One of the types of worms that become parasites in the human body are worms or, in other words, helminths. These parasites have an amazing ability to live and reproduce very quickly in a wide variety of internal organs: liver and kidneys, brain and muscle tissue, eyes and intestines.
We are very sorry, many of us just underestimate the danger and severity of this parasite, while diseases caused by worms are found in different parts of the planet. That’s why the topic is like worms: symptoms in adult patients are so important to everyone.
Worms: causes and types
Many of us think that in order not to be infected with worms, it is enough to wash our hands more often and follow the rules of general hygiene. But it is not so. Almost 70% of the world's population are carriers of helminths.
It is quite difficult to detect the presence of worms in the body of an adult if you are not a physician who specializes in this field of medicine. This is due to the fact that the disease has almost no obvious symptoms and signs.
There are some of the most common signs that may indicate that a parasite has appeared in the body:
- A person quickly tired, he often shows aggression and anger for no apparent reason. Patients often experience severe depression. Such people do not sleep well or suffer from insomnia.
- In the patient’s abdomen, pain and discomfort and rumbling, bloating and bloating are often indicated. Sick people lose their appetite and lose weight quickly. Or maybe the other way around - the patient has an overly strong appetite and isn’t getting enough food. Constipation or diarrhea is common.
- Due to the fact that helminths feed on the blood of their "owners", patients often experience symptoms such as anemia or anemia.
- Carriers of helminths often experience various types of rashes on the surface of the skin or mucous membranes, and they also experience various allergic reactions.
If a person shows at least one of these signs, this should alert him and cause an immediate appeal to the medical institution.
The main route of entry of helminths into the body is the gastrointestinal tract, along with food or drink. Parasitology distinguishes the following main modes of parasitic attack:
- Helminthiasis. Parasites enter the patient's body through drinks or soil. This can be direct contact with animals or the ingestion of eggs from flies placed on food or fruits and vegetables.
- Contacts. The route of this parasitic infection is most likely through contact with an already infected person.
- Biohelminthiasis. In this case, the parasite enters the body due to the intake of undercooked meat from animals, poultry or fish.
- Insect bite. Mosquitoes are one of the most common worm carriers. At the same time biting the sick and healthy person, the mosquito infects the latter with worms.
From the above, it follows that there are many ways that worm infections can be caused. But one of the most common and dangerous methods is fecal-oral (with food and water).
The human body is a relatively complex mechanism that has several specific barriers that prevent the entry and development of helminths into the body.
One of the first barriers is saliva, which contains many different enzymes. It is this enzyme that has the unique ability to adversely affect most types of worms.
If the worm still manages to survive, it penetrates the stomach. But here a rather unpleasant surprise awaits them - hydrochloric acid and various enzymes that have all the properties necessary to destroy a large number of parasitic species. Moreover, human innate intestinal immunity should not be underestimated.
Intestinal microflora, enzymes, blood cells - these are tireless fighters against worms. It is this natural barrier that is designed to protect our bodies from parasites. But, as soon as this shield is weak, our body begins to be actively attacked by various types of worms.
To know exactly how to deal with parasites, you need to know their types and characteristics. Classifying worms, there are three main major groups:
- Bracelet worm. Representatives of this group are also called nematodes and have more than 24 thousand species of parasites. The distinctive feature of the Round Worm is its shape, which is round in cross section. They have a long, elongated body, both ends pointed. Among the most common varieties of this type of parasite are ringworm, whip worm, cream worm and trichina.
- tape worm. Among the most distinctive features of the life cycle of parasites of this type is the fact that they have an intermediate "host, " i. e. an animal or fish. Eating poorly cooked or raw animal meat or fish has an almost 100% chance of being infected with tapeworms. The most common representatives of this species are broad tapeworms, bovine tapeworms, dwarf tapeworms, etc.
- sucker. Representatives of this group have a flat, leaf -shaped body, up to 1. 5 - 2 m long. At one end of the tal there are two suction cups, with the help of parasites attached to the substrate. As a rule, flukes affect the intestines, muscle tissue or the human nervous system.
Diagnosing worms in humans
It is quite difficult to determine the presence of worms in the body of an adult. This is due to the fact that the symptoms of helminthiasis (headache, poor appetite, fever, dysfunction of the gastrointestinal tract, etc. ) are quite similar to the symptoms of other diseases.
In addition, often the symptom of the presence of helminths in the patient's body is a superficial allergy. There are often cases when a parasitic member with a high probability suspects that a patient has worms, laboratory tests do not confirm this, and the patient has not been successfully treated for dysbiosis for a long time.
Worms: symptoms in adults, treatment - a question that has worried our society for over a hundred years. One of the most common and frequently used methods for determining helminthiasis in adults is fecal analysis for helminth eggs.
Unfortunately, the percentage effectiveness of this method is only 20%. And in the remaining 80% of patients, it is impossible to diagnose the presence of helminths in the body. The low efficiency of such analysis lies in the fact that experts do not take into account facts such as the spawning period by worms. For example, consider a ringworm. They lay eggs mainly in the morning (at 4 - 5). This means that feces taken for analysis in the evening will not show the presence of worm eggs in it.
Often parasite members use methods such as enterobiasis. The essence of this technique is that the abrasion is taken from the patient in the anal canal. This method, unfortunately, is also not very effective.
Patient blood tests also do not give high rates to determine the presence of helminths. In both cases, the reason is the same - the time of analysis and the period of cyst excretion do not coincide.
Some specialists use specially designed tests, by answering questions that are possible to establish about 50% of the development of helminthiasis in patients. Here are the questions for this test:
- Do you feel itchy on your anus?
- Whether there is a rash on the skin.
- Do you feel nauseous in the morning.
- Do you have sleep disorders.
- Do you have bitterness in your mouth?
- Are your lymph nodes swollen?
- Do you notice pain in the muscle area?
If the patient gives a positive answer to 7 questions, this may indicate the presence of helminths in the body of an adult.
Modern medicine recommends using methods such as testing with ultraviolet skin scanners. Unfortunately, this method of diagnosing helminthiasis is not always used. This is due to the fact that the equipment to run it (ultraviolet skin scanner) is quite expensive and not every medical institution can afford it.
It is possible to determine the presence in a person's stool not only worm cysts, but also parts of their body, using methods such as histological coprogram. The essence of this method consists in examining several layers of feces under an electron microscope. This method allows parasite members to obtain the most accurate results.
To determine the presence of worms in the patient's lungs, first of all, the doctor prescribes x-rays, as well as laboratory examination of the patient's sputum.
By using computed tomography or ultrasound, a parasite specialist can easily determine the presence of parasites in a patient’s organs such as the liver or brain.
A complete blood count or immunological test will help identify the presence of parasites in a patient’s blood. To determine if a patient has helminthiasis, specialists use several methods.
Unfortunately, none of them can provide the most reliable results. In this case, there are cases when the treatment process does not give positive results, but only worsens the clinical picture and general condition of the patient.
The most effective remedy for the treatment of various types of worms
Worms in adults, symptoms and treatment - these two concepts are closely related and have a direct relationship.
The process of treating helminthiasis is a rather difficult task. For example, some diseases caused by helminths are similar to cancers such as alveocosis. Other types of diseases caused by tapeworms or echinococci can only be treated with surgery.
The third type of disease cannot be treated with pills. The properly chosen method of treatment depends on how correctly the type of parasite that has settled in the adult body has been established.
The complexity of treatment lies in the fact that anthelmintic drugs only destroy adults, and larvae and eggs remain in the human body and continue to become parasites there.
All drugs used to destroy worms can be conditionally divided into the following groups:
- Means that include Mebendazole. This group of drugs is most often used in the treatment of diseases such as ascariasis, teniasis, echinococcosis, alveococcosis, capillary coccosis, mixed type helminthiasis, etc.
- Preparations containing Diethylcarbamazine. Basically, these funds have shown excellent results in the treatment of diseases affecting the human lymphatic system, the fibers located under the skin and eye tissues.
- Meaning, the active ingredient is Levamisole. Such methods are usually used to treat non-kotorosis, enterobiasis, trichostrogillosis, trichocephalosis, etc.
- Preparations that include Albendazole. It is used primarily for the treatment of cysticercosis and ascariasis.
Never forget that self-medication is not recommended when helminthiasis is detected. This can lead to complications and severity of the clinical picture of the disease.
The main reason for this is that most antihelminthic drugs have toxic properties and require a specially designed regimen for its administration.
To achieve positive treatment, it is necessary to contact a medical professional whose specialization is parasitology. Moreover, a prerequisite for treatment is strict adherence to the recommendations of the doctor.
Human body parasites such as worms are very dangerous to human health. In order for the treatment process to be most effective, the parasitologist makes every effort to determine as accurately as possible which species the parasite that has settled in the patient’s body belongs to.
To destroy the worms, doctors use a fairly large list of drugs. But self-medication is not recommended at all. For the treatment of helminthiasis, separate treatment regimens, doses and course duration are being developed. It is recommended to strictly adhere to the instructions of the parasite expert.