Intestinal or other worms in humans are an invasion that affects the whole body. This disease is caused by infection by eggs and larvae of worms and is characterized by a number of specific symptoms.
The diagnosis is made by several tests, both stool and blood. Worms in the abdomen and other organs are found in adults and children, may appear in the anus, in the stool or may not manifest in any way.
Reasons
The worms in the intestine are transmitted mainly by faecal-oral route, ie for infection it is necessary to swallow the eggs of parasites or larvae of the worm. An unpleasant feature of this invasion is that some types of helminths in children and adults remain viable for a long time outside the body of the host (for example, in water, soil).
The eggs of the parasites that adults lay there remain able to become infected for several months. This feature leads to the fact that some types of worms in children and adults are very common.
The main routes of infection are as follows:
- Infection through the use of untreated water, which can be in a well, natural reservoir and even run from the tap. Almost all intestinal parasites in humans survive and multiply in water for a long time, so it is better to drink bottled water. In areas unfavorable for sanitary conditions, the water in the well can be used only after prolonged boiling;
- The appearance of worms in the baby's ass can occur as a result of eating poorly washed vegetables. If manure has been used to fertilize soil that has been infested with worms, then their larvae, eggs and adults emerge and survive for a long time in the soil. Together with the soil particles, the eggs fall on the vegetables. If such vegetables are poorly washed, then they will enter the body of the host, provoking helminth infestation in humans;
- Abdominal bloating and other characteristic symptoms of infection may occur after eating infected meat, fish or poultry. If an animal, bird or fish has suffered from a helminth infestation during its lifetime, then its meat is most likely also infected, while parasites (such as fish) are easily rooted in the human body. You can get rid of them only as a result of careful and prolonged heat treatment of the meat (cooking or frying at maximum temperatures). You can also defeat the invasion by freezing. But since most modern household freezers are able to give a maximum temperature of about 8 degrees, it is necessary to keep meat, fish or poultry there for at least a week;
- Signs of worm infection in humans may occur after contact with a pet. Dogs and cats walking on the street almost always have worms in their stomachs (domestic cats are not usually infected). When performing hygienic procedures, the animal spreads the eggs of the worm from the anus all over the fur. If you kiss such an animal or do not wash your hands after contact with it, you can get worms in the human body, as animal invasions take root and multiply in the human body;
- One may notice bloating and other signs of helminths even after swimming in an infected pond. This is a rather rare method, but infection is possible;
- The transmission of helminthiasis in humans from one individual to another occurs through surfaces, towels, underwear. Eggs and larvae move to the surface or tissue of an infected person's skin and from there migrate to a healthy person's skin when touched. They are then likely to fall into the oral cavity of a healthy person and develop an infection.
It is worth remembering that many types of intestinal parasites are common in children's groups. This is because many children are not very concerned about hygiene and many surfaces in kindergartens are covered with helminth eggs, the photo of which is presented below, even if only one child was initially ill.
For this reason, the primary task of parents is to explain to the baby that all types of worms in humans are dangerous and can linger on the skin of the hands and get into the mouth from it. For this reason, good hygiene is important. At the end of the article is published a video about the spread of worms in women, men and children and the peculiarities of their development.
Varieties
Some patients are interested in what color the worms are and how to visually determine what is in the stool? Most often these are white or light worms, although sometimes transparent worms are also found in humans. They are flat or round, sometimes with two dark food channels on the sides.
- The largest human worms are called tapeworms. The largest in this group is the tapeworm. According to scientific studies, they can live in the gut for up to 40 years and reach several meters in length.
- Roundworms are the most common type of pest that belong to the roundworm nematodes. Can such individuals be very large? Females reach a length of about 25 cm, males - 12 cm;
- Pinworms are more common in children than in adults. These are small individuals, similar in description to roundworms, but smaller. The largest blade barely reaches 10-12 cm;
- Giardia is the smallest species of parasite. This is a fairly common phenomenon. If it is found in the stool, you need to think about what to do with the worms and start choosing a treatment;
- Trichinosis infestations are characterized by the most severe course, there is fever and swelling of the face. Such invasions are called those caused by Trichinella nematodes.
The most common types of individuals have common features and are seen in the stool. Therefore, the feces of a person with worms can be distinguished from the feces of someone who is not infected.
Localization
Some people who suspect they have an invasion wonder where the worms are located in the human body? Although worms are traditionally thought to appear in the human body in the gut, this is not entirely true.
Almost all species of helminths in humans can develop in many organs and systems, which is due to the peculiarities of their migration, when the larvae, hatched from eggs in the intestine, enter the bloodstream and spread with it throughout the body.
They enter the human body through the mouth, but their manifestation can occur in the following places:
- Subcutaneous parasites are not a very common type of tropical parasite that is transmitted by insects (tsetse fly, specific tropical mites, etc. ). Parasites under the skin are almost never found in the middle lane, but there is a risk of infection with them during the tour. Such parasites are localized under the skin only in the initial stages of their life cycle, after which they can move into the muscles;
- A common place where localization is observed in women is the vagina, uterus. They can crawl there from the anus or infect the reproductive system during the migration phase;
- Worms in the ears of a baby or adult are also found, as larvae often infect ENT organs (including the throat);
- Many worms choose the digestive system and intestines as sites. There they have enough food (blood and serum) and oxygen to maintain a normal life. Treating intestinal parasites is usually easier than others. But even if they were originally in a person's stomach, then over time they can infect other organs;
- Signs of worms in the lungs can be confused with the characteristic symptoms of pleurisy or pneumonia. Nevertheless, this is a common location for worms, so it is important to diagnose their presence in time;
- If the parasites curl up in the brain, then the nervous system is damaged. It can manifest itself as convulsions, irritability, unwarranted anxiety, etc. ;
- If worms in humans occur in the heart, then tachycardia, arrhythmias and others are possible. In particularly severe cases, heart failure develops;
- In the liver, helminths are also common, because it is there that they get mainly from the intestines through the portal vein.
As can be seen from the above, patients who are wondering where worms live in humans should consider not only the type of invasion but also the stage of infection.
Complications
It is important to know what worms cause and what will happen if you do not treat them? Worms cause general intoxication of the body, which can be severe.
Allergic symptoms also occur as the immune system produces histamines to protect itself from foreign invasion. In this case, you need to remember what the allergic rash with helminths looks like - these are medium pink spots, sometimes hives, itching, usually absent.
Both in the liver and in other organs, tapeworms in humans or other parasites cause mucosal damage and local inflammatory processes in a small area.
As a result, an abscess may occur (in the case of the liver, with a breakthrough of pus in the abdominal cavity and blood poisoning if left untreated).
As with bronchial and lung damage, coughing often occurs. Then develops bronchitis, pleurisy or pneumonia, which must be treated with antibiotics, despite the fact that this is a reaction to the invasion.
With the localization of parasites in the vagina, exacerbations of chronic diseases and disorders of the microflora may occur. It is believed that such a phenomenon can lead to infertility.
Symptoms
The symptoms of worms in humans are varied, but are common to almost all types of parasites. However, chronic and acute infections can have different symptoms in adults. Acute infection is characterized by the following symptoms of the disease:
- Fever in normal general condition (up to 38 degrees);
- Chills and skin symptoms (rash) similar to fever;
- When the larvae are localized in the lungs or bronchi, the symptoms in the body are expressed by coughing;
- Inflammatory processes are signs of the presence of worms in the human body, therefore there is an increase in lymph nodes;
- Worms and allergies in individuals are related, so there may be signs of worms in humans in the form of rashes and allergic reactions.
But most often the symptoms of worms in humans are intestinal, because this is where the parasite is most often located. These are symptoms of a worm infection in an individual, such as:
- Stool disorders - constipation or diarrhea, sometimes bloody;
- The first symptoms of worms are loss of appetite, nausea, aversion to certain foods, which ultimately leads to weight loss;
- The first signs of worms in adults may also be flatulence and bloating;
- Over time, abdominal and stomach pain develops, which does not depend on food intake, periodic or constant;
- In worms a person develops symptoms of general intoxication - paleness, drowsiness, chronic fatigue and others.
Skin parasites cause specific symptoms in adults and children. A sign of worms is tingling in the extremities, tingling of the skin, headache, dizziness, much less often - fever. In any case, the incubation period of worms in humans is quite long and can take from a few weeks to several months.
For this reason, the first signs of worms in humans may not appear soon. And since almost all symptoms in humans of the presence of worms can indicate other diseases, often if a person has worms, this becomes clear only when they get into the stool.
Diagnosis
Even if you know how worms appear, you may not notice their appearance. Some types of worms do not appear for a long time and the diagnosis of worms in humans can not be done at home. The following methods are used in laboratories to determine if there are worms, the symptoms and treatment of which are discussed in this article:
- General blood test. Worms can be in case there are deviations in it. It looks like severe anemia - a significant reduction in iron and hemoglobin levels. It occurs as a result of the fact that worms in humans cause local bleeding, constantly damage the mucous membranes, and are also parasites that feed directly on blood;
- If the worms are in the intestines, then their waste products will be present in the feces. What signs of worms in an individual are seen in the stool? These are eggs, larvae or even adult parasites. Although, if you know what worms look like in humans, adults in the feces can be identified independently;
- Regardless of where the worms come from in humans and what kind of worms in humans (protozoa, roundworms, tapeworms) antibodies to them appear in the blood. This is due to the fact that as soon as a person has worms, the immune system views them as a foreign invasion and tries to defend itself against it by producing antibodies. This method helps to determine what types of worms are present and what symptoms should be expected, as different antibodies are produced for each invasion.
The latter method of diagnosis is especially good because it allows you to learn about worms at an early stage, identify types of worms and learn how to treat worms in humans.
Treatment
Some of these patients, who are interested in what human worms look like and how they enter the body, also want to know how to cure them in an individual. The official drug regimen for the treatment of worms in adults includes a single dose of an anthelmintic that acts on the whole body when a person has worms.
It is also desirable to repeat the course of treatment in adults 2-3 weeks after the first use of the drug. It is necessary to poison small and large invasions twice to get rid of the larvae completely.
Another treatment is recommended if the worms are in children. Because the drugs are toxic, treatment in adults has a negative effect on the liver. Children are prescribed drugs that can be taken in a short course (several times), which reduces the burden on the liver.
Some of those who are wondering how to treat worms individually, choose folk methods of control when worms in an adult or child are eliminated naturally.
It is believed that a mixture of ground pumpkin seeds with honey in a ratio of one to one is effective against worms, if consumed daily on a tablespoon.
Effective treatment is performed with the help of enemas of garlic-milk solution. You can also treat worms from worms by drinking a similar solution. In the presence of worms in humans, the symptoms will begin to appear less after a week.
Prevention
Knowing where worms come from, where worms come from, you can determine a list of rules you need to follow to protect yourself from worms in humans. To avoid asking the question "do I have worms", it is worth doing the following:
- Wash vegetables and fruits well;
- Boil or fry the meat well, you can also freeze it for a long time;
- Use only bottled or purified drinking water;
- Limit contact with pets and carry out regular prevention of helminth infestation;
- Wash your hands regularly, especially after being in public.
If infection is suspected, it is recommended that stools be tested regularly for helminths.