There is a risk of becoming infected with worms without even leaving home.Various types of helminths can be found on household items, banknotes, dishes, food, and drinking water.
Parasites enter the human body in a way convenient for them: they can enter through the digestive system with food, water, through dirty hands or insect bites.
Next, helminths infect certain internal organs, use the resources of the human body, cause mechanical damage and actively reproduce.Their vital processes are accompanied by unpleasant and often dangerous symptoms and damage to various organs.
How to recognize intestinal helminths
Intestinal helminthiasis comprises a group of diseases caused by worms of different types.Most often, ascariasis (roundworms), enterobiasis (pinworms), hookworm disease (hookworms) can be identified.These parasites live in the lumen of the human intestine, feed on its contents, and their presence can be suspected by a number of characteristic symptoms:
- Drastic weight loss without changing your diet and physical activity.Helminths of the intestinal group use nutrients from the human body as a source of energy for growth and reproduction, and their devices for anchoring in the intestine (suction cups, hooks) injure its walls and interfere with the absorption of remaining microelements.
- Pain in the stomach, navel, and 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 into 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 and intoxication phenomena that are caused by waste products of helminths.More often this is manifested by skin itching, redness of certain areas, rashes (vesicles, blisters of different sizes).
Diagnosis of intestinal helminthiases includes stool examinations, 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 intensive blood circulation also occurs, which is convenient for parasites.Common liver helminthiasis: fascioliasis, opisthorchiasis, dicroceliosis, caused by worms of the group of liver flukes.
They can be identified by specific signs:
- Sharp pain in the right hypochondrium is caused by the mechanical action of helminths.Thus, echinococcus forms cysts in the tissues of the organ, provoking the development of inflammatory processes or even necrosis.
- Adult worms (roundworms) can clog the bile ducts, as a result of which the outflow of bile is disrupted, the digestion process in the body becomes difficult, and the patient exhibits signs of jaundice.The visible mucous membranes of a person acquire a yellow tint, and as the pathology develops, the skin also becomes colored.
- Nonspecific symptoms of the appearance of parasites will be a deterioration in the general condition of the body, weight loss, nausea, and lethargy.
To clarify the diagnosis, they donate blood for analysis.Leukocytosis, eosinophilia are detected, and biochemical tests will indicate an increase in the activity of liver enzymes (ALT, AST).When performing an ultrasound, liver damage will be visible in the body: enlargement, inflammation, and in some cases parasitic cysts can be found.
What does it mean about the presence of lungworms?
Some parasites (ascaris, toxoplasma, echinococcus, acenur) can enter the human lungs from the gastrointestinal tract through the blood or lymph.They multiply in the alveoli, making breathing difficult, and some species (echinococcus unilocular) form cysts, damaging the structure of the organ.
Determining the presence of parasites in the lungs can be difficult, since the symptoms are similar to the manifestations of respiratory diseases of viral and non-infectious etiology (bronchitis, ARVI).Cough, difficulty breathing, pain in the chest, increased temperature indicate the need to conduct an additional examination of the patient’s body.
For the diagnosis of pulmonary helminthiasis, the most informative method will be the radiographic method.The photographs will show lesions in the human body caused by echinococcus (cysts) and bovine tapeworm (fibrous formations), which then need to be distinguished from neoplasms, cysts of various etiologies and pneumonia.
Parasites that live in the blood
In the lumen of blood vessels, protozoan single-celled worms can be found.Babesia, plasmodia (malarial plasmodium), trypanosomes, microfilariae, and schistosomes cause dangerous diseases that pose a threat to human life.
By destroying formed elements, they disrupt the processes of energy metabolism in the body and block the flow of nutrients into organs and tissues.
In most cases, human infection occurs after an insect or tick bite.After some time, signs of anemia develop in the body: pallor and then cyanosis of the mucous membranes, dizziness, sudden weight loss and deterioration in health.Without timely medical care, blood parasites can pose a serious threat to human life.
Diagnostics involves conducting microscopic blood tests, during which one-celled parasites and destroyed red blood cells can be found, as well as the type of worm can be determined.The treatment is long-term and carried out on an inpatient basis under the supervision of a qualified doctor.
Unusual habitats of parasites
Some types of helminths can penetrate the human heart, subcutaneous tissue (dirofilaria), brain and spinal cord (cysticerci, echinococci).You can become infected not only in exotic countries, but also by eating familiar food that has not been properly cooked, and pets can become carriers.Signs of invasion depend on the degree of damage to a particular organ.
In the brain, worms can form cysts and fibrous formations that cause nervous phenomena.
Headaches of unknown etiology, tremors (shaking) of the limbs, changes in tactile sensitivity, impaired coordination of movements, a sharp deterioration in hearing and vision - signs of the development of invasion depend on the location of the worms and their larvae.
Adult parasites can be visually detected under the skin, usually accompanied by itching and a tingling sensation, as well as in the eyes, ear canals and other places.
What to do if signs of worm infestation are noticed
Diseases of parasitic etiology are treated under the supervision of a physician after all necessary examinations have been carried out and the type of parasite has been established.Anthelmintic drugs with a narrow or broad spectrum of action are prescribed, general strengthening and symptomatic therapy is carried out, and they help remove worms from the body.In some cases, surgery is indicated.
The prognosis for most diseases is favorable with timely initiation of treatment.If you postpone a visit to the doctor or start taking medications on your own, the recovery process may be delayed, and many types of parasites can damage vital organs or body systems or even lead to death.