Worms can live in the human body for a long time without any sign of their presence. The main symptoms of a parasitic infection appear much later, while they often resemble the symptoms of other diseases. A person can look for the cause of their illness for a long time and be treated for a completely different illness, although the solution to the problem is a worm infection.
Usually, parasites are suspected at a later stage, when treatment for other diseases has not helped. By this time, the worms in the body have matured and it becomes more difficult to get rid of them. It is important to be able to recognize symptoms as soon as they appear and get a diagnosis done immediately to find out if a parasitic infection is the cause of the frequent allergic rashes and other unpleasant ailments. or not.
What types of worms can a person get?
Worms are the common name for several types of parasites. A total of about a hundred of them, among which a small group of the most common representatives are distinguished, must be mentioned separately.
Pinworm
Pinworms are the most common infectious worm that affects adults and children. Their presence is easiest to identify. This worm lays eggs in the skin between the buttocks. Therefore, one scraping is usually sufficient to determine the presence of pinworms.
Roundworm
The "target" of roundworms is the respiratory tract. With ascariasis, a lot of sputum is released when coughing. If you take it for analysis, you may find traces of parasitic infestation in it. Body temperature may also increase.
Trichinella
These parasites are the hardest to detect - they stick to the intestinal wall and don't come out like pinworms. Trichinosis has the highest mortality rate of all helminthic lesions - it is a difficult disease to treat. With the outflow of lymph, Trichinella capsules can spread throughout the body.
Symptoms of this lesion resemble typhoid fever.
fluke disease
Flukes are flatworms that affect the liver, lungs, and blood. Infection usually occurs when being in contaminated water or eating undercooked meat.
There are other types of helminthic lesions, but they are not dangerous or widespread. The main symptoms and treatment of all helminthic invasions are similar.
Symptom
Symptoms of roundworm lesions are varied. If most of them are present, the diagnosis and possible parasitic invasion should be considered.
- Bloating, increased gas production, any other problems with the work of the large intestine.
- Frequent constipation or diarrhea. Depends on the stage of development of the parasite. Constipation occurs when the worm samples become large and block the passage of the intestine with blood clots. Diarrhea indicates that long individuals interfere with bile secretion.
- Allergic reaction. Be especially careful if the person is not allergic. Allergies can manifest themselves in different forms - rashes, eczema, the appearance of boils and papillomas.
- Cough. Usually dry, without other cold symptoms. Cough suppressants and antibiotics do not solve the problem.
- Inflammatory diseases of the respiratory system. Worms can travel throughout the body and reach the respiratory tract. This can cause bronchitis, pneumonia, asthma.
- Itching in the anal area. Involves the release of parasites to lay eggs. Appears mainly at night.
- Joint and muscle pain. They also appear due to the movement of parasites in the body.
- Teeth grinding - teeth grinding. It is associated with an increase in nervous system activity during parasitic infection. Appears during sleep.
- Chronic fatigue and a depression-like condition. The waste products of the worms actually poison the body, leading to a decline in a person's health in general.
- All manifestations of decreased immunity, frequent colds. It can be difficult to heal quickly.
If most of these symptoms are observed, the chances of worm disease are very high. It is better to run a series of diagnostic tests immediately to confirm or disprove this conjecture.
Important! Any of these symptoms should be referred to a specialist immediately. These signs are not only indicative of helminthic lesions, but can also be associated with other serious illnesses.
Diagnose
When worms are affected, diagnosis cannot be made solely by the presence of symptoms. Some research should be done. Some of them give almost 100% accurate results.
- Various microscopic examination of feces and debris. These methods are the cheapest and most popular, but they do not give 100% reliable results. Worms can only be recognized using these analyzes at the time of egg laying, otherwise their presence would not be visible.
- ELISA - enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. This method gives an extremely accurate result, which helps to determine the stage of development of the worms and their type. The only limitation of this analysis is that its operating costs are quite high.
- Computerized tomography. This method can help refute or confirm the presence of worms in the body. With this blood test, traces of their vital activity and intoxication will be noticed. The essence of this method is to study the "live" blood that has just been taken.
Important! It is often advised to undergo some research to confirm the results.
Which doctor is treating?
When a pinworm infestation is suspected, it is better to contact your therapist regularly and describe the situation to him. If tests to determine the presence of parasites have been performed independently, they should be brought with you.
A therapist will refer you to a doctor who is more appropriate in the particular situation. If worms are concentrated in the digestive tract, a specialist will issue a referral to a gastroenterologist. This happens in most cases, since most of the parasites live in the intestines.
In some cases, consultation with a parasitologist or parasitologist is required. But doctors with such a narrow profile are far and wide, so situations that don't go beyond a typical infection are entirely up to the attending physician.
Home therapy
As soon as the disease is detected, it is necessary to initiate treatment. Most dewormers have many side effects, so you should take them under the supervision of your doctor.
Medications vary, depending on the type of worm that infects the body. In general, all drugs can be divided into several groups.
- Medicines for roundworms, including pinworms and roundworms.
- Remedies for tapeworms - tapeworms, including beef tapeworms, small tapeworms, tapeworms.
- Medicine to treat flukes, flatworms.
Important! It should be remembered that dewormers are very toxic and should be used with caution.
Use preventive medicine
Since taking dewormers has a lot of negative effects, it is not recommended to take such drugs only, for the sake of prevention, otherwise there is an increased risk of infection. Infections can happen any day: if you take a pill today, you could be sick tomorrow.
There is a small list of indications for prophylactic use against worms:
- The appearance of worms in a family member or a person living in the same apartment. One person can infect the rest, so if helminths are found in one of the family members, the others are advised to take a prophylactic dewormer.
- If a child goes to kindergarten, then their parents, siblings are also advised to take an anthelmintic for prevention. It is believed that in a closed group of children there is a higher risk of spreading the parasite.
- Pet. If there are cats or dogs in the home, especially if they are often out on the street, owners should take precautions with anti-parasitic medications.
- Contact the ground, work with it. Especially for summer residents and wildlife lovers.
- Constant trips to foreign countries. It is more likely to carry a rare parasite from southern countries, where treatment is complicated by the inability to quickly identify the type of parasite.
- Wild animal hobby. These include hiking, fishing, hunting.
Only in these cases is the prophylactic use of anthelmintics permissible and beneficial.
Treatment with folk remedies
Usually, folk antiparasitic drugs support deworming drugs. You should be careful with them - some of them are dangerous or can be harmful if misused.
Cleanse the intestines
Sometimes colon cleansing with a douche is recommended after an anthelmintic to literally get rid of the dying parasites. The plausibility of this method is questionable, but the usual method of douching with water is not dangerous - you can do it for your peace of mind.
Some people recommend enemas with baking soda or salt - this method is even more controversial. Soda and salt can burn the mucous membranes and upset the water balance, so you should not use it. Also, most of the parasites live in another part of the intestine. This method should be stopped as a last resort.
Garlic treatment
It is known that worms are very afraid of sharp and burning foods. Therefore, during the treatment, you can add more garlic to your diet as a spice. You can also eat a few cloves in the morning with a glass of milk. Then you need to have a bowel movement and have breakfast. You can do it without milk - just this product makes it easier to get the garlic.
Inserting tampons soaked in garlic juice into the anus is not recommended. May cause allergies and burns.
Pumpkin seeds
Pumpkin seeds are another effective folk remedy for treating and preventing diseases caused by parasites. There are several methods of using them to fight worms.
On an empty stomach every morning, you need to eat a few tablespoons of pumpkin seeds. Then you should wait about an hour and empty the intestines. If this is not possible, you need to take a laxative. Then you can have breakfast.
For the second method, you need to mix one cup of roasted pumpkin seeds with one cup of honey and one teaspoon of baking soda. Keep this mixture for about ten days in a dark place. Use only glassware. Ready-made mixtures should be eaten with a spoon every morning, before meals.
Important! If you are allergic to folk remedies, they should be ignored.
Preventive
The prevention of diseases caused by parasites is to keep the body and home clean. After going to the bathroom, coming back from the street - you need to wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water. You must not share towels, toothbrushes, combs with other people, even if they are family members.
Meat and fish should be washed before cooking and cooked thoroughly. Wash fruits and vegetables thoroughly, preferably running boiling water over them before using.
An anthelmintic is not recommended for prevention, but you can periodically focus more on spicy, garlic foods. For the same purpose, pumpkin seeds can be included in the diet.
Knowing about all possible symptoms and manifestations of parasitic diseases, they can be detected at an early stage, after which they can be cured quickly and painlessly.