Helminth infection is possible even in our civilized society. These parasites imperceptibly invade the body and poison it with the products of their vital activity. The secretions of helminths are poisonous and cause various diseases - from hives to serious health problems. There are also deaths.
Common symptoms of worm infestation
Helminths not only live in the human intestine, some types of parasites also infect other organs, they can even be found in the skeletal muscles. Therefore, the course of each helminthiasis has its own characteristic signs, but there are still general symptoms:
- reduced the performance;
- quick fatigue;
- poisoning;
- weakness;
- drowsiness;
- loss of appetite;
- weight loss;
- joint pain;
- constipation;
- intestinal disease;
- Intolerance to all types of food.
Unfortunately, many people are infected with parasites, some don't even know about them. Eggs or cysts can be swallowed with what appears to be clean food. Often worms settle in the child's body and get along with poorly washed fruits and vegetables from dirty hands of cats and dogs. The problem is that often there is no suspicion that someone else is living inside us, since there are types of parasites that do not manifest for a long time. Therefore, it is worth knowing better about worms, what types there are and what symptoms cause infection.
Human roundworms
Pinworms, roundworms, whipworms and trichinae (less often) can live in the human body.
Roundworms are round worms with a fusiform body, 15-40 cm long and 4-6 mm wide. These helminths live in the small intestine, although there are cases where roundworms crawl into the biliary tract and block it. In humans, the females mate with the males and lay eggs, which go outside with the faeces.
A person is not infected with roundworms that live in animals.
Next, the eggs need to mature in the ground. If they enter the human body with unwashed fruits or vegetables, the larvae are excreted in the intestines, quickly penetrating the blood vessels and reaching the lungs with blood flow. There the larvae mature and migrate through the windpipe and oral cavity into the intestine. And there new individuals have already hatched and everything repeats itself. Roundworms live up to 14 months.
With ascariasis, the appetite decreases, there is nausea, diarrhea, pain in the intestines, allergic manifestations. Sleep is also disturbed, irritability occurs. Coughing can occur as it migrates from the lungs. With the accumulation of ascaris and the formation of a ball through them, an intestinal obstruction may develop.
Pinworms are small, whitish worms with a length of 3 to 12 mm. Pinworms live in the small and large intestines. It is very easy to get infected with these helminths, it is enough not to wash your hands, or you can even swallow the helminth's eggs by inhaling the dust. Female pinworms lay eggs in the anus and cause severe itching. Pinworm eggs are so small that they can even be found in dust.
You can get infected through laundry, toiletries, groceries, handshakes, etc. In addition, pinworms migrate just like roundworms. Adults only live with humans for one to two months and, with appropriate hygiene, can be disposed of in a short time. In addition to itching, there are observed: insomnia, mental absenteeism, irritability, allergic rash.
Vlasoglavs are thin worms that live in the large intestine and reach a length of 30-35 mm. You can get infected with parasites in the same way as with roundworms. Vlasoglavs adhere to the walls of the intestines and suck blood. The toxins they release cause headaches, insomnia, dizziness and nausea. The lifespan of helminths is 5 years.
Trichinae are small worms, they are only up to 4 mm long. A person becomes infected through raw pork that contains larvae. Adults live in the intestines, mate and lay eggs, after which they die. Trichinella larvae are excreted, they penetrate the muscle tissue from the intestine, form a capsule there and can remain for years.
Helminthiasis causes the following disorders in the body:
- swollen face;
- eyelid edema;
- swelling of the legs and hands;
- rash;
- muscle pain;
- fever, temperature;
- headache;
- Insomnia or, conversely, drowsiness;
- decreased mobility of the knee and elbow joints;
- Gastrointestinal disorders are observed.
Trichinosis is partially cured, because if adult worms can be destroyed with drugs, larvae in the skeletal muscles cannot be killed.
Tapeworms in humans
- Beef tapewormcan be up to 10 m long. Infection occurs when eating poorly cooked beef that contains helminth larvae. Housewives can get infected by trying raw minced meat with salt. In the body, a tapeworm develops from the larva living in the intestine, which attaches to the wall in order to hold on. A person loses weight, loses appetite, dizziness, insomnia, nausea, and often vomiting.
- Pork tapewormis smaller and only reaches 2 m. Infection occurs after eating poorly processed pork. The symptoms are the same as with beef tapeworm.
- Broad tapewormis 6 m to 15 m in length. The source of infection is raw freshwater fish. Helminthiasis manifests itself as weakness, nausea, vomiting, drooling, stomach pain, constipation or diarrhea. There are always bright red painful areas and even cracks on the tongue.
- dwarf tapewormis 3-5 cm in length. They are infected with this helminth through contaminated door handles and toilet seats when they have eggs from worms. Children get sick more often. Helminthiasis causes decreased appetite, nausea and abdominal pain, and sometimes diarrhea. In rare cases, seizures similar to epileptic seizures may occur in children.
- Echinococcusis one of the most dangerous helminths. The infection occurs through dogs and cats - carriers of adult parasites. In the human body, larvae hatch from the eggs, which are transported with the blood flow to various organs, more often to the liver, where they form echinococcal cysts. In some cases, they can even reach the size of a newborn's head. Cysts are only removed through surgery.
Human suction cups
- Flukeparasitizes in the biliary tract and in the gall bladder. The size of the helminths is small - 4-13 mm. The parasite enters the body through the use of lightly salted or poorly cooked (fried) fish. First, this helminthiasis is manifested in a high temperature (up to 40 degrees), pain in joints and muscles, disorders in the gastrointestinal tract, in rare cases jaundice develops. Then the acute symptoms disappear, there is paroxysmal pain in the pancreas. There can be complications.
- Fasciolais harmful to health. Worms are up to 3-7 cm long and also settle in the gallbladder and biliary tract. A person becomes infected through uncooked water or through consuming aquatic plants. Weakness, fever, headache and abdominal pain, urticaria occur.
Finally, on human helminths
Some types of worms live in the human body for years because they can barely manifest themselves in any way. Often the symptoms of helminthiasis are similar to diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Therefore, an incorrect diagnosis will be made if special tests to identify helminths are not performed. But you need to urgently remove all parasites, as they not only absorb useful substances from the body, but also release harmful toxins.