Infection of a person with worms is clinically called helminthiasis.Several hundred species of parasites are known to cause this disease.Some of them do not cause noticeable harm, others cause inconvenience, but there are also worms that pose a threat to human life.
Helminths enter the body in the form of eggs, which are covered with a protective shell and resist adverse conditions.The worms are very prolific and lay thousands of eggs every day, increasing the likelihood of infection.From the parasite carrier, the eggs come out along with the feces.When exposed to favorable conditions, the shell detaches and the egg transforms into a complete parasite, and in a short time.Worms feed on food or human tissue, multiplying rapidly and harming the body with toxins from the products of their vital activity, causing poisoning.
Causes of worms in humans
The disease may be related to lifestyle, diet or the presence of pets.You can get infected in different ways:
- swimming in ponds used to water cattle;
- non-compliance with personal hygiene rules;
- weak heat treatment of meat and meat dishes;
- eat unwashed vegetables and fruits;
- raw, unprocessed fish;
- contacts with infected animals (cats, dogs, cows);
- living with people who carry helminths;
- raw water consumption in rural areas.
Important to know: Worms lay thousands or even hundreds of thousands of eggs every day, so any infected person or animal poses a great threat as a source of infection.
Most of the time, children are exposed to infection because they follow few hygiene rules and are in constant contact with each other, transmitting parasites.Pinworms and roundworms, which can be found in almost all children, are transmitted especially easily.They cause a lot of inconvenience and affect the child's well-being.
Symptoms and signs of worms
The presence of worms in a person is quite easy to determine even without the help of medical examinations.The main habitat for them is the intestine, where they feed on human food and are often excreted along with feces, and itching in the anus is observed, as the worms excrete their waste products and thus irritate the rectal mucosa.Pinworms, for example, crawl out of the anus at night, so redness and allergic symptoms are often observed around it, causing the urge to itch in this place.
There are types of helminths that affect the liver and even the brain.For example, the liver fluke (bovine tapeworm), when it enters the human body, “travels” through the body with the bloodstream until it ends up in the liver or brain.There it begins to develop, eating the surrounding tissue.A person begins to experience illnesses and, in the case of contact with the brain, even mental disorders and, ultimately, death.The parasite is transmitted by livestock (cows, sheep).
Another dangerous parasite is Echinococcus.These worms are parasites of dogs or wolves, transmitted from them to humans through contact.Helminths attack the liver and lungs.In this case, headaches, dry cough and loss of appetite are observed.Furthermore, this type is difficult to diagnose and during examinations it can be mistaken for a tumor.Echinococci are dangerous to health and can cause serious disorders in the body, up to and including death.
The main symptoms of helminth infection:
- headaches;
- nausea;
- vomit;
- weight loss;
- itching in the anus;
- bloating and flatulence;
- diarrhea and other digestive disorders;
- inflammation of the lymph nodes;
- increased body temperature;
- abdominal pain;
- cough for no reason;
- skin allergies.
The worms manifest themselves some time after infection.At first, symptoms are absent or almost imperceptible, as the amount of toxic substances released by the parasites does not cause serious problems.Then, as it develops and multiplies, the symptoms intensify and become more pronounced.General health deteriorates sharply, so measures must be taken to detect and destroy them.
Helminth infestation treatment
You need to know that parasites alone do not disappear.At the same time, health will constantly deteriorate due to toxin poisoning.This will weaken the body and immune system, leaving the person vulnerable to inflammatory infections and other illnesses.
Killing worms is called deworming.The process includes using medications to kill parasites and medications to reduce the allergic reaction.Each type of parasite is sensitive to certain substances, so to get rid of worms you need to determine their type.In this case, only a doctor will help who, after carrying out tests and other studies, will diagnose and prescribe treatment.
In the most serious cases, doctors prescribe surgery to remove the worms.
Interesting:The bovine tapeworm sometimes reaches 10 meters in length in humans.It consists of small units that can develop as independent organisms.Therefore, it can only be removed surgically, and if the body is torn apart, they will continue to develop and grow.
Prevention
Helminths enter the body in the form of microscopic eggs, therefore, to avoid this, it is necessary to follow a series of recommendations:
- observe personal hygiene rules (wash hands before eating, after contact with animals, after going to the bathroom, etc.);
- wash vegetables and fruits with clean running water, preferably boiled;
- fry meat and fish well;
- if you have pets, take them regularly to a veterinarian to check for helminths;
- Get tested for intestinal parasites once a year.
Advice: Do not swim in bodies of water near which livestock graze.In this case, there is a risk of infection with bovine tapeworm, which is very dangerous.
Worms pose a major threat to human health and interfere with normal life activities.It is important to identify them as soon as possible and eliminate them with treatment, as it is easier to eliminate them in the early stages.In addition to the health risk, there is the possibility of infecting your loved ones with parasites, therefore, at the first symptoms, it is recommended to consult a doctor who will diagnose and prescribe treatment.Furthermore, it is important to follow preventive measures to avoid infections.It is better to prevent the appearance of worms in the body in advance than to eliminate them later.