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 significant 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 parasite carrier, the eggs come out together with the feces.When exposed to favorable conditions, the shell is removed and the egg develops into a complete parasite, and in a short time.Worms feed on food or human tissue, rapidly reproduce and damage 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;
- poor heat treatment for meat and meat dishes;
- eat unwashed vegetables and fruits;
- raw, unprocessed fish;
- contact with infected animals (cats, dogs, cattle);
- living with people who carry helminths;
- raw water use 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.
Often, children are vulnerable to infection, because 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 particularly contagious.They cause a lot of inconvenience and affect the well-being of children.
Symptoms and signs of worms
The presence of worms in a person is quite easy to determine even without the help of a medical examination.The main habitat for them is the intestine, where they feed on human food and are often excreted together with feces, and itching in the anus is observed, because the worms release their waste products and thus 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 the desire to scratch in this place.
There are types of helminths that affect the liver as well as the brain.For example, a heartworm (cattle 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 grow, 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 spread by livestock (cattle, sheep).
Another dangerous parasite is Echinococcus.These worms are parasitic on dogs or wolves, transmitted from them to humans by contact.Helminths attack the liver and lungs.In this case, headache, dry cough and loss of appetite are observed.In addition, it is difficult to diagnose this type and during examination 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:
- headache;
- nausea;
- vomiting;
- weight loss;
- itching in the anus;
- flatulence and flatulence;
- diarrhea and other digestive disorders;
- inflammation of the lymph nodes;
- increased body temperature;
- stomach ache;
- cough for no reason;
- skin allergies.
Worms appear some time after infection.At first, symptoms are absent or barely noticeable, because the amount of toxic substances released by the parasite does not cause serious problems.Then, as it grows and multiplies, the symptoms intensify and become more pronounced.General health deteriorates rapidly, so measures must be taken to detect and destroy them.
Treatment of helminthic infestation
You need to know that parasites will not go away by themselves.At the same time, health will always deteriorate due to poisoning by toxins.This will weaken the body and the immune system, making a person vulnerable to inflammatory infections and other diseases.
Killing worms is called deworming.This process includes the use of drugs to kill parasites and drugs to reduce allergic reactions.Each type of parasite is sensitive to certain substances, so to get rid of worms it is necessary to determine the 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, the doctor prescribes surgery to remove the worms.
interesting:Bovine tapeworms sometimes reach 10 meters in length in humans.It consists of small units that can develop as independent organisms.Therefore, it can only be removed through surgery, and if the body is torn, it will continue to grow and develop.
Prevention
Helminths enter the body in the form of microscopic eggs, so to avoid this it is necessary to follow some recommendations:
- follow 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;
- fry meat and fish thoroughly;
- if you have pets, make sure they are regularly checked for helminths by a veterinarian;
- Get tested for intestinal parasites once a year.
Advice: Do not swim in water near grazing livestock.In this case, there is a risk of bovine tapeworm infection, 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, because it is easier to get rid of them in the early stages.In addition to the risk to your health, there is the 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.In addition, it is important to follow preventive measures to avoid infection.It is better to prevent the appearance of worms in the body earlier than to get rid of them later.