Worms in humans - symptoms and signs

A very serious problem can be helminthic infection of the human body. Invasion can appear in everyone, regardless of a person's gender, age and social status.

Worms can settle in the small or large intestine, penetrating there in different ways.

They have a serious toxic effect on the organ system as a whole, producing the products of their vital activity.

All this negatively affects a person's resistance to all kinds of infections that attack the body.

parasitic worms from the human body

Division of worms into species

More than 300 different helminthic pathologies are known today. They are provoked by nematodes and cestodes.

The former are round worms, while the latter are flat. They parasitize in different organs and tissues.

It is for this reason that specialists have carried out the work on the classification of parasites. Two groups of worms are recognized according to the possibility of parasitism in the human body:

  • intestines;
  • extraintestinal.

Representatives of the intestinal group are located in the area of the small or large intestines, while the second extraintestinal ones live in the heart, liver, lungs and even muscles.

They travel through the body thanks to the blood flow. As a rule, a person with a good immune system has several protective barriers that prevent worms from entering the body.

There is a special enzyme in the mouth that negatively affects them. If this barrier is passed by the worms, they enter the stomach, where the acidic environment kills their eggs.

It is also common to divide worms according to the diseases they cause. For example, liver flukes cause fascioliasis, tapeworms of cattle - teniarhynchosis, breast worms - enterobiasis, roundworms - ascariasis, etc.

Thanks to intestinal immunity, some antibodies are formed that resist helminths.

Only these barriers are not particularly important in the case when a person has been seriously ill, d. m. th. the immune system is weakened.

The appearance of human worms

To date, a large number of helminths have been presented, which differ in appearance and have special characteristics. All of them will not be described in this article, but the main features are worth identifying.

Helminths in adults can appear in the form of roundworms, which are commonly called roundworms, roundworms, trichina.

The other variety is elongated individuals with pointed ends, but the herds have a flattened body.

They are named so for a reason, because they attach to the excretory tract area of the human body.

This is a special type of worm, which does not have its own respiratory and circulatory system. Flukes feed on feces and mucous, blood.

A separate group should include tapeworms, they have a flattened body shape, similar to a ribbon.

Their habitat is the intestines. An intermediate habitat can be fish and animals for striped individuals.

They have special suction cups that allow them to stick to the intestinal walls. There, the worms settle and live their lives, feeding and multiplying.

Appearance of eggs of human worms

For a long time, helminths can live in humans, the symptoms will not be visible.

Many people only accidentally become aware of their pathology when they start doing stool tests or feel much worse.

In feces, it is not always possible to observe them with the naked eye, even if there is no microscope at hand.

The presence of worm eggs in humans, the symptoms of which are also not visible at first, cannot be seen without the use of special laboratory tools.

If you pass a fecal analysis, then the laboratory assistant will be able to determine if there are worms in the body and determine the type of these parasites.

The data will be based on the type and type of worm eggs that look different from each other.

Those. if the question arises: "how to determine if a person has worms? ", the answer to it will come down to the fact that for a start it is worth going to the hospital and taking the tests prescribed by the doctor.

Ways of infection of the organism

Worms are in the human body in the form of several modes of infection. The most important is the mouth.

In this case, worms enter the human body through dirty hands, unwashed fruits and vegetables. Parasite eggs are inside a person because they live in the soil. It is for this reason that after gardening it is worth washing your hands well and only then sitting down to eat. Otherwise, only a few will be able to avoid the question of how to treat the helminthic invasion.

It is also important not to eat meat and fish that have not been thermally processed and have not been approved by sanitary control.

Here it is worth noting that some types of helminth eggs remain alive even if the meat is cooked.

Another way to infect the body with worms is contact. Those. infection occurs through feces.

Fecal matter of infected people or animals may contain poisonous eggs. They enter the human body and begin to multiply when they become sexually mature individuals.

Experts identify other ways of infection. One of them is related to the skin. Helminths from the aquatic environment penetrate the human body using the epidermis.

Invasion of worms is also possible through receiving the bite of an insect vector. This method is widespread in tropical countries.

But even in the south of our country or in exotic countries, this type of parasite is very easy to catch, which will lead to the fact that a person will have to be interested in how to treat helminths.

The ways of transmission of worms are truly countless, there is also a path from an infected person to a healthy one.

But this does not mean at all that, being together with an infected person, you will catch helminthiasis from him.

The pathology is not able to be transmitted by airborne droplets, there is only a contact method for the transmission of worms. Here it is necessary to define other nuances.

The peculiarity of the ways of infection with worms is that parasite eggs can enter the human body. They will lose the ability to develop and become adults.

They will be able to grow if they are in the environment. If, together with the larva, the necessary nutrients are found, then the egg will begin to develop and grow.

Inactive helminth eggs will be excreted together with feces from the body, a person will begin to infect himself and harm others, if the principles of a hygienic regime are not respected.

The clinical picture of the presence of helminths in the human body

Many people are interested in the question of how to understand that you have worms. The answer to it can be obtained if you pay attention to your well-being.

Symptoms of worms in an adult will vary depending on the types of parasites that are in the body.

Many of them live in the digestive tract, and therefore the signs of the presence of worms in humans will be as follows:

  • state of drowsiness;
  • loss of previous performance;
  • weakness;
  • intoxication of the body with helminths;
  • increased appetite or, on the contrary, a sharp lack of it;
  • weight loss with normal food;
  • constipation;
  • diarrhea;
  • scanty stools with blood;
  • feces with worms;
  • itching sensation in the anus;
  • headache with migraine attacks;
  • violation of healthy sleep;
  • allergic reactions to certain products, this is due to the fact that some types of worms secrete special substances.

Signs of worms in adults can be accompanied by symptoms similar to hepatitis.

The thing is that the parasites affect the liver and the gallbladder area. There are types of trematodes that can be confused with the manifestation of pancreatitis.

In the event of pain in the muscles, excessive sweating and fever, it is worth suspecting that there may be trichinella in the body.

Very rarely, but still cases were recorded when signs of the presence of worms in a person were accompanied by a deterioration in the functioning of the brain, eyes and lungs.

After all, these parasites can settle even in these places, which are not at all characteristic of them. Therefore, signs of worms in people were accompanied by such pain sensations in the area of their residence.

The symptoms in an adult of the appearance of helminths vary, it is for this reason that there are different methods to understand that you have worms, but in reality they turn out to be ineffective.

Symptoms in adults appear only in cases where severe infection is observed. A person may lose a lot of weight, his skin will become pale, and the itching in the anus will not stop.

As you can see, the symptoms of helminthic invasion in adults are very similar to the signs of other pathologies.

Below will be considered the cases of deviation of some systems of the human body, if the worms settle in certain organs.

Dysfunctions of the immune system

Worms provoke a strong weakening of the body's immune forces, removing all useful elements and vitamins.

A person can begin to get seriously ill from a cold, although until recently he did not have a tendency to such pathologies.

He is vulnerable to many infectious or viral diseases, and therefore no minerals and vitamins can help restore immunity.

First of all, you need to find out if a person has worms, and then start treatment for parasites.

Respiratory disease

If the worms find themselves in the respiratory system, they give it a merciless blow. It is possible that asthma, pneumonia, chronic bronchitis and other pathologies of the lung organs begin to appear.

One of the ways to determine if a person has worms is to pay attention to the presence of a persistent nose.

Violation of the functions of the gastrointestinal tract

Helminths can settle in the intestinal area. Symptoms in an adult will appear in this case in the form of problems with stool disorders or constipation.

Nausea and vomiting are not excluded. There is also pain in the intestines, excessive bloating.

A person may eat more than normal and not improve for a long time, or, on the contrary, suddenly refuse to eat.

There are cases when mild symptoms and treatment of pathologies of another type do not bring the desired result.

But there are cases when signs of helminth infection are pronounced. There can be severe diarrhea if the helminths have settled in the body, when large worms block the passage of the intestines, causing complete constipation.

CNS disorder

A large number of helminths in the body requires the earliest possible treatment for worms, because the central nervous system can be seriously affected.

Products secreted by parasites are capable of causing a severe shock to the nervous system, they send the body and cause malfunctions.

A person may suffer from memory loss, frequent headaches with migraine attacks, depression and fatigue.

It will not be easy for him to establish contact with other people and communication can often lead to disagreements.

Proper treatment of worms in adults is an important measure, because serious complications in the work of the central nervous system are possible.

They will be accompanied by a feverish condition and an increase in body temperature up to 39 degrees.

The lack of useful elements due to parasite infection can provoke chronic fatigue syndrome, start the process of anemia and make a person constantly irritable.

Skin pathologies

If the worms enter the human body, the skin deteriorates. In many cases, acne and pimples will be observed.

No matter how hard a person tries, it is simply impossible to cure these pathologies.

Helminths provoke pathologies such as dermatitis, seborrhea and papillomas. They can be manifested by cracks in the heels, itchy skin and peeling of the nail plate.

A person begins to suffer from serious allergic skin reactions that cannot be treated, so it is important to start a course of treatment for worms in an adult. Otherwise, there is a possibility that the skin will age quickly and fade.

It is important to note that the brightness of the clinical picture will depend mainly on the number of individuals in the human body, the place of localization and their immunity.

Some helminths, for example, roundworms, can provoke a general disruption of normal well-being when filariasis goes through an incubation period throughout the year.

The danger of worms to humans

We understood what helminths are, now it remains to understand what harm they can do to a person.

In this case, it is necessary to show that helminths secrete active substances that poison the human body.

Helminths feed on digested nutrients, blood and also like different types of tissue. All this provokes the loss of iron, proteins and other vital vitamins for the development of the organism.

Worms can provoke a malfunction in the digestive tract, spoil the stool, it turns out that in the best case only one person will feel much worse.

An adult has every chance to get rid of worms if you seek help from a doctor in time. Many tools are known today that help cleanse the body of parasites without compromising its integrity.

Diagnostic measures

During the week, the doctor will prescribe the patient 3 tests that can detect eggs. This measure is necessary to obtain a reliable result.

It is also very important to find effective tablets for worms, for this purpose a person should undergo a comprehensive medical examination, which includes:

  • general and biochemical blood tests;
  • itching;
  • urine and feces analysis.

The specialist has a serious task to interview the patient and examine him to identify the characteristic signs of worm infestation.

Symptoms may include itching of the anus, sore mouth, swollen lymph nodes, and joint and muscle pain.

The greater their number, the higher the risk of the presence of worms in the human body.

Medical therapy

After performing the above tests, it is necessary to choose special anthelmintic agents. What is an anthelmintic drug and how it works, the attending physician will be able to tell.

If it is chosen incorrectly, then there is a chance that the body will suffer even more, but it will not be possible to get rid of the parasites.

Each patient will be required to take medication according to a specific treatment regimen. The doctor will do it based on the patient's weight, the form of parasite infection, the patient's age and the degree of the disease.

To avoid the facts of self-infection, it is recommended to take anthelmintic drugs again a few weeks after the course of treatment. This method allows you to remove the rest of the larvae and parasite eggs from the body.

Traditional medicine to get rid of worms

Pumpkin seeds are famous for their great efficiency, which help to remove parasites from the body. It should be clarified that such a medicine must be eaten with a thin film necessarily raw.

It is recommended to be taken in the morning on an empty stomach. If necessary, you can mix them with honey or jam.

The next stage of treatment will be an enema. Only 2 hours after this measure, you can start eating. The course of treatment with pumpkin seeds should be repeated after another 14 days.