Parasitic diseases or damage to the human body by parasites, pathogenic fungi and bacteria, are the second most common after respiratory infections. The main danger is that people are not always aware of the presence of such an injury, and the characteristic symptoms of the disease may not appear for months, while parasites cause irreparable damage to health. For a long time, the symptoms of parasites in the body will be disguised as fatigue and minor pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract.
Helminthiasis is not just a "dirty hands" disease. Eating poorly washed fruits, raw fish (sushi), and insufficiently fried meat can lead to worms and other protozoa. Helminth eggs can be transmitted from an infected person to a healthy person through tactile contact.
WHO statistics are scary: approximately ¾ of the planet's total population is infected with various parasites. The incidence rate in adults and children with pets is 99. 9%.
It is possible to get rid of helminths with the help of medicines and folk remedies, but there are difficult cases where only surgical intervention will help to get rid of pests.
What human organs can be infected with parasites?
There are 3 ways of penetration of worms and helminths into the human body: through the mouth, mucous membranes and the skin. Against the background of a weakening of the immune system, parasites multiply unhindered in the body. Immunity is further depleted, a secondary immunodeficiency develops, the general allergy of the body manifests itself, and resistance to various types of infections decreases. Acute pathologies become chronic, take a severe course.
The favorite habitat of parasites is all parts of the gastrointestinal tract. Of the 300 varieties of parasitic diseases, 70% are intestinal forms. The extraintestinal types of helminthiasis affect:
- skin and subcutaneous fatty tissue;
- liver;
- muscle tissue;
- light;
- brain;
- heart tissue;
- eyeball;
- blood;
- joint capsules.
The moment in which the first symptoms of a lesion appear depends on the type of parasites, the number, the location of their location, as well as the current state of human health.
The main symptoms of parasites in the body are similar for all types of helminth infestations:
- the appetite disappears;
- increases salivation;
- diarrhea alternating with constipation;
- bouts of nausea and vomiting;
- sleep disturbance.
Gnashing of teeth during sleep may indicate worms in a child's body.
The main symptoms of helminthiasis are general malaise, increased irritability, mild dizziness, weight loss, and the development of iron deficiency anemia. In the appearance of allergic reactions (in 70% of cases), they are parasitic lesions that are not paid attention and are not treated in a timely manner.
The main types of parasites and the distinctive symptoms of their presence
Currently, 70 types of parasites have been identified that can live inside humans. They are divided into the following subgroups:
- round worms (worms);
- tapeworms (tapeworms);
- subcutaneous helminths;
- trematodes (trematodes);
- tissue parasites;
- protozoan protozoa.
Symptoms caused by different types of parasites may differ. To understand whether the human body is affected or not, we will consider several of the most typical cases.
Roundworms
Enterobius vermicularis or pinworms are roundworms. They feed on blood and intestinal contents. These 0. 5 to 1 centimeter white worms cause helminthiasis - generalized enterobiasis. According to statistics, the total proportion of this disease of all lesions is 65%, of which 90% are children.
Enterobiasis is contagious and is spread from person to person. The main route of entry of parasites to the body is the ingestion of eggs. The life cycle is 4 weeks; during this time, males and females develop from the eggs, which hatch through the anus and lay eggs on the surrounding skin and on the perineum. Moving and laying eggs causes a strong burning sensation on the skin.
Pinworms are very difficult to treat because the eggs don't just come into contact with the skin. The parasite eggs fall on bedding, shake them to the floor, and contaminate household items and toys.
It is difficult to determine the presence of these parasites in the body, but the signs and symptoms of their presence have their own distinctive characteristics:
- frequent urination, bed-wetting;
- swelling and pain in the lower abdomen, often on the right side;
- loss of appetite;
- diarrhea;
- general muscle weakness;
- Female roundworms and clutches of eggs are visually found in the folds of the anus.
With a small number of colonies, test-based diagnoses can be false negatives. To identify the parasites, a triple analysis of feces and scrapings is carried out, which is repeated after a few days. In rare cases, the doctor may prescribe a blood test with an expanded leukocyte count.
Toxocars: symptoms and treatment of toxocariasis varieties
Refers to a subgroup of nematodes that enter the body after contact with dogs, cats, or soil. Toxocars are not transmitted from person to person, but can be transmitted from the mother to the fetus in utero or reach the child with milk during breastfeeding. Parasite infestation of this species often occurs in the fall or spring.
The symptoms of toxocariasis depend on the location of the person.
Visceral toxocariasis
This type of injury is detected when parasites settle in internal organs: liver, kidney, pancreas, brain or heart of a person. In the vast majority of cases, the toxocars are deposited in the lungs of the patient. The following clinical picture is often seen:
- fever, chills, fever;
- the liver becomes denser, the spleen enlarges;
- lymph nodes are slightly enlarged, tender, and detached from surrounding tissues;
- dry cough with wet wheezing, mainly at night;
- shortness of breath and shortness of breath;
- too frequent bronchitis and bronchopneumonia.
Lack of treatment for helminthiasis in this way can be fatal. Parasites in the heart can cause death.
Neurological toxocariasis
Pathology occurs when parasites enter the central nervous system. Symptoms of the presence of parasites in the human body:
- children become hyperactive, fail neuropsychological tests, and lag behind in development;
- adults complain that it is difficult for them to read and cannot explain why;
- memory is degraded;
- all kinds of neurological disorders manifest.
If tosokars remain in the brain, seizures and epileptiform seizures, paresis, and paralysis of the extremities may occur.
Cutaneous toxocariasis
Symptoms will appear as localized urticaria, eczema, or papular eruptions that appear as toxocar larvae migrate. Patients complain of intolerable itching and the affected areas, in addition to rashes and blisters, become very swollen and red. Laxity of the skin appears around the areas.
Ocular toxocariasis
A lesion in which the larvae of the parasite colonize the eyeball. Their migration is clearly visible even with the naked eye. Only one eye is affected. In most cases, only one parasite is present. However, there are other signs of parasites:
- inflammation of the choroid;
- purulent inflammation of the tissues of the vitreous body;
- children develop strabismus;
- In the exudate of the eyeball there may be formations in the form of "snowballs".
The main diagnostic technique for any form of toxocariasis is anamnesis, immunological tests, and a detailed blood test. The stool test is not done because these parasites do not live in the intestines. With adequate medication, the prognosis for recovery is favorable.
Wide ribbon
This parasite enters the human body through the consumption of raw fish or caviar. The disease is called diphyllobothriasis and it is not transmitted from person to person.
The broad tapeworm can only exist in the small intestine. There are specific symptoms of its presence, which develop in the following order:
- nausea, abdominal pain, vomiting;
- feverish conditions;
- decreased or increased appetite;
- constipation alternating with diarrhea;
- gradual increase in symptoms of B12 deficiency anemia;
- intestinal obstruction caused by blockage of the intestinal lumen by too large a helminth, as well as a violation of superficial and deep sensitivity;
- unsteady gait and crawling under the skin;
- There may be parasite particles in the stool.
The diagnosis of the presence of parasites is made according to the results of blood tests and stool tests.
Bull tapeworm
This tapeworm can grow up to 7-10 meters long. The parasite enters the human body in the form of larvae or eggs contained in raw or undercooked infected cattle meat. The disease is called teniarinchiasis, adults are more susceptible to it.
The signs of parasites in the human body with teniarinchiasis appear sequentially:
- there is a persistent feeling of constant hunger, false bulimia;
- there is a decrease in appetite, sometimes to a total absence;
- pains in the abdomen increase, which may be of different locations, the iliac region on the right hurts more severely;
- persistent severe flatulence and recurrent diarrhea;
- inflammation of the tongue develops;
- Weakened people may have sleep disturbances, fainting spells, and seizures.
It is quite easy to identify and verify the defeat of the bovine tapeworm, its individual segments, proglottids, which emerge from the anus without an act of defecation, especially often at night.
The simplest and most effective diagnostic method is to scrape and analyze the feces to determine the proglottid egg content. The prognosis of treatment is favorable.
Echinococcus
Echinococcus belongs to the class of tapeworms. The main source is stray dogs, wolves, jackals, foxes, which feed on carrion infected with echinococci. It is possible to become infected with parasites from a domestic dog if it has come into contact with stray relatives or with the feces of infected animals.
Human infection occurs when parasite larvae are ingested, usually with contaminated water. A variant is possible when the eggs are inhaled with a gust of wind and adhere to the mucous membranes of the nose or throat, and when the expectoration is swallowed and enters the digestive tract.
The larva of the parasite, which has entered the intestine, is perforated into the bloodstream and with the flow of venous blood reaches the liver, where it fixes. If fixation does not occur, echinococcus can affect the lungs or other organs. Contrary to popular belief, these parasites do not live in human muscles.
By adhering to the organ tissue, the larva begins to grow and forms a cyst. In case of his death, suppuration of the cyst occurs. When a person is infected with a large number of larvae, numerous living and dead echinococcal cysts form.
The symptoms of the presence of this type of parasite do not appear for a long time, but as the cyst grows in the liver, the following symptoms appear:
- violation of stool, frequent vomiting, pain in the solar plexus;
- nodules are felt in the liver;
- in case of compression of the cysts, jaundice develops, accompanied by characteristic symptoms, to which is attached very intense itching;
- when a purulent cyst opens, severe pain, allergic reactions, even anaphylactic shock occur.
If the parasite has attached itself to the lungs, shortness of breath, shortness of breath, chest pain, and a cough with bleeding develop. Penetration of a cyst in the area of the pleura is fatal. With breakthrough in the bronchi, suffocation, blue skin, and severe allergic reactions develop.
The diagnosis is clarified by serological blood tests and confirmation by ultrasound. Echinococcosis can only be treated surgically! Treatment with specific antiparasitic drugs is carried out only in case of massive infection. Drinking alcohol or taking other home remedies for these parasites is useless.
Giardia
It is quite easy to become a carrier of these parasites: human infection occurs with cysts from cats, dogs and rodents. Once in the body, the parasites are localized not only in the liver, but also in the large and small intestines. Giardiasis affects children and adults with weakened immunity and low stomach acid.
The disease is characterized by a wavy course with progressive neurological and allergic symptoms:
- cramps on the right side, especially after eating fatty foods;
- diarrhea alternating with constipation;
- dry and bitter mouth;
- with a normal level of hemoglobin in the blood, there is a pallor of the skin, especially the "white" nose;
- hair falls out;
- cracks and bumps appear on the lips;
- skin on palms and feet peels off, skin rashes appear;
- there are attacks of suffocating cough;
- enlarged liver, spleen, and lymph nodes;
- develops severe apathy and general weakness.
Stool and duodenal contents are examined to clarify the diagnosis.
When you detect signs of parasites, you should not self-medicate, you should contact an infectious disease specialist. Only a doctor will be able to accurately diagnose and prescribe an appropriate complex treatment.