Infection of a person with worms is medically called helminthiasis.Several hundred species of parasites are known to cause this disease.Some of them do not cause noticeable damage, others cause inconvenience, but there are also worms that pose a threat to human life.
Helminths enter the body in the form of eggs, which are covered with a protective shell and withstand harsh conditions.Worms are very prolific and lay thousands of eggs every day, increasing the likelihood of infection.From the carrier of the parasite, the eggs come out together with the excrement.When it is exposed to favorable conditions, the shell is discarded and the egg develops into a full parasite, and that in a short time.Worms feed on human food or tissues, multiply rapidly and damage the body with toxins from the products of their vital activity, causing poisoning.
Causes of worms in humans
The disease can be related to lifestyle, diet or the presence of pets.You can get infected in different ways:
- swimming in livestock watering ponds;
- non-observance of personal hygiene rules;
- weak heat treatment of meat and meat dishes;
- eat unwashed vegetables and fruits;
- raw, unprocessed fish;
- contacts with infected animals (cats, dogs, cows);
- living with persons carrying helminths;
- raw water consumption in rural areas.
It is important to know: Worms lay thousands or even hundreds of thousands of eggs every day, so any infected person or animal is a major threat as a source of infection.
Children are most often exposed to infection, because they follow little hygiene rules and are constantly in contact with each other, transmitting parasites.Worms and roundworms, which can be found in almost every child, are particularly easily transmitted.They cause a lot of discomfort and affect the child's well-being.
Symptoms and signs of worms
The presence of worms in a person is quite easy to determine even without the help of medical examinations.Their main habitat is the intestines, where they feed on human food and are often excreted together with feces, and itching in the anus is also noticed, because the worms excrete waste products and thus irritate the mucous membrane of the rectum.Pinworms, for example, crawl out of the anus at night, so redness and allergy symptoms are often observed around it, which causes a desire to scratch in this place.
There are types of helminths that affect the liver and even the brain.For example, a liver fluke (bovine tapeworm), once it enters the human body, "travels" through the body in the bloodstream until it stops in the liver or brain.There it begins to develop, eating away at the surrounding tissue.A person begins to experience illness, and in the case of contact with the brain, mental disorders and eventually death.The parasite is transmitted through livestock (cows, sheep).
Another dangerous parasite is echinococcus.These worms are parasites of dogs or wolves, and are transmitted from them to humans by contact.Helminths attack the liver and lungs.In this case, headache, dry cough and loss of appetite are observed.Moreover, it is difficult to diagnose this type and during the examination it can be mistaken for a tumor.Echinococci are dangerous to health and can cause serious disorders in the body, including death.
Main symptoms of helminth infection:
- headaches;
- nausea;
- to throw up;
- weight loss;
- itching in the anus;
- bloating and flatulence;
- diarrhea and other digestive disorders;
- inflammation of the lymph nodes;
- increased body temperature;
- abdominal pain;
- cough for no reason;
- skin allergies.
Worms manifest some time after infection.At first, symptoms are absent or barely noticeable, because the amount of toxic substances released by the parasites does not cause serious problems.Then, as it develops and multiplies, the symptoms intensify and become more pronounced.The general state of health is rapidly deteriorating, so measures should be taken to detect and destroy them.
Treatment of helminthic infestation
You must know that parasites will not go away on their own.At the same time, health will constantly deteriorate due to poisoning with toxins.This will weaken the body and immune system, leaving the person susceptible to inflammatory infections and other diseases.
Killing worms is called deworming.The process involves the use of drugs to kill the parasites and drugs to reduce the allergic reaction.Each type of parasite is sensitive to certain substances, so in order to remove worms, it is necessary to determine their type.In this case, only a doctor will help, who, after conducting tests and other studies, will make a diagnosis and prescribe treatment.
In the most severe cases, doctors prescribe surgery to remove the worms.
Interesting:Bovine tapeworm sometimes reaches a length of 10 meters in humans.It consists of small units that can develop as an independent organism.Therefore, it can only be removed surgically, and if the body is torn into pieces, they will continue to develop and grow.
Prevention
Helminths enter the body in the form of microscopic eggs, so in order to prevent this, it is necessary to follow a series of recommendations:
- observe the rules of personal hygiene (wash hands before eating, after contact with animals, after visiting the toilet, etc.);
- wash vegetables and fruits with clean running water, preferably boiled water;
- fry meat and fish thoroughly;
- if you have pets, have them regularly checked by a veterinarian for helminths;
- Get tested for intestinal parasites once a year.
Advice: Do not swim in bodies of water near which livestock graze.In this case, there is a risk of infection with bovine tapeworm, which is very dangerous.
Worms pose a great threat to human health and interfere with normal life activities.It is important to identify them as soon as possible and eliminate them with treatment, because it is easier to get rid of them in the early stages.In addition to the risk to your health, there is a possibility of infecting your loved ones with parasites, so at the first symptoms it is recommended to consult a doctor who will make a diagnosis and prescribe therapy.In addition, it is important to follow preventive measures to avoid infection.It is better to prevent the appearance of worms in the body in advance than to get rid of them later.