Helminths as dangerous worms-parasites for humans

According to the WHO, every second person on the planet is infected with helminths every year. Many people think that parasitic worms do not cause much damage to health. However, not everything is so simple: helminths can affect important internal organs: the heart, lungs and brain.

Helminths - who are they?

Helminths are parasitic worms that can choose a human, animal or plant organism as a host. There are a total of three classes of worms:

• tapeworms. This class includes about 3. 5 thousand species of helminths. The length of the parasitic worms varies from a few mm to 10-15 meters;
• they are unfortunate.Parasites are so named because they have a heart for food. The human body can infect about 4 dozen species of fluke. The length of the worms usually does not exceed 5 cm;
• roundworms.This class of helminths includes more than 24 thousand species. Roundworms are spindle-shaped. As a rule, their length does not exceed 0. 5 meters.

You can get infected with helminths in different ways. Most often, however, parasitic invasion occurs for the following reasons:

1. Poor hand hygiene.
2. Unwashed vegetables and fruits; undercooked or poorly cooked meat, fish - the use of such products increases the risk of parasitic invasion many times over.
3. Keep food open outside the refrigerator. Insects can transfer helminth eggs to products stored without packaging.
4. Contact with pets.

The main symptoms of the presence of parasites in the body:

• nausea, vomiting, diarrhea;
• weight loss;
• allergic rashes;
• bloating;
• itching in the anus;
• teeth grinding in a dream.

Learn more about the signs of parasites in the bodyread our article.

What worms are most often found in Hungary? Consider the most common types of parasitic worms and the diseases they cause.

Tapeworms

The tapeworm's body is made up of 3 to 5, 000 segments. The main element of fixing the worm is the head, and the other parts are suction cups and hooks.

The most common causes of tapeworms are:

Diphyllobothriasis

The causative agent of the disease is a broad tapeworm that affects the human intestines.The development of worm eggs takes place in fresh water. The scheme of the tapeworm's entry into the human body is as follows:

1. The worm eggs are swallowed by crustaceans living in the reservoir.
2. Infected crustaceans are eaten by fish.
3. Humans become infected with the parasite by eating fish that has undergone improper heat treatment.

Symptoms of the disease appear 1. 5 months after infection. The main sign of pathology is the presence of whitish fragments of the helminth in the feces.

Adhering to the intestinal mucosa, the tapeworm absorbs large amounts of vitamin B12. Because of this, patients with diphyllobothriasis often develop anemia. In addition, the tapeworm can cause an increase in the liver, spleen, intestinal obstruction.

To Teniarin

The causative agent of the disease is the bovine tapeworm, which lives primarily in the human small intestine. During its development cycle, the helminth has two hosts: the intermediate one is cattle, and the main one is man. The bull tapeworm can live in the body for 20 years, reproduces and causes health damage. The disease is common in many regions, but it occurs most often in areas where it is cold.

People usually get taeniarhynchosis after eating undercooked or undercooked beef.

The disease often progresses without any pronounced symptoms and is detected accidentally when a person sees elements of intestinal worms in his stool. In some people, in addition to the main signs of helminth infection, pain may appear on the right side of the anterior abdominal wall.

Adult helminths are able to penetrate the appendix, the pancreatic duct, and the bile ducts, provoking acute inflammatory processes in them. Intestinal obstruction may develop in the case of multiple parasitic invasions.

taeniasis

The causative agent of the disease is the pig tapeworm, which initially affects the human small intestine.Human infection occurs through consumption of raw or improperly cooked pork.

The parasite can invade various organs and tissues, causing pain in the abdomen, back and limbs. The most favorable pathology occurs when the worm is localized in subcutaneous fat and skeletal muscle tissue. When penetrating the eye muscles, helminths cause a decrease in visual acuity, lacrimation and photophobia. The defeat of the pig tapeworm of the brain can be fatal.

they are unfortunate

The flakes have a leaf-like shape and are characterized by their high reproductive capacity in different periods of the life cycle. Reproduction of worms is possible not only sexually with fertilization, but also without. In addition to baleen, worms have many hooks and spines, thanks to which they are securely attached to the mucous membrane of the organs.

Common pathologies caused by fluke:

• fasciolosis;
• opisthorchiasis;
• paragonimiasis.

Fascioliasis

Fascioliasis occurs when the liver or gallbladder is damaged by liver fluke.Basically, infection occurs when vegetables are consumed that have been irrigated with water from open reservoirs.

In addition to the usual signs of infection with parasites, a person may also experience asthma attacks accompanied by shortness of breath, flushing, dilated pupils, and tachycardia. If an adult caused the blockage of the bile ducts, then obstructive jaundice develops. Signs of pathology:

• spasmodic pain in the right hypochondrium;
• yellowing of the skin;
• fever;
• colorless stools.

Opisthorchiasis

The causative agent of the disease is cat distemper. The name of the parasite is due to the fact that, in addition to humans, it often infects cats and other mammals that eat fish.

Feline distemper usually affects the liver and pancreas, causing inflammation in the organs. Symptoms are variable and depend on the number of parasites. The patient may experience:

• symptoms of poisoning;
• fever,
• hives;
• skin itching;
• pain in muscles, joints, right hypochondrium.

In some cases, helminths cause the growth of lymph nodes and the development of jaundice. The chronic form of the pathology often leads to hepatitis and liver cirrhosis.

Paragonimiasis

The disease is caused by a lung fluke, which enters the human body with infected crustaceans.

First, the parasite enters the human intestine and then the abdominal cavity. The end point of its journey is the lung tissue. In addition, the worm is able to penetrate the brain and affect the central nervous system.

Specific signs of lung parasite invasion:

• pain syndrome in the chest;
• cough with sputum that may contain pus and blood;
• fever.

In some cases, helminths violate the ventilation function of the lungs and gas exchange during breathing.

roundworms

Thanks to their structure, roundworms (nematodes) are able to survive even in extreme conditions.Their bodies are covered with a three-layer skin-muscle pouch, which reliably protects the parasites from external influences.

Common diseases caused by nematodes:

• ascariasis;
• enterobiasis;
• trichinosis.

Ascariasis

The development of the disease triggers a roundworm, which initially settles in the small intestine. The average length of adults is 40 cm.Parasitic larvae can enter the human digestive system with unwashed vegetables and fruits and contaminated water.In addition, the cause of ascariasis is often improperly washed hands before eating.

During the penetration of the larvae into the body, a person may experience subfebrile temperature, allergic rashes, coughing up clear sputum. Signs of the intestinal stage of ascariasis (diarrhea, abdominal pain) can only be observed in the presence of several parasites. As a general rule, the presence of a worm in the intestine is asymptomatic.

Complications caused by multiple parasitic invasion:

• blockage of the bile duct;
• purulent inflammatory processes in the gallbladder, liver;
• inflammation of the appendix;
• ileus.

Enterobiasis

The provocateurs of the disease are pinworms - small worms, up to 1 cm long.Helminths enter the human digestive system in the same way as roundworms.

Currently, enterobiasis is the most common parasitic pathology in the world. Basically, the disease is diagnosed in children under 10 years of age.

The symptoms, as in the previous cases, only develop in the case of numerous parasitic invasions. Children often have diarrhea, mucus in the stool, difficult and painful digestion, itching in the anus, and nausea. In severe cases of the disease, leg cramps may occur. In addition, pinworms are able to penetrate the genitals, causing acute inflammation in them.

Trichinosis

This disease provokes Trichinella - one of the smallest parasitic worms. The length of the parasite rarely exceeds 4 mm. In the larval stage, the worms can infect the skeletal muscles. The exception is myocardium - the muscle tissue of the heart. Adults parasitize in the small intestine.

As a general rule, human infection occurs when half-cooked pork is consumed.At the same time, eating only 30 g of meat affected by parasites is enough to develop the disease.

The pathology manifests itself in the usual symptoms of parasitic invasion. In an advanced stage, swelling of the eyelids, face, arms and legs, back pain, and chewing muscles may occur. Possible complications are complete or partial loss of mobility, paralysis of the airways.

How to avoid helminth infection?

In order to reduce the risk of infection with parasitic worms, it is important to follow the following rules:

18 signs of the presence of parasites in the body

The parasite present in the human body has a serious, pathogenic effect. At the same time, the same parasite can simultaneously trigger several mechanisms of action on humans.

The WHO believes that currently around four and a half billion people in the world are constantly affected by various parasitosis.

This problem is also very relevant because it is very difficult to diagnose parasitosis. Worm infection (a large group of parasitic diseases) is present in humans even if the parasite has already left. And if the patient has noticed this, then in this case, of course, he will come to the medical institution. Parasitosis can also be detected during preventive screening. But unfortunately, these cases are a drop in the ocean.

Mechanisms of action:

mechanical effect.For example, if you have a roundworm in your intestines, it will naturally press on and damage the intestinal wall. In some cases, it can cause an inflammatory process. If, for example, the echinococcus is located in the liver, lungs or kidneys, tissue compression occurs accordingly. This is a classic, mechanical effect: crack, pressure, malfunction of the organ or system in which the parasite is present. Not only luminal parasites are present in the gastrointestinal tract, but also many tissue parasites that are fully capable of realizing the so-called mechanical effect.

Stimulation of allergic reactions.Unfortunately, when someone has allergic reactions, he starts going around: to a dermatologist, a pediatrician, a family doctor, an allergist, but doctors do not always rule out the presence of parasitic invasion in the body. in first place.

Any parasite, even a banal fungal worm, can cause severe allergic reactions, which can be diverse, both on the skin and in the bronchopulmonary tree. For example, frequent obstructive bronchitis in children is due to the fact that some parasite lives in the intestines.

Effect on the microflora.It's no secret that humans are a globe for the vast world of microbiota. The microflora that populates all our mucous membranes, skin, organs, and tissues is the friendly microflora that produces vitamins, minerals, hormones, and enzymes for us and helps our body to lead a normal life. And now, unfortunately, in the presence of parasites, it begins to actively die.

immunosuppressive effect.It has now been clearly proven that waste products from parasites dramatically suppress the immune system. They just block it. Moreover, over millions of years, parasites have learned to mimic and hide from the immune system and produce special anti-enzymes. Thus, it blocks the immune system, and sometimes a person can suffer from various parasitoses for decades. Which sooner or later leads to serious diseases in the body as a whole, or in a separate organ or system.

Effect of antienzymes. Unfortunately, parasites can not only exhaust our bodies. If we try to consume vitamin foods, minerals, vitamins, minerals as a complex, they do not always benefit us, because our freebies take the lion's share of them.

The mechanism of action of the nervous reflex.The waste products of the parasites poison the nervous system. And very often this can affect the psycho-emotional state of both the adult and the child. Any psychosomatic illness can be associated with parasitic invasion. The child may be hyperreactive or, on the contrary, lethargic, tearful, prone to depression - all this may be a consequence of the presence of a parasite in the body. For example, even the simplest Giardia produces toxins. They should be in microdoses, but still toxins, which are identical to psychotropic substances. Of course, a child or adult suffering from such persistent poisoning will experience a serious strain on the functioning of the central nervous system. This can lead to all kinds of psychological and mental disorders: sleep disorders, nervous system disorders, various psychological problems. Moreover, not the parents, not the patient himself, if he is already an adult, the thought that this is a consequence of the parasitic invasion cannot even arise.

In my opinion, the most serious and terrible thing is the stimulation of tumors by parasites. The prolonged presence of parasitosis in the body can cause problems such as the development of benign and malignant tumors. In addition, the stimulation of neoplasms is associated with two factors.

The first factor is the direct, damaging effect of the tissues of a particular organ.

The second factor is the effect mediated through acute inhibition of the immune system. The fact is that the part of the immune system that is responsible for defense against the parasite is also responsible for defense against the tumor. Cancer cells can appear in the human body as a result of incorrect division. In this case, the deficiency of the immune system will manifest itself in such a way that our immune cells do not recognize this cell in time and do not destroy it in time.

When can one suspect the presence of parasites?

Now I will tell you a list of clinical manifestations of parasitic invasions, in the presence of which you should quickly contact your doctor to clarify whether you really have this diagnosis.

• The most common clinical symptom is itching of the anus. Many people hear this, so they are associated with the presence of parasites, especially in the practice of children.
• Teeth grinding in a dream. Again, this can very often be the case in pediatric practice. Moms suddenly notice that the child has started grinding his teeth in his sleep. Why is this happening? Very often, children's squealing is associated with frightening dreams. This is exactly the mechanism of the toxic effect on the central nervous system that we talked about. The child has a terrible dream and grinds his teeth in his sleep in fear. This is one of the reasons. There are other reasons as well. The development of trismus or the increased tone of the masticatory muscles can also be a symptom in this case.
• Salivation during sleep, salivation in the morning, nausea in the morning when brushing the teeth. These are all manifestations that may indirectly indicate the presence of parasitic invasion in the body.
• Peeling of the fingers and toes, layered peeling of the skin.
• Increased hunger, sometimes to the point of fainting.
• Allergic rashes on the skin. During the presentation of doctors, I very often draw attention to the fact that doctors are in no hurry to give anti-allergic drugs to one or another patient. First, understand to the end - whether there are helminthic invasions. Because a sudden high-level allergic reaction in a person within a short period of time may first of all indicate a parasitic invasion.
• Rashes on the eyelids, peeling, swelling. , mental disorders without known causes.
• Any itchy skin. Especially in children's practice. First of all, the presence of parasitic invasion must be ruled out.
• They are disturbed by symptoms such as bloating, abdominal fever, stool instability. Any problem with the gastrointestinal tract.
• You are underweight or, conversely, overweight. Parasitosis can be both.
• The simultaneous presence of several chronic diseases. Joint diseases, bronchopulmonary tree, gastrointestinal tract. If suddenly a person gradually starts to get sick, then one, then the second, then the third, then the fifth, then the tenth, and there were no apparent reasons for this at the beginning, then it is time to think about the presence of parasites in the body.
• Poor health and the diagnosis is unclear. Such patients can turn to different specialists and try to examine one or the other. And in the end, the diagnosis will remain unclear and the health status will remain poor.
• Inexplicable pains in the abdomen, volatile, sudden spasms, pulling pains. The presence of parasites must be ruled out, especially in pediatric practice.
• Long-lasting toxic-allergic manifestations. Occasionally, sudden, incomprehensible allergic reactions to foods.
• Persistent anemia. When hemoglobin drops significantly and is difficult to correct. First of all, it is worth thinking about the presence of parasitic invasions in the human body.
• In children: lack of physical, psychosomatic, psychoemotional development, hyperreactivity or vice versa, lethargy, in schoolchildren, poor assimilation of the substance - all this may indicate the presence of hidden parasitosis in the body.
• Prolonged lymphadenopathy (a condition manifested in the growth of nodes in the lymphatic system) and recurrent lymphadenitis may also indicate the presence of parasitic invasion.

I have listed the main clinical symptoms of parasitosis. Notice how wide they are. And with these symptoms, the patient can turn to almost any doctor. It is believed that if a person has found two or three of these signs in himself, then he will be subjected to a more thorough examination for the presence of parasitosis or an anti-parasitic program.

During the consultation, you can explain your problem, the doctor will clarify the situation, decipher the tests, answer your questions, and make suggestions.

I would like to draw the attention of those who want independent treatment. If you come to a pharmacy and ask the pharmacist: "Give me something against worms", then you are making a big mistake - these things cannot be done. First, the pharmacist is not responsible for how you take this medicine. Second, is not responsible for the consequences. Thirdly, you can do a lot of harm to yourself. Don't do it. In order to determine whether you have a parasite infection or not, it is very important to see a specialist, do a certain list of tests, and only then do appropriate treatment.

What tests detect the presence of parasites in the human body?

According to WHO statistics, around 4. 5 billion people in the world are constantly infected with parasites. This situation is complicated by the fact that the diagnosis of parasitic infections is very difficult. How to find out if there are parasites in the body? What laboratory and instrumental research methods can be used to detect parasitosis? Let's consider these questions in detail.

Complications

Helminthiasis caused by common parasites can be treated with medicines prescribed by a doctor. But if you do not pay attention to the alarming symptoms, deterioration of health, weakness, fatigue for no reason, reduced immunity, the disease can lead to serious complications.

If the parasites have entered the lungs and the patient has not consulted a doctor with complaints of coughing, shortness of breath, chest pain, shortness of breath, pneumonia or even bronchial asthma may develop.

Parasites in the digestive tract can cause liver cirrhosis, liver abscess, hepatitis, bowel cancer, gastrointestinal bleeding, accumulation of fluid in the abdominal cavity (ascites) and peritonitis. They also often provoke the development of chronic kidney disease, meningoencephalitis, and vision loss. Some cestodes (tapeworms) grow more than 1 meter long, and the small roundworms can form dense balls. This disrupts the normal functioning of the body, leads to severe poisoning and pronounced allergic reactions. Without immediate medical attention, death is possible.

Prevention

Helminthiasis often occurs when hygiene rules are not followed or food is not properly processed. To prevent helminthic invasion, you need:

• Do not wear other's underwear, do not share towels with strangers.
• Wash your hands thoroughly before eating - it is important to do this not only before breakfast, lunch, dinner, but also before snacks.
• You must wash your hands after using the toilet.
• Wash your hands thoroughly after working on the beds and wear thick rubber gloves for all garden work.
• Use only clean water for drinking and cooking.
• Rinse fruits and vegetables thoroughly under running water.
• Eat heat-treated meat, fish and seafood.
• Do not buy products on spontaneous markets from people who cannot confirm the safety of the goods.
• Monitor the health of pets, deworm them regularly, even if the animal lives in an apartment and does not go outside. Consult your veterinarian to select medications and calculate the dosage.
• Take care of cleanliness in living and working areas. Sometimes people get roundworm eggs on the soles of their shoes. In order to reduce the risk of infection, wet cleaning must be carried out regularly and all surfaces must be disinfected.

Even if these rules are followed, the risk of infection cannot be completely eliminated. To prevent the development of the disease, consult a therapist. The doctor prescribes drugs to prevent helminthiasis. Be sure to indicate how often you travel, whether there are pets in the house, personal plot. It is recommended to carry out drug prophylaxis of helminthiasis twice a year.