For a parasitologist, parasites in the human body are a standard aspect of work. For a normal patient, helminth invasion is a terrible pathology. The situation is aggravated by the fact that a person is inclined to increase the scope of the problem without knowing the enemy by sight. Basic knowledge of the types of parasites that can live in the human body will help defeat fear. And knowing the problem, you can already competently build methods of dealing with it or principles of protection against it. In the material below, we will analyze which worms parasitize in the human body.
Types of worms in the human body
It is worth knowing that not all real-life worms in the human body can live. For many, the natural habitat consists of animal organisms, water or simply soil. Below is a list of the most common parasites in the human body with concomitant clinical manifestations.
Pinworm
This is the most common parasite that enters the human body. Furthermore, humanoid primates can also suffer from enterobiasis. Most often, pinworms are localized in the body of preschool children. Children aged 1 to 10 are sick.
Pinworm infection occurs when a healthy person comes into contact with an infected person (shaking hands, touching dirty laundry, towels, etc. ) in the condition of unwashed hands. Also, with food, pinworm eggs enter the human body.
Important: Insects (flies, cockroaches) can also carry helminth eggs.
An adult female crawls out of the anus at night and lays her eggs in the skin folds of the anus, causing severe itching. In addition, the patient may experience periodic pain in the lower abdomen if the intensity of the helminth invasion is already high. It is these symptoms of parasitic infection that indicate pinworms in the body. They can be mixed with general fatigue and allergic skin reactions.
Giardia
Protozoa of the flagellate genus. Localization of such parasites in the human body most often occurs in the small intestine. However, with the bloodstream, the protozoa can reach the liver and gallbladder. Parasites enter a person through dirty hands, unwashed fruit / vegetables or by drinking dirty water.
Symptoms of lamblia parasites are:
- Pain in the right hypochondrium;
- Stool disorders;
- Excessive gassing;
- Nausea;
- Neurosis;
- Allergic manifestations on the skin.
Ascaris
nematodes in humans that most often live in the small intestine. But at the same time, with the bloodstream, they can easily migrate to any organ. Often located in the heart, lungs, liver and even the brain.
Helminth infestation infection occurs through dirty hands, on which parasite eggs from vegetables, fruit, soil, etc. may remain. In this case, the symptoms of parasites vary depending on the stage of the course of the disease. So, during the migration of the larva, the following symptoms of parasites in the body are noted:
- Increased body temperature (38 degrees);
- Dry nocturnal cough with shortness of breath;
- Enlarged lymph nodes.
With the further localization of worms in the human body, the following symptoms are formed:
- Stool disorder (constipation and diarrhea);
- Nervous disorders;
- Pneumonia;
- Heart failure;
- Nausea;
- Vomiting;
- Frequent headaches;
- Stomach pain.
Histological amoeba
Amoeba is a parasitic protozoan. It affects the human body through dirty hands, through the use of dirty foods (vegetables, fruits, herbs) and also through anal intercourse. Flies can also carry amoebiosis. Amoeba causes ulcers to form on the walls of the large intestine and further damage to other organs and systems. In this case, the signs of parasites in the body will be as follows:
- Feces with blood and mucus;
- Pain in the abdomen;
- Anemia;
- General weakness and fatigue;
- Abscess formation in those organs where the parasite can be located.
Toksokara
Round helminth causing a helminthic invasion called toxocariasis. In this case, the parasite can be localized in the intestines, eyes, brain. Toxocar carriers are canines (dogs, wolves, foxes, etc. ). Infection occurs through contact with a sick animal or through indirect contact with its feces. Parasite infection of this type involves a variety of symptoms, depending on which organ the worm larva has lodged in. So, with intestinal toxocariasis, the symptoms will be as follows:
- Nausea and vomiting;
- Diarrhea and constipation;
- Pain in the abdomen.
With ocular toxocariasis, the patient has the following signs of parasite infestation:
- Reduced vision;
- Purulent discharge from the affected eye;
- Formation of blisters on the eyelids;
- Redness of the sclera of the eyes;
- Detachment of the retina.
If toxocara settles in the brain, the patient has the following signs of the presence of a parasite in the body:
- Headache;
- Dizziness and fainting;
- Increased intracranial pressure;
- Nervousness and hallucinations;
- Reduced vision and concentration.
In this case, the clinical picture is often confused with brain oncology.
- With cardiac toxocariasis, the patient will experience heart failure, such as tachycardia, arrhythmia, valve failure, and heart pain.
- If the respiratory system is affected by toxocar, there will be signs of pneumonia or bronchitis, as well as frequent shortness of breath.
- If the worm settles under the skin, the patient will feel itching, movement and redness will be noticed on the skin in the helminth position.
Wide tape
This helminth lives in the small intestine of its biological host. It gets there through the mouth with contaminated food (fish, fish eggs) or with water. The signs of worms in such a body are as follows:
- Pain in the abdomen;
- Nausea;
- Persistent anemia which cannot be corrected with iron supplementation;
- In an advanced stage of the disease, the patient develops intestinal obstruction due to a large accumulation of parasites in it.
Pork tapeworm
This helminth lives in the body of livestock (rabbits, pigs), as well as in the body of dogs and even camels. It enters the human body along with contaminated meat that has undergone insufficient heat treatment. If an adult worm is found in the patient's body, the diagnosis is "teniasis". If the helminth is detected in the larval stage, the diagnosis is "cysticercosis".
Important: A patient with teniasis is dangerous both for himself (ingestion of parasitic larvae in the brain, eyes, bone skeleton) and for others.
The list of symptoms of the parasite in the human body looks like this:
- A sharp decline in appetite;
- Severe headache;
- Pain in the abdomen;
- Fainting;
- Reduced vision (with ocular teniasis).
Important: Treatment for pig tapeworm is carried out only in a hospital under the supervision of specialists.
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Bovine tapeworm (tapeworm)
A parasite that lives in the human body in a single individual. It comes with infected cow meat. The list of signs of the parasite in the human body looks like this:
- Irrepressible appetite and lack of weight gain;
- Unstable chair;
- Pain in the abdomen;
- Severe allergic manifestations;
- Nausea.
Important: The parasite comes out on its own when some anthelmintic drugs are used. Furthermore, its maximum length can be about 12 meters.
The necator and the hookworm
These round parasites usually enter the human body through dirty hands and food, or through the soil through contact with it. The symptoms of the presence of such parasites in the human body look like this:
- Rash on the body in the form of papules and vesicles (pimples with purulent contents);
- Severe dry cough with shortness of breath;
- Abdominal pain;
- Persistent anemia;
- Diarrhea;
- Nausea;
- Critical loss of appetite.
Alveococcus
This parasite belongs to the group of tapeworms. At the same time, it is worth knowing that helminth is extremely dangerous for humans as it first forms a primary inflammatory focus in the liver, then its metastases spread to other organs. Human infection occurs through the ingestion of helminth oncospheres into the human mouth. Most often this happens when cutting animal carcasses, during hunting, when using herbs and berries collected in the forest and not sufficiently processed for food, as well as through direct contact with pets infected by the invasion. In this case, only a specialist should evaluate the symptoms and treatment tactics. The clinical picture of helminth invasion looks like this:
- Nausea and specific belching;
- Pain in the right hypochondrium;
- Allergy;
- Severe itching of the skin;
- Suppuration of the place where the parasite is located and the abscess bursts.
Important: The localization of such an invasion is often found in the lungs or brain. They get rid of the parasite promptly.
Echinococcus
Canids and cats are carriers of echinococcus. In this case, a person for the parasite is only an intermediate host. The danger of echinococcus for humans lies in the fact that the helminth seriously affects the organs and systems of a person, provoking the formation of cysts in them. Most often people who work with animals and slaughter meat are infected with echinococcus. That is, the parasite can enter the human body when cutting the carcass of an animal, when eating contaminated meat or water. It is worth knowing here that the signs of the presence of parasites in an adult may not appear for a long time. At the end of the symptom-free phase, the following clinical picture appears:
- Severe urticaria;
- Itchy skin;
- Soreness in the position of the parasite larva;
- Fever and fever (prone to suppuration of the cysts).
Gnathostoma
This type of helminth enters the human body with contaminated poultry, fish or frog meat. You can also get infected with dirty water with worm larvae. The presence of such worms in the human body is manifested by the following symptoms:
- Severe dry cough;
- Pain in the area where the parasite larva is located;
- Severe swelling;
- Severe itching of the skin;
- Increased body temperature.
Important: After one week, all symptoms go away on their own, but they reappear on a regular basis over many years. A great danger is damage to the eyes and brain with worms. This can be fatal.
Schistosoma
Flux worm. It is dangerous because it can enter the human body even through intact skin. Infection occurs in dirty water (most often in Africa), when washing clothes in dirty water or when watering the soil with it. In the acute phase of the invasion, the following first signs appear:
- Excessively high body temperature (up to 39 degrees and above);
- Formation of papules on the body;
- Severe itching of the skin.
In the chronic stage, the disease manifests itself in the form of symptoms of prostatitis, colitis, colpitis, ascites, renal hydronephrosis, etc. Schistosomiasis can be detected by analyzing urine.
Trichinella
A round parasite that parasites the muscles of the human body in the larval stage and migrates to the small intestine upon reaching maturity. The Trichinella is deadly to humans. You can get infected with such an invasion when you eat poorly fried / cooked meat from worms-infected wild and domestic animals. If the reader does not know how to determine the presence of such a parasite in the body, the clinical picture of the pathology looks like this:
- Vomiting and severe diarrhea;
- Pain in the abdomen;
- Loss of appetite;
- Muscle pain;
- Skin rashes;
- Swelling of the eyelids;
- The temperature rises to 40 degrees.
Important: Trichinosis is the only helminthic invasion in the human body that is also treated with corticosteroid drugs.
Having learned what parasites can live in the human body and how infection occurs, as well as what the symptoms of helminth infestation are, you can insure yourself and your loved ones against infection. And if you suspect an infection with one or another type of parasite, seek specialized help in time.