Parasitic infestations often go unnoticed. And the first symptoms of worms in humans are non-specific, so the patient does not go to the doctor for a long time. So the patient may think he is overworked, suffering from gastritis or poisoning, experiencing an exacerbation of allergies or arthritis.
How to suspect the appearance of worms
Signs of helminths on the body depend on the type and localization of the parasite. Some symptoms appear immediately after infection. Others occur after some time and indicate the migration of worms into the body, increasing intoxication, lack of nutrients or vitamins.
The most common signs of worms in adults include:
- Increase in body temperature. Fever may not be expressed - up to 37. 5 ° C, short-term. Episodes of increased temperature coincide with periods of exacerbation, accompanied by an increase in various groups of lymph nodes.
- One of the most common signs of the presence of helminths is abdominal pain. Discomfort sensations have a specific localization - in the navel, liver or movement. The pain is accompanied by a violation of the stool, the appearance of impurities in the stool - mucus, blood. More often there are bouts of diarrhea, but with blockage of the intestinal lumen by parasites, it is also possible to develop an obstruction.
- Itching in the anus is the first sign and characteristic symptom of pinworm. Appears at night, causing a person to scratch the anus.
- Helminths cause allergic reactions of the skin or respiratory type as a result of the circulation of their decomposition products, toxins, in the body. Thus, a person complains of exacerbation of bronchial asthma, appearance of dermatitis, eczema.
- When infected with worms, beriberi develops. It manifests itself in the form of deterioration of the condition of the hair, nails, characteristic "jam" in the corners of the mouth, dry skin. The lack of iron in the body causes the development of anemia, paleness of the skin, the appearance of bruises under the eyes.
- Helminths also have a pathogenic effect on the nervous system, causing the patient to suffer from headaches, irritability, reduced performance, intermittent sleep and emotional instability.
- Worms that migrate through the respiratory system (roundworms) cause a person to have bouts of dry cough. With the movement of parasites in the muscles, the development of intoxication, the sick complain of pain, pain in the muscles and joints.
On a note!
The first symptoms of infection may appear within a few days after the penetration of helminths into the body of an adult. Most often they appear after 2-3 weeks from the moment of contact with the parasite, and with migratory worms - after months, years.
The combination of different symptoms does not clearly indicate a specific disease, but it is a reason to worry about your health and visit a doctor. If a sick person engages in self-diagnosis, looking for information on how to understand that you have worms, he risks losing time and getting life-threatening complications.
What is the risk of parasite infection
Helminths in the body not only take the necessary nutrients and vitamins from a person. Worms poison the patient with decomposition products, affect the internal organs. Parasitic worms in humans can lead to such serious diseases that require emergency surgery and in some cases with removal of part of the organ:
- acute intestinal obstruction;
- violation of the integrity of the intestine with the development of peritonitis.
- appendicitis;
- biliary tract obstruction;
- eye damage.
Great!
Among the late consequences of invasion, leading to deterioration of the condition, death of the patient, are cirrhosis and liver cancer, pneumonia, pleurisy, sclerosis of lung tissue, myocarditis, meningitis, hearing impairment andof vision, the episyndrome.
How does a worm infestation occur?
To solve the issue of helminth prevention, it is necessary to have information about where the parasites come from. The most common mechanisms of infection include: digestive, household, transdermal, transmissible (associated with blood-sucking insects).
Here are the most typical situations in which worms appear in the body:
- The use of vegetables, fruits, berries or greens contaminated with eggs of the parasite.
- Eating undercooked meat, fish with helminth larvae. Food toy that has not passed veterinary inspection. So Trichinella can withstand even prolonged cooking of meat and maintain its viability.
- Violation of hygiene rules: formal stop in washing hands after returning from the street, contact with pets or street animals.
- Swimming in tanks containing worm larvae.
- Contact with soil containing pest larvae while working in the garden.
- Work in conditions where there is an increased risk of helminth infection: in children's groups, food, livestock, poultry.
Where are worms found in the human body
There are many medical myths about where worms live in the human body. Not all are based on parasitological data. Some helminths occupy different parts of the intestine and multiply in it. Humans may be the main hosts of the parasite. So-called human worms go through the stage of sexual reproduction in the body and then come out in feces. In the case of animal helminths, an individual is an intermediate host, within which only an asexual (parthenogenetic) phase is possible. Parasites spread to internal organs, causing damage to them. Thus, worms in the human body can be detected:
- under the skin?
- in the liver;
- in the bladder;
- In the eyes?
- in the muscles;
- in the lungs and heart;
- in the brain.
If we consider the descriptions of the life cycle of the helminth in the form of a photo with explanations, we can follow its migration through the body and guess what the main symptoms of the disease will look like.
Diagnosis of worms
The appearance of abdominal pain, fever, skin rashes, cough with sputum, inflammatory and allergic changes in the blood picture are the basis for checking a person for parasites. Infectious diseases recommend laboratory tests to detect the helminth or the immune response to its presence in the body.
The following methods help to identify worms in a person:
- analysis of feces for eggs of the parasite.
- scraping or smear for enterobiasis.
- immunological tests for the detection of antibodies to helminths.
- PCR assays for worm DNA fragments.
- detection of the worm in the contents of the duodenum, tissue biopsy samples.
These methods will help you find out the type of parasite and choose an effective drug. If the internal organs are damaged, the following will help diagnose helminths:
- chest X-ray;
- Ultrasound of liver, heart, pancreas.
- cystoscopy?
- Brain MRI.
If necessary, the infectious disease specialist will refer a neurologist, ophthalmologist, cardiologist, urologist for consultations.
On a note!
You should not try to identify helminths yourself, resort to "unique computer diagnostics" outside the medical establishment. This will lead to loss of time, deterioration of health.
Treatment of worms in humans
If a disease is detected, the infectious disease specialist will give full recommendations for the treatment of the disease, regimen and diet. If necessary, the doctor will recommend hospitalization. There is no single "magic" remedy for worms, the symptoms and treatment of helminths in an adult may vary.
You need to know the basics of pest treatment:
- Medicines are used to combat worms. The choice of the treatment regimen (dosage, duration of the course, frequency of administration) depends on the type of helminth, the condition of the sick person's body.
- In severe cases of illness, help is provided in a hospital setting.
- You should not independently reduce the dose, reduce the duration of treatment with tablets or worm suspension.
- Some drugs require a diet, refusal to drink alcohol.
- There are no "magic" treatments that allow you to quickly get rid of any helminths in 1 day. For the treatment of some worms in man, short courses are indeed used, but it is impossible to destroy all the parasites in the body with one tablet, tincture, or ointment.
- Herbal preparations are used in sick people who for health reasons are contraindicated in medicines in the form of tablets or suspensions.
- Antiallergic drugs, hepatoprotectors, enterosorbents, immunomodulators are prescribed as adjunctive treatment. By themselves, they do not help to remove worms from a person, but improve the general well-being of a person, removing unpleasant symptoms of the disease and side effects of treatment.
Great!
Folk remedies are used only as an auxiliary method of treatment. The independent use of alternative medicine is fraught with aggravation.
Pharmacy funds
Treatment with drugs from the group of anthelmintic drugs helps to destroy, expel parasites from the body. Pharmaceutical drugs have different points of application:
- disrupts the absorption of nutrients by parasites.
- disrupts the worms' metabolism.
- cause muscle paralysis of helminths.
On a note!
With proper use and prevention of helminthiasis in the future, worms really help to permanently get rid of parasites that have settled in the intestines and internal organs. However, if the patient neglects basic hygiene rules, re-infection with parasites is possible.
Also, an infectious disease specialist can prescribe herbal remedies to help detoxify and remove worms in people. The doctor will recommend certain herbs, based on information about the condition of the body and the type of parasites. To treat the patient, apply: pumpkin seeds, tansy and centaury.
Folk remedies for worms
Many patients refuse traditional methods of treatment, hoping for the help of traditional medicine. Infectious experts warn that attempts to get rid of worms at home with questionable solutions, infusions can lead to increased poisoning, allergic reactions. If you miss the time, the disease will progress, a fatal outcome is possible.
To expel helminths from the body, the following home remedies are widely used:
- onion decoction;
- pomegranate peel;
- enemas and ingestion of pumpkin seeds.
- unsweetened vegetable and sour berry juices.
- garlic with milk;
- soda enemas;
- wormwood tincture.
Treatment reviews
Before starting a course of treatment, patients consider various options for dealing with parasites, trying to understand how to properly poison helminths. In their reviews, people who have had a helminthic invasion describe traditional drug therapy as a fairly effective method. It is extremely rare to get rid of helminths with folk remedies.
- "I started to worry about the itching in the anus. He's been to the therapist, he's been directed to scratch. It was very unpleasant to find pinworms in the scratch. I read how dangerous helminths are and decided not to poison myself with self-medication. On the advice of the doctor, he drank an anthelmintic drug - 1 tablet 1 time a week. The course lasted 2 weeks, I immediately felt relief, the itching disappeared. I believe it was not such a terrible infection, but the medicine worked "perfectly well".
- "I got worms after eating fish at a party. Soon the diarrhea started. I lost weight, my skin became dry and itchy. I studied in detail the information on how to treat parasites and how to restore the body later, I began to take an anthelmintic drug myself. I was ashamed to go to the doctor. The medicine didn't help. I tried to fight the worms with folk methods: I cleansed the liver with bitters, drank milk with garlic and did an enema. But it didn't get better. I had to go to an infectious disease specialist, I am being treated with an anthelmintic drug of the benzimidazole class. "While I was 'ripening' to go to the doctor, I lost 4 kg, became pale, nervous. "
Prevention
Knowing how worms appear in the body, everyone can protect themselves and their loved ones from infection. Prevention includes:
- Wash hands with soap after contact with animals, return home.
- Regular deworming for pets.
- Timely change of sheets.
- Regular wet cleaning, ventilation, cleaning of carpets and upholstered furniture.
- Consumption of meat that has passed veterinary inspection.
- Thorough heat treatment of meat and fish.
- Refusal to eat raw meat, fish, by-products.
Helminth infection requires immediate treatment. You should pay attention to symptoms such as: diarrhea, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, weight loss, skin rash, cough, fever and immediately consult a specialist. After treatment, precautions should be taken to avoid reinfection.