Parasites are disease-causing organisms that can live on humans, animals, and even some plants. There are many types of organisms in the world that enter the host's body, eat its useful substances, actively multiply and leave waste products in the body, leading to various diseases.
Usually, worms are found in humans. These are worms of various lengths and sizes that mainly live in the intestines of vertebrates. But some helminths can travel throughout the body, invading the muscles, liver, heart, joints, lungs, and even the brain.
Worms cause harm to the host's body, so everyone should know how to determine the presence of parasites in the body. But many people do not want to go to the hospital, waste time and go for a worm test for no reason.
In this case, a person can detect if there is a parasite in the body by paying attention to such an important criterion as the characteristic symptoms that develop with a certain type of helminth. What if they weren't there? This is not happening!
However, in the early stages of helminth infestation, vital signs of foreign microbial activity are expressed very poorly or they are absent at all. The clinical picture becomes more intense and pronounced only when the helminths are actively developing, since their larvae cannot parasitize humans.
How to determine the presence of worms in the body without medical research?
Different types of parasites cause specific symptoms in the host. If they are identified in time and correctly deciphered, then this will make it possible to identify the infection even at an early stage.
Thus, the possibility of misdiagnosis is minimized, which will allow correct and effective deworming using folk or medical antiparasitic agents.
So, to recognize parasites in the human body, you need to pay attention to the symptoms:
- Teeth grinding at night.
- Allergic skin rashes - acne, acne, urticaria, herpes on the lips, eczema, red spots, papillomas, neurodermatitis, psoriasis, etc. v.
- Development of diseases of the upper respiratory tract (bronchitis, pneumonia, runny nose), characteristic of ascariasis and strongyloidiasis.
- Flatulence and diarrhea appear due to long-term worms hindering the secretion of bile and pancreatic juice.
- Constipation occurs when the worm forms a ball that blocks its passage through the intestines.
- Discomfort in joints and muscles due to parasite migration.
- Severe discomfort caused by painful symptoms.
- A persistent dry cough cannot be treated with standard antitussives.
An increase in body temperature to subthreshold values is also observed. The causes of this condition can lie in allergies, blood poisoning, neurological disorders, disruption of the functioning of internal organs and brain, and anemia syndrome.
In addition, live worms in a person greatly reduce the person's immunity, so the sick person often gets colds. In addition, the patient suffered from prolonged depression due to the intoxication of the body.
The characteristic symptoms of helminthiasis are nausea and vomiting, which are caused by the excretion of toxic substances. Furthermore, certain types of worms can live in the human body, producing specific hormones that affect the intestinal microflora, which is the cause of diarrhea.
However, in some cases, such symptoms are not attributed to a helminthic infection, as they are similar to the signs of food poisoning. Although this can become a serious problem, because the later treatment is given, the organs and systems of the host have more time to invade.
Therefore, to detect helminthiasis at home, a type of test should be performed. To achieve this, it is necessary to answer the following questions:
- Do you have anal itching at night?
- Are the lymph nodes swollen?
- Is there a skin rash?
- How often does insomnia occur?
- Are you vomiting and nauseous?
- Have joint and muscle pain?
- How often does flatulence develop?
- How often does a bitter taste appear in the mouth?
If a person gives seven affirmative answers to these questions, there is a high probability that his body is infected with worms.
How to determine the type of helminth by symptoms?
At home, you can determine which helminths have already taken up residence on the human body. But this can only be done if the parasite has reached the stage of active development.
Ascariasis and filariasis are characterized by neurological signs that are most intense in young patients. Aggressive behavior and increased nervousness are caused by the action of toxic substances on the nervous system. For the same reasons, an infected person develops migraines and dizziness.
As a rule, trichinosis is accompanied by pain in the joints and muscles, as well as swelling of the face and eyelids. This is due to the peculiarities of the life of Trichinella, which lives in skeletal muscles. You can become infected with this parasite if you eat wild animals or pork that has been poorly prepared.
Giardiasis affects the functioning of the liver and kidneys and causes all kinds of allergic reactions. Moreover, some people, when the body is damaged by lamblia, develop arthritis, which develops as a result of intoxication. In addition, in an invasive patient, immunity is weakened, against the background of which the following diseases develop:
- clinical sinusitis;
- stomatitis;
- bacterial vaginosis and so on.
The characteristic sign of pinworm disease is itching in the anal canal. Moreover, most infected people experience disruptions in the work of the gastrointestinal tract.
Anemia syndrome is characteristic of schistosomiasis. There are also manifestations of dysbacteriosis (pathogenic microorganisms inhibit favorable microflora).
With bronchiectasis, cysticercosis and ophthalmopathy, the gallbladder is affected and large bowel syndrome develops. Moreover, against the course of these helminths, the liver and spleen increase.
Strongyloidiasis presents with a variety of symptoms. So, with its progression, there are malfunctions in the gastrointestinal tract, digestive disorders and allergic manifestations.
How to determine if there are helminth eggs if there is no test condition? When the worms are in the multiplication stage, it is quite easy to detect their presence in the body. To do this, you need to analyze the eggs of the parasite.
With the development of opisthorchiasis, you can conduct research on your own at home. For this purpose, adhesive tape or tape must be applied to the skin in the anal area.
It is best to do this procedure right after waking up in the morning. If a person has cystic acne, their eggs will be identified on the sticky surface of the tape.
Laboratory methods for the detection of parasites
If a patient has more than three symptoms characteristic of helminthiasis, then he should contact the medical facility so that the presence of parasites can be determined at home in the laboratory.
The first step in cases of suspected helminthic infestation is to study the stool. This allows you to identify eggs of tapeworms, roundworms and tapeworms. However, to accurately confirm the diagnosis, tests must be performed three times every few days.
To identify intestinal parasites, a proximal scraping will be performed. In addition, one of the most accurate and convenient tests for patients is ELISA, which allows you to detect antibodies in the blood that are produced by the body when parasitizing pathogenic microorganisms.
Occasionally, biomaterial diagnostics are performed, studying the prevalence of parasites. This method is very informative, as it determines the state of the body as a whole. In addition, in addition to parasites, such a study allows you to find out the immune state that weakens it, to identify other diseases, as well as pathogenic fungi, bacteria and viruses.