Helminth infection is possible even in our civilized society. These parasites quietly sneak into the body and poison it with the products of their vital activity. Helminth secretions are poisonous and cause various ailments - from hives to serious health problems. There are also deaths.
Common Symptoms of Worm Infestation
Helminths don't just live in the human intestines, some types of parasites also affect other organs, they can even be found in skeletal muscles. Therefore, the course of each helminthiasis has its own characteristics, but there are always common symptoms:
- decrease in working capacity;
- rapid fatigue;
- poisoning;
- weakness;
- drowsiness;
- lack of appetite;
- weightloss
- pain in the joints;
- constipation;
- bowel disorder;
- intolerance to any type of food.
Unfortunately, so many people are infected with parasites, some don't even know it. Eggs or cysts can be swallowed with apparently clean food. Often worms settle in the child's body, getting along with poorly washed fruits and vegetables, through dirty hands, cats, dogs, etc. The problem is that often we do not even suspect that someone else is living inside us, because there are types of parasites that do not show up for a long time. Therefore, it is worth knowing more about worms, what types exist and what symptoms of infection cause.
roundworms in humans
In the human body, pinworms, roundworms, whipworms and trichinella (less often) can live.
Roundworms are roundworms with a spindle-shaped body, having a length of 15-40 cm and a width of 4-6 mm. This helminth lives in the small intestine, although there are cases when roundworms crawl into the bile ducts and obstruct them. Inside a person, females mate with males and lay eggs, which come out with feces.
A person is not infected with roundworms living in animals.
In addition, the eggs must mature in the ground. If they get into the human body with unwashed fruits or vegetables, the larvae are excreted in the intestines, they quickly enter the blood vessels and reach the lungs with the bloodstream. There, the larvae mature and migrate to the intestine through the trachea and the oral cavity. And there, new individuals are already bred, and everything repeats itself. Roundworms live up to 14 months.
With ascariasis, appetite decreases, there is nausea, diarrhea, pain in the intestines and allergic manifestations. Sleep is also disturbed, irritability appears. When migrating from the lungs, there may be a cough. With the accumulation of roundworms and the formation of a lump by them, intestinal obstruction may develop.
Pinworms are small whitish worms 3 to 12 mm long. Pinworms live in the small intestine and the large intestine. It is very easy to get infected with these helminths, just do not wash your hands, or you can even swallow helminth eggs by inhaling dust. Female pinworms lay their eggs in the anus, causing intense itching. Pinworm eggs are so small that they can even be found indoors in the kicked up dust.
You can get infected through laundry, hygiene items, products, a handshake, etc. In addition, pinworms undergo the same migration as roundworms. Adult individuals live in a person for a short time, only 1-2 months, and with proper hygiene they can be eliminated in a short time. In addition to itching, there are: insomnia, absent-mindedness, irritability, allergic rash.
Whipworms are thin worms that live in the large intestine and reach a length of 30-35 mm. You can get infected with parasites in the same way as roundworms. Whipworms stick to the walls of the intestines and suck blood. The toxins they release cause headaches, poor sleep, dizziness and nausea. The lifespan of helminths is 5 years.
Trichinella are small worms, they are only 4 mm long. A person is infected with raw pork meat, which contains larvae. The adults live in the intestines, mate and lay eggs, after which they die. Trichinella larvae are excreted, they penetrate from the intestine into muscle tissue, where they form a capsule and can remain for years.
Helminthiasis causes the following disorders in the body:
- facial puffiness;
- swelling of the eyelids;
- swelling of the legs and hands;
- itchy skin;
- muscle pain;
- fever, temperature;
- headache;
- insomnia or, conversely, drowsiness;
- decreased mobility in the knee and elbow joints;
- gastrointestinal disorders are observed.
Trichinosis is partially cured, because while adult worms can be destroyed with drugs, larvae in skeletal muscles cannot be killed.
Tapeworms in humans
The bull tapeworm can measure up to 10 m in length. Infection occurs when eating undercooked beef, which contains helminth larvae. Housewives can become infected by tasting raw minced meat for salt. In the body, saltpeter develops from the larva, which lives in the intestine, attaching to the wall to cling. A person loses weight, loses appetite, dizziness, insomnia, nausea, and often vomiting.
Pork tapeworm is smaller, reaching only 2 M. Infection occurs after eating improperly processed pork. Symptoms are the same as bull tapeworm.
A large tapeworm has a length of 6 m to 15 m. The source of infection is raw freshwater fish. Helminthiasis is manifested by weakness, nausea, vomiting, salivation, abdominal pain, constipation or diarrhea. There are always bright red sore spots and even cracks on the tongue.
The pygmy tapeworm is 3-5 cm long and is infected with this helminth through contaminated doorknobs, toilet seats, if they have worm eggs on them. Children get sick more often. Helminthiases cause decreased appetite, nausea and abdominal pain, and sometimes diarrhea. In rare cases, children may have seizures similar to epileptic seizures.
Echinococcus is one of the most dangerous helminths. Infection occurs in dogs and cats - carriers of adult parasites. In the human body, larvae hatch from eggs, which are transferred with the bloodstream to different organs, most often to the liver, and form echinococcal cysts there. In some cases, they even reach the size of a newborn's head. Cysts are only removed by surgery.
The flukes in humans
The fluke parasitizes the bile ducts and the gallbladder itself. The size of helminths is small - 4-13 mm. The parasite enters the body through the use of lightly salted or undercooked (fried) fish. First, this helminthiasis is manifested by high temperature (up to 40 degrees), joint and muscle pain, disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, and in rare cases, jaundice. Then the acute symptoms subside, there are paroxysmal pains in the pancreas. There may be complications.
Fasciola is hazardous to health. Worms are up to 3-7 cm long, they also settle in the gallbladder and bile ducts. A person is infected by unboiled water or by eating aquatic plants. There is weakness, fever, pain in the head and abdomen, hives.
In conclusion about human helminths
Some types of worms live in the human body for years, as they can hardly manifest themselves in any way. Often the symptoms of helminthiasis are similar to gastrointestinal diseases, so a misdiagnosis is made if special tests are not carried out to detect helminths. But all parasites need to be removed urgently, because they not only remove useful substances from the body, but also release toxins that are dangerous to health.