Parasitic infections are often overlooked. And the first symptoms of worms in humans are non-specific, so the sick person does not go to the doctor for a long time. Thus, the patient may think that he is overworked, suffering from gastritis or poisoning, experiencing an exacerbation of allergies or arthritis.
How to suspect the appearance of worms
Symptoms of helminths in the body depend on the type and localization of the parasite. Some symptoms appear immediately after infection. Others occur after some time and indicate the migration of worms in the body, increased intoxication, lack of nutrients or vitamins.
The most common symptoms of worms in adults are:
- Increase in body temperature. Fever can be inexpressive - up to 37. 5 ° C, short-term. Episodes of temperature rise coincide with periods of deterioration accompanied by an increase in various groups of lymph nodes.
- One of the most common signs of the presence of helminths is abdominal pain. Feelings of anxiety have a specific localization - in the navel, liver or movement. Pain, disturbance of stool, accompanied by the appearance of impurities in the stool - mucus, blood. Diarrhea attacks are more frequent, but the development of obstruction is also possible due to blockage of the intestinal lumen by parasites.
- Itching in the anus is the first sign and characteristic symptom of pinworms. It happens at night, forcing a person to scratch the anus.
- Helminths cause skin or respiratory allergic reactions as a result of the circulation of their decayed products and toxins in the body. Thus, a person complains of an exacerbation of bronchial asthma, the appearance of dermatitis, eczema.
- Beriberi develops when infected with worms. Deterioration of the condition of hair and nails is manifested in the form of a characteristic "jam" in the corners of the mouth, dry skin. Lack of iron in the body causes the development of anemia, pale skin, and the appearance of bruises under the eyes.
- Helminths also have a pathogenic effect on the nervous system, as a result of which the patient suffers from headaches, nervousness, impaired work ability, intermittent sleep, and emotional instability.
- Worms that migrate through the respiratory system (roundworms) cause dry cough in humans. With the movement of parasites in the muscles, the development of intoxication, sick people complain of pain, pain in the muscles and joints.
On a note!
The first symptoms of infection can appear a few days after helminths penetrate the body of an adult. More often they occur 2-3 weeks after contact with the parasite, and with nomadic worms - after months, years.
The combination of various symptoms does not clearly indicate a certain disease, but it is a reason to worry about your health and consult a doctor. If a patient is engaged in self-diagnosis, looking for information on how to understand the presence of worms, there is a risk of losing time and getting life-threatening complications.
What is the danger of parasite infection?
Helminths in the body not only take the necessary nutrients and vitamins from the person. Worms poison the patient with decay products, affect the internal organs. In humans, parasitic worms can cause serious diseases that require emergency surgical intervention and, in some cases, removal of part of the organ:
- acute intestinal obstruction;
- violation of the integrity of the intestine with the development of peritonitis;
- appendicitis;
- biliary obstruction;
- eye damage.
It is important!
Delayed consequences of invasion, which lead to the deterioration of the condition and the death of the patient, include cirrhosis and liver cancer, pneumonia, pleurisy, sclerosis of the lung tissue, myocarditis, meningitis, hearing and vision disorders, and episyndrome.
How does a worm infection occur?
In order to solve the problem of preventing helminths, it is necessary to have information about where the parasites come from. The most common mechanisms of infection include: alimentary, contact-household, percutaneous, transmitted (associated with blood-sucking insects).
The most typical situations in which worms appear in the body are:
- Consumption of vegetables, fruits, berries or herbs contaminated with parasite eggs.
- Eating poorly cooked meat, fish with helminth larvae. A feeding game that has not passed veterinary supervision. Thus, Trichinella can withstand even long cooking of meat and maintain its vitality.
- Violation of hygiene rules: official attitude to washing hands after returning from the street, contact with pets or street animals.
- Bathing in reservoirs with worm larvae.
- When working in the garden, come into contact with soil that contains parasite larvae.
- Work in conditions where the risk of infection with helminths increases: in groups of children, food, livestock, poultry.
Where are worms found in the human body?
There are many medical myths about where worms live in the human body. Not all of them are based on parasitological data. Some helminths occupy different parts of the intestine and multiply there. Humans can be the primary host of the parasite. Human worms go through the stage of sexual reproduction in the body, and then they are excreted in the feces. In the case of animal helminths, a person is an intermediate host, within which only the asexual (parthenogenetic) phase is possible. Parasites spread to internal organs and damage them. Thus, worms can be detected in the human body:
- under the skin;
- in the liver;
- in the bladder;
- In the eyes;
- in the muscles;
- in the lungs and heart;
- in the brain.
If we consider the descriptions of the life cycle of the helminth with explanations in the form of photographs, we can follow its migration through the body and predict what the main symptoms of the disease will look like.
Diagnosis of worms
The appearance of abdominal pain, fever, skin rashes, cough with sputum, inflammatory and allergic changes in the form of blood are the basis for checking parasites in a person. Infectious disease specialists recommend laboratory tests to detect the helminth or the immune response to its presence in the body.
The following methods help to identify worms in a person:
- stool analysis for parasite eggs;
- scraping or smear for enterobiosis;
- immunological tests to detect antibodies against helminths;
- PCR assays for worm DNA fragments;
- detection of worms in duodenal contents, tissue biopsy samples.
These methods will help to learn the type of parasite and choose an effective drug. If internal organs are damaged, the following will help to diagnose helminth:
- chest x-ray;
- Ultrasound of the liver, heart, pancreas;
- cystoscopy;
- MRI of the brain.
If necessary, the infectious disease specialist will consult a neurologist, ophthalmologist, cardiologist, and urologist.
On a note!
You should not try to identify helminths yourself, turn to "unique computer diagnostics" outside the medical institution. This will lead to loss of time and deterioration of health.
Treatment of worms in humans
If a disease is detected, the infectious disease specialist will give full recommendations on the treatment, regimen and diet of the disease. If necessary, the doctor will suggest hospitalization in the hospital. There is no single "magic" medicine for worms, the symptoms and treatment of helminths in adults can be different.
You should know the basic principles of parasite therapy:
- Medicines are used to fight worms. The choice of the treatment regimen (dose, duration of the course, frequency of administration) depends on the type of helminth and the condition of the patient's body.
- In severe cases of the disease, help is provided in a hospital setting.
- You should not independently reduce the dose, reduce the duration of treatment with tablets or suspension from worms.
- Some drugs require a diet, refuse to drink alcohol.
- There are no "magic" remedies that allow you to quickly get rid of any helminths in 1 day. Really short courses are used to treat some worms in humans, but it is impossible to destroy all parasites in the body with one tablet, tincture or ointment.
- Herbal preparations are used for health reasons in sick people who have contraindications to medicines in the form of tablets or suspensions.
- Antiallergic drugs, hepatoprotectors, enterosorbents, immunomodulators are prescribed as adjuvant therapy. By themselves, they do not help remove worms from a person, but they improve the general well-being of a person by eliminating unpleasant symptoms of the disease and side effects of treatment.
It is important!
Folk remedies are used only as an auxiliary therapy method. Independent use of alternative medicine is fraught with deterioration.
Pharmacy funds
Treatment with drugs from the group of anthelmintic drugs helps to destroy and remove parasites from the body. Pharmaceutical drugs have different application points:
- disrupt the absorption of nutrients by parasites;
- disrupt the metabolism of worms;
- causes muscle paralysis of helminths.
On a note!
With the correct use and prevention of helminthosis in the future, anti-worm drugs really help to save a person forever from parasites living in the intestines and internal organs. However, if the patient ignores elementary hygiene rules, re-infection with parasites is possible.
Also, an infectious disease specialist can prescribe herbal remedies to help poison and expel worms in people. The doctor will recommend certain herbs based on the information about the condition of the body and the type of parasites. Apply to treat the patient: pumpkin seeds, tansy grass and centaury.
Folk remedies against worms
Many patients refuse traditional therapy methods, hoping for the help of traditional medicine. Infectious disease experts warn that attempts to get rid of worms at home with dubious solutions and infusions can lead to increased intoxication and allergic reactions. If you miss the time, the disease will progress, a fatal outcome is possible.
The following home remedies are widely used to remove helminths from the body:
- onion broth;
- pomegranate peel;
- taking enemas and pumpkin seeds;
- unsweetened vegetable and sour berry juices;
- garlic with milk;
- soda enemas;
- wormwood tincture.
Treatment Reviews
Before starting a course of therapy, patients consider various options for dealing with parasites, try to understand how to properly poison helminths. In their reviews, people suffering from helminthic invasion describe traditional drug treatment as a fairly effective method. Getting rid of helminths with folk remedies is extremely rare.
- "I began to worry about itching in the anus. He turned to the therapist, he received an instruction about scraping. It was very unpleasant to find pinworms in the scrap. I read how dangerous helminths are and decided not to poison myself with medicine. On the advice of a doctor, he drank anthelmintic medicine - 1 time a week1 tablet. The course lasted 2 weeks, I immediately felt relief, the itching went away. I believe that it was not such a terrible infection, but the drug worked "perfectly well".
- "After eating fish at the party, I got worms. Diarrhea soon began. I lost weight, my skin was dry, itchy. I studied in detail information on how to treat parasites and restore the body later, I started taking anthelmintic drugs myself. I was ashamed to go to the doctor. The medicine did not help. Folk methodsI tried to fight worms with: I did a liver cleanse with bitters, drank milk with garlic and put an enema. But it didn't get better. I had to see an infectious disease specialist, I am treated with an anthelmintic drug from the benzimidazole class. 4 kilograms when "growing up" to go to the doctorI lost weight, my color faded, I got angry. "
Prevention
Anyone who knows what worms look like in the body can protect themselves and their loved ones from infection. Prevention includes:
- After contact with animals, wash hands with soap and return home.
- Regular deworming for pets.
- Timely change of bedding.
- Regular wet cleaning, ventilation, cleaning of carpets and upholstered furniture.
- Eating meat that has passed veterinary control.
- Comprehensive heat treatment of meat and fish.
- Refusal to eat raw meat, fish, offal.
Infection with helminths requires urgent treatment. You should pay attention to symptoms such as diarrhea, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, weight loss, skin rash, cough, fever and immediately consult a specialist. After treatment, measures should be taken to prevent reinfection.