Worms should be understood as parasitic worms that penetrate the human body. There are similar representatives in some animal species.
Worms appear in the human body after infection with parasitic eggs.
After numerous studies, scientists have come to the conclusion that more than 25 percent of people in the world know from their own experience what helminthiasis is.
As a rule, round and pinworms are most common. These types of worms in humans are able to find a place in any organ.
The most favorite place for helminths are the intestines. And only then do they live in the organs of the liver and lungs.
But the fact that parasites find their place in the eyeball or muscles is no exception.
External characteristics of worms in humans
When diagnosing a patient's body, the doctor must have all the knowledge about the possible invasion of worms, as well as how to remove them in the future.
Thanks to this information, it is possible to avoid complex conditions that can occur in the form of complications after infection with helminth eggs.
For this reason, it is important to identify worms in the human body at the time of infection with them, ie. in the early stages.
One of the most popular types of helminths are roundworms and pinworms. In appearance they resemble a white worm.
Surprisingly, their thin and elongated body can reach up to 40 cm, and the average length is 20 cm.
But that does not mean that there are no parasites of larger size. This includes a wide strip.
It is so named for a reason, because it looks like a ribbon. Its length varies within meters.
Classification division of worms
What are the types of worms in the human body? If this question really worries you, read the information below in the article.
The types of helminths are divided depending on their location in the body. These can be tissue and luminal worms.
tissue worms
Tissue worms should be understood as those types of helminths that prefer to settle in the parenchyma of the pancreas, liver, brain substances, muscles and lung tissue.
For this reason, the pathology has several names: paragonimiasis in cases of lung damage, echinococcosis with abnormalities in the liver, filariasis - lymph nodes, cysticercosis with brain damage.
transparent worms
This type of helminth differs in that it prefers to live in the intestinal lumen. These helminths include roundworms, tapeworms, whips, pinworms, hookworms, broadworms and other earthworms.
Worms are also divided into species according to the structure of their body. They can be round, straight, striped and other variants. But this will be discussed in more detail later in the article.
A round look at human worms
This is a fairly common type of helminth, called a nematode.
Their bodies are presented in a round shape, the length of the worm reaches up to 40 cm in the largest case, but it also has 5 mm.
Nematodes choose for themselves as a place of the gut, but it is possible that they will settle in tissues or other organs.
The prevalence of this type of worm is explained by the fact that eggs are transmitted during the use of unwashed vegetables or fruits. This type of pathology is considered a disease of dirty hands, so children most often suffer from roundworms, which try to take dirty hands in their mouths.
Other types of nematodes are also divided. They are:
Dirty worm
Provoke the development of ascariasis. These are fairly large worms, which can reach 40 cm in length.
They differ from their counterparts in the shape of the spindle. Similar representatives have been confirmed in the small intestine area.
During life, they move to the heart, liver and lungs. Transmitted through the human body, they carry great danger.
The fact is that all the organs and channels suffer from worms. Their life cycle is approximately equal to one year, but during this time a person will face a lot of unpleasant consequences associated with the manifestation of allergies, disorders of the digestive tract, as well as internal bleeding, obstruction of the intestinal organs.
If roundworms appear in children, this fact can negatively affect development. A child can lag far behind his peers in development.
These parasites enter the child's body in the same way through unwashed hands with soap and dirty food.
Pinworms
Their body is gray. The length of such worms is 5-10 mm. The main localization of the parasite is the gut.
Most often, pinworms affect people who have swallowed their eggs through unwashed fruits, vegetables and / or fruits.
In order to become a fully mature individual, eggs need to pass a period of 14 days. The total lifespan of the parasite is approximately equal to a few months.
They disrupt the normal functioning of the digestive tract, which is why the person is exhausted.
Hairheads
These worms differ in their habitat. They decide to settle mainly in the colon.
Worms have a body of 3-5 cm. They are located on the walls of organs and absorb blood. These worms cause trichuriasis, sending the body seriously.
They can exist in the human body for about 5 years. During that time, the person will have serious stool disorders, a problem with the desire to eat, ie. there may be an increase or decrease in appetite, abdominal pain, and even anemia.
You should not ignore the fact of infection with whips, because in the background of their vital activity can begin the acute phase of appendicitis.
This happens if the worms enter the caecum. They deal a relentless blow to health, so efforts must be made to remove the whips quickly.
Trichinella
Another type of worm, which is not large in size. They can reach 2-5 mm, but that does not mean that worms do not affect health.
They provoke trichinosis, which is manifested by high temperature, swelling, fever and allergic reactions.
You can catch Trichinella over incompletely cooked pork or venison. These worms penetrate the muscles of the respiratory tract or face, hitting the tissues.
In 3 weeks, worm eggs can be encapsulated, so the person recovers. But there are more difficult situations that lead to death.
Another type of roundworm is Toxocara. They are found in the dog's body. They look like roundworms, but their body length is 15-30 cm.
This type of worm can be in the human body. If this happens, the development of toxocariasis is observed, followed by damage to internal organs, allergic reactions and other defects in the body.
It should be noted that larvae, once in the human body, cannot develop to the state of sexually mature individuals, this is only possible in the body of dogs.
The symptoms of roundworm infestation vary depending on the state of human health, as well as the number of worms found in the organs.
Tape is a type of worm in humans
Tapeworms pose a great danger to human health. They are called cestodes. These are worms that grow up to 18 m. It is common to divide them into 2 types:
- tapes;
- chains.
In order to develop into sexually mature individuals, worms must change hosts. One of the phases of this process is the existence of cattle in the organism.
The brightest representatives of this species will be presented in the detailed description below.
wide strip
It reaches about 10-15 m in length. He chooses a small intestine for his habitat.
May cause diphylobotriasis. The tapeworm enters the body if a person has eaten incompletely cooked freshwater fish in which parasite larvae have invaded.
The infection is accompanied by severe abdominal pain, indigestion, anemia. This type of worm, like many other roads, looks really great.
Bull tapeworm
In length, this type of tapeworm can reach 18 m. This species is one of the largest in the human body.
It provokes the development of the pathology of teniarinhosis, which leads to physical exhaustion of the body. Also, a person may experience bowel obstruction, defects in the central nervous system.
This type of worm enters the body through infected beef with parasite larvae. The worm settles in the area of the small intestine, which affects all organs of the human body.
Pork tapeworm
This type of parasite enters the human body through infected pork. Worms can be 8 m long.
They settle, as a rule, in the intestinal tract, where they carry out their parasitic activity.
Teniasis causes severe stomach upset, followed by allergic reactions and nervous disorders.
Another dangerous type of tapeworm is called echinococcus. It settled in the body of dogs, cats.
People are chosen as the middle habitat. Even in such a short time, it can completely harm the human body, causing the development of echinococcosis.
The eggs of the parasite reach the larval stage. After that, they grow into the tissue membrane of the organ, which leads to cystic formation.
Only a surgical method can remove this manifestation of parasitic echinococci. For decades, these individuals live in the body of adults, and they experience the process of their development in meat.
Trematode, they are flukes. They differ from other types of tapeworm parasites in that they have special suction cups on the body, thanks to which they are absorbed into the walls of human organs and tissues.
They suck blood and useful elements. Such worms can be up to 1. 5 m in size. At first glance, they resemble the leaf of a plant.
The main source of fluke in the human body will again be undercooked, undercooked fish or seafood.
During their developmental stages, these parasites change hosts. The main varieties of fluke include the following subspecies:
- liver fluke;
- fluke.
Based on the above information, it is worth concluding that almost all worms enter the human body through meat.
In fact, this is not always the case; there are also types of parasites that affect the skin. These will be discussed below.
Types of worms that affect the skin in humans
Helminths called rishta can infect a person's skin and soft tissues. They cause dracunculiasis.
They can reach 120 cm in length. Rishta strikes the subcutaneous tissue or muscle tissue.
Infection occurs when consuming raw water. Infection can also occur during bathing, because parasites enter the intestines through the liquid, and then into the fibers.
If the helminth reaches sexual maturity, it has the opportunity to secrete substances that adversely affect the human body. The skin under the influence of this begins to corrode. An ulcer will appear at the site of damage, which the parasite uses to remove its larvae.
This phenomenon is accompanied by severe itching. Very often such phenomena are recorded in the tropics. As intermediates, guinea pigs choose freshwater crabs, ie. cyclops.
In contact with water, a person can get into the skin and intestinal acne. The method of infection is percutaneous.
Parasites cause skin defects and penetrate the blood. Risk factors will be cases of walking barefoot on the ground, working with the ground, swimming in ponds with dirty water.
Diagnostic measures of helminthiasis and treatment
If helminthic invasion is suspected in humans, the doctor recommends taking blood and fecal tests.
In the case of a general blood test, changes in leukocyte count indicators will shift to the right. The number of eosinophils will be expressed.
Urine, sputum and the contents of the stomach, duodenum also play an important role. For this reason, the doctor may prescribe scraping in the anal area and rectum.
After determining the type of worm in the human body, the specialist should choose the right way of treatment with drugs, in addition to which effective recipes of traditional medicine can be used.
Of course, it is worth understanding that it is necessary to adhere to preventive measures to avoid re-infection.
For the successful treatment of an infected person, it is important that the deworming course is conducted by the whole family, respecting simple rules of hygiene. It is usual to repeat the treatment 2 weeks after the first phase of worm removal.
Folk remedies have been tested over time and many people believe they are better than anthelmintic drugs offered by pharmacological organizations.
Their main advantage will be the absence of contraindications and side effects as such.
It is important to note that it is impossible to start using popular recipes of traditional medicine without consulting a doctor.
It is important to take into account the special type of worms, their localization, the characteristics of your body. If you make a mistake in the chosen course of treatment, the situation with the infection can become even more devastating.
Expert advice
- Treatment with folk remedies should begin with diet. It is better not to eat meat or fish for a week, that is. adhere to a vegetarian diet. This will weaken the parasite's strength, making it a little easier to deal with worms. It is important to keep in mind that fasting will not be a successful idea in this case. Lack of food intake in the body will not affect the strength of the helminth, but the person will feel much worse.
- You must wash your hands with soap before eating.
- Food processing needs to be done.
- The timeliness of infection detection and the course of therapeutic treatment is of great importance. In that case, the recovery time will be reduced to a minimum.