There are 4.5 billion registered people worldwide suffering from parasitic infections (infestations).Moreover, the number of people infected with helminths (worms) is constantly increasing.
Causes of helminthiasis infection
It is not difficult to get worms into your body.Here are some common causes of infection for everyone from childhood:
- Inadequate cleanliness.The desire to eat unwashed fruits and vegetables, not wearing gloves when working in the garden and not interfering with hygiene procedures leads to infection with various helminths.
- Addiction to street fast food.It is no secret that such food sellers do not always undergo medical examinations and often neglect basic hygiene.And their products are not stored in the best conditions.Street white and pastie lovers are another risk group.
- Loves exotic cuisine, including dishes made from raw fish and shellfish that contain parasites.Sushi and roll fans are responsible for the increased incidence of flukes, tapeworms, nematodes, roundworms and worms.
- Nthe ability to properly protect yourself from infection during rest.Love for the "Turkish coast" has led to an increase in cases of infection with exotic helminthiases - schistosomiasis, hookworm, and dracunculiasis.After walking barefoot on a foreign beach, you can bring home from your trip not only pleasant impressions, but also dangerous worms.
- Infection from petswho often sleeps with the owner.Those who like to "kiss" their pets run the risk of contracting parasites.
What parasites live in the human body
If an adult had the opportunity to look inside his body, he would be horrified:
- Ringworm –pinworms, roundworms, whipworms, nematodes, toxocara, trichinella.Large helminths gather in large balls, clog the intestinal lumen and lead to obstruction, requiring surgical treatment.Doctors remove large amounts of parasites from the person's intestines during surgery.
- tapewormappear among those who like to taste rare raw meat and fish.Causes digestive problems, anemia, allergies.Children experience seizures similar to epileptic seizures.The most dangerous helminth in this group is the echinococcus, the larvae of which form large cysts in the human body.When they burst, the parasite spreads throughout the body.Infection can be fatal.
- Flukes– flukes, flukes and fasciola are dangerous parasites that suck blood from the vessels of the liver, pancreas, intestines and bladder.
- Protozoa– leishmania, amoeba, lamblia, etc.Although these tiny parasites can only be seen under a microscope, they can cause dangerous complications, including bowel perforation and liver abscesses, which can be fatal.
By what signs can one suspect the presence of "strangers": if your stomach hurts, it means that someone lives in it
Signs of the presence of helminths:
- Stomach ache- the most common sign of helminth infection.It can be continuous, periodic, affecting certain areas of the stomach.Pain in the right hypochondrium during helminthiasis indicates damage to the liver and gall bladder by worms.
- Digestive disorders- diarrhea, constipation, irregular bowel movements.Sometimes patients see crawling worm segments or even whole parasites in their stool.Impaired food absorption and gastrointestinal dysfunction lead to weight loss.
- Anemia.Worms suck blood from the body and interfere with the digestion of food.The human host does not feed on itself, but on worms.Patients complain of weakness, fatigue, loss of strength, and dizziness.
- Urinary tract damagecaused by parasites that live in the kidneys and bladder.The patient complains of back pain and swelling.Sometimes traces of blood appear in the urine.
- Moist chronic vaginitis.Roundworms and pinworms crawl from the anus into the genital tract, causing dysbiosis of the vagina and triggering the development of thrush.Women are treated for itching and vaginal discharge, not realizing that the problem is a parasite.
- Skin manifestations.Infection with worms poisons the body and suppresses the immune system, which leads to allergies.The rash varies from small blisters to large focal areas.
- Mucous membrane inflammationand itching in the anal area caused by irritation from crawling worms.
- General deterioration in health.Weak immunity, poor digestion and anemia weaken the body, which cannot resist infection.A person is haunted by persistent colds, acute respiratory infections and acute respiratory viral infections.
Why ultrasound is more effective than traditional screening for worms and other parasites
Passing stool or scraping does not always reveal worms.The fact is that parasites have a specific development cycle and do not always lay eggs.There is a whole group of extraintestinal helminthiases, where the worms live outside the intestine.In this case, the stool test will not provide any information.
Ultrasound of the abdominal cavity shows characteristic changes in the presence of parasites in the liver and pancreas.It is harmless, non-traumatic and can be used many times.
If the doctor does not find live helminths and 100% signs of their presence on ultrasound, he will suspect infection and prescribe additional examinations.It is also useful to undergo an ultrasound if the test for worms is positive.The study will show where the parasite is hiding.
Signs of helminthiasis are determined by ultrasound of the abdominal cavity - semi-living organs and living worms
When examining the gastrointestinal tract using modern 3D and 4D devices, doctors often see parasites living in the intestines.If helminths are not detected, their presence can be suspected by an enlarged pancreas, compacted in the head area.The spleen is also too large.
The liver is enlarged due to parasitic infection by flukes, trematodes and flukes.It reveals areas of dystrophy that inhibit organ function.
Gallbladder also suffers.The patient has bile stagnation, causing pain in the right hypochondrium.Sometimes the function of the bladder is so affected that the organ is not detected at all on ultrasound.
The presence of parasites leads to the formation of abscesses - life-threatening purulent liver wounds.In 85% of cases, an abscess forms in one lobe of the liver.Other departments suffer less often.Purulent lesions are characteristic of hepatic amebiasis - an infection with protozoa - amoeba that penetrates the liver area from the intestine.
Significant changes in the liver are observed during echinococcosis, a parasitic disease in which cavities filled with helminth larvae form in the organ.Ultrasound shows a round formation with a clear border.These are cysts that contain parasites.Over time, calcium is deposited around echinococcal lesions.Such formations have a dense structure, so on ultrasound they appear lighter than the surrounding tissue.
With prolonged infection, large cysts with partitions are formed, resembling the spokes of a wheel or a large beehive.There is destruction of the bile ducts.Doppler examination reveals disturbances in blood flow.
For fans of Japanese cuisine.Parasite - as a gift
Various types of parasites are found in fans of Asian exotics, but the most common is opisthorchiasis - infection with the Chinese fluke.The source of helminths is unprocessed fish containing parasites.
At the onset of the disease, ultrasound reveals eosinophilic infiltration in the liver and gallbladder—dense formations with clear borders.If the fight against helminths is postponed until a better time, foci of dead cells will appear in these organs, looking like mottled areas, and the hepatic duct will lose its elasticity.This condition can lead to the development of liver failure.
If the urinary tract becomes a victim of parasites
Echinococcus affects not only the liver, but also the kidneys.When the parasite penetrates the kidney tissue, a one-chamber cyst (bladder) containing the larvae is formed.Gradually increasing in size, hydatid cysts destroy organs.Large parasitic cysts attach to the liver, spleen and intestines.
Schistosomiasis is contracted by those who like to stroll barefoot along the warm shores of foreign countries.Parasite larvae penetrate the bloodstream through the skin and are then carried into the bladder along with the blood.Having settled there, they cause the appearance of compaction - an infiltrate that appears in response to irritation of the bladder wall.As the infection spreads, the kidneys are affected.
Enzyme immunoassay blood test - we bring helminths to clean water
This test can detect infection with one or more types of parasites.It is carried out for the presence of roundworms, toxocara, trichinella, opisthorchis flukes, echinococci, Chinese flukes, etc.
The principle of the test is based on the body's immune response to the presence of helminths.Infection with worms causes the production of protein antibodies, which are detected during analysis.Since each parasite triggers the formation of a specific immunoglobulin, the test results indicate the helminths present in the human body.
The analysis responds to all forms of parasites - eggs, larvae, adult worms.Accuracy is more than 90%.The examination shows not only the presence of infection, but also its extent.
After treatment, the test is repeated.Positive results can be observed for some time after the death of the parasite.The concentration of immunoglobulin will gradually decrease over several months.Then the analysis will be "clean".For the study, blood is taken from a vein on an empty stomach in the amount of 3-5 ml.Analysis was performed twice.
Ultrasound and immunoglobulin tests can identify helminthiases and start treatment.Thanks to its use, the number of cases of wrong diagnosis leading to complications has decreased.The main thing is to see a doctor immediately if you suspect a helminthic attack.