Infection with helminths is possible even in our civilized society. These parasites imperceptibly enter the body and poison it with the products of their vital activity. Helminth secretions are toxic and cause a variety of ailments - from hives to serious health problems. There are also deaths.
Common symptoms of worm infestation
Helminths do not only live in the human intestines, some types of parasites also infect other organs, they can even be in skeletal muscles. Therefore, the course of each helminthiasis has its own characteristic signs, but there are always general symptoms:
- decrease in performance;
- quick fatigability;
- intoxication;
- weakness;
- drowsiness;
- lack of appetite;
- weight loss;
- joint pain;
- constipation;
- intestinal disorder;
- intolerance to any type of food.
Unfortunately, but a lot of people are infected with parasites, some don't even know it. Eggs or cysts can be swallowed with apparently clean food. Often, worms settle in the body of the child, getting along with improperly washed fruits and vegetables, in dirty hands, cats and dogs. The problem is that many times we are not suspected that someone else is living in us, because there are types of parasites that do not manifest for a long time. Therefore, it is worth knowing more about the worms, types and symptoms of infection.
Human roundworms
Pinworms, roundworms, whipworms and Trichinella (less often) can live in the human body.
Roundworms are roundworms with a spindle-shaped body, 15-40 cm long and 4-6 mm wide. This helminth lives in the small intestine, although there are cases where roundworms crawl into the bile ducts and obstruct them. Inside humans, females mate with males and lay eggs which, along with the feces, go outside.
A person is not infected with roundworms living in animals.
Then the eggs must ripen in the ground. If they enter the human body with unwashed fruits or vegetables, the larvae are excreted in the intestines, they quickly enter the blood vessels and reach the lungs with blood flow. There the larvae mature and migrate into the intestines through the trachea and oral cavity. And there, new individuals have already hatched and everything repeats itself. Roundworms live for up to 14 months.
With ascariasis appetite decreases, there is nausea, diarrhea, pain in the intestines, allergic manifestations. Sleep is also disturbed, irritability appears. When migrating from the lungs, there may be a cough. With the accumulation of roundworms and the formation of a ball by them, intestinal obstruction may develop.
Pinworms are small, whitish worms 3-12mm long. Pinworms live in the small and large intestines. It is very easy to get infected with these helminths, just do not wash your hands, or you can even swallow the helminth eggs by inhaling the dust. Female pinworms lay eggs in the anus, causing severe itching. Pinworm eggs are so small that they can even be inside in the dust raised.
You can get infected through laundry, hygiene items, food, handshaking, etc. In addition, pinworms undergo the same migration as roundworms. Adults live a little in humans, only 1 to 2 months, and with proper hygiene they can be eliminated in a short time. In addition to itching, we observe: insomnia, distraction, irritability, allergic rash.
Vlasoglavs are slender worms that live in the large intestine and reach a length of 30 to 35 mm. You can get infected with parasites the same way you can get roundworms. Vlasoglavs adhere to the intestinal walls and suck blood. The toxins they release cause headaches, poor sleep, dizziness, and nausea. The lifespan of helminths is 5 years.
Trichinellae are small worms, they are only 4mm long. A person is infected with raw pork, which contains larvae. The adults live in the intestines, mate and lay eggs, after which they die. The larvae of Trichinella are excreted, they enter from the intestine into muscle tissue, where they form a capsule and can remain for years.
Helminthiasis causes the following disorders in the body:
- puffy face;
- eyelid edema;
- swelling of the legs and hands;
- rash;
- muscle pain;
- fever, temperature;
- headache;
- insomnia or, conversely, drowsiness;
- decreased mobility of the knee and elbow joints;
- gastrointestinal disturbances are observed.
Trichinosis is partially cured, because while the adult worms can be killed with medication, the skeletal muscle larvae cannot be killed.
Tapeworms in humans
- The
- bovine tapewormcan be up to 10m long. Infection occurs by eating undercooked beef, which contains helminth larvae. Housewives can get infected by tasting raw minced meat with salt. In the body, a tapeworm develops from the larva, which lives in the intestines, attaching to the wall to hold. A person loses weight, loses appetite, dizziness, sleeplessness, nausea, and often vomiting.
- Pork tapewormis smaller, it only reaches 2 m. The infection occurs after eating poorly processed pork. The symptoms are the same as those of bovine tapeworm.
- Large tapewormhas a length of 6 m to 15 m. The source of infection is raw freshwater fish. Helminthiasis is manifested by weakness, nausea, vomiting, drooling, abdominal pain, constipation, or diarrhea. On the tongue there are always bright red painful spots and even cracks.
- Dwarf tapewormhas a length of 3 to 5 cm. They are infected with this helminth through contaminated door handles, toilet seats, if they have worm eggs. Children get sick more often. Helminthiasis causes decreased appetite, nausea and abdominal pain, and sometimes diarrhea. In rare cases, children may have seizures similar to epileptic fits.
- Echinococcusis one of the most dangerous helminths. Infection occurs in dogs and cats - carriers of adult individuals of the parasite. In the human body, the larvae hatch from eggs, which are transported with the blood stream to different organs, more often to the liver, and there form echinococcal cysts. In some cases, they even grow to the size of a newborn baby's head. Cysts are only removed by surgery.
human suction cups
- Flukeparasitizes in the bile ducts and in the gallbladder itself. The size of helminths is small - 4-13 mm. The parasite enters the body through the use of lightly salted or undercooked (fried) fish. First of all, this helminthiasis is manifested by a high temperature (up to 40 degrees), pain in the joints and muscles, disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, in rare cases jaundice develops. Then the acute symptoms subside, there is paroxysmal pain in the pancreas. There may be complications.
- Fasciolais dangerous for your health. The worms are up to 3 to 7 cm long and also deposit in the gallbladder and bile ducts. A person is infected by unboiled water or by eating aquatic plants. Weakness, fever, pain in the head and abdomen, hives appear.
In conclusion on human helminths
Some types of worms live for years in the human body because they can hardly manifest themselves in any way. Often the symptoms of helminthiasis are similar to diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, so the wrong diagnosis is made if special tests are not carried out to identify helminths. But you urgently need to get rid of any parasites, because not only do they absorb useful substances from the body, but also release toxins that are dangerous to health.