parasites(from the Greek parasitos - parasite, parasite): plant and lower animal organisms that live outside or inside another organism (host) and feed at its expense.
parasitesarose in the process of historical development of organisms from free life forms.
Its adaptation to certain living conditions involved a simplification of its organization, the development of special fixation organs, greater development of the genital organs and anoxibiotic respiration, which allows it to exist in an oxygen-free environment.
Many parasites include:
- helminths;
- fungus;
- virus;
- protozoa;
- worms;
- crustaceans;
- arachnids;
- insects
Parasite hosts can be:
- bacteria;
- protozoa;
- floors;
- animals;
- Human.
Parasites go through a complex development cycle: sometimes they require a change of 2-3 hosts, the organism of which is intermediate (the helminth goes through larval stages) or final (the helminth matures sexually, is invasive).
Classification of parasites.
According to their distribution, parasites are divided into:
- omnipresent- found everywhere.
- tropical- common in tropical climate areas.
According to their biological and epidemiological characteristics, parasitic infections are divided into:
- soil-transmitted helminthiasis- a disease in which parasites (helminths) develop first in the human body and then in a non-living substrate, often in the soil.
- BiohelminthosisIt is a disease in which the biological development cycle of a parasite (helminth) necessarily takes place in the body of living beings other than humans.There are final hosts, in whose body the helminths develop to the stage of sexual maturity, as well as intermediate hosts, where the parasite is in the larval stage or reproduces non-sexually.Humans are usually the final host and, less frequently, the intermediate host.
- Contact helminthiasis- a disease in which mature or almost mature parasites are released from the human body, as a result of which it is possible to infect another person or reinfect him (self-infestation, reinvasion).
Depending on the location of the parasite in the human body:
- luminal parasites- living in the intestinal cavity and other cavities of the human body (for example, roundworms, tapeworms).
- tissue parasites- live in the tissues of the human body (schistomatosis, echinococcosis).
Depending on the place of residence of the owner (person):
- external parasites(mosquitoes, horseflies, leeches, lice).
- internal parasites(helminthiasis):
- intestinal worms (nematodes: roundworms, filaria, whipworms, pinworms, strongyloids, hookworms, trichinella);
- flatworms:
- trematodes (trematodes - cat fluke (opisthorchid), clonorchid, fasciola, schistosoma);
- cestodes (tapeworms - bovine and porcine tapeworm, dwarf tapeworm, broad tapeworm, echinococcus).
- Bacteriosis(leptospira, staphylococcus, streptococcus, shigella).
- Protozoa or protozoa(amoeba, lamblia, trichomonas, often hosts of chlamydia and AIDS viruses).
- Mycosis(fungal diseases) - Candida, Cryptococcus, Penicillium.
How parasites enter the human body.
You can become infected with parasitosis not only through dirty hands.The skin of animals carries worm eggs (ascaris and toxocara), Giardia.
Pinworm eggs that fall from wool remain viable for up to 6 months and enter the alimentary tract through dust, toys, carpets, underwear, bedding, and hands.
dogThrough moist breath, it disperses the eggs to a distance of up to 5 meters (a cat, up to 3 meters).
FleasDogs also carry worm eggs.Ascaris eggs enter the human body through vegetables, fruits, berries, herbs, dirty hands, and are also transmitted by flies.
And poorly prepared kebab or homemade lard are a route of trichinosis infection;poorly salted fish, caviar or "stroganina" - opisthorchiasis and tapeworm.
So, there are several ways in which parasites enter the human body:
- nutritional(through contaminated food, water, dirty hands);
- home-contact(through household items, infected family members, pets);
- transmission(via blood-sucking insects);
- percutaneous,or active (in which the larva penetrates through the skin or mucous membranes of the human body during contact with contaminated soil, when swimming in open water).
Adaptive properties of parasites:
- long life expectancy (helminths live in the human body for years, and sometimes as long as the owner of the parasite lives);
- the ability to suppress or modify the immune response of the host organism (a state of immunodeficiency arises, conditions are created for the penetration of pathogenic agents from the outside, as well as for "disinhibition" of internal foci of infection);
- Many types of helminths, upon entering the digestive tract, secrete antienzymes, which saves them from death;the digestive process is disturbed, toxic allergic reactions of varying severity appear: urticaria, bronchial asthma, atopic dermatitis;
- development stages (egg, larva, host change);
- the ability of eggs to survive for years in the external environment;
- sexual reproduction, during which the exchange of genetic information occurs, and this is the highest stage of development, which leads to an increase in the heterogeneous population, that is, parasites become less vulnerable;
- lack of immunoprophylaxis methods, since the immune response is weak and unstable;
- wide distribution of helminths, many habitats (water, soil, air, plants and animals).
Epidemiology of parasitosis
Due to the increase in migratory processes, the diversity of helminths that parasitize the human body is increasing significantly.Currently, 70 species of parasites out of the more than 260 that exist are common.There is a tendency to increase infection with enterobiasis, giardiasis, toxocariasis, opisthorchiasis, diphyllobothriasis, hadenosis and echinococcosis.In Southeast Asian countries, Africa and Latin America, schistosomiasis and filariasis are common.
"Healthy" people...Many people who lead a healthy lifestyle experience health problems due to the presence of parasites in the body.Improving the health of the body (proper nutrition, physical exercise, hardening procedures) without removing parasites from the body does not give a pronounced positive effect.
They are everywhere...According to the World Health Organization (WHO), helminths and other types of parasites are located not only in the gastrointestinal tract, but also in vital organs: the brain, heart, lungs, liver and kidneys.
Cause of many diseases.
During their life, helminths secrete special substances - toxoids, which are strong poisons and allergens.It is parasitosis (protozoa, fungi and helminths) that trigger many chronic diseases:
- cholecystitis;
- cholelithiasis;
- pancreatitis;
- colitis;
- diabetes mellitus;
- bronchial asthma;
- atopic dermatitis.
Chronic fatigue, irritability and anxiety, hyperactivity in children, anemia, brittle nails and hair, skin problems, headaches, appetite disorders, decreased immunity - these may be signs of current parasitosis.
If it is not treated...When parasites remain in the human body for a long time, the immune system suffers greatly.In the process of constant struggle with foreign antibodies, exhaustion occurs, that is, the development of secondary immunodeficiency.
Parasitosis leads to:
- to hypovitaminosis and depletion of trace elements: potassium, copper, manganese, selenium, zinc, magnesium, silicon;
- to hematopoietic disorders;
- hormonal imbalance;
- vascular permeability is altered;
- The body's anti-cancer defenses are affected.
How were you saved before?For thousands of years, people who ate mainly plant foods received natural antimicrobial, antiparasitic and antiviral active substances.The reduction in consumption of wild plants, fruits and berries, their replacement with cultivated vegetables and fruits, thermal and industrial processing have led to a decrease in the consumption of phytoncides and natural antibiotics.As a result, humans have become easy prey for many microorganisms.The intense development of the pharmaceutical industry that produces antibiotics has caused a decrease in antiparasitic immunity.
Traditional medicine to eliminate parasites in the human body.
Medicinal synthetic anthelmintic drugs have their pros and cons.There are three main negative factors:
- They often affect only the gastrointestinal forms of the parasites;
- very toxic to the human body;
- cause many adverse reactions.
Science doesn't stop!Intense scientific research is being carried out around the world on the antibiotic properties of plants.In terms of effectiveness, they are not inferior to synthetic antibiotics, but they do not cause the side effects characteristic of synthesized drugs.The healing components of plants are complex natural phytoncidal complexes that can eliminate many parasites from the human body at various stages of their development.
Nature!This is what will help us!Preparations of plant origin are much less toxic;if necessary, they can be prescribed in long courses;They activate antiparasitic immunity and effectively suppress the vital activity and reproduction of parasites in the human body.
Parasitic infections are widespread diseases with toxic and harmful effects on the human body.Since treatment with chemical drugs has a negative effect on the body, the optimal solution to the problem of combating parasitosis is herbal products.