A very serious problem can be the helminthic infection of the human body. Invasion can manifest in everyone, regardless of a person's sex, age, and social status.
The worms can settle in the small or large intestine, penetrating in different ways.
They have a serious toxic effect on the body system as a whole, producing the products of their vital activity.
All this negatively affects a person's resistance to all kinds of infections that hit the body.
Division of worms into types
Today, more than 300 different helminthic pathologies are known. They are caused by nematodes and cestodes.
The former are roundworms, while the latter are flat. They parasitize in various organs and their tissues.
It is for this reason that specialists have carried out work on the classification of parasites. Two groups of worms are known according to the possibility of parasitism in the human body:
- intestinal;
- extraintestinal.
Representatives of the intestinal group settle in the area of the small or large intestine, while the second extraintestinal live in the heart, liver, lungs and even muscles.
They travel through the body thanks to the flow of blood. As a rule, a person with a good immune system has several protective barriers that prevent worms from entering the body.
There is a special enzyme in the mouth that affects them negatively. If this barrier has been breached by the worms, they enter the stomach, where the acidic environment kills their eggs.
It is also customary to subdivide worms depending on the diseases they cause. For example, liver flukes cause fascioliasis, bovine tapeworm - teniarinhoz, pinworms - enterobiasis, roundworms - ascariasis, etc.
Thanks to the immunity of the intestine, certain antibodies are formed that resist helminths.
Only these barriers are not of particular importance in case a person is seriously ill, that is, the immune system is weakened.
Appearance of human worms
To date, a large number of helminths are presented, which differ in appearance and have special features. Not everything will be described in this article, but it is still worth identifying the main features.
Helminths in adults can present in the form of roundworms, which are commonly called pinworms, roundworms, trichinae.
The next variety is oblong individuals with sharp edges, but worms have a flattened body.
They are called that for a reason, because they are in the area of the human body's excretory pathways.
This is a special type of worm, which does not have its own respiratory and circulatory system. Worms feed on feces and mucous membranes, blood.
A special group should include tapeworms, they have a flattened, ribbon-like body shape.
Its habitat is the intestines. An intermediate place of residence can be fish and animals for ribbon individuals.
They have special suction cups that allow them to cling to the intestinal walls. There, the worms settle and lead their lives, feeding and multiplying.
Appearance of human worm eggs
For a long time, helminths can live on humans, the symptoms will not be noticeable.
Many people only accidentally become aware of their condition when they start having stool tests or feel much worse.
In feces, it is not always possible to notice them with the naked eye, and even if there is no microscope at hand.
The presence of worm eggs in humans, the symptoms of which are also not noticeable at first, cannot be seen without the use of special laboratory tools.
If you undergo a stool analysis, the lab assistant will be able to determine whether there are worms in the body and determine the type of these parasites.
The data will be based on the type and type of worm eggs that look different from each other.
Those ones. if the question arises: "how to determine whether a person has worms? ", the answer boils down to the fact that, for a start, it is worth going to the hospital and having the tests prescribed by the doctor.
Infection forms of the body
Worms are in the human body in the form of various forms of infection. The most important is oral.
In this case, the worms enter the human body through dirty hands, unwashed fruits and vegetables. The eggs of the parasites are inside a person, because they live in the soil. It is for this reason that, after gardening, it is worth washing your hands well and only then sitting down to eat. Otherwise, only a few will be able to avoid the question of how to treat helminthic invasion.
It is also important not to eat meat and fish that have not been thermally processed and have not been approved by the sanitary control.
It is worth noting here that some types of helminth eggs remain alive even if the meat is cooked.
Another way to infect the body with worms is contact. Those ones. Infection occurs through feces.
Fecal matter from infected people or animals may contain helminth eggs. They enter the human body and begin to multiply when they become sexually mature individuals.
Specialists identify other forms of infection. One of them is related to the skin. Helminths from the aquatic environment penetrate the human body using the epidermis.
Invasion by worms is also possible through the bite of an insect vector. This method is widespread in tropical states.
But even in the south of our country or in exotic countries, this type of parasite is very easy to intercept, which will lead to the fact that a person will have to be interested in how to treat helminths.
The ways of transmission of the worms are really countless, there is also a way from an infected person to a healthy one.
But this does not mean that, being together with an infected person, you will catch helminthiasis from him.
The pathology is not able to be transmitted by droplets in the air, there is only one contact method to transmit worms. Here it is necessary to determine other nuances.
The peculiarity of the forms of worm infection is that the eggs of the parasites can enter the human body. They will lose the ability to develop and become adults.
They will be able to grow if they are in the environment. If, together with the larva, the necessary nutrients are found, the egg will begin to develop and grow.
Inactive helminth eggs will be excreted along with feces from the body, a person will begin to infect themselves and harm others if the principles of a hygiene regimen are not followed.
The clinical picture of the presence of helminths in the human body
Many people are interested in the question of how to understand that you have worms. The answer to this can be obtained if you pay attention to your well-being.
Symptoms of worms in an adult vary depending on the types of parasites that are in the body.
Many of them live in the digestive tract, and therefore the signs of the presence of worms in humans will be as follows:
- drowsiness state;
- loss of previous performance;
- weakness;
- intoxication of the body with helminths;
- increased appetite or, on the contrary, its marked absence;
- weight loss with normal nutrition;
- constipation;
- diarrhea;
- scanty bloody stools;
- feces with worms;
- itching sensation in the anus;
- headache with migraine attacks;
- violation of healthy sleep;
- allergic reactions to certain products, this is due to the fact that some types of worms secrete special substances.
Signs of worms in adults can be accompanied by symptoms close to hepatitis.
The thing is that the parasites affect the liver and gallbladder area. There are types of flukes that can be confused with the manifestation of pancreatitis.
In case of manifestation of pain in the muscles, excessive sweating and a feverish state, it is worth suspecting that there may be trichinella in the body.
Very rarely, but cases have still been recorded when signs of the presence of worms in a person were accompanied by a deterioration in the functioning of the brain, eyes and lungs.
After all, these parasites can install themselves even in these places, which are not at all characteristic of them. Therefore, the signs of worms in humans were accompanied by these sensations of pain in the area of their settlement.
Symptoms in an adult of the appearance of helminths vary, which is why there are different methods to understand that you have worms, but in reality they are ineffective.
Symptoms in adults appear only in cases where severe infection is observed. A person can lose a lot of weight, his skin will turn pale, and the itching in the anus will not stop.
As you can see, the symptoms in adults of helminthic invasion are very similar to other signs of pathology.
Below will be considered cases of deviation of some systems of the human body, if the worms settle in certain organs.
Immune system dysfunctions
Worms cause a strong weakening of the body's immune forces, removing all useful elements and vitamins.
A person can begin to get seriously ill with a cold, although until recently he was not prone to such pathologies.
It is vulnerable to many infectious or viral diseases and therefore no minerals and vitamins can help restore immunity.
First of all, you need to find out if a person has worms, and then start being treated for parasites.
Respiratory disease
If the worms find themselves in the respiratory system, they will deal a merciless blow. It is possible that asthma, pneumonia, chronic bronchitis and other pathologies of Organs lung organs begin to appear.
One of the ways to determine if a person has worms is to pay attention to the presence of a constant runny nose.
Violation of the functions of the gastrointestinal tract
Helminths can settle in the intestinal tract. Symptoms in an adult will manifest in this case in the form of problems with stool disorders or constipation.
Nausea and vomiting are not ruled out. There is also pain in the intestines, excessive swelling.
A person can eat more than normal and not improve for a long time, or, on the contrary, abruptly refuse to eat.
There are cases where mild symptoms and treatment for pathologies of another type do not bring the desired result.
But there are cases when the signs of helminth infection are pronounced. Severe diarrhea can occur if helminths settle in the body, when large worms block the intestinal passage, causing complete constipation.
CNS disorder
A large number of helminths in the body require the earliest possible treatment for worms because the central nervous system can be seriously affected.
The products secreted by the parasites are able to inflict a strong blow on the nervous system, send the body out and cause it to malfunction.
A person may suffer from memory loss, frequent headaches with migraine attacks, depression and fatigue.
It will not be easy for him to make contact with other people and communication can often lead to disputes.
Proper treatment of worms in adults is an important measure, because serious complications in the work of the central nervous system are possible.
They will be accompanied by a feverish state and an increase in body temperature of up to 39 degrees.
The lack of useful elements due to parasitic infection can provoke fatigue syndrome at a chronic level, start the process of anemia and make a person constantly irritated.
skin pathologies
If the worms get into the human body, the skin gets worse. In many cases, acne and pimples will be observed.
No matter how much effort a person makes, it is simply impossible to cure these pathologies.
Helminths cause pathologies such as dermatitis, seborrhea and papillomas. They can manifest as cracked heels, itchy skin, and lamination of the nail plate.
A person begins to experience severe allergic skin reactions that cannot be treated, so it is important to start treatment for worms in an adult. Otherwise, there is a chance that the skin will age quickly and become pale.
It is important to note that the brightness of the clinical picture will largely depend on the number of individuals in the human body, the place of their location and immunity.
Some helminths, for example roundworms, can cause a general disturbance of normal well-being when filariasis goes through an incubation period throughout the year.
The danger of worms to people
We discovered what helminths are, now it remains to understand what harm they can cause a person.
In this case, it is necessary to indicate that helminths secrete active substances that poison the human body.
Helminths feed on digested nutrients, blood and also like different types of tissues. All this causes the loss of iron, proteins and other vitamins vital for the development of the body.
Worms can cause the digestive tract to malfunction, disturb the stool, at best only a person will feel much worse.
An adult has every chance to get rid of the worms if you seek help from a doctor in time. Today, many means are known to help cleanse the body of parasites without violating its integrity.
diagnostic measures
During the week, the doctor will prescribe 3 tests for the patient that can detect eggs. This measurement is necessary to obtain a reliable result.
It is also very important to find effective pills for worms; for this, the person needs to pass a comprehensive medical examination, which includes:
- general and biochemical blood tests;
- scraping;
- analysis of urine and feces.
The specialist has the serious task of interviewing the patient and examining him for the characteristic signs of worm infestation.
Symptoms can include itchy anus, bitterness in the mouth, swollen lymph nodes, and joint and muscle pain.
The greater their number, the greater the risk of the presence of worms in the human body.
medical therapy
After carrying out the above tests, it is necessary to select special anthelmintic agents. What is an anthelmintic drug and how it works, the attending physician will be able to tell you.
If it is chosen incorrectly, there is a chance that the body will suffer even more, but it will not be possible to remove the parasites.
Each patient will be required to take medication according to a specific treatment regimen. The doctor will do it based on the patient's weight, the form of the parasite infestation, the patient's age and the degree of the disease.
To avoid the facts of auto-infection, it is recommended to take anthelmintic drugs again a few weeks after the course of treatment. This method allows you to remove the rest of the larvae and eggs of parasites from the body.
Traditional medicine to get rid of worms
Pumpkin seeds are famous for their great efficiency, which help to remove parasites from the body. It should be clarified that such a remedy must be ingested with a thin film necessarily raw.
It is recommended to take it in the morning on an empty stomach. If necessary, you can mix them with honey or jam.
The next stage of treatment will be an enema. Just 2 hours after this measure, you can start eating. The course of treatment with pumpkin seeds should be repeated after another 14 days.