There is a risk of getting worms without even leaving the house. Various types of helminths can be found on household items, banknotes, dishes, food, in drinking water.
Parasites enter the human body in a way that is convenient for them: they can enter through the digestive system with food, water, dirty hands or insect bites.
In addition, helminths affect some internal organs, use the resources of the human body, cause mechanical damage and actively reproduce. Their life processes are accompanied by unpleasant and often dangerous symptoms and damage to various organs.
How to recognize intestinal worms
Intestinal helminthiases unite a group of diseases caused by worms of different types. Most often, it is possible to detect ascariasis (nematodes), enterobiasis (pinworms), hookworms (hookworms). These parasites live in the lumen of the human intestine, feed on its contents and their presence can be suspected by a number of characteristic symptoms:
- Drastic weight loss without changing diet and physical activity. Helminths of the intestinal group use the nutrients of the human body as an energy source for growth and reproduction, and their anchoring devices in the intestine (suckers, hooks) damage its walls and interfere with the absorption of the remaining trace elements.
- Pain in the stomach, navel, itching in the rectum are caused by the movement of worms, the mechanical damage they cause and the release of larvae or adults from the body into the external environment.
- Various digestive disorders: diarrhea or constipation, flatulence, presence of mucus, foam or blood in the stool, nausea, vomiting. In some cases, adult parasites can be found in the stool.
- The human body can react to the appearance of parasites with allergic reactions, the phenomena of intoxication, which are caused by the waste products of helminths. Most often this is manifested by itching of the skin, redness of some areas, rashes (blisters, blisters of different sizes).
Diagnosis of intestinal helminthiasis includes fecal studies, clinical and biochemical blood tests (eosinophilia, leukocytosis) and, if necessary, ultrasound data of the body.
Signs of the appearance of parasites in the liver
A large amount of nutrients accumulate in the human liver, and there is also an intense blood circulation, which is convenient for parasites. Common liver helminthiasis: fascioliasis, opisthorchiasis, dichroceliosis, caused by worms from the group of liver flukes.
You can identify them by specific characteristics:
- Sharp pains in the right hypochondrium are caused by the mechanical effect of helminths. Thus, echinococcus forms cysts in the tissues of the organ, provoking the development of inflammatory processes or even necrosis.
- Adult worms (roundworms) can block the bile ducts, as a result of which the outflow of bile is impaired, the digestion process in the body is difficult, and the patient has signs of jaundice. Visible mucous membranes of a person acquire a yellow tint, and with the development of pathology the skin also stains.
- Nonspecific symptoms of the appearance of parasites will be a deterioration in the general condition of the body, weight loss, nausea, lethargy.
To clarify the diagnosis, they donate blood for analysis. Leukocytosis, eosinophilia are detected, and biochemical tests will indicate an increase in the activity of liver enzymes (ALT, AST). During ultrasound, liver damage will be visible in the body: enlargement, inflammation and in some cases parasitic cysts may be found.
What indicates the presence of lung helminths
Some parasites (ascaris, toxoplasma, echinococcus, tsenur) can get from the gastrointestinal tract to the lungs of a person with blood or lymphatic flow. They multiply in the alveoli, making breathing difficult, and some species (single-chamber echinococcus) form cysts, damaging the organ structure.
It can be difficult to determine the presence of parasites in the lungs, since the symptoms are similar to the manifestations of respiratory diseases of viral and non-infectious etiology (bronchitis, ARVI). Cough, shortness of breath, pain in the chest area, fever indicate the need for further examination of the patient's body.
The X-ray method will be the most informative for the diagnosis of pulmonary helminthiasis. The images will show lesions in the human body caused by echinococcus (cyst) and bovine tapeworm (fibrous formations), which will then have to be distinguished from neoplasms, cysts of various etiology and pneumonia.
Blood-borne parasites
Unicellular protozoa can be found in the lumen of vessels. Babesias, plasmodia (malaria plasmodium), trypanosomes, microfilariae, schistosomes cause dangerous diseases that pose a threat to human life.
By destroying the shaped elements, they interrupt the processes of energy metabolism in the body and block the supply of nutrients to organs and tissues.
In most cases, human infection occurs after being bitten by insects or ticks. After some time, signs of anemia develop in the body: pallor and then cyanosis of the mucous membranes, dizziness, sudden weight loss and deterioration of health. Without timely medical treatment, blood parasites can pose a serious threat to human life.
Diagnostics involves carrying out microscopic blood tests, during which it is possible to detect single-celled parasites and destroyed erythrocytes, as well as the type of worm. The treatment is long-term, carried out stationary under the supervision of a qualified doctor.
Habitat unusual parasites
Some types of helminths can penetrate the human heart, subcutaneous tissue (heartworms), brain and spinal cord (cysticercus, echinococcus). You can get infected not only in exotic countries, but also when you eat familiar food that has not been properly heat treated, and pets can become carriers. Signs of invasion depend on the degree of damage to a particular organ.
In the brain, worms can form cysts, fibrous formations that cause nervous phenomena.
Headache of unexplained etiology, tremors (tremors) of the extremities, impaired tactile sensitivity, impaired coordination of movements, sharp deterioration of hearing and vision - the signs of the development of invasion depend on the position of theworms and their larvae.
Adult parasites can be seen visually under the skin, usually accompanied by sensations of itching and tingling, as well as in the eyes, ear canals and other places.
What to do if you see signs of worm infestation
Diseases of parasitic etiology are treated under medical supervision after all necessary tests and after establishing the type of parasites. Prescribe anthelmintic drugs of a narrow or broad spectrum of action, carry out restorative and symptomatic therapy, promote the removal of worms from the body. In some cases, surgery is indicated.
The prognosis for most diseases is favorable with the timely initiation of treatment. If you postpone a visit to a doctor or start taking medications on your own, the healing process can be delayed and many types of parasites can damage vital organs or body systems or even lead to death.