According to the WHO, more than 4 billion people on Earth suffer from parasites. This massive infection is explained by the underestimation of the problem, insufficient education of the population, ineffective diagnosis and treatment of patients.
All parasites that can cause disease in humans can be divided into three large groups:
- Protozoan or Protozoan. There are a number of varieties of it, but only a few are widespread in the world - lamblia, toxoplasma, Trichomonas.
- Worms or helminths. In the CIS countries there are roundworms, pinworms, toxocaras, trichinellae, tapeworms from pigs and cattle, echinococci, feline fluke and others.
- Ectoparasites (outdoor parasites) - lice with head lice, ticks.
Infection of the human body with parasites of this latter group is fairly easy to notice, but protozoa and worms often become a "surprise" to their "owners".
Why are parasites dangerous?
Most parasites live long lives and multiply actively in the human body, so the diseases they cause take on a chronic and constantly recurring course. In this case, the affected organs cease to function fully, immunity decreases, the patient becomes more vulnerable to infections.
As a result, the body of a person infected with parasites is depleted, weakened, poisoned by parasitic toxins and allergic. These processes, of course, do not develop with lightning speed, but years of ignorance about the presence of a parasite in the body and, as a result, the absence of treatment causes serious health problems. .
How could you get infected?
Knowing the main ways to get parasites is a chance to protect yourself and stay healthy. If we focus on pathogens common in CIS countries, then the list of possible routes of transmission of these parasites in humans will be as follows:
- By dirty hands.
- In dirty water (including swimming in it).
- Through unwashed vegetables and fruits.
- By raw or undercooked meat and fish.
- Contact with an infectious animal.
- Sexual contact (this is how trichomoniasis is spread).
How to suspect the presence of a parasite in a person?
Each parasite is characterized by its own localization in the human body, respectively, and a special clinic of the defeat of one or another organ. However, there are several signs that are common to all helminthiases and some diseases caused by protozoa.
Intoxication
Its appearance is associated with the vital activity of the parasite in a person, it is the products secreted by it that poison the patient's organism. It is manifested by headache, weakness, nausea, decreased appetite, irritability.
Allergy
Most often, this is a rash that comes and goes and does not respond well to dermatological treatment. This can manifest as diathesis in babies. The origin of such a rash can also be explained by the effects of toxins from the parasite on the body. If a person is allergic, then infection with worms can cause more serious manifestations - swelling of the mucous membranes, attacks of bronchospasm, etc.
Weight loss
This symptom is especially pronounced in children who seem to be eating well, but who are not gaining weight, losing weight and at the same time looking downright haggard. The reason for the decrease in weight again lies in the competition for nutrients from the patient's body with the worms.
Periodic hyperthermia
In addition, the temperature does not rise much - up to 37, 5. This occurs against the background of the absence of obvious signs of some kind of disease.
Intestinal disorders
These are gas, constipation, diarrhea, rumbling and pain in the abdomen. Very often these symptoms are explained by the presence of dysbiosis and are unsuccessfully treated with antibiotics and bacterial drugs.
Anemia
Parasites inside a person feed on them, therefore the nutrients, micro and macro elements, as well as vitamins, often consumed by the patient, are not sufficient to meet the person's own needs. body. The first sign of such a deficiency is a lack of iron in anemia, which is manifested by pallor of the skin and mucous membranes, dizziness.
Variation in food preferences, cravings for sweets
These phenomena can also be explained by the lack of certain nutrients in the patient's body.
The appearance of these signs, especially all of a sudden, should alert you and require you to consult a doctor.
Methods of diagnosis and protection
It should be noted right away that any alternative method of detecting parasites in the human body (for example, the advertised Voll method) cannot be considered a reliable source of information. Therefore, you can only rely on a microscopic examination of feces and multiple, specific blood tests for the presence of antibodies to individual worms and protozoa. The latter can be done in private laboratories.
To avoid falling victim to the parasite, a person should follow simple rules:
- Wash your hands always and everywhere with soap and water.
- Only vegetables, fruits, and herbs are washed thoroughly, or better yet scalded with boiling water.
- Do not drink raw water.
- Don't swim in muddy waters.
- It is mandatory to carry out a complete heat treatment of meat and fish products.
- Periodically wash children's toys and those that have been outside, for example in a sandbox, should be disinfected.
- Check pets for parasites every year.
Remedies for parasites
Doctors recommend prophylaxis of worms 2 times a year with special preparations. However, it is impossible to arbitrarily prescribe to yourself, and even more so to a child, such drugs, since all of them are toxic not only to worms. Therefore, you should consult a doctor about the possibility of using this or that drug and its dosage.
If the presence of a parasite in the human body is confirmed, it is worth looking for a good parasitologist who will prescribe an effective treatment regimen, since taking just one drug is usually not enough.