Any person, regardless of his age, gender and status, can become a host and a habitat for parasitic microorganisms. Although the word "host" is a strong word, because worms live in the human body, absorb its nutrients and energy, poison the body and damage the body, causing a number of negative symptoms.
According to statistics from the World Health Organization, the majority of people live with at least one type of parasite. And in total, there are more than 70 species that can choose the human body as a home.
Some people think that parasites live exclusively in the intestines, while everyone remembers pinworms - small and white worms. But in reality, 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.
It is necessary to consider what types of helminths there are 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 harm 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. Only 70 species are found in our country, and from this figure we can separate 10, which are found in the 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 their home and may include pinworms, roundworms, lamblia, hookworms, whipworms, beef tapeworms, pig tapeworms and broad tapeworms.
The tissue group includes trematodes, trichinella, liver fluke, echinococcus and alveococcus. They can settle in any internal human organ and live there for years.
Depending on the life cycle of 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, i. e. outside the human body.
- Contact parasites - the infection occurs directly from a sick person to a healthy person (through a handshake, household items, bedding, etc. ).
Types of worms, depending on the class, are divided into the following varieties:
- Roundworms (nematodes) come in a variety of sizes and appearances and are always of a different sex. These include pinworms and roundworms (as pictured).
- Cestodes or flat (tape) helminths are long worms that feed through their own shell. These include beef and pork tapeworms (quite common) and Echinococcus (as pictured).
- Trematodes or flukes - opisthorchosis, schistosomiasis and some other types of parasitic microorganisms.
Tapeworms and flukes 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.
A brief description of common parasites
Pinworms, penetrating the human body, provoke a disease called enterobiosis. They look like small and round worms, white or yellowish in color, with a maximum size of one centimeter.
Penetrating into the human body, they settle in the intestines. Helminths are a contact type of parasites, i. e. 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 anal area.
The life cycle of sedges varies from 4 to 6 months. It is possible to get rid of them only when the last larva dies. Parasite eggs have incredible vitality and can adapt to any adverse conditions.
The most common parasites in the human body include the following types:
- Roundworms (ascariasis).
- Toxocara (toxocarosis).
- Whipworm (trichocephalosis).
- Trichinella (disease trichinellosis).
- Tapeworm or beef tapeworm (taeniarinhoz).
- Pig tapeworm (diseases - taeniosis, cysticercosis).
Medical statistics say that the broad tapeworm is quite common, which causes a disease such as diphyllobothriosis, as well as echinococcus (echinococcosis), cat fluke (opisthorchosis) and lamblia - giardiasis.
All parasites in the course of their vital activity negatively affect the human body, and the symptoms of each disease are significantly differentiated.
It is worth noting that the treatment also depends on the type of parasitic microorganism, the intensity of the helminthic invasion and the number of helminths that have penetrated the human body.
Ascaris, Toxocara
A human roundworm is a large, round worm that has a curved end (like a hook). Sizes vary from 50 cm to one meter in length and about 6 centimeters in diameter.
The length of the males is always much smaller than the length of the females. As a rule, the size of the male parasite does not exceed 25 centimeters. Ascaris larvae are relatively small in size. With the intensity of the helminth invasion, roundworms are able to multiply as quickly as possible, as a result of which balls of parasites are formed in the intestine.
Ascaris (as in the photo) belongs to the geohelminths. Eggs can fall from the ground into the small intestine, where over time they transform 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, brainhemispheres, skin, eyes.
If the larvae settle in the lungs, they destroy the alveoli and enter the bronchi, and then together with the bronchial secretions in the oral cavity and end up in the intestines again. Thus a secondary infection occurs. Adults can lay several thousand eggs per day and live in the human body for several years. Symptoms of ascariasis:
- General malaise, weakness.
- Increased nervousness.
- Increase in body temperature.
- Shortness of breath, non-productive cough.
- Pain in the sternum.
Treatment of ascariasis includes preliminary cleansing of the body, the doctor recommends taking laxatives and sorbents that help remove the waste products of the parasites. Antihelmintic drugs are then prescribed, taking into account the patient's age and weight, as well as the intensity of the helminthic infestation.
Treatment of roundworms is recommended with drugs aimed at their destruction.
Toxocara is a round parasite (as in the picture), yellow in color and reaching a length of up to 10 centimeters. Infection occurs through contact with animals; in most cases you can get infected from cats and dogs.
The female parasite is capable of releasing up to 250, 000 eggs per day. Helminth eggs enter the human body through the oral cavity and then enter 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, the helminth larva is unable to develop into an adult; its maturation takes place exclusively in the intestines of animals. Larvae can live up to 10 years in the human body. The symptoms of toxocarosis vary greatly, it all depends on the organ in which the larva has settled. Common symptoms of the disease include:
- Allergic reaction in the form of rash, itching, redness of the skin.
- Shortness of breath, difficulty breathing.
- Non-productive coughing fits.
- Dry wheezing when breathing.
The acute form of the disease has more "traditional" symptoms, which include weakness and apathy, fever, elevated body temperature, joint and muscle pain, headache and dizziness.
The treatment of toxocarosis begins with etiotropic therapy, which directly affects the causative agents of the disease, that is, the parasite larvae. 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 end through which it is fixed in the intestinal mucosa.
The helminth can penetrate the human body from the soil and then move to the intestines, where the 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 secondary infections can occur against the background of its infection, which significantly worsen the patient's condition. The following clinical symptoms differ:
- Pallor of the skin.
- Weakness, nausea.
- Disorders of the digestive tract.
- Abdominal pain syndrome.
- There is an admixture of blood in the stool.
- Increased irritability, convulsive states.
- Headache and dizziness.
As a rule, it is quite rare to find a parasite at an early stage of infection. However, treatment should be comprehensive. It includes narrow-spectrum anthelmintic drugs that act exclusively on worms, pain relievers and antispasmodics.
Trichinella is a small worm no more than 5 millimeters long. It refers to biohelminths that circulate among carnivore and domestic animals. The parasite can enter the human body along with animal meat.
The female trichinella enters the human small intestine, where the reproduction process takes place and new larvae appear. These larvae enter the circulatory system and can spread throughout the human body through the bloodstream. The "favorite" local area of trichinella is the skeletal muscles, 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 abdominal area.
- Regular nausea.
- Vomiting, disturbance of the digestive tract.
- Loss of appetite.
After the larvae travel around the body, the symptoms described above become more pronounced, with additional joint and muscle pain and an allergic reaction (hives, itching, rash). If treatment is not started on time, the disease causes complications in the cardiovascular system, central nervous system and respiratory system.
Treatment includes anthelmintic drugs, as well as symptomatic therapy that combats allergic manifestations. Antipyretics are recommended for high temperatures. As a rule, the therapy is carried out in hospital conditions.
Beef and pork tapeworm
The bull tapeworm can reach dimensions of up to thirty meters, has a small head, and has thousands of segments on its body. There are 6 hooks on the head of the parasite. Helminth larvae develop in cattle. It can enter the human body through improperly thermally processed raw meat.
Throughout its life cycle, it remains in the small intestine, where it forms new segments. Then they are formed and eggs are obtained from them. Each segment 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.
- nausea
- Loss of appetite, vomiting.
- Loss of body weight.
- Increased formation of gases.
- Urges to defecate up to 5 times a day.
Treatment includes a healthy diet that creates an unfavorable environment for the life of the parasitic microorganism, as well as anthelmintic drugs. The 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 pig tapeworm is similar in appearance to the beef tapeworm, but differs in length - it can be no more than 5 meters. Infection can occur both by eating raw meat and by a sick person. The life cycle of a tapeworm is 20-30 years. The parasite can cause two diseases:
- Cysticercosis, when the larvae enter the body.
- Taeniasis - an adult "lives" in the body.
Cysticercosis appears against the background of severe headache, epileptic seizures, various skin rashes and pathological changes in the eyeball. Symptoms caused by an adult parasite:
- Allergic reactions, shortness of breath.
- Abdominal pain, stool disorder.
- Loss of appetite, disturbance of the gastrointestinal tract.
- Sleep disturbance, nervousness, excitability.
Treatment of larvae is a long process. Single larvae are eliminated by surgery, after which 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 certain type of parasite. After the tapeworm leaves the body, it is examined to rule out the possibility that parts of its body are found in the intestine.
As medical practice shows, treating parasitic diseases is much easier than diagnosing them at an early stage. In view of this circumstance, it is recommended to pay attention to the smallest pathological changes in your body and immediately consult a doctor for adequate therapy. The video in this article will tell you about the types of parasites that live in humans.