Symptoms of the presence of worms in a child's body, causes of the appearance of parasites in children, treatment

Helminthosis is a parasitic disease, especially in children. If worms have appeared in one of the organs or systems of the child's body, their negative effect will not only affect his activity, but also affect the work of the immune and nervous systems. Symptoms such as cough, loss of appetite, indigestion, allergic reaction may be accompanied by other unrelated symptoms. If you suspect a helminthic invasion, it is important to immediately contact a specialist and not self-medicate.

Why is helminthosis dangerous?

Most of the helminthiasis of the most common types in children are parasites in the intestines. There they live and feed, eventually multiplying and releasing toxins. Parasitic worms also have a mechanical effect on the walls of the intestine. The result of the active life of worms in a child's body can be:

• Avitaminosis and weight loss. These problems are caused by lack of nutrients and vitamins. As a result, children begin to lag behind in development. Pathological processes may begin in other organs.
• Intestinal inflammation, colitis, dysbacteriosis, bleeding. All these unpleasant and serious complications are caused by mechanical damage caused by worms in children.
• Development of inflammatory processes in the appendix, liver, gall bladder. These are organs adjacent to the intestines where parasites can move.
• Intestinal obstruction. It can be partial or complete, and sometimes there is a risk of rupture of the intestinal wall.
• intoxication of the body. When worms live inside a person and die, they release aggressive toxins.
• Allergy. Waste products of parasites are considered strong allergens.
• Liver dysfunction. For this reason, the child must be on a diet for many years and additionally consume enzymes.
• Psychosis. Helminths have a negative effect on the patient's nervous system.

Types of worms that affect the body of a child

There are many types of parasites that can appear in a child's body. They differ in size, being both small and large, and also manifest themselves in different ways and have a different incubation period, which varies from 1 to 1. 5 months. In order to prescribe effective drugs that will help treat helminths, you need to correctly identify their type. The most common types in children are:

1. Tape. These types of worms include cestodes, chick tapeworm, tapeworm and exinococcus.
2. Ringed. Among them are annelids.
3. Is it round? Their representatives are trichinella, pinworms, whipworms, nematodes, roundworms.
4. pricklyThey are represented by scrapers.
5. rightAmong them are trematodes and flukes.

Causes and methods of infection

It is possible to get infected with helminthosis not only in an exotic country or by trying an unusual dish on the menu. Playing in the sandbox and unwashed hands are the easiest ways for worms to enter a child's body. Babies tend to touch and learn everything without thinking about the purity of the subject being studied. After that, they can safely lick their fingers without washing them first. Worms remain alive for a very long time (from weeks to months) on the surface of various objects.

In addition to dirty hands, the main sources of infection include:

• dirty toys and surfaces;
• clothes;
• shoe;
• railings at the entrance;
• door handles;
• raw water;
• dirty vegetables and fruits;
• earth, soil, sand;
• contact with a sick child;
• meat that is not good enough;
• poorly thermally processed fish or other seafood.

Symptoms of the presence of parasites in children

Usually, any manifestations of the presence of parasites in the body in children up to 1 year old are observed in isolated cases. The first symptoms indicating infection with helminths are already noted in children who go to kindergarten or other developing institutions at an older age (about 2-3 years).

Helminthoses in children are very diverse, and each individual species has its own characteristics. However, there are a number of symptoms that are characteristic of any type of worm:

• irritability and moodiness for no reason;
• restless sleep;
• allergies;
• itching in the anus;
• increased salivation;
• indigestion accompanied by diarrhea, constipation, nausea and bloating;
• loss of appetite;
• weight loss with good nutrition;
• pallor of the skin.

Adult children may have these symptoms:

• Headache;
• upset stomach;
• dizziness;
• increased fatigue;
• poor concentration.

Enterobiosis (pinworms)

The disease in which parasites such as pinworms enter the child's body is called enterobiosis. This type of helminth is one of the most common in young children of preschool age - from 2 to 5 years. Compared to other types of parasites, they are distinguished by their average size of 5-13 mm and minimal damage.

Their presence causes the appearance of the following symptoms:

1. Violent itching in the anus. Its intensity can be so strong that the child will not sleep well, scratches the anus, causes irritation and inflammation.
2. Urinary incontinence during sleep at night. It appears in girls. This happens when pinworms from the anus enter the urethra. As a result, the baby begins to develop urethritis, vaginitis or cystitis.

Pinworms are easy to get rid of and are not as dangerous as other worms. In time, when the first symptoms appear, it is important to consult a doctor and undergo the necessary tests. If pinworms are detected in a child, parents also need treatment. All clothes, towels and other rags should be washed and ironed, the room should be washed thoroughly, because the eggs of these worms are found on all surfaces of the infected person's house.

Ascariasis (tubeworm)

The second most common worms in children are roundworms, up to 40 cm in size, they live in the small intestine - roundworms. In addition to the general symptoms of helminthosis, in the case of ascaris, an infected person in the initial stage develops an unreasonable cough in the absence of any inflammatory processes in the respiratory tract. Its appearance is due to the larvae of this type of parasites entering the lungs and upper respiratory tract, and again entering the stomach through coughing.

Other characteristic features include:

• headache and dizziness;
• allergies;
• enlarged lymph nodes;
• high temperature;
• intestinal disorders.

At the same time, there is no itching on the buttocks with roundworms. Not only the intestines, but any other organ or system of the body can become a place of residence.

Trichuriasis (whisker head)

These parasites in children are very thin-bodied worms up to 5 cm in length. A female whip can lay up to 2, 000 eggs at a time. Usually, such helminths are more common in adolescence and less often in young children.

A distinctive feature of trichuriasis is the almost complete absence of signs of helminthic invasion. Possible symptoms include:

• disorders in the work of the nervous system (irritation, headache);
• problems with the digestive system accompanied by diarrhea, nausea or vomiting;
• increase in body temperature.

Symptoms of other parasites

Among other types of worms that can occur in children, the following can be distinguished:

• Hymenolepiasis or tapeworm of chick rats. It has no specific symptoms. Its presence is recognized by nausea, loss of appetite, heartburn, diarrhea and constipation, headache, abdominal pain, increased salivation, dizziness, fatigue, skin rashes, allergic rhinitis and bronchospasm.
• Opistorchiasis or Siberian fluke of cats. These worms in a child are characterized by subfebrile temperature, skin rashes, swollen lymph nodes, pain in the joints and right hypochondrium, pancreatitis, gastritis and other symptoms of digestive tract disorders, constant catarrhal syndrome, etc.

• Toxocarosis. It is transmitted through animals. The main symptoms are allergic cough with suffocation and skin rash characterized by severe itching.
• Wide tape. The source of infection is fried or undercooked fish. Symptoms include abdominal pain, allergic reaction, B12 deficiency anemia, and other common signs of intestinal disorders.

How to check if your child has worms?

In most cases, it is difficult for parents to associate specific symptoms with helminthiasis or to understand that the child suddenly vomits or has other symptoms for no reason. With the slightest doubt about the appearance of worms, it is necessary to turn to specialists and undergo tests that facilitate the verification of the hypothesis of helminthic invasion. It will not take much time and effort, but the cause of the baby's illness will be clear and it will be possible to treat it in time.

Self-diagnosis

Self-diagnosis is a careful monitoring of changes in the child's behavior, development, habits, daily and normal state - both physical and emotional-psychological.

This includes:

• periodic examination of feces for the presence of worms;
• control the frequency of visits to the toilet;
• skin examination for rash, redness, or irritation;
• checking the amount of food consumed.

Test

Medical diagnosis is necessary to confirm the diagnosis when worms are visually detected or only a helminthic invasion is suspected. To find the cause of the symptoms, you should undergo a series of tests, which include:

1. Stool analysis. There you can find eggs or parts of overgrown worms. The effectiveness of the method is maximum when there are already adult individuals in the intestine, i. e. approximately 3 weeks to one month after infection. Fecal material should be collected in the morning and sent to the laboratory.
2. A smear or scraping from the anus. To do this, use a dry cotton swab dipped in glycerin or adhesive tape. The analysis makes it possible to identify worm larvae deposited in the skin areas of the anus.
3. General blood analysis. In patients with helminthiasis in the blood, the number of immune cells may increase, the erythrocyte sedimentation rate is high, and the level of hemoglobin decreases.
4. ELISA blood test. With the help of staining enzymes that attract worms, viruses and other foreign bodies, it allows detecting parasites at an early stage.

Additional tests for parasites in a child that can be done on an outpatient basis include:

• Analysis for the presence of IgG antibodies;
• ultrasound procedure;
• x-ray.

Features of drug treatment

The appointment of drugs to combat parasites in a child should be decided by a doctor after passing all the necessary tests and determining the exact diagnosis and type of worms. Among the most common drugs against helminthic invasion, it should be noted:

1. Anthelmintic drug that affects nematodes. Admission is allowed from 6 months. Effective against all types of roundworms, but useless against flatworms.
2. Anthelmintic drug of the benzimidazole group. It is appointed for 2-3 years. The dosage is determined at the rate of 10 mg per kilogram of body weight.
3. Antiprotozoal and antimicrobial drug from the group of nitroimidazoles. The daily dose is suitable for any age.
4. An anthelmintic drug of the benzimidazole group. For children from 2 years old against roundworms.

What folk remedies can help?

In addition to drugs, worms can be treated with folk remedies.

The most popular products that can provide effective treatment of worms in children are:

• garlic. Roundworms, tapeworms, pinworms are successfully destroyed and fight against many other types of parasites. Suitable for children above 5 years of age and with a healthy stomach. 1 clove should be given once a day before meals. It can be taken with water or milk. Garlic is also an excellent antiviral agent.
• Pumpkin seeds. They should be eaten on an empty stomach and raw. Usually children like this treatment. Otherwise, if the child is not allergic to honey, they can be crushed and mixed with honey.
• Sagebrush. Allowed for children from 12 years old. To simplify the reception, it should be mixed with a piece of bread and salt.
• Fresh carrot juice. Half a cup once a day on an empty stomach is enough for 7-10 days. You can also bite into a raw carrot.
• Beet juice. It is given on an empty stomach. It is recommended to replace it with carrots in order not to cause stool disturbances.
• walnutA few pieces a day will be enough for a child.
• A pineapple. Fresh, canned fruit is a delicious and effective remedy.
• citrus fruits. You can add berries and fruits with a sour taste to their "company".

Prevention

Regardless of the type of worms, prevention consists in observing the rules of personal hygiene:

1. Washed food. All vegetables, fruits and berries should be washed thoroughly before eating. As an additional measure, products can be washed with hot water.
2. Clean hands. They need to be washed before eating, after walking, after visiting the hospital and staying in public places, after going to the toilet and playing with animals, even pets.
3. Deworming of pets. It should be done at least 2 times a year.
4. Boiled or filtered water for drinking. It is forbidden to drink water from open reservoirs. You should also avoid swimming in them so that splashing water does not enter your mouth. Salt lakes and seas are exceptions.
5. Regular prevention with the help of folk remedies.
6. Caring for old and new toys. Soft toys should be washed periodically, and plastic and plastic ones should be washed with boiled water. New ones must be poured with boiling water before giving to the child.
7. No insects! Flies, mosquitoes, cockroaches carry helminth eggs in their claws. It is important to prevent them from entering the house. To do this, you can use fumigators, adhesive tapes and special colored pencils.
8. Exclusion of fish and meat dishes from the child's diet, which require less frying of animal products.
9. Fecal analysis once a year. This procedure will help detect worms at an early stage.