Any person, regardless of age, sex and condition, can become a host and a habitat for parasitic microorganisms. Although the word "host" is a strong word, because they are worms that live in the human body, absorb its nutrients and energy, poison the body and harm the body, causing a series of negative symptoms.
According to statistics from the World Health Organization, the vast majority of people live with at least one type of parasite. And, in general, there are more than 70 species that can choose the human body as a home.
Some people believe that parasites live exclusively in the intestines, while everyone remembers pinworms - small and white worms. But in fact, worms are able to penetrate any internal organ or system, as a result of which they disrupt their functioning, which is dangerous not only for human health, but also for his life.
Is it necessary to consider what types of helminths exist and which are the most common? At the same time, find out what symptoms indicate their presence and what treatment will help you cope with the disease with the least damage to health?
Types of helminths, their classification
There are more than 300 species of parasites in the world, which belong to different classes and groups of microorganisms. In our country there are only 70 species and from this number we can single out 10, which are found in the vast majority of cases.
Parasitic worms, depending on their parasitism characteristics, can be divided into two groups - intestinal and tissue.
The first group chooses the human intestine as its home and may include pinworms, roundworms, lambs, hookworms, whipworms, bovine tapeworms, porcine tapeworms and broad tapeworms.
The tissue group includes trematodes, trichinella, liver cysts, echinococcus and alveoli. They can settle in any internal human organ and live there for years.
Depending on the life cycle of the parasites (as well as the source of infection), they can be divided into the following types:
- Biohelminths - the eggs and larvae of this group of parasites mature in animal organisms (cow, dog, cat) or insects (mosquito, fly). That is, human infection occurs directly from them. And transmission from one person to another is not possible.
- Geohelminths - the eggs and larvae of this group of parasites mature exclusively in the soil, that is, outside the human body.
- Contact parasites - infection occurs directly from a sick person to a healthy person (through a handshake, household items, bedding, etc. ).
Types of worms, depending on the category, are divided into the following varieties:
- Roundworms (nematodes) have different sizes and appearances and are always of different sexes. These include pinworms and roundworms (as pictured).
- Cestodes or flat (tape) helminths are long worms that feed through their own casing. These include bovine and porcine tapeworms (found quite often) and echinococcus (as in the photo).
- Trematodes or flukes - opisthorchiasis, schistosomiasis and some other types of parasitic microorganisms.
Tapeworms and hookworms are always parasites, but the group of roundworms has more than 10, 000 species and only some of them can live in the human body.
Brief characteristics of common pests
Worms, penetrating the human body, cause a disease called enterobiasis. They look like small and round worms, white or yellowish in color, with a maximum size of one centimeter.
Penetrating the human body, they settle in the intestines. Helminths are a type of contact parasite, meaning they can be transmitted from a sick person to a healthy person. At night, the female crawls out of the gut and lays eggs. As a result, the main symptom of this disease is unbearable itching in the anus area.
The life cycle of pinworms varies from 4 to 6 months. It is possible to get rid of them only when the last larva dies. Eggs of parasites have amazing vitality and can adapt to any adverse conditions.
The most common parasites in the human body include the following types:
- Roundworms (ascariasis).
- Toxocara (toxocariasis disease).
- Whipworm (trichocephaly disease).
- Trichinella (trichinosis disease).
- Cattle tape or tape (taeniarinhoz).
- Pig tapeworm (diseases – taniasis, cysticercosis).
Medical statistics say that broad tape is quite common, which causes a disease such as diphyllobothriasis, as well as echinococcus (echinococcosis), cat's coat (opisthorchiasis) and lamblia - yardiasis.
All parasites, during their lifetime, negatively affect the human body and the symptoms of each disease differ significantly.
It is worth noting that the treatment also depends on the type of parasitic microorganism, the intensity of the helminthic infestation and the number of helminths that have penetrated the human body.
Ascaris, Toxocara
The human roundworm is a large, round worm that has a curved (hook-like) end. Sizes vary from 50 cm to one meter in length and about 6 cm in diameter.
The length of the males is always much shorter than the length of the females. As a rule, the size of the male parasite does not exceed 25 cm. Ascaris larvae are relatively small in size. With the intensity of helminthic infestation, roundworms can multiply as quickly as possible, resulting in the formation of balls of parasites in the intestines.
Ascaris (as in the photo) belongs to the geohelminths. Eggs can reach from the soil to the small intestine, where over time they turn into larvae, which, in a favorable environment, can penetrate the circulatory system and from there, through the blood, move to all internal organs- lungs, heart, kidneys, cerebral hemispheres, skin, eyes.
If the larvae settle in the lungs, they destroy the alveoli and enter the bronchi, and then, together with bronchial secretions, in the oral cavity and again end up in the intestines. Thus, secondary infection occurs. Adults can lay several thousand eggs per day and live in the human body for several years. Ascariasis symptoms:
- General malaise, weakness.
- Increased nervousness.
- Increase in body temperature.
- Dyspnea, non-productive cough.
- Pain in the sternum.
The treatment of ascariasis includes preliminary cleansing of the body, the doctor recommends taking laxatives and sorbents that help remove the parasite's waste. Then anthelmintic drugs are prescribed, taking into account the age and weight of the patient and the intensity of the helminthic infestation.
Treatment of roundworms is recommended with drugs aimed at destroying them.
Toxocara is a round parasite (as in the photo), it has a yellow color and a length of up to 10 cm. Infection occurs through contact with animals in the vast majority of cases, you can get infected from cats and dogs.
The female parasite is capable of releasing up to 250 thousand eggs per day. Helminth eggs enter the human body through the oral cavity and then end up in the intestines. Their life cycle can be compared to roundworms, they can also enter the circulatory system and then various internal organs.
In the human body, a helminth larva is not capable of developing into an adult person. In the human body, the larvae can live up to 10 years. The symptoms of toxocariasis vary significantly, it all depends on the organ in which the larva has settled. Common symptoms of the disease include:
- An allergic reaction in the form of a rash, itching, redness of the skin.
- Shortness of breath, difficulty breathing.
- Nonproductive cough.
- Dry wheezing when breathing.
The acute form of the disease has more "traditional" symptoms, which include weakness and apathy, fever, increased body temperature, joint and muscle pain, headaches and dizziness.
The treatment of toxocariasis begins with etiotropic treatment, which directly affects the causes of the disease, that is, the larvae of the parasites. Then, drugs are recommended that restore the functionality of the affected organs and systems.
Whipworm, Trichinella
In appearance, the whipworm is a thin worm, the approximate length of which is from 3 to 5 centimeters, the diameter is like a human hair. It has a sharp tip, through which it is attached to the intestinal mucosa.
The helminth can penetrate the human body from the soil and then move to the intestines, where larvae are formed. As a rule, this type of parasite settles in the area of the cecum and appendix. It can live in the human body for 3 to 4 years.
The peculiarity of infection with this parasite is that the disease can be asymptomatic. However, there are "classic" signs that are most often confused with respiratory diseases - cough, fever, nausea.
Whipworm reduces the body's defenses, as a result of which, in the context of its infection, secondary infections appear, which significantly worsen the patient's condition. The following clinical symptoms are distinguished:
- Pallor of the skin.
- Weakness, nausea.
- Disorders of the digestive system.
- Abdominal pain syndrome.
- There is blood in the stool.
- Increased irritability, convulsive states.
- Headaches and dizziness.
As a rule, it is quite rare to detect a parasite at an early stage of infection. However, treatment must be comprehensive. It includes narrow-spectrum anthelmintic drugs that act exclusively on whipworms, pain relievers and antispasmodics.
Trichinella is a small worm no more than 5 millimeters long. It refers to biohelminths that circulate between predators and domestic animals. The parasite can enter the human body along with animal meat.
The female Trichinella ends up in the human small intestine, where the reproduction process takes place and new larvae emerge. These larvae enter the circulatory system and can spread throughout the human body through the bloodstream. Trichinella's "favorite" area is skeletal muscle, where it can live up to 5 years. The first symptoms are observed in the patient on the 8-10th day of infection:
- Painful sensations in the abdomen.
- Regular nausea.
- Vomiting, digestive system disorder.
- Loss of appetite.
After the larvae travel throughout the body, the symptoms described above become more intense, with additional pain in the joints and muscles and an allergic reaction (hives, itching, rash). If treatment is not started in time, the disease causes complications in the cardiovascular system, central nervous system and respiratory system.
Treatment includes anthelmintic drugs, as well as symptomatic treatment that combats allergic manifestations. In high temperatures, antipyretic drugs are recommended. As a rule, treatment is carried out in a hospital setting.
Cattle and pork tapeworm
The bull tapeworm can reach thirty meters in size, it has a small head and there are thousands of body segments. There are 6 hooks on the head of the pest. Helminth larvae develop in cattle. It can enter the human body through poorly cooked raw meat.
Throughout its life cycle, it remains in the small intestine, where it forms new segments. They are then formed and eggs are taken from them. Each section contains up to 100 thousand eggs.
The parasite feeds on the entire surface of its body and can live in the human body for up to 10 years. Common symptoms of the disease include:
- Systemic abdominal pain.
- Motion sickness.
- Loss of appetite, vomiting.
- Weight loss.
- Increased gas formation.
- Urge to defecate up to 5 times a day.
Treatment includes a health-enhancing diet that creates an unfavorable environment for the life of the parasitic microorganism, as well as anthelmintic drugs. Tablets are taken according to the scheme recommended by the doctor. After taking the medicine, the parasite dies and comes out naturally with the feces.
The pork tape is similar in appearance to the cattle tape, but differs in length - it cannot be more than 5 meters. Infection can occur through eating raw meat, as well as from a sick person. The life cycle of the film is 20-30 years. The parasite can cause two diseases:
- Cysticercosis, when larvae enter the body.
- Taeniasis - an adult "lives" in the body.
Cysticercosis occurs against the background of a sharp headache, seizures, various rashes on the skin and pathological changes in the eyeball are observed. Symptoms caused by an adult parasite:
- Allergic reactions, shortness of breath.
- Abdominal pain, upset stools.
- Loss of appetite, disturbance of the gastrointestinal tract.
- Sleep disturbance, nervousness, agitation.
Treatment of larvae is a long process. Individual larvae are eliminated by surgery and then anthelmintic drugs are prescribed.
To remove an adult from the human body, a narrow-spectrum antiparasitic drug is prescribed, which has a detrimental effect on a specific type of parasite. After the film leaves the body, it is examined to rule out the possibility of finding body parts in the intestines.
As medical practice shows, treating parasitic diseases is much easier than diagnosing them at an early stage. Due to this circumstance, it is recommended to pay attention to the slightest pathological changes in your body and immediately consult a doctor for adequate treatment. The video in this article will tell you about the types of parasites that live in humans.