Parasitic infections often go unnoticed. And the first symptoms of worms in people are non-specific, so the patient does not go to the doctor for a long time. So, 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
Signs 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, an increase in intoxication, a lack of nutrients or vitamins.
The most common signs of worms in adults include:
- Increase in body temperature. The temperature can be unexpressed - up to 37. 5 ° C, short-term. Episodes of increased temperature 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. Discomfort sensations have a specific localization - in the navel, liver or movement. The pain is accompanied by a violation of stool, the appearance of impurities in feces - mucus, blood. More often there are periods of diarrhea, but with the blockage of the intestinal lumen by parasites, the development of obstruction is also possible.
- Itching in the anus is the first sign and characteristic symptom of worms. Occurs at night, forcing a person to scratch the anus.
- Helminths cause allergic skin or respiratory reactions as a result of the circulation of their decay products, toxins, in the body. So, a person complains of exacerbation of bronchial asthma, the appearance of dermatitis, eczema.
- When infected with worms, beriberi develops. It appears in the form of a deterioration of the condition of the hair, nails, the characteristic "jam" in the corners of the mouth, dry skin. The 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, irritability, impaired performance, interrupted sleep and emotional instability.
- Worms that migrate through the respiratory system (roundworms) cause a person to have bouts of dry cough. With the movement of parasites in the muscles, the development of intoxication, patients complain of pain, muscle and joint pain.
On a note!
The first symptoms of infection can appear within a few days after the penetration of helminths into the body of an adult. Most often they occur after 2-3 weeks from the moment of contact with the parasite, and with migratory worms - after months, years.
The combination of different symptoms does not clearly indicate a specific disease, but it is a reason to worry about your health and see a doctor. If a sick person is engaged in self-diagnosis, looking for information on how to understand that you have worms, he risks losing time and getting life-threatening complications.
What is the risk of parasite infection?
Worms in the body not only take the necessary nutrients and vitamins from a person. Worms poison the patient with decay products, affect the internal organs. Parasitic worms in humans can lead to such serious diseases that require emergency surgery, and in some cases with the removal of part of the organ:
- acute intestinal obstruction;
- violation of intestinal integrity with the development of peritonitis;
- appendicitis;
- biliary tract blockage;
- eye damage.
Important!
Among the delayed consequences of invasion, which lead to deterioration of the condition, death of the patient, are cirrhosis and liver cancer, pneumonia, pleurisy, sclerosis of lung tissue, myocarditis, meningitis, hearing and vision impairment, episyndrome.
How does worm infestation occur?
To solve the issue of helminth prevention, it is necessary to have information about where the parasites come from. The most common mechanisms of infection include: food, household contact, percutaneous, transmissible (associated with blood-sucking insects).
Here are the most typical situations in which worms appear in the body:
- Using vegetables, fruits, berries or greens contaminated with parasite eggs.
- Eating poorly cooked meat, fish with helminth larvae. Fed game that has not passed veterinary control. So, Trichinella can withstand even prolonged cooking of meat and maintain their stability.
- Violation of hygiene rules: formal attitude to washing hands after returning from the street, contact with pets or street animals.
- Bathing in tanks containing worm larvae.
- Contact with soil containing parasite larvae while working in the garden.
- Work in conditions where there is an increased risk of infection with helminths: 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 are based on parasitological data. Some worms occupy different sections of the intestine and multiply in it. Humans can be the main hosts of the parasite. The so-called human worms go through the stage of sexual reproduction in the body, then come out in the feces. In the case of animal helminths, a person is an intermediate host, within which only an asexual (parthenogenetic) stage is possible. Parasites spread to internal organs, causing damage to them. So, worms in the human body can be detected:
- under the skin;
- in the liver;
- in the bladder;
- In the eye;
- in the muscles;
- in the lungs and heart;
- in the brain.
If we consider the descriptions of the life cycle of the helminth in the form of a picture with explanations, we can trace its migration through the body and guess 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 appearance of blood are the basis for checking a person for parasites. 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:
- analysis of feces for parasite eggs;
- itching or spotting for enterobiasis;
- immunological tests for the detection of antibodies to helminths;
- PCR assays for worm DNA fragments;
- detection of worms in duodenal contents, tissue biopsy specimens.
These methods will help to detect the type of parasite and to choose an effective drug. If the internal organs are damaged, the following will help to diagnose the helminth:
- X-ray of the chest;
- Ultrasound of the liver, heart, pancreas;
- cystoscopy;
- MRI of the brain.
If necessary, the infectious disease specialist will refer a neurologist, ophthalmologist, cardiologist, urologist for consultation.
On a note!
You should not try to recognize helminths yourself, turn to "unique computer diagnostics" outside the medical institution. This will lead to loss of time, deterioration of health.
Treatment of worms in humans
If a disease is detected, the infectious disease specialist will give full recommendations for disease treatment, regimen and diet. If necessary, the doctor will suggest hospitalization. There is no single "magic" medicine for worms, the symptoms and treatment of helminths in an adult can vary.
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, the condition of the sick person'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 medicines require a diet, refusal to drink alcohol.
- There are no "magic" means that allow you to quickly remove any helminth in 1 day. For the treatment of some worms in humans, short courses are indeed used, but it is impossible to destroy all the parasites in the body with one tablet, solution or ointment.
- Herbal preparations are used in sick people, who for health reasons are contraindicated in drugs in the form of tablets or suspensions.
- Antiallergic drugs, hepatoprotectors, enterosorbents, immunomodulators are prescribed as adjunctive therapy. By themselves, they do not help to remove worms from a person, but improve the general well-being of a person, removing unpleasant symptoms of the disease and side effects of treatment.
Important!
Folk remedies are used only as an auxiliary method of therapy. Independent use of alternative medicine is fraught with aggravation.
Pharmacy funds
Treatment with drugs from the group of anthelmintic drugs helps to destroy and remove parasites from the body. Pharmaceutical drugs have different points of application:
- disrupt the absorption of nutrients by parasites;
- disrupt the metabolism of worms;
- cause muscle paralysis of helminths.
On a note!
With proper use and prevention of helminthiasis in the future, worm remedies really help to rid a person forever of parasites that have settled in the intestines and internal organs. But if the patient neglects basic hygiene rules, re-infection with parasites is possible.
Also, an infectious disease specialist can prescribe herbal medicines that help poison and remove worms in people. The doctor will recommend certain herbs, based on information about the condition of the body and the type of parasites. To cure the patient apply: pumpkin seeds, tansy herb and centaury.
Folk remedies for worms
Many patients refuse traditional methods of therapy, hoping for the help of traditional medicine. Infectionists warn that attempts to get rid of worms at home with dubious solutions, infusions can lead to increased intoxication, allergic reactions. If you waste time, the disease will progress, a fatal outcome is possible.
To remove helminths from the body, the following home remedies are widely used:
- onion stew;
- pomegranate peel;
- enema and ingestion of pumpkin seeds;
- juices from vegetables and sour berries without sugar;
- garlic with milk;
- soda enemas;
- wormwood tincture.
Treatment reviews
Before starting a course of therapy, patients consider different options for the treatment of parasites, trying to understand how to poison helminths correctly. In their reviews, people who have had helminthic invasion describe traditional drug therapy as a very effective method. It is extremely rare to get rid of helminths with folk remedies.
- "I began to worry about the itching in the anus. He turned to the therapist, got a direction for scraping. It was very unpleasant that worms were found in the scratch. I read how dangerous helminths are and decided not to poison myself with self-medication. On the doctor's advice, she drank an anthelmintic medicine - 1 tablet 1 time a week. 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 medicine worked "perfectly well".
- "I got worms after eating fish at a party. Soon diarrhea started. I lost weight, my skin became dry and itchy. I studied in detail the information on how to treat parasites and how to restore the body later, I began to take aanthelmintic medicine. I was ashamed to go to the doctor. The medicine did not help. I tried to fight the worms with folk methods: I cleaned the liver with bitterness, drank milk with garlic and put an enema. But it didn't work anymoregood. I had to go to an infectious disease specialist, I am being treated with an anthelmintic drug from the benzimidazole class. While I was "ripening" to go to the doctor, I lost 4 kilograms, became pale, nervous. "
prevention
Knowing how worms appear in the body, anyone can protect themselves and their loved ones from infection. Prevention includes:
- Washing hands with soap after contact with animals, returning home.
- Regular deworming for pets.
- Timely change of sheets.
- Regular wet cleaning, airing, cleaning of carpets and upholstered furniture.
- Eating meat that has passed veterinary control.
- Complete heat treatment of meat and fish.
- Refusal to eat raw meat, fish, offal.
Infection with helminths requires immediate 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, precautions should be taken to prevent re-infection.