There are several ways of infecting humans with parasites.Statistics say that a common cause of human death is the presence of parasites in the body and infectious diseases.
Scientists have found fungi, bacteria and even algae in blood plasma.The most common are intestinal helminths.
Parasites can live inside a person for a long time.In 60% of cases, chronic and oncological diseases are caused by their vital activity.With prolonged exposure to microorganisms, internal organs and the entire immune system suffer.
Methods of infection by parasites
The methods of infection by parasites are different.Parasites are microorganisms that live at the expense of another organism and are related to it biologically and ecologically.Parasites can feed on juices, tissues and food consumed by a person, remaining in the body temporarily or permanently.
You can become infected with helminths in the following ways:
- Through dirty hands.
- In contact with the ground.
- For insect bites.
- If you eat a flawless piece of meat or fish.
- If you don't wash fruits and vegetables before eating.
- If you have illiterate contact with animals.
- In contact with a person sick with helminths.
Worm eggs can be found in soil, water, dirty fruits and vegetables, as well as undercooked meat or fish.
In some cases, infection can occur due to an insect bite, but it is extremely rare, since helminth eggs mainly enter the body with food.Dirty hands can also become a source of helminthiasis infection.
You can also get infected from a sick person who is a worm carrier.The pinworm crawls out of the anus and lays its eggs in the anus.In turn, they can remain in underwear, ending up in a person's hands.Larvae can lodge in the toilet, front door handle and other objects.If the rules of personal hygiene are not observed, they penetrate the body of other family members.If helminths are found in one of the family members, all members of the household must be treated.
Waterborne infection occurs through drinking unboiled water or while swimming.
What types of helminths are there?
The most common group of intestinal worms includes nematodes.These include hookworms, roundworms, pinworms, heartworms and trichinella.
The second large group includes protozoa, or single-celled, parasites.These are amoebae, lamblia, neospora, cryptospora, etc.
Infection with Entamoeba histolytica can occur through drinking dirty water.In this case, loose stools, severe abdominal pain and vomiting appear.Sometimes in severe cases such manifestations cause liver complications.People often confuse amoebic dysentery infection with a viral infection.
Millions of single-celled parasites can exist and grow in the stomach walls, which prevent the proper absorption of nutrients necessary for the body.
Characteristic signs of yardage
The symptoms of parasite infestation are as follows:
- Accumulation of gas in the stomach.
- Abnormal stool with pieces of undigested food.
- Chills.
- Increased sweating.
- Frequent abdominal pain.
- Loose stools.
Without treatment for the parasites, over time, a person will begin to lose weight and often become ill due to the exhaustion of the immune system.Of course, it is not advisable to be guided only by symptoms to identify parasites.It is necessary to conduct a series of stool and blood tests to detect helminths.Treatment depends largely on the degree of infection.In folk medicine there are many recipes for the treatment of helminthiasis.in difficult cases it is better to resort to medication.
Classification of helminths
Worms are divided into flat and round.
Flat view:
- Trematodes, these include schistosomes, postorchis, etc.
- Cestodes - echinococcus, porcine tapeworm, celluloid.
Roundworms or nematodes:
- Pinworm.
- Ascaris.
- Trichinella.
- Pinworm.
The most common types of helminths are:
Schistosomes
This type of worms are of different sexes.in appearance it resembles a needle with a length of 0.4 to 2.6 cm.Females are considered large and can produce up to 300 larvae per day.
The route of transmission is mainly through swimming in contaminated water.Infection occurs through human mucous membranes and through accidental ingestion of dirty water while bathing.Once inside the body, the larva turns into an adult within a day, capable of producing hundreds of similar organisms.
Schistosoma reaches sexual maturity after entering the human venous system through the bloodstream.Individual eggs may be found in the intestines, urine and mucous membranes.After defecation, the schistosome begins its journey in the same way.
This parasite can remain in the human body for decades, causing irreparable damage to the patient.It is not the schistosomes themselves that are dangerous, but their eggs.They accumulate in the internal organs and with their thorns cause damage, destroying the tissue, which often causes various ulcers.
There are symptoms by which a person can determine the presence of schistosomiasis in the body:
- poor appetite;
- anemia;
- enlarged liver and changes in the spleen.
- poor intestinal motility;
- stomach pain;
- diarrhea or constipation;
- sudden weight loss;
- bleeding in the intestines;
- pain during urination;
- allergic reactions;
- general weakness.
Cestodes
Cestodes are tapeworms that can reach gigantic lengths.Thus, the length of an adult is on average 0.5 cm.A female cestodes is capable of laying up to 200 thousand eggs during a year.
Thanks to special devices on the heads in the form of a suction cup, the cestodes are tightly attached to the walls of the intestine.In this case, the whole body suffers.Such worms are especially dangerous for small children, as their vital activity exhausts the body and causes anemia in a short time.
The routes of infection are faecal-oral, i.e. dirty hands, fruits and vegetables.The larvae, once in the intestines, spread through the veins throughout the body, penetrating the liver, heart and even the oral cavity.A certain number of larvae die, while the rest are re-swallowed.
The main signs of pest infestation:
- nausea and vomiting;
- yellowing of the skin;
- pancreatitis;
- Frequent colds;
- development of bronchitis and pneumonia.
Prevention of pest infestation
Since there are many ways to become infected with parasites, it is worth following some rules to protect yourself and family members from possible ingestion of worm larvae.
- Compliance with personal hygiene rules.Frequent hand washing will prevent parasites from entering the human body.This especially needs to be taught to children, since they often put their hands and various objects in their mouths.
- Thoroughly wash fruits and vegetables with running or boiling water.
- Extermination of flying and crawling insects (flies, cockroaches) in residential areas, as they are carriers of helminth eggs.
Many experts believe that every person, to one degree or another, is a carrier of parasites, so it is necessary to cleanse the body from time to time.