There are many types of parasites that enter the human body and live there. Worm infection in children is one of the common diseases. Often their severity is underestimated. They take away nutrients from children's food, causing allergies, intractable drunkenness, reduced immunity and damage to organs in the abdomen.
According to statistics, more than half of the population is infected with parasites, of which children are infected more than that. The early stages of the disease pass without symptoms - in a latent form. Heartworm disease in children, symptoms and treatment parents should learn and understand, sometimes live in people for many years, do not manifest into any disease and only activate when immunity is impaired.
The spread of worms
Diseases that provoke lower worms are called helminthiasis. No one is immune to them, often infected people are the cause of the appearance of worms. Climate has the biggest influence on how common they are. They are most comfortable in hot tropical countries. The number of parasites also depends on the socio-economic level: in underdeveloped areas, the level of hygiene and health is low, especially many people are infected with helminths.
It is generally accepted that trichiasis is a disease characteristic of the lower social classes living in unsanitary conditions, in constant contact with soil or with animals - carriers of invasive pathogens. However, statistics disprove this claim: in prosperous European countries, screening finds worms in a third of patients.
2 million infections are diagnosed annually, and the 20 million figure is based on deworming sales. 80% of them are children. Worms are viable, fertile species, one female lays 200, 000 eggs per day.
Types of Worms
There are a large number of species of worms - more than 300, 70 of which are specific to our region, the rest are brought by visitors from foreign countries. All parasites adapted to live in the human body fall into three broad categories:
- roundworms of the class of roundworms, most often observed in infants (including pinworms, whipworms, Trichinella, roundworms);
- to tapeworms (flat), which are classified as tapeworms (they include tapeworms, tapeworms, echinococci);
- tapeworms or tapeworm parasites that live and reproduce in the intestines, but can be carried through the bloodstream to various human organs. Normally, the intestines, liver, and gallbladder adjacent to the stomach are most infected, but the worms travel to muscle tissue, the lungs, and even the brain and heart.
At the top of popularity are pinworms, which have a round diameter and extremely small parameters - no more than 6 mm. They are localized in the lower part of the colon. More than 24 thousand species of roundworms are known. Females can lay 150 thousand eggs per day. Their systematic foreign migration and reproduction in the intestine is the main reason for the risk of secondary infection with helminthiasis.
Ascariasis, second in distribution, is inherent in preschoolers and younger children. Adult worms look very scary: they grow up to 30 cm long. Females lay about 100, 000 eggs per day. Larvae enter the body through unwashed hands, contaminated food and water. They are transmitted through the bloodstream to all parts of the child's body and settle in them. This is a type of worm that is quite dangerous for the body of an unformed child. Ringworm is often the culprit for allergic reactions in children.
Trichinella is not so common in children. They are the causative agent of trichiasis, which is characterized by lightning-fast egg transmission in the body, causing muscle tissue damage. Consequences of helminthiasis are peritonitis, intestinal bleeding.
Sources and methods of entry
The prevention of helminth infections in children is completely possible if you are informed about the transmission of worms. In fact, there is some possibility of their penetration into the human body. Most of it is reached to a person by household contact or seasoning.
Many believe that strict observance of the principles of personal hygiene will protect from helminthiasis. Unfortunately, this opinion is wrong. Children are most at risk of infection due to close contact with the perpetrator. Each source of cavitation has its own characteristics:
- According to the household contact route, larvae enter the body through infected people, through objects and animals;
- with the seasoning method, the culprits are unwashed palms, water of unclear purity, contaminated food supplies;
- with the route of transmission, the worms are sucked by blood-sucking insects;
- with activity (through the skin) - the testicles of the worms pass through the connective tissue or skin from the soil or from the reservoirs during bathing. Sometimes airborne larvae, along with dust particles, enter the respiratory system.
Despite the diversity of species, children are still infected with them in the same way. Eggs, larvae, part of the body or the whole of the parasite, upon reaching the human body, begin to feed and reproduce, their numbers when left untreated will increase sharply. The patient's health condition is getting worse and worse, he becomes the culprit who transmits invasive diseases to others.
The eggs of the most common helminths - roundworms, pinworms, are covered with a sticky capsule, which firmly adheres to the surface and is kept there. Contagion will happen soon. Once on the palms and fingers, eggs accumulate under the fingernails, from where they are transferred to everyday items a person uses. This is how all family members and surroundings get infected.
Some types of worms can penetrate the placenta, infecting the fetus in utero. Infection from a mother with intestinal worms, possibly during childbirth. Breastfed babies can catch the disease from an infected relative, even though the disease is not spread through breast milk. There are also cases of non-standard transmission of worm eggs from a sick person: during sex or kissing, and contraception in this case is useless.
It is impossible to completely protect themselves from helminthiasis: their larvae live everywhere. However, people who adhere to hygiene requirements, eat heat-treated foods, and regularly take prophylactic treatments for worms are likely to reduce their risk of disease.
Identify helminths
Parasitic infections are most common in the warm season, as babies love to explore their surroundings, spend all day outside, in sandboxes, splashing in storage tanks, eating berries and fruits directlyfrom a tree branch without worrying about washing your hands. and fruit.
In adults, worms need to create a number of obstacles before entering the body: saliva in the mouth, an acidic environment in the stomach, the immune system's intestinal defenses. In children, the defense is much weaker, which is why helminths get through it more easily. Parents need to pay attention to the signs of infectious diseases in their children. Most of them are aware of the difference such as grinding their teeth at night, although this is not the only sign. How to understand that a child has worms? You should pay attention to the symptoms.
General symptoms of worms
The presence of helminths in the child's body poisons the child with waste products, which is why one of the main symptoms of an infection is considered increased fatigue, dizziness, loss of appetite, or changes in appetite. change. The following general features are featured:
- allergic skin reactions - rash, urticaria, eczema;
- gastrointestinal complications - alternating constipation and diarrhea, bloating, nausea, pain above the navel;
- decreased protective immunity, repeated colds, additional fungal infections;
- manifestations of toxic allergic reactions to vaccinations;
- decrease in hemoglobin levels.
Parents should be especially alert to the complexity of these signs in children, for example, when an acute respiratory infection or thrush is difficult to heal. In such cases, it is reasonable to assume the presence of a helminthic invasion.
In addition to the general symptoms of a worm infection, there are individual signs of the presence of a certain parasite in a child.
Symptoms of roundworms
The main symptom of ascariasis in children is a dry cough with worms in children, combined with a rash on the skin, and two weeks later - the manifestation of the general signs of intoxication, pain in the abdominal cavity. A special signal is a change in the neurological and mental state of the child.
Pinworm symptoms
Pinworm infection is declared dehydration of the oral cavity. Infected children complain of irritation in the anal area, especially at night. The child scratches this surface, this surface becomes infected. In girls, these symptoms were supplemented by evidence of bedwetting and vulvovaginitis. Changes in appetite, uncomfortable stools, cough, poor sleep, nervous system disorders.
Manifestations of signs of other worms
The gnathostomiasis is common in temperate and subtropical climates: moisture-loving flagellates. The signs are not quite typical: the pain resembles appendicitis, the baby often shows the need to defecate, and the symptoms of colitis are observed. The result can be rectal prolapse, as well as severe anemia.
Hookworms are moisture-loving, heat-resistant, they also like tropical, subtropical climates, in particular - Krasnodar Territory. One symptom is a rash where the parasite enters the skin. Complications due to severe anemia.
Dogs are carriers of Toxocara canis, the disease spreads everywhere. The symptoms are:
- pain in the abdomen;
- vision loss;
- disorders of the nervous system;
- allergic reaction.
It can turn into bronchitis, pneumonia, bronchial asthma.
Echinococcosis spawns everywhere - on all continents, except Antarctica. For a long time, it develops slowly, the symptoms are nervous disorders, headaches. Serious consequences are the functioning of the brain, lungs, liver, heart, and kidneys. Invasion of spirochetes in children, the child's life-threatening symptoms, is treated surgically.
The fluke disease (opisthorchiasis, small liver fluke) is common in coastal areas, in river basins, the main source of infection is untreated fish. Symptoms of the disease are characterized by jaundice, muscle pain, fever, and allergic rash. The disease is aggravated by peptic ulcer, cirrhosis, purulent cholangitis, peritonitis, chronic hepatitis.
The symptoms of helminthiasis in children are very diverse, the signs are consistent with many diseases, so it is difficult to diagnose using only clinical pictures. More realistic results are obtained by laboratory study - an analysis for worm eggs, and it must be repeated many times.
Age characteristics of the disease
Worms in babies
Most often helminthiasis is found in preschool children one and a half years old or two years old. Newborns rarely get the parasite from an infected mother - during intrauterine development, during childbirth, during breastfeeding. This usually happens after 6 months, starting supplemental feeding, actively exercising the cow. The child does not miss a single germ, bacteria, parasite. Detecting helminthiasis in infants is much more difficult than in children of other ages. Symptoms and signs of worm disease in children are manifested:
- children's anxiety, sleep disorders;
- constant fatigue, coma, general weakness;
- irritation and inflammation in the anal area, and in girls - around the genitals;
- digestive disorders: constipation, diarrhea, vomiting, flatulence, abdominal pain;
- dizziness associated with intoxication of the body;
- lose weight, stop eating, although there are exceptions;
- pale, white skin,
- shadows under the eyes;
- rash on the body, mainly on the thighs;
- negligible temperature rise;
- exacerbations of chronic diseases;
- frequent cough, independent of respiratory illness.
Such symptoms in infants can not only signal an invasion of helminths, but also many other diseases. That is why, to confirm the diagnosis, it is necessary to have stool tests done several times at a certain time.
The symptoms of worms in a 2-year-old child are mostly the same as those of common worms. The introduction of larval and developing forms of worms into the child's body can cause great harm to health, because in newborns, the defenses are just beginning to form, the child is not yet able to fight back. unwanted invaders. The risk is increased because children are willing to taste everything without any knowledge of the principles of hygiene. Regardless of the type of worm, the symptoms of filariasis in two-year-olds are the same. This:
- rash on the skin;
- swollen lymph nodes;
- excessive salivation at night while sleeping;
- sudden increase or decrease in appetite, accompanied by a decrease in body weight;
- sudden nausea, bowel dysfunction.
There are also common signs: burning itching in the anus, in girls - in the genital area, intoxication, fatigue, decreased immunity, disorders of nervous processes.
The symptoms of worms in a 3-year-old child are the same as before.
An important factor leading to entry in children aged 3 to 5 years is their visit to daycare facilities, as well as contact with pets infected with worms. Children become infected with helminthic pathogens more rarely when traveling to foreign countries or from relatives who have been there. The rapid penetration of larvae, eggs of parasites into the child's body is due to:
- deficiency of vitamins, useful elements;
- lack of protein from food;
- poor quality food;
- reduced immunity.
The symptoms of worms in a 5-year-old child are similar. On the website of Dr. Komarovsky you can view photo and video materials on the treatment and prevention of worms, as well as read patient reviews.
Diagnostic
The appearance of the first symptoms indicating an infestation of helminths signals the need for special studies. In clinical practice, the diagnosis of filariasis in preschool children and primary school students is focused. The presumptive diagnosis must be confirmed by laboratory research techniques:
- clinical blood test, which sets the task to find antibodies against some pathogens of parasites;
- gut microscopy and stool analysis, performed three times for an accurate diagnosis;
- an evaluation analysis of the gut microbiota.
When doing a general blood test, they look at the color indicator. The diagnosis is confirmed provided that its index is higher than the established one, the number of eosinophils is increased, on the contrary, hemoglobin is decreased and anemia is manifested. A blood test to check for enzyme-linked immunosorbents for parasites is done on an empty stomach from a vein. Almost one hundred percent efficiency is unmistakable, reliable, even can identify the type of worm, the harm caused by worms to the baby's body.
Analysis of helminth eggs and pathogenic bacteria is carried out on the basis of stool studies. Stool tests for worms do not always give results, which is why they are done repeatedly. For a detailed diagnosis, a biological study of the analysis of sputum, bile, urine, fecal coprogram is used. Opisthorchiasis is identified by examining the contents of the intestine and a duodenoscope.
Additional diagnostic techniques include ultrasound of internal organs, X-ray, computed tomography, and MRI. They help the specialist determine the presence of helminths in the internal organs. The combination of these studies makes it possible to confirm or deny the diagnosis of helminthiasis. The earlier the diagnosis and treatment of worms in children, the less likely their health will be affected.
Healing from invasions by traditional methods
The serious consequences of helminthiasis make it necessary for us to take a responsible approach to the treatment of the disease, contacting specialists - a parasitologist or a pediatrician. Medical treatment consists of 3 stages.
The preparatory phase includes the appointment of sorbents and antihistamines to cleanse the baby's body from harmful substances that have accumulated due to the life cycle of parasites.
Deworming therapy includes the choice of drugs depending on the age, type of pathogen, stage of the disease. Usually, a single receipt of the drug in the form of tablets or suspension is prescribed. After 2 weeks, the course is repeated.
Deworming medicine is very toxic, so when prescribing it, it is necessary to be very careful not to harm the health of the child. Dosage moderation is paramount. Do not buy drugs on your own, take them as prescribed by your doctor, sometimes you can prescribe a combination of drugs. You should carefully read the contraindications of dewormers.
The cleaning plan is carried out after using an anthelmintic agent, when the parasites die, leaving the body in the feces. At this time, there is a large amount of harmful substances splashed into the baby's body. For cleansing, enemas are prescribed, taking sorbents and choleretics. After completing the course of treatment, it is necessary to have blood and stool tests again. If there are complications, the baby is registered for 3 years.
Folk remedies
Herbal healers have a long history of curing parasitic worms. Orthodox medicine recognizes the benefits of several remedies. However, not all of them give a guaranteed result. They should be used in conjunction with a doctor. The following folk recipes are considered the most effective:
- use pumpkin seeds;
- the use of hemp, pumpkin, flaxseed oil;
- milky garlic enema;
- use soda enema;
- carrot juice;
- tansy infusion: 3 tbsp. l. Tansy poured a glass of boiling water, insisted for an hour, infused the child with 1 liter of dessert. three times a day; overdose is unacceptable so that there is no depression of the nervous system;
- Birch resin;
- herbal infusion, wormwood enema.
Precautions
To protect a child from the penetration of helminths, certain rules must be strictly observed:
- teach children to wash their hands before eating and after going for a walk;
- systematically trim the nail plates;
- change the child's clothes more often;
- keeping household utensils and toys clean;
- tetrapods should not be kept indoors;
- teach not to put fingers and toys in the mouth while walking;
- once a year to perform preventive medicine for the whole family.
Worm infestation is a serious problem. The disease is quite common in the world, children are especially susceptible to it. The disease can last for years, causing great harm to the baby's health. Worms secrete toxins in the process of existence, leading to the appearance of many different diseases that make children uncomfortable and uncomfortable. That is why parents should notice the symptoms in time, conduct treatment with the support of a specialist.