Helminth infection is possible even in our civilized society. These parasites silently infiltrate the body and poison it with the products of their vital activity. Helminth secretions are toxic and cause a variety of illnesses - from hives to serious health problems. There are also deaths.
Common symptoms of worm infestation
Helminths not only live in the human intestine, some types of parasites also affect other organs, they can even be found in skeletal muscles. Therefore, the course of each helminthiasis has its own characteristics, but there are still common symptoms:
- decreased work capacity;
- rapid fatigability;
- intoxication;
- weakness;
- somnolence;
- lack of appetite;
- weight loss
- joint pain;
- constipation;
- intestinal disorder;
- intolerance to any type of food.
Unfortunately, many people are infected with parasites, some are not even aware of it. Eggs or cysts can be swallowed along with apparently clean food. Often, the worms settle in the child's body, living with poorly washed fruits and vegetables, through dirty hands, cats, dogs, etc. The problem is that there is often no suspicion that another person lives inside us, as there are types of parasites that do not manifest themselves for a long time. So it's worth learning more about worms, what types there are, and what symptoms of infection they cause.
round worms in humans
In the human body, pinworms, roundworms, whipworms and trichinella (less often) can live.
Roundworms are roundworms with a spindle-shaped body, with a length of 15 to 40 cm and a width of 4 to 6 mm. This helminth lives in the small intestine, although there are cases where roundworms crawl into the bile ducts and block them. Inside a person, females mate with males and lay eggs, which come out with the feces.
A person is not infected with roundworms that live in animals.
Also, eggs need to mature in the ground. If they enter the human body with unwashed fruits or vegetables, the larvae are excreted in the intestines, quickly penetrate the blood vessels and reach the lungs with the blood stream. There, the larvae mature and migrate to the intestine through the trachea and oral cavity. And there new individuals are already being created and everything is repeated. Roundworms live up to 14 months.
With ascariasis, appetite decreases, there is nausea, diarrhea, pain in the intestines and allergic manifestations. Sleep is also disturbed, irritability appears. When migrating from the lungs, there may be coughing. With the accumulation of ascaris and the formation of a ball by them, intestinal obstruction can occur.
Pinworms are small whitish worms 3-12 mm long. Pinworms live in the small and large intestines. It is very easy to get infected with these helminths, just don't wash your hands or even swallow helminth eggs by inhaling dust. Female pinworms lay their eggs in the anus, causing intense itching. Pinworm eggs are so small that they can be found indoors in raised dust.
You can get infected through bedding, hygiene items, products, a handshake, etc. In addition, worms undergo the same migration as roundworms. Adult individuals live in one person for a short time, only 1-2 months, and with proper hygiene, they can be disposed of in no time. In addition to itching, there are: insomnia, distraction, irritability, allergic rash.
Whipworms are thin worms that live in the large intestine and reach a length of 30-35 mm. You can get infected with parasites in the same way as with roundworms. The worms stick to the walls of the intestines and suck blood. The toxins released by them cause headaches, poor sleep, dizziness and nausea. The lifespan of helminths is 5 years.
Trichinella are small worms, only 4 mm long. A person is infected through raw pork, which contains larvae. Adults live in the intestines, mate and lay eggs, after which they die. Trichinella larvae are excreted, penetrate from the intestine into muscle tissue, where they form a capsule and can remain for years.
Helminthiasis causes the following disorders in the body:
- swelling of the face;
- swelling of the eyelids;
- swelling in 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 if the adult worms can be destroyed with drugs, the larvae in the skeletal muscles cannot be killed.
Tapeworms in humans
The bull tapeworm can be up to 10 m long and infection occurs when eating undercooked meat, which contains helminth larvae. Housewives can become infected by tasting raw minced meat for salt. In the body, saltpeter develops from the larva, which lives in the intestine, attaching itself to the wall to maintain itself. A person loses weight, loses appetite, dizziness, insomnia, nausea and often vomiting.
The pork tapeworm is smaller, reaching only 2 m. Infection occurs after eating poorly processed pork. The symptoms are the same as for the bull tapeworm.
A broad tapeworm has 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. There are always bright red painful spots and even tongue cracks.
The pygmy tapeworm has a length of 3-5 cm. They get infected with this helminth through contaminated doorknobs, toilet seats, if they have worm eggs on them. 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 seizures.
Echinococcus is one of the most dangerous helminths. Infection occurs from dogs and cats - carriers of adult parasites. In the human body, larvae hatch from eggs, which are transferred with the bloodstream to different organs, most often to the liver, and there they form echinococcal cysts. In some cases, they reach the size of a newborn baby's head. Cysts are only removed by surgery.
Flukes in humans
The worm parasites in the bile ducts and 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, this helminthiasis manifests itself with a high temperature (up to 40 degrees), pain in the joints and muscles, disorders in the gastrointestinal tract, and in rare cases, jaundice develops. Then the acute symptoms disappear, there are paroxysmal pains in the pancreas. There may be complications.
Fasciola is dangerous for health. Worms are up to 3-7 cm long, they also settle in the gallbladder and biliary tract. A person becomes infected by unboiled water or by eating aquatic plants. There is weakness, fever, pain in the head and abdomen, hives.
In conclusion about human helminths
Some types of worms have lived in the human body for years as they can hardly manifest in any way. Often the symptoms of helminthiases are similar to gastrointestinal diseases, so a misdiagnosis is made if special tests are not done to detect helminths. But any parasites must be eliminated urgently, as they not only remove useful substances from the body, but also release toxins that are dangerous for health.