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 obvious harm, 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 chance of infection.From the carrier of the parasites, the eggs come out together with the feces.When exposed to favorable conditions, the shell is shed and the egg develops into a complete parasite in a short time.Worms feed on food or human tissue, multiplying quickly and damaging 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 ponds used for watering livestock;
- non-compliance with personal hygiene rules;
- poor heat treatment of meat and meat dishes;
- eating unwashed vegetables and fruits;
- raw, raw fish;
- contacts with infected animals (cats, dogs, cows);
- living with people who carry helminths;
- consumption of raw water in rural areas.
Important to know: Worms lay thousands or even hundreds of thousands of eggs every day, so any infected person or animal poses a great threat as a source of infection.
Most often, children are exposed to infection, as they observe few hygiene rules and are constantly in contact with each other, transmitting parasites.Worms and roundworms, which can be found in almost every child, are especially easily transmitted.They cause a lot of inconvenience 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.The main habitat for them is the intestines, where they feed on human food and are often excreted together with feces, and itching is noted in the anus, as the worms excrete their waste and thus irritate the rectal mucosa.Worms, for example, crawl out of the anus at night, so redness and allergic symptoms are often observed around it, causing a desire to scratch in this place.
There are types of helminths that affect the liver and even the brain.For example, liver blood (bovine tapeworm), when it enters the human body, "travels" through the body with the bloodstream until it stops in the liver or brain.There it begins to develop, eating the surrounding tissue.A person begins to experience illness, and in the case of contact with the brain, even mental disorders and eventually death.The parasite is transmitted by livestock (cows, sheep).
Another dangerous parasite is Echinococcus.These worms are parasitic on dogs or wolves, transmitted from them to humans through contact.Helminths attack the liver and lungs.In this case, headaches, dry cough and loss of appetite are observed.Moreover, it is difficult to diagnose this type and during examinations it can be confused with a tumor.Echinococci are dangerous to health and can cause serious disorders in the body, including death.
The main symptoms of helminth infection:
- headache;
- nausea;
- vomiting;
- weight loss;
- itching in the anus;
- swelling and bloating;
- diarrhea and other digestive disorders;
- inflammation of the lymph nodes;
- increase in body temperature;
- abdominal pain;
- cough without reason;
- skin allergies.
Worms appear some time after infection.At first, the symptoms are absent or barely noticeable, since 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.General health deteriorates significantly, so measures should be taken to detect and dispose of them.
Treatment of helminthic infection
You should know that parasites will not go away on their own.At the same time, health will constantly deteriorate due to poisoning by toxins.This will weaken the body and immune system, leaving a person vulnerable 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 to get rid of 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:The 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 by surgery and if the body is torn apart, they will continue to develop and grow.
Preventing
Helminths enter the body in the form of microscopic eggs, so to prevent this it is necessary to follow a number of recommendations:
- observe the rules of personal hygiene (wash your 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, check them regularly for helminths by a veterinarian;
- Once a year do tests for intestinal parasites.
Advice: Do not swim in waters near which cattle graze.In this case, there is a risk of infection with bovine tapeworm, which is very dangerous.
Worms pose a major 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, as it is easier to eliminate them in the early stages.In addition to the health risk, there is the possibility of infecting your loved one with parasites, so at the first symptoms it is recommended to consult a doctor who will make a diagnosis and prescribe a course of treatment.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.