There is a risk of getting worms without even leaving the house. Various types of helminths can be found in household items, banknotes, dishes, food, and drinking water.
Parasites enter the human body in a convenient way for them: they can enter the digestive system with food, water, dirty hands or insect bites.
In addition, helminths affect certain internal organs, use the resources of the human body, cause mechanical damage, and actively reproduce. Its vital processes are accompanied by unpleasant and often dangerous symptoms and damage to various organs.
How to recognize pinworms
Intestinal helminthiases unite a group of diseases caused by worms of different types. Very often, ascariasis (roundworms), enterobiasis (roundworms), hookworms (hookworms) can be detected. These parasites live in the lumen of the human intestine, feed on its contents and their presence can be suspected by a series of characteristic symptoms:
- Spectacular weight loss without changing diet and physical activity. Helminths of the intestinal group use the nutrients of the human body as a source of energy for growth and reproduction, and their anchoring devices in the intestine (suction cups, hooks) damage its walls and interfere with the absorption of the remaining trace elements.
- Pain in the stomach, navel, itching in the rectum are caused by the movement of worms, the mechanical damage they cause, as well as the release of larvae or adults from the body to the external environment.
- Various digestive disorders: diarrhea or constipation, flatulence, presence of mucus, foam or blood in the stool, nausea, vomiting. In some cases, adult parasites can be found in the stool.
- The human body can react to the appearance of parasites with allergic reactions, intoxication phenomena, which are caused by the waste products of helminths. Most often, this is manifested by itchy skin, redness of certain areas, rashes (vesicles, blisters of different sizes).
Diagnosis of intestinal helminthiasis includes fecal studies, clinical and biochemical blood tests (eosinophilia, leukocytosis) and, if necessary, ultrasound data of the body.
Signs of parasites in the liver
A large amount of nutrients accumulates in the human liver and intense blood circulation occurs, which is convenient for parasites. Common hepatic helminthiasis: fascioliasis, opisthorchiasis, dichroceliosis, caused by worms of the group of hepatic flukes.
You can identify them by specific characteristics:
- Sharp pains in the right upper quadrant are caused by the mechanical effect of helminths. Then, the echinococcus forms cysts in the tissues of the organ, causing the development of inflammatory processes or even necrosis.
- Adult worms (roundworms) can block the bile ducts, resulting in impaired bile output, the digestion process in the body is difficult, and the patient has signs of jaundice. The visible mucous membranes of a person acquire a yellow tint, and with the development of pathology, the skin also stains.
- The nonspecific symptoms of the appearance of parasites will be a deterioration in the general state of the body, weight loss, nausea, lethargy.
To clarify the diagnosis, they donate blood for analysis. Leukocytosis, eosinophilia are detected, and biochemical tests will indicate increased activity of liver enzymes (ALT, AST). During the ultrasound, liver damage will be visible in the body: enlargement, inflammation and, in some cases, parasitic cysts can be found.
What does the presence of pulmonary helminths indicate?
Some parasites (roundworms, toxoplasma, echinococcus, tsenur) can pass from the gastrointestinal tract into the lungs of a person with blood or lymphatic flow. They multiply in the alveoli, making breathing difficult and some species (echinococcus unicameral) form cysts, damaging the structure of the organ.
It can be difficult to determine the presence of parasites in the lungs, since the symptoms are similar to the manifestations of respiratory diseases of viral and non-infectious etiology (bronchitis, ARVI). Cough, shortness of breath, pain in the chest area, fever indicate the need for further examination of the patient's body.
For the diagnosis of pulmonary helminthiasis, the x-ray method will be the most informative. The images will show lesions on the human body caused by echinococci (cysts) and bovine tapeworms (fibrous formations), which must then be distinguished from neoplasms, cysts of various etiologies, and pneumonia.
Bloodborne parasites
Protozoan unicellular worms can be found in the lumen of vessels. Babesias, plasmodia (malaria plasmodium), trypanosomes, microfilariae, schistosomes cause dangerous diseases that pose a threat to human life.
By destroying shaped elements, they disrupt energy metabolism processes in the body and block the supply of nutrients to organs and tissues.
In most cases, human infection occurs after being bitten by insects or ticks. After some time, signs of anemia develop in the body: paleness, and then cyanosis of the mucous membranes, dizziness, sudden weight loss, and deterioration in health. Without timely medical attention, blood parasites can pose a serious threat to human life.
Diagnosis involves performing microscopic blood tests, during which you can find single-celled parasites and destroyed erythrocytes, as well as determine the type of worm. Treatment is long-term, carried out on a stationary basis under the supervision of a qualified physician.
Unusual Parasite Habitats
Some types of helminths can penetrate the human heart, subcutaneous tissue (heartworms), brain, and spinal cord (cysticercus, echinococcus). You can become infected not only in exotic countries, but also by eating familiar foods that have not been properly heat treated, and pets can become carriers. The signs of invasion depend on the degree of damage to a particular organ.
In the brain, worms can form cysts, fibrous formations that cause nervous phenomena.
Headaches of unexplained etiology, tremors (tremors) of the extremities, changes in tactile sensitivity, impaired coordination of movements, a strong deterioration of hearing and vision: signs of the development ofthe invasion depend on the location of the worms and their larvae.
Adult parasites can be seen visually under the skin, usually accompanied by itching and tingling sensations, as well as in the eyes, ear canals, and elsewhere.
What to do if you see signs of worm infestation
Diseases of parasitic etiology are treated under medical supervision after all necessary examinations and establishment of the type of parasites. Prescribe anthelmintic drugs of a narrow or wide spectrum of action, carry out restorative and symptomatic therapy, promote the removal of worms from the body. In some cases, surgery is indicated.
The prognosis for most diseases is favorable if treatment is started early. If you postpone a visit to the doctor or start taking medications on your own, the healing process can be delayed and many types of parasites can damage vital organs or body systems, or even lead to death.