus, causing severe itching in children. Children inadvertently scratch this spot, and this leads to contamination of hands, feet, clothes and bedding. Contact with children's furniture, which the baby can handle with unwashed hands, doorknobs and plumbing fixtures, is the cause of infection for all people living in the house. apartment.

How to identify the problem?

itching in the anus with worms

Human helminths can cause different symptoms, so different treatment is indicated.

But there are also typical signs most commonly seen in people with parasitic infections:

  • noticeable weight loss;
  • anemia;
  • severe itching in the anus;
  • anorexia;
  • constant fatigue.

For these symptoms, most people immediately begin to suspect a worm infection.

But often helminthiasis causes other symptoms, more reminiscent of signs of other diseases.

  1. Gastrointestinal problems - recurrent nausea, diarrhea or vomiting, bloating and abdominal pain may not be due to stomach problems but to a worm infection. This usually happens if the parasite is in the intestines. Symptoms can be severe or mild. But in any case, they bring great discomfort to a person.
  2. General malaise and negative effects on the nervous system. This condition is caused by toxins capable of releasing parasites in the human body. The state of intoxication gradually leads to frequent headaches, dizziness, and mild nausea. With a strong infection, there is a possibility of fever and joint pain. Due to the presence of worms in the human body, the amount of vitamins and nutrients is drastically reduced. As a result, this leads to drowsiness, constant fatigue and stress. Children are especially susceptible - they become erratic and irritable, sleep restlessly at night, become inattentive.
  3. Allergic reactions on the skin - the waste products of the parasites sensitize the body, and therefore proteins similar to them when ingested are considered allergens. Therefore, different options for allergies - skin rash, hives, persistent itching. Among the symptoms of helminthiasis are also noted allergic rhinitis and cough.
  4. Poor immunity, which leads to frequent manifestations of infectious diseases. The problem arises against the background of a decrease in the amount of vitamins and nutrients in the body.

In the opinion of many people, the presence of worms in the body can be determined by snoring or grinding teeth while sleeping. Such methods of determination still exist, but medicine insists that these are only assumptions. Snoring and teeth grinding can have many other causes.

Where do parasites live?

roundworms from the human body

Human helminths can reside in the body in different places.

Depending on this, there are:

  1. Cancer - localized in the small intestine and large intestine. There are about a hundred species of such worms.
  2. Tissue - occupies tissues and organs. They can be found in the liver, muscles, lungs, brain, and lymphatic vessels.

Some worms, such as roundworms, have both a cavity and a tissue. They are in the form of larvae that can infect organs, and worms infect the intestinal tract.

Diagnosing worms

worms in human feces

To identify helminthic diseases, modern medicine uses several methods:

  • examining a person's stool for carpels;
  • shave the anus;
  • shaving from the vagina in girls;
  • immunoassay for antibodies.

In addition, the doctor may send urine and blood tests, bile, and sputum tests. In cases of severe infection, ultrasound, biopsy, and computed tomography are used. These research methods help determine the location of parasite colonies in the human body.

How to get rid of helminths?

doctor prescribes worm treatment

In the arsenal of doctors today there are many drugs that can quickly and successfully deal with the problem of harm to the human body by parasites. But it's important to get the right diagnosis to find the optimal medication. Only then can the treatment be successful.

Depending on the type of parasites, they are prescribed:

  1. Drugs based on mebendazole are the best choice for the treatment of intestinal infection, trichocephalosis.
  2. Medicines with Diethylcarbamazine are recommended for the treatment of filariasis.
  3. Levamisole tablets are often prescribed by doctors when the body has trichocephalosis, ringworm, toxoplasmosis.
  4. Preparations with Albendazole - have been shown to be effective in fascioliasis and coccidiosis.
  5. Medicines with the ingredient Praziquantel - will help to cope with helminthiasis, schistosomiasis, helminthiasis.

Often, helminthiasis can be dealt with by prescribing medication. But in the case of reinfection or exacerbation, doctors recommend more serious treatment, including injections of ascorbic acid, vitamin B6 or calcium gluconate, as well as medications for high blood pressure and fever-reducing methods. .

Preventive measures

Wash vegetables and fruits so that they do not get infected with worms

It is very easy to get infected with worms. And it takes a lot of time to get rid of the parasites. In order not to go through a lot of research and not to poison the body with deworming fractions, it is better to prevent the appearance of a problem.

Moreover, prevention is not difficult:

  • Observe the basic rules of personal hygiene - wash your hands after walking, use personal hygiene items.
  • Handle meat and fish properly.
  • Wash vegetables and fruits thoroughly before eating.
  • Pet owners should treat their pets for worms several times a year. Animals also need to be vaccinated in a timely manner.
  • With regular trips to nature, contact the undamaged ground once a year for parasite prophylaxis.
  • Children are recommended to carry out drug prophylaxis twice a year.

Literally, each of us is a worm carrier at least once in our lives. Indeed, not a single person is insured against infection, regardless of his status and status. This problem does not lead to death, but it creates great discomfort. Therefore, the earlier the parasites are detected, the quicker the patient will undergo competent treatment and forget about the unpleasant problem.