Infection with helminths is possible even in our civilized society. These parasites quietly sneak into the body and poison it with the products of their vital activity. Helminth secretions are toxic and cause a variety of diseases - from hives to serious health problems. There are also deaths.
Common symptoms of worm attacks
Helminths live not only in the human intestine, some types of parasites also affect other organs, and can even be found in skeletal muscle. Thus, the course of each helminthiasis has its own characteristic features, but there are still common symptoms:
- decreased work capacity;
- rapid fatigue;
- drunk;
- weakness;
- sleepy;
- poor appetite;
- weight reduction
- pain in the joints;
- constipation;
- intestinal disorders;
- intolerant to any type of food.
Unfortunately, many people are infected with parasites, some even unaware of it. Eggs or cysts can be swallowed with food that looks clean. Often, worms settle in a child’s body, mixing with unwashed fruits and vegetables, through dirty hands, from cats, dogs, etc. The problem is that there is often no suspicion that someone else is living inside us, because there are types of parasites that do not show up for a long time. Therefore, it is worthwhile to find out more about worms, what types they have and what symptoms of the infection they cause.
roundworms in humans
In the human body, cream worms, ringworms, whip worms and trichinella (less frequently) can live.
Ringworm is a ringworm with a spindle-shaped body, having a length of 15-40 cm and a width of 4-6 mm. These helminths live in the small intestine, although there are cases when ringworms crawl into the bile ducts and clog them. In a person, the female mates with the male and lays eggs, which come out with the feces.
A person is not infected with ringworms that live in animals.
Next, the eggs need to be cooked in the ground. If they enter the human body with unwashed fruits or vegetables, the larvae are excreted in the intestines, they quickly penetrate the blood vessels and reach the lungs with the bloodstream. There, the larvae mature and migrate to the intestine through the trachea and oral cavity. And there new individuals have been bred and everything is repeated. Ringworms live up to 14 months.
With ascariasis, appetite decreases, there is nausea, diarrhea, pain in the intestines, and allergic manifestations. Sleep is also disturbed, irritation appears. When migrating from the lungs, there may be a cough. With the accumulation of ascaris and the formation of balls by them, intestinal obstruction may develop.
Pinworms are small whitish worms 3-12 mm long. Pinworms live in the small and large intestines. It is very easy to be infected with these helminths, enough not to wash your hands, or you can even swallow helminth eggs by inhaling the dust. Female pin worms lay eggs in the anus, causing severe itching. The eggs of pinworms are so small that they can be found indoors in the dust that rises.
You can be infected through linens, hygiene items, products, handshakes, etc. Furthermore, cream worms undergo the same migration as ringworms. Adult individuals live inside a person for a short time, only 1-2 months, and with proper hygiene, they can be disposed of in a short time. In addition to itching, there are: insomnia, dementia, irritability, allergic rash.
Whip worms are thin worms that live in the large intestine and reach a length of 30-35 mm. You can be infected with parasites in the same way as ringworms. Whip worms attach to the intestinal wall and suck blood. The toxins released by them cause headaches, lack of sleep, dizziness, and nausea. The lifespan of helminths is 5 years.
Trichinella is a small worm, only up to 4 mm long. A person is infected through raw pork, which contains larvae. Adults live in the gut, mate and lay eggs, after which they die. Trichinella larvae are excreted, they penetrate from the intestine into muscle tissue, where they form capsules and can live for many years.
Helminthiasis causes the following disorders in the body:
- swelling of the face;
- swelling of the eyelids;
- swelling in the feet and hands;
- rash;
- muscle pain;
- fever, temperature;
- Headache;
- insomnia or, conversely, drowsiness;
- decreased mobility of the knee and elbow joints;
- gastrointestinal disorders were observed.
Trichinosis is partially cured, because if the adult worms can be destroyed with drugs, then the larvae in the skeletal muscle cannot be killed.
Tapeworms in humans
Bull tapeworms can reach lengths of up to 10 m. Infection occurs when eating poorly cooked beef, which contains helminth larvae. Housewives can be infected by tasting raw minced meat for salt. In the body, saltpeter develops from larvae, which live in the gut, attached to the wall to survive. A person loses weight, loses appetite, dizziness, insomnia, nausea, and often vomiting.
The pig tapeworm is smaller, it only reaches 2 m. Infection occurs after eating poorly processed pork. The symptoms are the same as for bull tapeworms.
Broad tapeworms have a length of 6 m to 15 m. The cause of infection is raw freshwater fish. Helminthiasis is indicated by weakness, nausea, vomiting, salivation, abdominal pain, constipation or diarrhea. There are always painful bright red spots and also cracks on the tongue.
Pygmy tapeworms have a length of 3-5 cm. They are infected with this helminth through contaminated door handles, toilet seats, if they have worm eggs on them. Children get sick more often. Helminthiasis causes decreased appetite, nausea and abdominal pain, and sometimes diarrhea. In rare cases, children may experience seizures similar to epileptic seizures.
Echinococcus is one of the most dangerous helminths. Infections occur from dogs and cats - carriers of adult parasites. In the human body, larvae are hatched from eggs, which are transferred by bloodstream to different organs, more frequently to the liver, and there they form echinococcal cysts. In some cases, they even reach the size of a newborn’s head. Cysts are removed only through surgery.
Flukes in humans
Fluke is parasitic in the bile ducts and in the gallbladder itself. The size of helminths is small - 4-13 mm. Parasites enter the body through the consumption of salted or undercooked (fried) fish. First, this helminthiasis manifests itself with high temperature (up to 40 degrees), pain in the joints and muscles, disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, and in rare cases, jaundice develops. Then the acute symptoms fade, there is paroxysmal pain in the pancreas. There may be complications.
Fasciola is harmful to health. The worms are up to 3-7 cm long, they also settle in the gallbladder and bile ducts. A person is infected through uncooked water or by eating aquatic plants. There is weakness, fever, pain in the head and stomach, urticaria.
The conclusion is about human helminths
Some types of worms live in the human body for many years, as they are barely able to manifest themselves in any way. Often, the symptoms of helminthiases are similar to those of gastrointestinal disease, so a wrong diagnosis is made if special tests are not made to detect helminths. But any parasites must be immediately disposed of, because they not only remove useful substances from the body, but also remove toxins that are harmful to health.