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.The worms are very prolific and lay thousands of eggs every day, increasing the likelihood of infection.Eggs come out of the parasite carrier along with the feces.When exposed to favorable conditions, the shell peels off and the egg develops into a full-fledged parasite, and in a short time.Worms feed on food or human tissue, multiplying rapidly and damaging 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 several ways:
- swim in ponds used to water livestock;
- failure to comply with personal hygiene rules;
- weak heat treatment of meat and meat dishes;
- eat unwashed fruits and vegetables;
- raw and unprocessed fish;
- contact with infected animals (cats, dogs, cows);
- living with people carrying helminths;
- raw water consumption 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.
Very often, children are exposed to infections, as they follow few hygiene rules and are constantly in contact with each other, transmitting parasites.Pinworms and roundworms, which can be found in almost all children, are particularly easily transmitted.They cause a lot of inconvenience and affect the well-being of the child.
Symptoms and signs of worms
The presence of worms in a person is quite easy to determine even without the help of medical tests.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, 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 the 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 the surrounding tissues.A person begins to experience illness, and in 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 parasites of dogs or wolves and are transmitted to humans through contact.Helminths attack the liver and lungs.In this case, headache, dry cough and loss of appetite are observed.Furthermore, 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 problems to the body, including death.
The main symptoms of helminth infection:
- heachache;
- 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 appear some time after infection.Initially 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.Overall health deteriorates dramatically, so it is necessary to take measures to detect and destroy them.
Treatment of helminth infestation
You should know that parasites alone will not disappear.At the same time, health will constantly worsen due to poisoning with 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 eliminate 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 severe 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 apart, they will continue to develop and grow.
Prevention
Helminths enter the body in the form of microscopic eggs, so to avoid this you need to follow a number of recommendations:
- observe the rules of personal hygiene (wash your hands before eating, after contact with animals, after going to the bathroom, etc.);
- wash fruits and vegetables with clean running water, preferably boiled water;
- fry meat and fish thoroughly;
- if you have pets, have them checked regularly by a veterinarian for the presence of helminths;
- Get tested for intestinal parasites once a year.
Advise: 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 early as possible and eliminate them with treatment, as it is easier to get rid of them in the early stages.In addition to the health risk, there is the possibility of infecting 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.Furthermore, 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.