Parasitic diseases or damage to the human body caused by parasites, pathogenic fungi, and bacteria are the second most common after respiratory infections. The main danger is that people are not always aware of the presence of such a lesion, and the signs of the disease may not appear for months, while parasites cause irreparable damage to health. The symptoms of parasites in the body are disguised for a long time as fatigue and minor pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract.
Helminthiasis is not just a "dirty hand" disease. Eating poorly washed fruits, raw fish (sushi), and undercooked meat can cause the appearance of worms and other protozoa. Helmet eggs can be passed on to infected people through tactile contact by infected people.
WHO statistics are awesome - about ¾ of the entire population of the planet is infected with various parasites. The incidence in adults and pets is 99, 9%.
It is possible to get rid of worms with the help of medicines and folk remedies, but there are difficult cases where only surgery can help get rid of pests.
What human organs can be infected by parasites
There are three ways for worms and helminths to enter the human body - through the mouth, mucous membranes, and skin. Against the background of a weakened immune system, parasites multiply unimpeded in the body. Immunity is even more depleted, secondary immune deficiency develops, general allergy of the body manifests itself, and resistance to various infections decreases. Acute pathologies develop into chronic, severe.
The parasites' favorite habitat is all parts of the gastrointestinal tract. 70% of 300 types of parasitic diseases are intestinal. The extraintestinal types of helminthiasis affect:
- skin and subcutaneous adipose tissue;
- liver;
- muscle tissue;
- light;
- brain;
- cardiac tissue;
- eyeball;
- blood;
- joint capsules.
The time of onset of the first symptoms of the lesion depends on the type of parasites, the number and location of their localization, and the current state of human health.
The primary symptoms of parasites in the body are similar to all types of helminthic infections:
- disappears appetite;
- increases salivation;
- diarrhea alternates with constipation;
- seizures and vomiting;
- sleep disorder.
Gnashing of teeth during sleep can indicate the presence of worms in a child's body.
The main signs of helminthiasis are general malaise, increased irritability, mild dizziness, weight loss and the development of iron deficiency anemia. In the case of allergic reactions (in 70% of cases), parasitic lesions are not monitored and treated in time.
Main types of parasites and distinguishing symptoms of their presence
Currently, 70 parasite types have been identified that can live in humans. They are divided into the following subgroups:
- round worms (worms);
- tapeworms (tapeworms);
- subcutaneous helminths;
- flukes (flukes);
- tissue parasites;
- protozoan protozoa.
The symptoms of different types of parasites may vary. To understand whether the human body is affected or not, we consider the most typical cases.
Pinworms
Enterobius vermicularis or pinworm roundworm. They feed on blood and intestinal contents. These 0. 5 to 1-centimeter white worms cause widespread helminthiasis - enterobiasis. According to statistics, the overall rate of all lesions for this disease is 65%, 90% of which are children.
Enterobiasis is contagious and spreads from person to person. The main way parasites get into the body is through oocytes. The life cycle is 4 weeks - during this time, males and females develop from the eggs, which, exiting through the anus, lay eggs on the skin around them and in the perineum. Moving and laying eggs causes a sharp burning sensation on the skin.
Pinworms are very difficult to handle because eggs don’t just get on the skin. Parasite eggs fall on the bedding, shake off the floor, and contaminate household items and toys.
It is difficult to determine the presence of these parasites in the body, but the signs and symptoms of their presence have their own distinctive features:
- frequent urination, bedwetting;
- bloating and pain in the lower abdomen, often on the right side;
- loss of appetite;
- diarrhea;
- general muscle weakness;
- female pinworms and egg switches are visually found in the folds of the anus.
Analysis-based diagnostics can be false-negative for a small number of sites. To identify parasites, a three-fold analysis of feces and scraping is performed, which is repeated after a few days. In rare cases, your doctor may order a blood test with an enlarged white blood cell count.
Toxocars - Symptoms and Treatment of Types of Toxocariasis
Refers to a subset of nematodes that enter the body after contact with dogs, cats, or soil. Toxic arms do not spread from person to person, but the mother can transfer them to the fetus in utero, or she can get the baby with milk during breastfeeding. Parasitic infections of this species often occur in autumn or spring.
Symptoms of toxocariasis depend on the location of the individual.
Visceral toxocariasis
This type of lesion is seen when parasites settle in the internal organs: a person's liver, kidneys, pancreas, brain, or heart. In the vast majority of cases, the toxoid arms settle in the patient's lungs. The following clinical picture is often observed:
- fever, chills, fever;
- the liver thickens, the spleen enlarges; The
- lymph nodes grow slightly, are painful to the touch, and detach from the surrounding tissues;
- dry cough with wet wheezing, especially at night;
- difficulty breathing and shortness of breath;
- Bronchitis and bronchopneumonia are too common.
The lack of therapy for this form of helminthiasis can be fatal. Heart parasites can lead to death.
Neurological toxocariasis
Pathology occurs when parasites enter the central nervous system. Presence of parasites in the human body:
- children become hyperactive, unable to successfully pass neuropsychological tests, and lag behind in development;
- adults complain that they have difficulty reading and cannot explain why;
- memory deterioration;
- all kinds of neurological disorders manifest themselves.
If tosocia remain in the brain, seizures and epileptiform seizures, paresis, and limb paralysis are possible.
Skin toxocariasis
Symptoms appear as localized urticaria, eczema, or papular outbreaks that appear when toxocar larvae migrate. Patients complain of unbearable itching, the affected areas are very swollen and red, in addition to rashes and blisters. Loose skin appears around the areas.
Eye toxocariasis
A lesion in which parasitic larvae colonize the eyeball. Their migration is also visible to the naked eye. Only one eye is affected. In most cases, only one parasite is present. However, there are other signs of the presence of parasites:
- inflammation of the choroid;
- purulent inflammation of the vitreous tissues;
- children develop strabismus;
- There may be formations in the eyeball secretion in the form of "snowballs".
The main diagnostic techniques for any form of toxocariasis are a history, immunological tests, and a detailed blood test. Stool testing is not performed because these parasites do not live in the intestines. With proper medication, the prognosis for recovery is favorable.
Wide ribbon
This parasite enters the human body by consuming raw fish or caviar. The disease is called diphyllobothriasis and does not spread to individuals.
A broad tapeworm can only exist in the small intestine. Your presence has specific symptoms that develop in the following order:
- nausea, abdominal pain, vomiting;
- febrile conditions;
- decreased or increased appetite;
- constipation alternating with diarrhea;
- gradual increase in symptoms of B12-deficient anemia;
- intestinal obstruction caused by obstruction of the intestinal lumen with an overgrown helminth pattern and violation of surface and deep sensitivity;
- unsteady walking and crawling under the skin;
- Parasitic particles may be present in the stool.
Diagnosis of the presence of parasites is made based on the results of blood tests and coprooscopy.
Bull tapeworm
This tapeworm can be up to 7-10 meters long. The parasite enters the human body in the form of larvae or eggs in poorly cooked or raw infected beef. The disease is called teniarinchiasis, and adults are more susceptible to it.
Signs of teniarinchiasis parasites appear one after another in the human body:
- have a constant feeling of hunger, false bulimia;
- loss of appetite, sometimes completely absent; There is an increase in
- abdominal pain, which may be of different localizations, the right hip section is severely sore;
- persistent severe bloating and recurrent diarrhea;
- inflammation of the tongue develops;
- debilitated people may experience sleep disturbances, fainting and seizures.
It is very easy to identify and control the depletion of some segments of the bovine tapeworm, proglottids, from the anus without defecation, especially at night.
The simplest and most effective diagnostic method is to scrape and analyze feces for the content of proglottide eggs. The prognosis of treatment is favorable.
Echinococcus
Echinococcus belongs to the class of tapeworms. The main source is stray dogs, wolves, jackals, foxes that feed on tumors infected with echinococcus. Parasites can infect a domestic dog if it has been in contact with stray relatives or the feces of infected animals.
Human infection occurs when the larvae of parasites are ingested, most often with contaminated water. It is possible for oocytes to be sucked in by a gust of wind and to stick to the mucous membranes of the nose or throat, and when the expectoration is swallowed and enters the digestive tract.
The larva of the parasite that enters the intestine drills itself into the bloodstream and, through the flow of venous blood, reaches the liver, where it is fixed. If fixation does not occur, echinococcus can affect the lungs or other organs. Contrary to popular belief, these parasites do not live in human muscles.
Due to the organ tissue, the larva begins to grow and form a cyst. In the event of his death, the cyst kicks up. When a person is infected with a large number of larvae, a number of living and dead echinococcus cysts are formed.
Symptoms of these types of parasites do not appear for a long time, but as the cyst grows in the liver, the following symptoms do occur:
- stool violation, frequent vomiting, pain in the solar plexus;
- nodules can be felt in the liver;
- when the cysts are compressed, jaundice develops, accompanied by characteristic symptoms accompanied by very severe itching;
- When opening a purulent cyst, severe pain, allergic reactions, anaphylactic shock.
When the parasite attaches to the lungs, shortness of breath, wheezing, chest pain and bleeding cough occur. The rupture of the cyst into the pleural area is fatal. Breakthroughs in the bronchi lead to suffocation, blue skin and severe allergic reactions.
The diagnosis is clarified by serological blood testing and ultrasound confirmation. Echinococcosis is only treated with surgery! Specific antiparasitic drug treatment is performed only in the case of a massive infection. The use of alcohol or other folk remedies for these parasites is useless.
Giardia
It is easy to become a carrier of these parasites - human infection occurs with cysts in cats, dogs and rodents. Once in the body, parasites are localized not only in the liver but also in the colon and small intestine. Giardiasis affects children and adults with a weakened immune system and low stomach acid.
The disease is characterized by a fluctuating course with progressive neurological and allergic symptoms:
- spasmodic pains on the right side, especially after eating fatty foods;
- diarrhea alternates with constipation;
- dry and bitter mouth;
- At normal levels of hemoglobin in the blood, the skin is pale, especially the nose is "whitened";
- hair falls out;
- lip cracks and bumps appear;
- the skin on the palms and legs is peeling, rashes appear on the skin;
- There are suffocation cough attacks;
- enlarged liver, spleen and lymph nodes;
- develops severe apathy and general weakness.
Stool and duodenal contents are examined to clarify the diagnosis.
If signs of parasites are detected, you should not self-medicate, but should consult an infectious disease specialist. Only a physician can accurately diagnose and prescribe the appropriate complex treatment.