For a parasitologist, parasites in the human body are a standard working front. For an ordinary patient, helminthic invasion is a terrible pathology. The situation is aggravated by the fact that a person is inclined to increase the magnitude of the problem without knowing the enemy from sight. Knowing the basics of the types of parasites that can live in the human body will help overcome fear. And knowing the problem, you can already competently build methods of dealing with it or the principles of protection against it. In the material below, we will analyze which worms parasitize in the human body.
Types of worms in the human body
It is worth knowing that not all real worms in the human body can live. For many, the natural habitat consists of animal organisms, water, or just the soil. Below is a list of the most common parasites in the human body with concomitant clinical manifestations.
pinworms
It is the most common parasite that enters the human body. In addition, even humanoid primates can suffer from enterobiosis. Most often, pinworm is localized in the body of preschool children. Children 1 to 10 years old are sick.
Pinworm infection occurs when a healthy person comes into contact with an infected person (shaking hands, touching dirty laundry, towels, etc. ) when they have not. hands washed. In addition, together with food, pinworm eggs enter the human body.
Important: insects (flies, cockroaches) can also carry helminth eggs.
An adult female crawls out of the anus at night and lays her eggs in the folds of the skin of the anus, causing severe itching. In addition, the patient may experience periodic pain in the lower abdomen if the intensity of the helminthic invasion is already high. It is these symptoms of parasitic infection that indicate pinworms in the body. They can be associated with general fatigue and allergic skin reactions.
Giardia
Protozoa of the flagellated genus. The localization of these parasites in the human body occurs more often in the small intestine. However, along with the blood flow, protozoa can reach the liver and gallbladder. Parasites enter a person through dirty hands, unwashed vegetables / fruits or by drinking dirty water.
Symptoms of lamblia parasites are:
- Pain in the right hypochondrium;
- Stool disorders;
- Excessive gassing;
- Nausea;
- Neuroses;
- Allergic manifestations on the skin.
Ascaris
Roundworms in humans that most commonly live in the small intestine. But at the same time, with the blood flow, they can easily migrate to any organ. Often localized in the heart, lungs, liver and even in the brain.
Infection with helminthic infestation occurs through dirty hands, on which may remain parasite eggs from vegetables, fruits, soil, etc. In this case, the symptoms of the parasites vary depending on the phase of the course of the disease. So, during the migration of the larva, the following symptoms of parasites in the body are noted:
- Increased body temperature (38 degrees);
- Dry nocturnal cough with shortness of breath;
- Swollen lymph nodes.
With additional localization of worms in the human body, the following symptoms are formed:
- Stool disorder (constipation and diarrhea);
- Nervous disorders;
- Pneumonia;
- Heart failure;
- Nausea;
- Vomiting;
- Frequent headaches;
- Stomach pain.
Histological amoeba
The amoeba is a protozoan parasite. It affects the human body through dirty hands, through the use of dirty food (vegetables, fruits, herbs) and even through anal sex. Flies can also carry amebiasis. The amoeba causes ulcers to form on the walls of the large intestine and further damage to other organs and systems. In this case, the signs of parasites in the body will be as follows:
- Stools with blood and mucus;
- Pain in the abdomen;
- Anemia;
- General weakness and fatigue;
- Formation of abscesses in the organs in which the parasite may be located.
Toksokara
Round helminth which causes a helminthic invasion called toxocariasis. In this case, the parasite can be localized in the intestines, in the eyes, in the brain. The carriers of Toxocar are dogs (dogs, wolves, foxes, etc. ). Infection occurs either through contact with a sick animal or through indirect contact with its feces. Infection with parasites of this type causes a variety of symptoms, depending on the organ in which the worm larva has settled. So, with intestinal toxocarosis, the symptoms will be as follows:
- Nausea and vomiting;
- Diarrhea and constipation;
- Pain in the abdomen.
With ocular toxocariasis, the patient presents the following signs of parasite infestation:
- Decreased vision;
- Purulent discharge from affected eye;
- Formation of boils on the eyelids;
- Redness of the sclera of the eyes;
- retinal detachment.
If toxocara becomes established in the brain, the patient shows the following signs of the presence of a parasite in the body:
- Headache;
- Dizziness and fainting;
- Increased intracranial pressure;
- Nervousness and hallucinations;
- Decreased vision and concentration.
In this case, the clinical picture is often confused with cerebral oncology.
- With cardiac toxocariasis, the patient will experience heart failure, such as tachycardia, arrhythmia, valve failure, and pain in the heart.
- If the respiratory system is affected by toxocar, there will be signs of pneumonia or bronchitis, as well as frequent shortness of breath.
- If the worm settles under the skin, the patient will feel itching, movement and redness will be noted on the skin at the site of the helminth.
Wide ribbon
This helminth lives in the small intestine of its biological host. It enters through the mouth with contaminated food (fish, fish eggs) or with water. The signs of worms in a body of this type are as follows:
- Pain in the abdomen;
- Nausea;
- Persistent anemia which cannot be corrected by iron supplementation;
- At an advanced stage of the pathology, the patient develops intestinal obstruction due to a large accumulation of parasites.
Pork tapeworm
This helminth lives in the bodies of cattle (rabbits, pigs), as well as in the bodies of dogs and even camels. It enters the human body with contaminated meat that has undergone insufficient heat treatment. If an adult worm is found in the patient's body, the diagnosis is "tapeworm". If the helminth is detected in the larval stage, then the diagnosis is "cysticercosis".
Important: A patient with tapeworm is dangerous both to himself (the ingestion of parasite larvae in the brain, eyes, bone skeleton) and to others.
The list of symptoms of the parasite in the human body looks like this:
- A sharp decrease in appetite;
- Severe headache;
- Pain in the abdomen;
- Fainting;
- Decreased vision (with ocular tapeworm).
Important: Treatment of pork tapeworm is carried out only in a hospital under the supervision of specialists.
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Bovine tapeworm (tapeworm)
A parasite that lives in the human body in a single individual. He does this with infected cow meat. The list of signs of the parasite in the human body looks like this:
- Irrepressible appetite and lack of weight gain;
- Unstable chair;
- Pain in the abdomen;
- Severe allergic manifestations;
- Nausea.
Important: The parasite comes out on its own when certain anthelmintics are used. In addition, its maximum length can be about 12 meters.
The necator and the hookworm
These round parasites enter the human body regularly either through dirty hands and food, or through the ground through contact with it. Symptoms of the presence of such parasites in the human body look like this:
- Rash on the body in the form of papules and vesicles (pimples with purulent contents);
- Severe dry cough with shortness of breath;
- Abdominal pain;
- Persistent anemia;
- Diarrhea;
- Nausea;
- Critical loss of appetite.
Alveococcus
This parasite belongs to the cestode group. At the same time, it should be known that helminths are extremely dangerous for humans in that they first form a primary inflammatory focus in the liver, and then their metastases spread to other organs. Human infection occurs through the ingestion of helminth oncospheres in the human mouth. Most often this occurs when cutting animal carcasses, during hunting, when using grasses and berries collected from the forest and insufficiently processed for food, as well as through direct contact withpets infected by the invasion. In this case, only a specialist should assess the symptoms and treatment tactics. The clinical picture of helminthic invasion looks like this:
- Specific nausea and belching;
- Pain in the right hypochondrium;
- Allergy;
- Severe itching of the skin;
- Suppuration of the place where the parasite is located and the bursting of the abscess.
Important: The location of such an invasion is often in the lungs or brain. They only get rid of the parasite quickly.
Echinococcus
Canines and cats are carriers of echinococci. In this case, a person for the parasite is only an intermediate host. The danger of echinococcus for humans lies in the fact that the helminth seriously affects the organs and systems of a person, causing cysts to form in them. Most often, people who work with animals and with butcher's meat are infected with echinococcus. In other words, the parasite can enter the human body when cutting an animal carcass, when consuming contaminated meat or water. It should be known here that the signs of the presence of parasites in an adult may not appear for a long time. When the symptom-free phase ends, the following clinical picture appears:
- Severe urticaria;
- Itchy skin;
- Pain at the site of the parasite larva;
- Fever and fever (prone to suppuration of cysts).
Gnatostome
This type of helminth enters the human body with contaminated poultry, fish or frog meat. You can also get infected with dirty water that contains worm larvae. The presence of such worms in the human body is manifested by the following symptoms:
- Severe dry cough;
- Pain in the area of localization of the parasite larva;
- Severe swelling;
- Severe itching of the skin;
- Increased body temperature.
Important: After one week, all symptoms go away on their own, but come back regularly for many years. A big danger is damage to the eyes and brain with worms. It can be fatal.
Schistosome
Stream worm. It is dangerous because it can enter the human body even through intact skin. Infection occurs in dirty water (more often in Africa), when washing clothes in dirty water or when watering the soil with it. In the acute stage of the invasion, the following first signs appear:
- Excessively high body temperature (up to 39 degrees and above);
- Formation of papules on the body;
- Severe itching of the skin.
In the chronic stage, the disease manifests itself in the form of symptoms of prostatitis, colitis, colpitis, ascites, renal hydronephrosis, etc. Schistosomiasis can be detected by testing urine.
Trichinella
A round parasite that parasitizes the muscles of the human body in the larval stage and migrates into the small intestine as it matures. Trichinella is fatal to humans. You can get infected with such an invasion by eating poorly fried / cooked meat of wild and domestic animals infected with worms. If the reader does not know how to determine the presence of such a parasite in the body, then the clinical picture of the pathology looks like this:
- Vomiting and severe diarrhea;
- Pain in the abdomen;
- Loss of appetite;
- Muscle pain;
- Rashes;
- Swelling of the eyelids;
- The temperature rises to 40 degrees.
Important: Trichinosis is the only helminthic invasion in the human body that is also treated with corticosteroids.
Having learned what parasites can live in the human body, how infection occurs, as well as what are the symptoms of helminth infestation, you can insure yourself and your loved ones against the infection. . And if you suspect an infection with either type of parasite, seek specialist help in time.