Helminth infection is also possible in our civil society. These parasites imperceptibly make their way into the body and poison it with the products of their vital activity. The secretions of helminths are toxic and cause various ailments, from hives to serious health problems. There are also victims.
Common symptoms of worm infestation
Helminths not only live in the human intestine, some types of parasites also infect other organs, they can also be in the skeletal muscles. Therefore, the course of each helminthiasis has its own characteristic signs, but there are still general symptoms:
- reduced performance;
- fast fatigue;
- intoxication;
- weakness;
- sleepiness;
- lack of appetite;
- weight loss;
- pain in the joints;
- constipation;
- intestinal disorders;
- intolerance to any type of food.
Unfortunately, but many people are infected with parasites, some are not even aware of it. Eggs or cysts can be ingested with seemingly clean food. Often the worms settle in the child's body, getting along well with poorly washed fruits and vegetables, through dirty hands, of dogs and cats. The trouble is that there is often no suspicion that someone else is living in us, as there are types of parasites that don't show up for a long time. Therefore, it is worthwhile to learn more about the worms, what types there are and what symptoms cause the infection.
human nematodes
Pinworms, roundworms, whipworms and Trichinella (less often) can live in the human body.
Nematodes are round worms with a fusiform body, 15-40 cm long and 4-6 mm wide. This helminth lives in the small intestine, although there are cases when nematodes crawl into the bile ducts and clog them. Inside humans, females mate with males and lay eggs, which, along with feces, come out.
A person is not infected with nematodes that live in animals.
Next, the eggs must mature in the soil. If they enter the human body with unwashed fruits or vegetables, the larvae are excreted in the intestine, quickly penetrate the blood vessels and reach the lungs with the bloodstream. There the larvae mature and migrate to the intestine via the trachea and oral cavity. And there, new individuals have already been born and everything repeats itself. Nematodes live up to 14 months.
With ascariasis, appetite decreases, there is nausea, diarrhea, pain in the intestines, allergic manifestations. Sleep is also disturbed, irritability appears. During migration from the lungs, there may be cough. With the accumulation of roundworms and the formation of a ball on their part, intestinal obstruction can develop.
Pinworms are small whitish worms 3-12 mm long. 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 eggs by inhaling the powder. Female pinworms lay eggs in the anus, causing severe itching. Pinworm eggs are so small that they can even be inside the raised dust.
You can get infected with bedding, hygiene items, food, handshakes, etc. Additionally, pinworms undergo the same migration as nematodes. Adults live for a short time in humans, only 1-2 months, and with adequate hygiene they can be disposed of in a short time. In addition to itching, the following are observed: insomnia, distraction, 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 roundworms. Vlasoglavs attach themselves to the intestinal walls and suck blood. The toxins they release cause headaches, poor sleep, dizziness and nausea. The life span of helminths is 5 years.
The Trichinella are small worms only up to 4 mm long. A person becomes infected with raw pork, which contains the larvae. Adults live in the intestine, mate and lay eggs, after which they die. Trichinella larvae are excreted, penetrate from the intestine into muscle tissue, where they form a capsule 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, fever;
- headache;
- insomnia or, conversely, sleepiness;
- decreased mobility of the knee and elbow joints;
- gastrointestinal disturbances are observed.
Trichinosis is partially cured, since if the adult worms can be destroyed with drugs, the larvae in the skeletal muscles cannot be killed.
Tapeworms in humans
- Bovine tapewormcan be up to 10 m long Infection occurs when eating poorly cooked beef, which contains helminth larvae. Housewives can become infected by tasting raw ground beef with salt. In the body, a tapeworm develops from the larva, which lives in the intestine, attaching itself to the wall to resist. A person loses weight, loses appetite, dizziness, insomnia, nausea, and often vomiting occur.
- Pork tapewormis smaller, reaching only 2m. Infection occurs after eating poorly processed pork. Symptoms are the same as for bovine tapeworms.
- The broad tapewormhas a length between 6m and 15m. The source of the infection is raw freshwater fish. Helminthiasis is manifested by weakness, nausea, vomiting, drooling, abdominal pain, constipation, or diarrhea. On the tongue there are always bright red sore spots and even cracks.
- Dwarf tapewormhas a length of 3-5 cm They are infected with this helminth through contaminated door handles, toilet seats, if they have worm eggs. Children get sick more often. Helminthiasis causes decreased appetite, nausea and abdominal pain, and sometimes diarrhea. In rare cases, children may have seizures similar to seizures.
- Echinococcusis one of the most dangerous helminths. Infection occurs from dogs and cats - adult carriers of the parasite. In the human body, the larvae hatch from eggs, which are transported with the bloodstream to different organs, most often to the liver, and form echinococcal cysts there. In some cases, they even reach the size of a newborn's head. Cysts are only removed surgically.
Human fools
- Flukeparasite in the bile ducts and in the gallbladder itself. The size of the helminths is small - 4-13 mm. The parasite enters the body through the use of lightly salted or undercooked (fried) fish. First, this helminthiasis is manifested by a high temperature (up to 40 degrees), pain in the joints and muscles, disorders in the gastrointestinal tract, in rare cases jaundice develops. Then the acute symptoms go away, there are paroxysmal pains in the pancreas. There may be complications.
- Fasciolais dangerous to health. The worms are up to 3-7 cm long and also settle in the gallbladder and biliary tract. A person becomes infected through unboiled water or by eating aquatic plants. Weakness, fever, pain in the head and abdomen, hives appear.
In conclusion on human helminths
Some types of worms live for years in the human body, as they can hardly manifest themselves in any way. Often the symptoms of helminthiasis are similar to diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, so a misdiagnosis is made if no special tests are done to identify helminths. But you urgently need to get rid of any parasites, as they not only take useful substances from the body, but also release toxins that are dangerous to health.