Infection with helminths is possible even in our civilized society. These parasites enter the body unnoticed and poison the products of their vital activity. The secretions of helminth samples are toxic and cause a variety of diseases - from hives to severe health problems. There are also deaths.
Common symptoms of a worm infection
Not only do helminths live in human intestines, certain types of parasites infect other organs and may even be in skeletal muscles. Therefore, the course of each helminthiasis has its own characteristic signs, but there are still general symptoms:
- decreased performance;
- rapid fatigue;
- poisoning;
- weakness;
- drowsiness;
- loss of appetite;
- weight loss;
- joint pain;
- constipation;
- intestinal upset;
- Intolerance to any type of food.
Unfortunately, but many people are infected with parasites, some don’t even know about it. Eggs or cysts can be swallowed with seemingly clean foods. Often worms settle in a child’s body and come out with poorly washed fruits and vegetables, dirty hands, and cats and dogs. The trouble is that there is often no suspicion that someone else is living in us, as there are parasites that do not appear for a long time. Therefore, it is worth getting to know the worms better, what types they are and what symptoms they cause.
Human worms
Pinworms, roundworms, whipworms, and Trichinella (less commonly) can live in the human body.
Roundworms are fusiform round worms 15-40 cm long and 4-6 mm wide. This helminth lives in the small intestine, although there are cases where roundworms crawl into the bile duct and clog them. Inside humans, females mate with males and lay eggs that go out with the feces.
A person with roundworms in uninfected animals.
The eggs should then touch the soil. When they enter the human body with unwashed fruits or vegetables, the larvae are excreted in the intestines, quickly penetrate the blood vessels, and reach the lungs by blood flow. There, the larvae mature and migrate through the trachea and oral cavity into the intestines. And new individuals have already hatched there and everything is repeated. Roundworms live for 14 months.
In case of ascariasis, appetite decreases, nausea, diarrhea, pain in the intestines, allergic manifestations. Sleep is also disturbed, irritability appears. A cough may occur when migrating from the lungs. With the accumulation of ascaris and the sphere, the resulting intestinal obstruction can develop.
Pinworms are small, whitish worms 3-12 mm long. Pinworms live in the small intestine and colon. It is very easy to get infected with these helminths, it is enough not to wash your hands or even swallow the helminth eggs by inhaling the powder. Female pinworms lay eggs in the anus, causing severe itching. Pinworm eggs are so small that they can even be inside the raised dust.
Underwear, hygiene items, food, handshakes, etc. can become infected. through. Pinworms go through the same migration as roundworms. Adults live in humans for only 1-2 months and can be disposed of in a short time with proper hygiene. In addition to itching, the following may be observed: insomnia, absence, irritability, allergic rash.
Vlasoglavs are thin worms that live in the colon and are 30-35 mm long. It can infect parasites in the same way it can infect roundworms. Vlasoglavs stick to the intestinal walls and suck blood. The toxins they emit cause headaches, poor sleep, dizziness and nausea. The lifespan of helminth samples is 5 years.
Trichinella is a small worm, up to 4 mm long. Humans become infected through raw pork containing larvae. Adults live in the intestines, mate and lay eggs, after which they die. Trichinella larvae are excreted, penetrating the intestinal muscle tissue, where they form a capsule and can remain for years.
Helminthiasis causes the following disorders in the body:
- swollen face;
- eyelid edema;
- swelling of the legs and hands;
- skin rash;
- muscle pain;
- fever, temperature;
- headache;
- insomnia or vice versa, drowsiness;
- decreased mobility of the knee and elbow joints; Gastrointestinal disorders have been observed.
Trichinosis is partially cured because if adult worms can be killed with drugs, the larvae of skeletal muscle cannot be killed.
Tapeworms in humans
- The bovine tapewormcan be up to 10 m long. Infection occurs when poorly cooked beef is eaten that contains helminth orphans. Housewives can become infected by tasting raw minced meat with salt. In the body, tapeworms develop from a larva living in the intestines that attaches to the wall for clinging. A person loses weight, loses appetite, dizziness, insomnia, nausea and often vomiting occurs.
- Pig tapewormis smaller, reaching only 2 m. The infection occurs after consuming poorly processed pork. The symptoms are the same as for a bovine tapeworm.
- The length of the broad tapewormis 6-15 m. The source of infection is raw freshwater fish. Helmintiasis occurs with weakness, nausea, vomiting, salivation, abdominal pain, constipation, or diarrhea. There are always bright red painful spots and even cracks on the tongue.
- Dwarf tapewormlength 3-5 cm, infected with handles, toilet seats infected with this helminth if they have worms. Children get sick more often. Helminthiasis causes decreased appetite, nausea and abdominal pain, sometimes with diarrhea. In rare cases, children may have seizures similar to those of epilepsy.
- Echinococcusis one of the most dangerous helminths. The infection comes from dogs and cats - carriers of adult individuals of the parasite. In the human body, larvae hatch from eggs, which are transported by blood to various organs, more often to the liver, and form echinococcus cysts there. In some cases, they can even reach the size of a newborn’s head. Cysts are only removed by surgery.
Human suckers
- Flukeparasitizes the bile ducts and the gallbladder itself. The size of the helminth samples is small - 4-13 mm. The parasite enters the body with the help of lightly salted or poorly cooked (fried) fish. First, this helminthiasis manifests itself with high fever (up to 40 degrees), joint and muscle pain, disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, and, in rare cases, jaundice. Then the acute symptoms fade, paroxysmal pains appear in the pancreas. There may be complications.
- Fasciolais dangerous to health. The worms are up to 3-7 cm long and colonize both the gallbladder and the bile ducts. Man becomes infected with unboiled water or by consuming aquatic plants. Weakness, fever, headache and abdominal pain, hives appear.
Summary of human helminths
Certain types of worms live in the human body for years because they are barely able to manifest in any way. Often, the symptoms of helminthiasis are similar to those of the gastrointestinal tract, so a misdiagnosis is made if no specific tests are performed to identify helminths. But you need to get rid of parasites as a matter of urgency, as they not only remove useful substances from the body, but also release toxins that are dangerous to health.