Worms are representatives of the lower worms living in the human body. The disease associated with the infection of a person with various types of worms is called helminthiasis. This disease is not uncommon and occurs in some segments of the population. Children are susceptible to pinworm infections, hunters - trichinella, fishermen and lovers of Japanese cuisine (raw fish in the form of sushi) suffer from diphyllobothriasis. Many diseases, paradoxically, can occur in the human body as a result of helminthiasis infection. To date, the theory of the relationship between cancer and parasitic infections is one of the most relevant. In the presence of helminthiasis, the symptoms do not always appear, and if, however, patients with this disease experience unpleasant and unpleasant sensations, they are perceived as signs of other diseases. The patient has been treated for years for pancreatitis, gastritis or colitis, not suspecting that the cause of his ailments is helminthiasis.
How the infection occurs
Worms bring a lot of trouble to a person
Helminth infection occurs as follows:
- Through unwashed hands
- In contact with the ground
- after insect bites
- Because of dirty hands
- When eating raw meat and fish
- After eating unwashed fruits and vegetables
- After contact with an animal
- After contact with infected people
Mature parasite eggs are found in soil, water, food (raw and poorly heat-treated meat or fish). Rare cases of the disease occur due to insect bites. The mechanism of helminthiasis infection is fecal-oral. A person swallows parasite eggs with food, water. Home contact infection methods also occur. They happen when, after contact with the ground or sand, the hands have not been washed thoroughly.
Vegetables and berries that grow in the soil, which are not washed sufficiently, are also a source of worm infection. Children who play in the yard and pets run the risk of becoming infected with worms. Pets that roam the streets freely can bring helminth eggs indoors. Flies and other insects, after contact with animal feces, sitting on food, can easily transfer helminth eggs. Surprisingly, human-to-human transmission is also possible. It happens like this: the female pinworm can crawl out of the intestine and lay eggs directly on the underwear, causing severe itching. A person, after combing an itchy spot, may come into contact with other toiletries and household items. These objects fall into the hands of other family members, after which they become infected.
Infection through water is also possible. Many parasite eggs easily fall into water bodies and open wells. Drinking unboiled well water is extremely dangerous.
Types of helminthiasis
Helminths differ in how they enter the human body:
- Biohelminths
- Geohelminths
- contagious
Biohelminths are transmitted to humans through contact with animals. Geohelminth can become infected through the soil. Infectious diseases arise from contact with an infected person. The disease manifests itself differently depending on the method of infection, the number of worms, the degree of their adaptation in any human organ.
Stages of helminthiasis
The most destructive effect on the body is not produced by adults, but by their larvae. Adult individuals have already chosen a welcoming place for themselves in the human body, and the larva travels through the organs and leaves the lesions behind. The most common habitat for parasites is the gastrointestinal tract. Different types of parasites prefer different habitats. Then roundworms are found in the small intestine, and pinworms settle in the large intestine and lower parts of the small intestine. According to the habitat of the parasites, helminthiases are:
- translucent
- tissue
Translucents are found in the lumens of the genital organs and in the tissues within the tissues. Depending on the growth, parasites can change habitats from translucent to tissue form. Helminthiasis develops in two stages:
- acute
- Chronic
The acute phase lasts from a week to a month and the chronic phase continues until recovery. The acute phase begins with the introduction of the egg and continues as the parasite matures and grows. The disease is manifested by allergic reactions to a foreign organism. During the chronic stage of the disease, various reactions of the body occur. During this time, the parasite moves through the body in search of shelter. The disease is accompanied by disturbances in the functioning of organs and systems in the human body. Being integrated into the immune system of the human body, parasites consume the substances necessary for their growth and development. This leads to metabolic disorders, digestive system disorders, difficulties in the absorption of vitamins and minerals.
In addition to this damage, parasites vomit their waste products into the human body, poisoning the body, leading to intestinal disorders, reduced immunity and the development of bacterial infections. Parasites contribute to the risk of developing cancer. This happens due to the negative impact on the immune system and the stimulation of the cell division process. Often a patient is examined by many specialists who find a lot of diseases in him. And in this case, a single doctor, a parasitologist, can replace all the specialists.
Classification of helminths
nematodes are quite common
Types of worms in humans:
- Flat worms
- nematodes
Flat worms include:
- Trematodes (opisthorchis, schistosomes, paragonim)
- Cestodes (large tapeworm, tapeworm, echinococcus, alveococcus)
- Nematodes or Nematodes:
- pinworms
- Ascaris
- hookworm
- Trichinella
Such a classification of helminths is presented in the medical literature. To successfully solve such a problem as helminthiasis, it is necessary to find out an in-depth description of the structure and life cycle of parasites.
Trematodes
Another name for flukes is fluke. These pests are flat, leaf-shaped or lanceolate with two suckers. One sucker is in the mouth and the second, which serves for attachment, in the peritoneum. All representatives of trematodes enter the body through an intermediate host. These parasites are mostly hermaphrodites.
Opistors
This fluke is a worm up to 1. 3cm long with two suckers. Opisthorchis is a hermaphrodite, parasitic in the liver, gallbladder, pancreas in humans and some predatory animals (foxes, dogs, cats). The eggs of opistorchiasis leave the human or animal body with feces. Upon entering the tank, these eggs are swallowed by freshwater mollusks, within which the larvae hatch and develop. The development and maturation process of the larvae takes two months. Then the larvae come out of the mollusk and penetrate under the skin to steal the fish. After six weeks, the larvae become fully-fledged mature parasites. Opisthorchis enters the body of an animal or person after eating infected fish. This worm can live in a living organism for up to 20 years. Symptoms of opisthorchiasis:
- Allergy
- Weakness
- Headache
- Dizziness
- Depression
- Loss of consciousness
The damage caused to the body by opisthorchiasis:
- Poisoning by waste products of the parasite
- Damage to liver tissue
- Gallbladder injury
- Violation of the outflow of bile
- Inflammation of the pancreas
- Secretory dysfunctions
- Decreased motility of the stomach
- Thickening of the walls of some organs, resulting in the appearance of tumors.
The chronic course of the disease is characterized by:
- Heaviness after eating
- Aches
- He retched
- Nausea
Habitat of opisthorchis in fish-rich rivers:
- Kamè
- Dnipro
- Delta Neman
Prevention of Infection: To avoid opisthorchiasis infection, do not eat raw fish. The larvae die during the heat treatment of the products. Dried fish can only be eaten if previously salted. In addition, the larvae die when the fish is frozen for a long time.
Schistosomes
These parasites are of different sexes, have the appearance of a needle 0, 4 to 2, 6 cm long. Females are longer than males and larger, producing 3000 eggs per day. The method of reproduction, as in the previous parasite species, is through freshwater molluscs. The larva enters the human body through the skin, mucous membranes while swimming in a freshwater tank. It can also enter the body of a person who has accidentally ingested water while swimming. After a day of penetration, the larva turns into an adult and enters the peripheral veins, through which it is directed to the lungs and venous vessels. There, the schistosome reaches sexual maturity.
Schistosome lays eggs in the intestines, mucous membranes, bladder. Then the eggs are excreted from the human body with urine or feces and start the development path again. Schistosome lives in the human body for several decades, causing damage and infecting new individuals. The problems that arose during schistosome infection, the human body is more caused not by adults, but by their eggs. Only half of the eggs are excreted from the body, the rest accumulate in the organs. The eggs of this parasite have spikes that damage a person's internal organs, ulcers often occur in the infected. Patients with schistosomiasis experience the following symptoms:
- Disorder of appetite
- Anemia
- Enlarged liver
- Impaired spleen
- Decreased intestinal peristalsis
- Stomach ache
- constipation
- diarrhea
- Weight loss
- Intestinal bleeding
- Pain when urinating
- allergies
- Weakness
When the genitourinary system is infected, patients experience:
- Menstrual irregularities and miscarriages in women
- Impotence and incomplete ejaculation in men
When eggs enter the central nervous system:
- Acute cerebral schistosomiasis
- Chronic brain damage
- Fatal result
Infected children experience a delay in growth and development, a decrease in school performance. Prevention of the disease includes avoiding swimming and avoiding walking barefoot in tropical waters.
Paragonim
Paragonim is a 1 cm long lung fluke with an ovoid body and red spines. This parasite multiplies in the lungs of animals and enters the human body by eating crayfish, freshwater crabs. The parasite infects the respiratory system. For patients with paragonymiasis, allergic reactions and a decrease in immunity are characteristic. Symptoms:
- Temperature increase
- Cough
- Sputum excretion from the lungs during coughing
- Dyspnea
- In severe cases, blood and parasite eggs are present in the sputum.
- In the patient's lungs, wheezing is clearly audible.
- Prevention: exclude the use of raw shrimp and crabs.
Cestode
Representatives of tapeworms are tapeworms of various lengths. Some parasites reach gigantic sizes. On the head of these parasites there are suction cups, hooks or suction slits. These adaptations are necessary for the parasites to attach themselves to the walls of the intestine. Tapeworms affect the entire human body, they are the most dangerous for children who rapidly develop anemia.
Echinococcus
These parasites reach a length of 5 cm and are the causative agents of Echinococcus disease. A multi-chamber representative of this type of worm is the causative agent of such a disease as alveococcosis. The disease is transmitted by cattle and domestic animals. When caring for these animals, the parasite's eggs fall from their fur into people's hands. When they enter the human intestine, parasites bite the mucous membrane. As the parasite matures, 4 sections appear, the last of which is filled with eggs. These departments break off and disperse throughout the body, infecting it. The fourth section spreads the eggs throughout the body.
An infected organ in a patient increases, for example, the liver. Suppuration may occur. An enlarged organ can even break through the abdominal cavity. And this can lead to severe sepsis of the body and even death. Symptoms:
- Weakness
- Dizziness
- Allergic reactions to parasite waste products.
Echinococcus affects:
- Brain
- Spinal cord
- Eyes
- thyroid gland
- Liver
- Lungs
- uterus
This parasite can cause the formation of tumors, including malignant ones. The most unfortunate is that the treatment of this disease is possible only surgically. Prevention: personal hygiene in contact with animals.
Nematodes
These worms with an elongated, round or cylinder-shaped body parasitize, very often, in the body of children. These nematodes include pinworms, roundworms, hookworms.
pinworms
These are small white worms. The length of the female is 1 cm, the male is 0. 5 cm. These parasites have a pointed tail, which is why they were called pinworms. The habitat of pinworms is the human intestine. The anterior end of the parasite has a sucker, with the help of which the pinworm pierces the intestine, and the pointed end hangs in the lumen and damages the walls. This disease is called enterobiasis. You can get infected with a person through dirty hands. There is a disease in preschool children who attend kindergarten. One symptom of pinworm infection is itching around the anus. Most often, itching is felt at night, when the female lays eggs, releasing a special substance. Symptoms:
- Itching
- Diarrhea
- Stomach ache
- Headache
- Lack of appetite
- Prevention
- hand washing
Nematode
These worms are the largest. The length of the female reaches 0, 5 m. The female lays 200 thousand eggs per year, regardless of the male. The mechanism of infection is fecal-oral. Ascaris eggs enter the human body along with unwashed fruits and vegetables through dirty hands. The larva that has entered the intestine is selected from the shell and penetrates the walls of the intestine, as it migrates through the intestinal veins to the liver, through the hepatic veins to the heart, through the pulmonary arteries to the bronchi, then into the trachea and mouth. A partial number of larvae die in the open air, the rest are swallowed backwards. Symptoms:
- Nausea
- He retched
- Jaundice
- pancreatitis
- Frequent acute respiratory infections
- Bronchitis
- Pneumonia
Prevention:
- hand washing
- Wash fruits and vegetables
- Personal hygiene
- Protect food from flies, cockroaches and other street vendors.
In conclusion, we can say that the cause of the disease is not always bacteria and viruses that have entered the organism. Parasites can cause serious harm to human health. In case of unclear symptoms, it is not necessary to exclude the penetration of the parasite into the body, the patient should visit a parasithalogue.