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 noticeable 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 likelihood of infection.From the carrier of the parasites, the eggs come out along with the feces.When exposed to favorable conditions, the shell is shed and the egg develops into a full-fledged parasite, and in a short time.Worms feed on human food or tissues, quickly multiplying and harming the body with toxins from the products of their vital activity, causing poisoning.
Causes of worms in humans
The disease may be related to lifestyle, diet, or the presence of pets.You can get infected in different ways:
- swimming in ponds used for watering livestock;
- failure to comply with personal hygiene rules;
- weak heat treatment of meat and meat dishes;
- eating unwashed vegetables and fruits;
- raw, unprocessed 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, since they follow little hygiene rules and are constantly in contact with each other, transmitting parasites.Pinworms 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 along with feces, and itching in the anus is observed, as the worms excrete their waste products and thereby irritate the rectal mucosa.Pinworms, 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, the liver fluke (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 surrounding tissue.A person begins to experience illness, and in the case of contact with the brain, even mental disorders and ultimately death.The parasite is transmitted by livestock (cows, sheep).
Another dangerous parasite is Echinococcus.These worms are parasitic in 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 mistaken for a tumor.Echinococci are dangerous to health and can cause serious disorders in the body, including death.
The main symptoms of helminth infection:
- headaches;
- nausea;
- vomit;
- weight loss;
- itching in the anus;
- bloating and flatulence;
- diarrhea and other digestive disorders;
- inflammation of the lymph nodes;
- increased body temperature;
- abdominal pain;
- cough for no reason;
- skin allergies.
Worms manifest themselves some time after infection.At first, symptoms are absent or barely noticeable, since the amount of toxic substances released by parasites does not cause serious problems.Then, as it develops and multiplies, the symptoms intensify and become more pronounced.General health deteriorates sharply, so measures should be taken to detect and destroy them.
Treatment of helminthic infestation
You need to know that parasites on their own will not go away.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 includes the use of drugs to kill 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 serious cases, doctors prescribe surgery to remove the worms.
Interesting:The bovine 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 surgically, and if the body is torn into pieces, they will continue to develop and grow.
Prevention
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 hands before eating, after contact with animals, after visiting the toilet, etc.);
- wash vegetables and fruits with clean running water, preferably boiled water;
- thoroughly fry meat and fish;
- if you have pets, have them regularly checked for helminths by a veterinarian;
- Get tested for intestinal parasites once a year.
Advice: Do not swim in bodies of water near which livestock graze.In this case, there is a risk of infection with bovine tapeworm, which is very dangerous.
Worms pose a great 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, since it is easier to get rid of them in the early stages.In addition to the risk to your health, there is a possibility of infecting your loved ones 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.Moreover, 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.