Worms are representatives of lower worms that live in the human body. The disease associated with infecting a person with various types of worms is called helminthiasis. This disease is not uncommon and occurs among certain segments of the population. Children are susceptible to pinworms, hunters - Trichinella, fishermen and lovers of Japanese cuisine (raw fish in the form of sushi) suffer from diphyllobothriasis. Many diseases, paradoxically, can occur in the human body due to helminthiasis infection. To date, the theory of the relationship between cancer and parasitic infections is one of the most relevant. In the presence of helminthiasis, symptoms do not always appear, and if patients with this disease experience unpleasant and unpleasant sensations, they are perceived as signs of other diseases. The patient has been treated for years for pancreatitis, gastritis or colitis, without doubting that the cause of his problems is helminthiasis.
How the infection occurs
Worms bring a lot of trouble to a person
Helminth infection occurs as follows:
- Through unwashed hands
- In contact with the ground
- after an insect bite
- Because of dirty hands
- When you eat raw meat and fish
- After eating unwashed fruits and vegetables
- After contact with the animal
- After contact with infected persons
Mature parasite eggs can be found in soil, water, food (raw and poorly cooked meat or fish). Rare cases of the disease occur due to insect bites. The mechanism of helminthiasis infection is oral-fecal. A person swallows parasite eggs with food, water. Contact-home methods of infection also occur. They occur when the hands are not well washed after contact with soil or sand.
Vegetables and berries that grow in the ground, and which are not washed enough, are also a source of worm infestation. Children who play with the yard and pets are at risk of becoming infected with worms. Pets that roam the streets freely can bring helminth eggs into the house. Flies and other insects, after contact with animal feces, sitting on food, can easily transmit helminth eggs. Surprisingly, human-to-human transmission is also possible. It goes like this: a female pinworm can crawl out of the gut and lay eggs right on the underwear, causing severe itching. The person, after combing the itchy area, may come into contact with other toiletries and household items. These items fall into the hands of other family members, after which they become infected.
Infection through water is also possible. Many parasitic eggs easily fall into open waters and wells. Consuming unboiled water from wells is extremely dangerous.
Types of helminthiasis
Helminthiasis differs in the way they enter the human body:
- Biohelminths
- Geohelminths
- contagious
Biohelminths are transmitted to humans through contact with animals. Geohelminths can be infected through the soil. Infectious are caused by contact with an infected person. The disease manifests itself differently depending on the mode of infection, the number of worms, the degree of their adaptation in any human organ.
Stages of helminthiasis
The most destructive effect on the body is not produced by adults, but by their larvae. Adults have already chosen for themselves a comfortable place in the human body, and the larva travels through the organs and leaves behind its lesions. The most common habitat of parasites is the gastrointestinal tract. Different species of parasites prefer different habitats. Thus, roundworms are found in the small intestine, and pinworms settle in the large intestine and the lower parts of the small intestine. According to the habitat of the parasite, helminthiasis are:
- transparent
- fabric
Transparent ones are located in the lumens of the genital organs, and tissues - inside the tissues. Depending on the growth, parasites can change their habitat, moving from transparent to tissue. Helminthiasis develops in two stages:
- acute
- Chronic
The acute stage lasts from a week to a month, and the chronic stage until healing. The acute phase begins with the introduction of the egg and continues as the parasite matures and grows. The disease is manifested by allergic reactions to foreign organisms. During the chronic stage of the disease, various reactions of the organism occur. During this period, the parasite moves through the body in search of shelter. The disease is accompanied by disorders in the work of organs and systems in the human body. By integrating into the immune system of the human body, parasites consume substances necessary for their growth and development. This leads to metabolic disorders, disorders of the digestive system, difficulties in the absorption of vitamins and minerals.
In addition to this damage, parasites excrete their waste products into the human body, poison the body, lead to intestinal disorders, reduced immunity and the development of bacterial infections. Parasites contribute to the risk of developing cancer. This is due to the negative impact on the immune system, and stimulating the process of cell division. The patient is often examined by many specialists who find a lot of diseases in him. And in this case, only one doctor, a parasitologist, can replace all the specialists.
Classification of helminths
roundworms are quite common
Types of worms in humans:
- flatworms
- roundworms
Flatworms include:
- Trematode (opisthorchiasis, schistosomes, paragonims)
- Cestode (broad tapeworm, tapeworm, echinococcus, alveococcus)
- Ocal worms or nematodes:
- Pinworm
- Ascaris
- hookworm
- Trichinella
Such a classification of helminths has been presented in the medical literature. To successfully solve such a problem as helminthiasis, it is necessary to learn an in-depth description of the structure and life cycle of the parasite.
Trematode
Another name for trematodes is fluke. These parasites are flat, leaf or lanceolate with two suckers. One breast is in the mouth, and the other, which serves for attachment, is in the peritoneum. All representatives of flukes enter the body through the middle host. These parasites are mostly hermaphrodites.
Opisthorchises
This fluke is a worm up to 1. 3 cm long with two tits. Opisthorchis is a hermaphrodite, parasitizing the liver, gallbladder, pancreas in humans and some predatory animals (foxes, dogs, cats). Eggs of opisthorchiasis leave the human or animal body with feces. When they enter the tank, these eggs are swallowed by freshwater mollusks, inside which larvae hatch and develop. The process of development and maturation of larvae takes two months. Then the larvae crawl out of the mollusks and penetrate under the skin to make carp fish. After six weeks, the larvae become full-fledged mature parasites. Opisthorchis enters the body of an animal or person after eating an infected fish. This worm can live in a living organism for up to 20 years. Symptoms of opisthorchiasis:
- Allergy
- Weakness
- Headache
- Dizziness
- Depression
- Loss of consciousness
Damage to the body caused by opisthorchiasis:
- Poisoning by waste products of parasites
- Liver tissue damage
- Gallbladder injury
- Violation of bile outflow
- Inflammation of the pancreas
- Secretory dysfunctions
- Decreased gastric motility
- Thickening of the walls of some organs, as a result of the appearance of tumors.
The chronic course of the disease is characterized by:
- Weight after meals
- Pain
- to vomit
- Nausea
Opisthorchis habitats in fish-rich rivers:
- Where
- Dnipro
- Neman Delta
Prevention of infection: To avoid infection with opisthorchiasis, do not eat raw fish. The larvae die during heat treatment of the product. Dried fish can be eaten only if previously salted. Also, larvae die when the fish is frozen for a long time.
Schistosomes
These parasites are of different sexes, they look like needles 0, 4 to 2, 6 cm long. Females are longer than males and larger, producing 3, 000 eggs per day. The method of reproduction, as with previous species of parasites, is via freshwater mollusks. The larva enters the human body through the skin, mucous membranes as it swims in a freshwater reservoir. It can also enter the body of a person who accidentally swallowed water while swimming. One day after penetration, the larva turns into an adult and enters the peripheral veins, through which it is directed to the lungs and venous vessels. There he reaches sexual maturity with schistosomiasis.
Schistosoma lays eggs in the intestines, mucous membranes, bladder. Then the eggs are excreted from the human body in urine or feces and begin the path of development again. Schistosoma lives in the human body for decades, causing damage and infecting new people. The problems that arose during schistosome infection are caused more by the human body, not by adults, but by their eggs. Only half of the eggs are excreted from the body, the rest accumulate in the organs. The eggs of this parasite have spikes that damage a person's internal organs, and ulcers often appear in infected people. Patients with schistosomiasis have the following symptoms:
- Appetite disorder
- Anemia
- Enlarged liver
- Modified spleen
- Decreased intestinal peristalsis
- Stomach pain
- prison
- diarrhea
- Weight loss
- Intestinal bleeding
- Pain during urination
- allergies
- Weakness
When the genitourinary system is infected, patients experience:
- Menstrual irregularities and abortions in women
- Impotence and incomplete ejaculation in men
When eggs enter the central nervous system:
- Acute cerebral schistosomiasis
- Chronic brain damage
- Fatal outcome
Infected children experience delays in growth and development, reduced school performance. Disease prevention includes avoiding swimming and avoiding walking barefoot in tropical waters.
Paragonim
Paragonim is a 1 cm long lung fluke with an ovoid body and red spines. This parasite multiplies in the lungs of animals and enters the human body by eating crabs, freshwater crabs. The parasite infects the respiratory system. Patients with paragonimiosis are characterized by allergic reactions and decreased immunity. Symptoms:
- Rise in temperature
- Cough
- Excretion of sputum from the lungs when coughing
- dyspnea
- In severe cases, blood and eggs of the parasite are present in the sputum.
- Whistling is clearly heard in the patient's lungs.
- Prevention: exclude the use of raw crabs and crabs.
Cestodes
Representatives of cestodes are strips of different lengths. Some parasites reach gigantic sizes. On the head of these parasites are suckers, hooks or suction slots. These adaptations are necessary for the parasites to stick to the intestinal walls. Cestodes affect the entire human body, they are most dangerous for children who quickly develop anemia.
Echinococcus
These parasites reach a length of 5 cm and are the cause of echinococcal diseases. The multi-chambered representative of this type of worm is the cause of diseases such as alveococcosis. The disease is transmitted by cattle and domestic animals. When caring for these animals, parasite eggs fall from their fur into human hands. When entering the human intestine, parasites bite the mucosa. As the parasite matures, 4 parts appear, the last of which is filled with eggs. These wards separate and scatter all over the body, infecting it. The fourth part scatters eggs all over the body.
The infected organ in the patient enlarges, for example, the liver. Fertilization may occur. An enlarged organ can even pierce the abdominal cavity. And that can lead to severe body sepsis and even death. Symptoms:
- Weakness
- Dizziness
- Allergic reactions to parasite waste products.
Echinococcus affects:
- The brain
- Spinal cord
- Eyes
- thyroid gland
- Liver
- Lungs
- uterus
This parasite can cause tumors, including malignancies. The most inconvenient thing is that the treatment of this disease is possible only by surgery. Prevention: personal hygiene in contact with animals.
Nematodes
These worms with an elongated body, round or cylindrical, parasitize, most often, in the body of children. These roundworms include pinworms, roundworms, hookworms.
Pinworms
These are little white worms. The length of females is 1 cm, males 0, 5 cm These parasites have a pointed tail, which is why they are called pinworms. The habitat of the pinworm is the human gut. The front end of the parasite has a pump, with which the pinworm pierces the intestines, and the sharp end hangs in the lumen and damages the walls. This disease is called enterobiosis. You can be infected by a person through dirty hands. There is a disease in preschool children attending kindergarten. A symptom of pinworm infection is itching around the anus. Itching is more common at night, when the female lays eggs and releases a special substance. Symptoms:
- Itching
- Diarrhea
- Stomach pain
- Headache
- Lack of appetite
- Prevention
- hand washing
Dirty worm
These worms are the biggest. The length of the female is up to 0, 5 m. The female lays 200, 000 eggs a year, regardless of the male. The mechanism of infection is fecal-oral. Ascaris eggs enter the human body through dirty hands along with unwashed vegetables and fruits. The larva that has entered the intestine is selected from the shell and penetrates the walls of the intestine, and migrates through the intestinal veins into the liver, through the hepatic veins into the heart, through the pulmonary arteries into the bronchi, then into the trachea and mouth. A partial number of larvae die in the open, the rest being swallowed backwards. Symptoms:
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Jaundice
- pancreatitis
- Frequent acute respiratory infections
- Bronchitis
- Pneumonia
Prevention:
- hand washing
- Washing vegetables and fruits
- Personal hygiene
- Protect food from flies, cockroaches and other traders.
In conclusion, we can say that the cause of the disease is not always bacteria and viruses that have entered the body. Parasites can cause great damage to human health. In case of unclear symptoms, it is not necessary to exclude the penetration of parasites into the body, the patient should visit a parasitologist.