Worms in humans cause the development of diseases collectively called helminthiasis. Worms are parasitic worms that can be found in almost all organs of our body: intestines, muscles, lungs, liver, heart and even eyes.
If a person has worms, the symptoms do not always appear if they do, they are disguised as other diseases of the liver, gastrointestinal tract, gall bladder, etc. Sometimes these symptoms are so vague that it can be very problematic to determine the cause; of a particular problem, especially when it comes to children.
Today, there are many known parasites that can infect the human body. In total there are about 150 types of helminthiasis. All worms, according to the shape and structure of the body, are divided into two large groups: roundworms or nematodes and flatworms.
Children are most often infected with worms, and the most common forms of helminthiasis (diseases caused by parasitic worms) are ascariasis and enterobiasis. The most dangerous worms that can live in the human body are echinococcus and alveococcus. For each group of parasites, special tools have been developed, the treatment of which will remove the worms from the body of an adult or child.
Types of worms in humans
There are more than two hundred types of worms that infect humans. Most of them are not found in the middle zone, so about sixty species are common in our country. Parasites are divided into contact parasites (worms that are transmitted from one person to another), geohelminthiasis (larvae live in the soil and invasion occurs when soil particles enter with food) and biohelminthiasis (parasites pass into the human body through the meat of infected animals. orfish).
Let's mention some of the most common groups of worms in humans:
- Annelids - needles, roundworms, whipworms, trichinella;
- Ribbons - various types of ribbons, echinococci, ribbons;
- Flatworms - all types of flukes, flukes.
Let's take a closer look at each type of worm that can live in the body of an adult.
- Roundworms are large round worms, red-yellow in color, reaching a length of up to 40 cm as adults.
- The whipworm is a round worm 30-50 mm long, which got its name because of the shape of the body: the front part is long and narrow, like a hair, and the back part is short andwide.
- The broadstripe is a large striper that reaches a length of about 10 meters, individuals over 20 meters long can be found.
- Hookworm is the combined name for two types of worms: duodenal and necator, roundworms 10-15 mm long.
- Trichinella are small round worms 2-5 mm long that cause a serious disease - trichinosis.
- Liver fluke (cat fluke) is a flatworm from the chicken class with a length of 7-20 mm. The disease caused by this parasite is called opisthorchiasis.
- Pork and beef tapeworms are similar in structure tapeworms up to 6 meters long.
- Echinococcus parasitizes the human body not in the form of adults, but in the form of an intermediate form - Finns. Echinococcus itself is a tapeworm 3-5 mm long
- Alveococcus is a worm similar to echinococcus, with a similar structure and mechanism of development.
Symptoms and signs of worm infection depend on the type of parasite, its location in the body and the stage of its development.
Poisons in the human body
Worms are scientifically called helminths. Helminths mean any worm that parasitizes the bodies of humans, animals and plants. Therefore, 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 infection occurs in children, hunters, fishermen and their families, as well as village residents.
Helminths are a large order of parasitic worms that live off animals and plants, feeding and reproducing inside the host's body. Man is no exception. Only in our country there are more than 70 types of parasites. 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 settled in his body.
Helminths. No matter how carefully parents monitor the cleanliness of their children's hands, it is almost impossible to protect them from worms (worms). Children explore the outside world; They want to touch everything with their hands and enjoy it. People who eat fish, meat of wild animals and birds and home-made milk are at risk of infection with trichinosis and diphyllobothriasis.
Modern medical data shows that many diseases occur due to helminthic infection. 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.
How can you get infected?
The causes of human worm infection are very different, the route of infection directly depends on the type of worms and their life cycle, it can be:
- eating dirty vegetables;
- non-compliance with hygiene rules during food preparation;
- poor thermal treatment of some food products, especially animal meat and fish;
- communication with domestic animals - cats, dogs, some types of rodents;
- non-compliance with hygiene rules before eating, after visiting the bathroom, after returning from a walk;
- swimming in contaminated bodies of water.
During their lifetime, worms produce toxic substances that are absorbed into the blood and spread throughout the body, causing damage to the most important organs and systems.
General symptoms and signs of helminthic infection in children
General symptoms of helminthiasis include:
- worsening or increased appetite;
- nausea, possibly vomiting;
- excessive salivation;
- stool disorders;
- the appearance of pain in the lower abdomen;
- dizziness, headache;
- allergic reactions;
- increased frequency of colds;
- nervousness, mood;
- sleep disturbance;
- deterioration of mental and physical activity;
- dry cough.
Symptoms of worms in humans
Sometimes worms are able to parasitize the body of an adult for a long time without visible symptoms, in some cases they become the cause of the development of various chronic diseases, causing dangerous complications and even death;
With the onset of an acute period of helminthiasis, worms begin to feed intensively in the intestines of a sick person, causing various signs of disorders of the digestive system: dysbacteriosis, abdominal pain, diarrhea.
Let's see what signs of helminths can be observed? Let's list the most common, general symptoms of worms in humans.
- Gastrointestinal dysfunction - diarrhea, constipation and abdominal pain;
- Pain in joints and muscles - parasites can move throughout the human body in order to settle in the most suitable places for their life, for example, in joint fluid and muscles. When this happens, the person experiences painful sensations;
- Disorders of the nervous system and general maltreatment - manifested in the form of fatigue, irritability, sleep disturbances and memory problems;
- Allergic reactions and skin manifestations - the appearance of pimples, black dots and other rashes - are also signs of the presence of worms in people;
- Decreased immunity and, as a result, the development of infectious diseases;
- A sharp drop in body weight;
- Anemia - some worms suck blood from the intestinal walls like leeches;
- Teeth grinding during sleep and sleep disturbance;
- Itching in the anus, especially at night. At this time, the female is actively laying eggs, thus causing itching in the anus;
- Enlarged lymph nodes, low body temperature;
- Inflammation of the respiratory tract - cough, fever, sputum production, wheezing - this is how the presence of worms can appear.
The first specific signs will depend directly on the pathogen and the location of the worm in the human body. For example, large worms, tapeworms and tapeworms like to parasitize the liver, this can lead to degeneration of liver cells, blockage of bile ducts, blood clots and cirrhosis. Roundworms and pinworms live in the intestines, so they will be excreted along with feces. To find out how to remove these worms from a person, you should consult a doctor, he will prescribe a suitable medicine.
Symptoms of worm infestation can appear at different times from the moment of worm infestation. So, the first symptoms of ascariasis appear after 2-3 days. With most other helminthic infections, symptoms of the disease appear after 2-3 weeks.
Most often, the main signs of worm infection in an adult are represented by allergic manifestations in the form of itching and redness, swelling, weakness, muscle pain, headache, fever, muscle and joint pain, an increase in the number of eosinophilsin the blood etc.
Being parasites, worms feed on the body of their host. At the same time, they absorb a significant amount of proteins and carbohydrates, mineral elements, vitamins and other nutrients. Helminthiasis can be acute and chronic. The first lasts 2-3 weeks and often manifests as an allergy, while the chronic stage can last for months, years and even decades.
What organs can worms affect?
There are two types of invasion: cavity and tissue. Depending on the species, the habitats are also divided:
- Hookworms live in the small and large intestines. In particular, the first sections of the small intestine are affected by tapeworms, hookworms and roundworms. The lower part of the small intestine is the habitat of the dwarf tapeworm and the roundworm. The large intestine most often becomes the habitat of the whipworm.
- Tissue helminths affect organs of any type: liver, brain, lymph nodes, bile ducts.
Important! It is impossible to determine the signs of the presence of worms in a patient at the initial stage of the development of the infection. As long as the number of worms is small, toxic poisoning from waste is within normal limits, the body itself copes with the invasion. The appearance of characteristic or acute symptoms indicates a significant increase in the number of helminthic infections: the maturation of individuals and their dynamic development.
Complications of worms
A number of helminths can cause serious disturbances in the patient's condition. Here are the most common complications:
- B12 deficiency anemia, iron deficiency anemia - leads to interruption of tissue oxygen supply, which requires long-term recovery. It is manifested by pale skin, dry mouth, weakness, disturbances in various body functions;
- Intestinal obstruction occurs when the parasite blocks the lumen with its body. Surgical treatment is required. Symptoms – abdominal pain, lack of stool, vomiting;
- Intestinal bleeding - if the worm attaches to the intestinal wall, it can damage the blood vessels. Symptoms: abdominal pain, weakness, blood in the stool, vomiting. Requires surgical treatment;
- Fibrosis and cirrhosis of the liver develop with a long course of opisthorchiasis. Changes are irreversible. Symptoms: disruption of sleep and wakefulness, fluid accumulation in body cavities, loss of liver function;
- Abscesses of the affected organs are purulent inflammations. Symptoms are pain, high temperature, weakness. The situation is rapidly deteriorating. An examination is required to find out the source of inflammation and surgical treatment.
Stool analysis and scratching for worm eggs
Worms are primarily intestinal parasites. It is through the intestines that their eggs are released. Therefore, to diagnose them, feces are taken for analysis. You can buy a special container for collecting excrement at the pharmacy, although you can also use a matchbox or jar.
So, to get the analysis you will need a container for collecting the material and a spatula. If a person sees fragments of worms or a whole helminth, then he should also be sent to the laboratory.
It is not necessary to take feces to the laboratory immediately after collection. Must be submitted for examination within 24 hours. Until then, the collected biomaterial should be stored in the refrigerator. The exception is stool collection for giardiasis testing. It should be delivered warm, as parasite cysts are destroyed when cooled. While the stool is being delivered to the laboratory, the container should be wrapped in a warm cloth.
To diagnose enterobiasis, an itch is taken from the perianal folds, as female worms lay eggs in this area. Before the test, you should not wash your face or visit the toilet for about 12 hours. Therefore, the optimal time for the analysis is in the morning.
The swab is carried out using a cotton swab, which is placed in a clean container and sent to the laboratory. You can also use adhesive tape, which is removed from the glass, stuck to the anal area for a while, then removed and returned with the sticky side to the glass.
Biological material delivered to the laboratory is studied using a microscope. If a person is infected, the lab technician will see worm eggs, larvae, or their segments. Each parasite lays eggs that are unique to its species. Therefore, by studying the structure of the egg, you can determine which worm is parasitic in the human body.
If there is a worm in the feces, then most often it looks like a white strip of different lengths. Worms may remain mobile. The type of worm can be determined in the laboratory.
However, it is not always possible to detect worms using stool analysis. For example, the analysis will be uninformative if the human body is parasitized only by male roundworms that cannot secrete eggs.
Blood test for worms
To identify worms in the blood, an immunological test is used to determine antibodies to the main types of helminths. The reliability and accuracy of ELISA is equal to 95%. It can be used to detect extraintestinal forms of helminthiasis.
The decoding of ELISA results in a simplified form:
- Helminths parasitize the body if immunoglobulin class M (lgM) is elevated in the blood.
- Worms were either present in the human body before, or the helminthic infection became chronic and caused a weakening of the human immune system. This conclusion can be reached if the level of IgG immunoglobulins is elevated, but lgM is not detected in the blood.
In both cases, a deeper diagnosis and specific treatment will be required.
How is the parasite infected and developed?
Each parasite has specific life cycle characteristics. Depending on the mechanism of infection, all helminthiases are divided into three main groups:
- contact helminthiases;
- geohelminthiases;
- biohelminthiases.
Contact helminthiases
The development of parasites included in the group of contact helminth infections occurs entirely in the child's body. Eggs of worms enter the digestive system, migrate to the intestines and after some time turn into adults. Sexually mature helminths form eggs, which are released with feces into the external environment. The cycle of development repeats again.
Contact helminthiases include worm infection. The spread of these worms occurs through the fecal-oral mechanism. If a child does not wash his hands after using the toilet, microscopic worm eggs remain on his fingers. Other children can become infected through household items and contaminated food that the sick person has touched. In the spread of worms, non-compliance with the rules of personal hygiene is of great importance. Therefore, this helminthiasis is more common in childhood.
In addition to infecting others, a sick child can re-infect himself. Worms that crawl out of the anus lay eggs on the skin in the anal area. This process causes severe itching of the skin, so children often begin to scratch the injured area. If they do not wash their hands after that, then a new part of the eggs penetrates into the intestines. The parasite population increases, which leads to a worsening of the child's condition.
Geohelminthiasis
The group of geohelminthiasis is represented by roundworms. For these parasites to develop, it is necessary for the feces of a sick child to enter the soil. The released eggs begin to develop actively and quickly reach the invasive stage, in which they can penetrate the human body.
Infection of children usually occurs through the consumption of unwashed vegetables and fruits that come into contact with the soil. Ascaris larvae remain on them, which penetrate the child's intestines and cause unpleasant symptoms of helminthiasis.
Biohelminthosis
For the development of worms belonging to the group of biohelminths, the presence of an intermediate host is necessary - a living organism in which the worm larvae will develop. This can be cattle (cows, pigs), as well as fish. Therefore, a child can become infected with worms by consuming food from unverified sources. Insufficient heat treatment of meat or fish contributes to infection. Through food, you can become infected with echinococcus, bovine and porcine tapeworm, as well as cat flu.
Treatment of worms in humans
The basis for the treatment of worms in humans is specific anthelmintic drugs, adults are prescribed the best time-tested tablets.
The choice of drug for treatment depends on the presence of specific worms in the human body. In the acute period of the disease, the doctor can prescribe the patient antiallergic drugs, such as Suprastin or Claritin.
Only on the basis of tests and diagnosis, the doctor prescribes treatment for worms in a person, since anthelmintic drugs are quite toxic. If worms are detected again during the analysis, then the specialist determines how to remove the worms, proposing a new treatment regimen based on the use of other anti-worm tablets that will better cope with the task.
Treatment
Anthelmintic therapy
The basis for the treatment of parasitic diseases are anthelmintic drugs. They must be usedstrictly as prescribed by the doctor, since when choosing a drug it is necessary to take into account a number of important factors:
- form of helminthiasis;
- stage of disease development;
- pathogen;
- accompanying diseases of the child;
- the features of his condition.
Only a doctor can correctly assess these indicators and choose the optimal drug. Self-medication for helminthiasis in children is unacceptable. Incorrectly chosen therapy is often not only ineffective, but also associated with serious side effects.
How to do a stool test for helminths and their eggs?
When choosing therapy, the doctor must take into account the causative agent of the disease. You should not rely on a universal drug, since most drugs act only on a certain circle of helminths. If the wrong medicine is used, the clinical picture of the disease in the child does not disappear, the disease continues to progress, which can lead to serious complications.
If there are several children in a family, doctors often recommend anthelmintic therapy for all family members at once. This will prevent repeated cases of helminth infection after treatment.
Symptomatic therapy
In addition to anthelmintic therapy, the child is also prescribed symptomatic treatment aimed at eliminating the clinical manifestations of the disease. If a severe allergic reaction occurs, antihistamines are used - Suprastin, Tavegil, Claritin.
If the baby has severe manifestations of intoxication, he is prescribed antipyretics and pain relievers. To relieve acute symptoms, lots of fluids are prescribed or infusion therapy is performed. If there is a risk of developing vasculitis and myocarditis, glucocorticoids (for example, Prednisolone) are prescribed.
How to treat worms with folk remedies
Traditional treatment methods include medicinal plants that have anthelmintic and laxative effects. Although the effectiveness of these remedies has not been scientifically tested, many of them have been used since ancient times to treat intestinal worms in humans at home.
- The best folk remedy is pumpkin seeds for worms. Take and peel the pumpkin seeds (80-100g), try not to damage the green skin. Grind them, add 2 spoons of honey and 100 grams of water, mix. This medicine must be taken strictly in the morning, on an empty stomach. A dining boat every hour for 3 hours. Then you need to take a laxative and after 1-2 hours do an enema.
- pomegranate. Pomegranate bark contains punicin, which is highly toxic to worms. A decoction of the bark in fresh water should be taken three times a day by adults and children suffering from parasites.
- Onion juice (1 onion pour 200 ml of boiling water, leave for 2 days, consume before meals for 4 days)
In terms of prevention, to prevent helminthic infection, it is necessary to wash hands with soap after returning from the road, treat meat and fish with heat, do not drink raw water and do not swim in polluted bodies of water.
Preventing
The main prevention of helminthiasis in children is compliance with the rules of personal hygiene.
Therefore, we can name precautions to prevent helminthic infections:
- introducing personal hygiene skills to children (washing hands after visiting the toilet, contact with animals, walking outside, before eating);
- fighting bad habits (the child should be forbidden to suck his fingers, bite his nails or put foreign objects in his mouth);
- control of mosquitoes, flies and insects;
- high quality meat and fish processing;
- high quality water disinfection;
- deworming of domestic dogs and cats;
- avoid contact with stray animals;
- complete washing of greens and vegetables, berries and fruits;
- frequent change of underwear and bed linen (once a day);
- ironing underwear and bed linen with a hot iron;
- performing hygienic procedures in the anal area twice a day to prevent enterobiasis;
- wearing panties with elastic bands at night;
- complete wet cleaning of the premises.
After entering the body, toxins in children disrupt the normal functioning of various organs and systems. And if adults have a strong immune system that constantly fights against "uninvited guests", then this does not happen in a child: his body is still weak and vulnerable. Therefore, it is important to teach the child to observe personal hygiene standards as soon as possible to prevent helminthic infection, and if symptoms appear, immediately contact a specialist for subsequent anthelmintic treatment.