The prevalence of various types of worms is quite high.What are the types of helminths in humans, symptoms and treatment of the disease called helminthiasis?Numerous varieties of parasites manifest themselves differently when they enter the body.
Among the wide variety of signs of helminth infection may be disorders of the digestive system, disorders in the functioning of the nervous system and allergic skin reactions.
It is now reliably known that many diseases, which at first glance are in no way related to infection with parasites, arise due to the fact that a person has been infected with helminths.People can be treated for years for various diseases of the liver, gastrointestinal tract and other pathologies and have no idea about the true cause of their disease.
Treatment of helminthiasis with drugs should be carried out under the supervision of a doctor, taking into account the age, weight of the patient and the type of parasite against which therapy is directed.
Types of helminths
At the moment, science knows a huge variety of worms, all of them have different shapes and appearance.Depending on these characteristics there are different classifications.According to their habitat in the body, the following types of parasitic worms are distinguished: luminal and tissue.Luminal parasites live in the intestine (small and large), less often in other internal organs of humans and animals.Tissue worms are characterized by the fact that they are usually located in body tissues or subcutaneous fat.
Depending on the method of penetration and spread in the body, parasites are divided into 3 types: contact worms, biohelminths and geohelminths.Biohelminths include worms that, before their full development, change many host hosts (these can be fish, insects);at the end of the chain the person becomes the host.
Geohelminths include parasites, the development of which is carried out directly, excluding intermediate hosts.Their eggs mature in the soil and infection occurs when they are ingested.The most common are human roundworm, whipworm, intestinal eelworm, and hookworm.
The peculiarity of contact worms is that they are transmitted from one person to another.These include pinworms and dwarf tapeworms.Pinworms cause a disease called enterobiasis, and dwarf tapeworms cause hymenolepiasis.
How can you get helminth infection?
Helminth infection can occur in 1 of 4 ways.Geohelminthiasis is a probable infection by parasites through the soil in which the mature larvae are found, during contact with animals, or by transfer of the larvae to food by flies.The 2nd method of worm infection is contact, e.g.from person to person.This is how the most common parasites, pinworms, are transmitted.Biohelminths can be contracted by eating contaminated fish or meat that has undergone weak heat treatment.And the last way is the penetration of larvae into the body through insect bites.
The most common route of worm infection is oral, that is, a person simply swallows worm larvae together with water or food.A huge number of helminth eggs fall into the soil, so a person must wash his hands very thoroughly after each contact with the soil.This is especially true for children who often play in the sand.
Everything that grows in the soil and is connected to it (vegetables, fruit) must be washed and treated with boiling water before being consumed.Pets that have free access to the outdoors are a common source of helminthiasis for humans.
The easiest way to get pinworm infection is for preschool children.The female lays more than 5 thousand larvae near the anus, causing severe itching in this place.A child, having scratched an itchy spot, infects everything with these eggs: bedding, toys, clothes.And then hundreds of pinworm larvae settle on the hands of everyone who touched these objects, so you can infect all family members.
A large number of helminth larvae are concentrated in open bodies of water, so swallowing water while swimming in them is strictly prohibited.Well water is also subject to contamination;it must be boiled before use or disinfectant filters must be used.
Signs of helminthiasis
The first symptoms of helminth infection in an adult or child are sudden loss of body weight and itching in the anus.But this is only a small part of the most common symptoms, since there can be many more of them, and sometimes parasites can only be identified through specific searches.Symptoms of worm infection can often include a variety of nervous system disorders and severe overall weakness of the body.
During their life cycle, worms produce a huge amount of toxins, which manifests itself in severe intoxication in the human body.Patients may experience headache, nausea, dizziness, possible fever, and sudden joint pain.A person infected with helminths suffers from vitamin deficiency, which, combined with disturbances in the functioning of the nervous system, ultimately leads to a feeling of chronic fatigue, causing severe drowsiness and apathy.
If worms parasitize in the intestines and not in other organs or tissues of the human body, the first sign of the appearance of worms is a malfunction of the digestive system.The patient may experience diarrhea or constipation, vomiting, severe abdominal pain and nausea.Pain in the right hypochondrium or increased gas formation may occur.The symptoms that appear depend on the type of helminth.General intoxication of the body contributes to a decrease in immunity in an infected person, which increases the risk of infectious diseases.And since parasites deprive the patient of some of the beneficial substances he needs, the resistance of the human body decreases, which subsequently leads to an exacerbation of existing chronic diseases or various inflammations in the nasopharynx.
Another important and striking symptom of the penetration of parasites into the body is allergic skin reactions.Almost all helminth patients suffer from deterioration of the dermis.Allergies, in addition to skin rashes, can have other manifestations, including allergic rhinitis, persistent dry cough and asthma.
Treatment of helminthiasis with drugs
Pest infestation can manifest itself in different ways.What should you do if you notice any symptoms of helminthiasis?First of all, it is necessary to conduct the necessary research and determine exactly what type of worm infection occurred;the drug therapy prescribed by the doctor will depend on this.Today, many anthelmintic drugs are known.Among these there are both drugs active against specific types of parasites and those with a broad spectrum of action.These drugs are highly toxic, so they should be prescribed exclusively by a doctor and only on the basis of test results, after identifying the exact type of helminth that has affected the person.The treatment approach for different types of worms is different;drugs are selected individually for each patient, taking into account the type of parasites, age and body weight of the person.
Preventing the appearance of worms in adults does not require too complex measures.It is necessary to monitor the purity of the water consumed, timely treat pets, wash fruits and vegetables, and heat treat meat and fish.To prevent the appearance of worms in children attending preschool institutions, it is necessary to carry out prevention at least once a year.
Folk remedies for getting rid of parasites
Traditional medicine knows a large number of recipes for eliminating parasites.Most often, garlic, pumpkin seeds, tansy flowers, wormwood and walnuts are used.One of the most popular and effective recipes for getting rid of worms in folk medicine is the use of pumpkin seeds.It is best to use unpeeled seeds, and when cleaning you should maintain a thin film between the seed and the peel.The seeds should be consumed in the morning, 300 g each, you can grind them first.After that, it is recommended not to eat for 4 hours and do an enema.After a couple of weeks, this procedure can be repeated.
Tansy has a strong anthelmintic effect thanks to thujone and tancytin.Thujone is a substance contained in the essential oil of this plant that has a paralytic effect on helminths.And tancytin is a component contained in tansy flowers that improves the production of bile and gastric juice.To prepare the medicine you need 1 tbsp.the.Pour a glass of boiling water over tansy flowers and let it brew for 1 hour.Then strain, drink the resulting infusion three times a day, 1 tbsp.the.30 minutes before meals.
Another herb, wormwood, is known to be effective in fighting parasites.For treatment, tincture of wormwood in alcohol is usually used.It should be taken three times a day, 20 drops 30 minutes before meals.
Garlic, walnut pericarp infusion, onion and nettle have a strong antiparasitic effect.Using recipes for infusions of these plants and vegetables, you can get rid of parasites without resorting to drug treatment.However, before doing this, a mandatory consultation with a doctor is recommended.