Parasites are disease-causing organisms that can inhabit the human body, animals and even some plants. There are many kinds of creatures in the world that invade the host's body, feed on its useful substances, actively reproduce and leave waste in its body, which leads to the development of all kinds of diseases.
Worms are most common in humans. These are worms of various lengths and sizes that live mainly in the vertebrate's intestines. However, some helminths can travel through the body and invade muscles, liver, heart, joints, lungs, and even the brain.
Worms damage their host's body, so everyone should know how to determine the presence of parasites in the body. But many people don't want to go to the hospital for no reason, waste their time and get tested for helminths.
In this case, a person can find out whether there are parasites in the body by paying attention to such an important criterion as the characteristic symptoms that develop in a certain type of helminthiasis. What if they are not there? That does not happen!
In the early stages of the helminth invasion, however, the signs of vital activity of foreign microorganisms are poorly expressed or completely absent. The clinical picture only becomes intense and pronounced when the helminths are actively developing, since their larvae cannot parasitize on humans.
How can the presence of worms in the body be determined without medical research?
Different types of parasites cause characteristic symptoms in the host. If they are identified in time and correctly deciphered, the infection can be detected at an early stage.
This minimizes the likelihood of a wrong diagnosis, which enables correct and effective deworming with popular or medicinal antiparasitic drugs.
To identify parasites in the human body, you need to look out for the following symptoms:
- At night your teeth grind.
- Allergic rashes - acne, acne, urticaria, herpes on the lips, eczema, red spots, papillomas, eczema, psoriasis and more.
- Development of diseases of the upper respiratory tract (bronchitis, pneumonia, runny nose) typical of ascariasis and strongyloidosis.
- Flatulence and diarrhea occur because long worms prevent the excretion of bile and pancreatic juice.
- Constipation occurs when worms form a ball that blocks the passage of the intestines.
- Discomfort in joints and muscles due to the migration of parasites.
- Severe irritability caused by painful symptoms.
- A persistent dry cough that cannot be treated with standard antitussive drugs.
An increase in body temperature to subfebrile levels is also observed. The causes of this condition can be allergies, blood poisoning, neurological disorders, dysfunction of internal organs and the brain, and anemic syndrome.
In addition, the worm that lives in a person significantly reduces his immunity, as a result of which the patient often suffers from colds. In addition, the patient has persistent depression caused by intoxication of the body.
The characteristic symptoms of helminthiasis are nausea and vomiting, which are also caused by the release of toxic substances. In addition, certain types of worms can live in the human body and produce certain hormones that affect the intestinal flora and cause diarrhea.
However, in some cases, such symptoms are not attributed to helminthiasis because they resemble signs of food poisoning. Although this can become a serious problem, the later treatment is started, the more time the parasites have to damage their host's organs and systems.
In order to determine helminthiasis at home, a kind of test should therefore be carried out. To do this, you need to answer the following questions:
- Does anus itch at night?
- Are the lymph nodes swollen?
- Are there any rashes?
- How often does insomnia occur?
- Do you vomit and feel sick?
- Are there muscles and muscle aches?
- How often does flatulence occur?
- How often does bitterness taste in the mouth?
If a person gives seven positive answers to these questions, it can be argued with a high probability that their body is infected with worms.
How can you identify the type of helminthiasis based on the symptoms?
At home, you can find out which helminths lived in the human body. However, this is only possible when the parasitosis has reached the active phase of its development.
Ascariasis and diphyllobothriasis are characterized by neurological symptoms that are most intense in younger patients. Aggressive behavior and increased nervousness arise from the effects of toxic substances on the nervous system. For similar reasons, an infected person develops migraines and dizziness.
Trichinosis is usually associated with joint and muscle pain, as well as swelling of the face and eyelids. This is due to the specifics of the life of Trichinella, which live in the skeletal muscles. You can become infected with this parasite by eating wild animal meat or pork that has been poorly thermally processed.
Giardiasis affects the functioning of the liver and kidneys and triggers all kinds of allergic reactions. In addition, when the body is damaged by lamblia, some people suffer from arthritis that develops as a result of poisoning. In an invasive patient, immunity is weakened. Against this background, the following diseases develop:
- sinusitis;
- stomatitis;
- bacterial vaginosis and more.
A characteristic sign of enterobiasis in pinworms is itching in the anal canal. In addition, most infected people suffer from gastrointestinal disorders.
Anemic syndrome is characteristic of schistosomiasis. There are also manifestations of dysbiosis (pathogenic microorganisms inhibit the favorable microflora).
In the case of cloronchiasis, lack of fascia and opisthorchiasis, the gallbladder is affected and an icteric syndrome develops. In addition, against the background of this helminthiasis, the liver and spleen increase.
Strongyloidiasis has many symptoms. So, with its progression, there are malfunctions in the gastrointestinal tract, dyspeptic disorders and allergic manifestations.
How can you determine whether helminth eggs are available without laboratory conditions? When the worms are in the reproductive phase, it is quite easy to find out their presence in the body. To do this, you need to conduct an analysis for the eggs of parasites.
With the development of opisthorchiasis, you can do a home study yourself. For this purpose, tape or tape must be attached to the skin in the anal area.
This is best done immediately after waking up in the morning. When a person has opisthorchia, their eggs are identified on the sticky surface of the tape.
Laboratory methods for the detection of parasites
If a patient has more than three characteristic symptoms of helminthiasis, they should contact a medical facility so that the laboratory can confirm the presence of parasites at home.
If a helminth invasion is suspected, the feces are examined first. This will allow you to identify the eggs of tapeworms, round worms, and leeches. However, for accurate confirmation of the diagnosis, the tests must be done three times every few days.
To determine enterobiasis, a scraping is performed near the anus. One of the most accurate and convenient tests for the patient is the ELISA, which allows you to detect antibodies in the blood that the body produces when parasitizing pathogenic microorganisms.
Sometimes bioresonance diagnostics are performed, in which the frequency of parasites is examined. This method is very informative as it determines the state of the entire body. In addition to parasites, such a study allows you to find out the state of immunity that weakens them, in order to identify other diseases, as well as pathogenic fungi, bacteria and viruses.