Worms can live in the human body for a long time without showing any signs of their presence. The main symptoms of parasitic infection appear much later, while often they are similar to symptoms of other diseases. A person can spend a long time looking for the cause of his illnesses and be treated for a completely different illness, although the solution to the problem lies in an infection with worms.
The suspicion of parasites is usually only in later stages, when the treatment of other diseases does not help. At this point, the worms in the body will reach maturity and will become more difficult to remove. It is important to recognize symptoms as soon as they occur and to be able to diagnose immediately whether the parasitic infection is responsible for common allergic rashes and other uncomfortable conditions.
What types of worms can a person have?
Worms are a common name for a number of parasites. There are about a hundred of them in total, from which a small group of the most common representatives is distinguished, which must be mentioned separately.
Pinworms
Pinworms are the most common type of helminthic infestation affecting adults and children. Their presence is the easiest to determine. This type of worm lays eggs on the skin between the buttocks. Therefore, scraping is often enough to determine the presence of pinworms.
roundworm
The "goal" of Ascaris is the airways. With ascariasis, abundant sputum is released when coughing. If you take it with you for analysis, you can find traces of parasitic damage in it. An increase in body temperature is also likely.
Trichinella
These parasites are the most difficult to spot - they attach themselves to the intestinal wall and don't come out like pinworms. Trichinosis has the highest mortality rate of any type of helminthic lesion - this is a difficult disease to treat. With the lymph flow, Trichinella capsules can spread throughout the body.
The symptoms of this lesion are more like typhoid.
Trematodes
Trematodes are flatworms that affect the liver, lungs, and blood. The infection usually occurs while in contaminated water or eating poorly cooked meat.
There are other types of helminthic lesions, but they're not as dangerous or widespread. The main symptoms and treatment of all helminthic invasions are similar.
Symptoms
The symptoms of helminthic lesions are diverse. When most of them are present, it is worth thinking about the likely parasitic invasion and diagnosis.
- Flatulence, increased gas production, other problems with the work of the colon.
- Frequent constipation or diarrhea. Depending on the stage of development of the parasites. Constipation occurs when specimens of worms grow large and block the passage of the intestines with clots. Diarrhea suggests that long people affect bile secretion.
- Allergic reaction. Especially noticeable if the person is not allergic. Allergies can manifest themselves in various forms - rashes, eczema, the appearance of boils and papillomas.
- To cough. Often dry, with no other cold symptoms. Cough suppressants and antibiotics don't solve the problem.
- Inflammatory diseases of the respiratory tract. Worms can migrate through the body and get into the airways. This can cause bronchitis, pneumonia, asthma.
- Itching in the anal area. Related to the release of parasites to lay eggs. Appears mainly at night.
- Joint and muscle pain. They also appear due to the movement of parasites through the body.
- Grinding of teeth - bruxism. It is linked to an increase in the activity of the nervous system during parasitic infection. Appears in sleep.
- Chronic fatigue and a condition that resembles depression. The waste products of worms literally poison the body, which leads to a deterioration in the well-being of the whole person.
- All manifestations of decreased immunity, frequent colds. It can be difficult to heal quickly.
If most of these symptoms are observed, the chances of developing worms are high. It is better to immediately run a series of diagnostic tests to confirm or disprove this suspicion.
Important! Any of these symptoms should be referred to a specialist immediately. These signs can indicate not only helminthic lesions, but other serious diseases as well.
diagnosis
When worms are infected, the diagnosis cannot be made by the presence of symptoms alone. A number of studies should be done. Some of them give almost 100% accurate results.
- Various microscopic examinations of feces and scrapings. These methods are the cheapest and most common, but they do not give a 100% reliable result. With these analyzes it is possible to recognize worms only at the time of oviposition, otherwise their presence is invisible.
- ELISA - Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay. This method gives an extremely accurate result and helps to determine the stage of development of worms and their type. The only downside to this analysis is the relatively high cost of its performance.
- Hemoscanning. This method can help disprove or confirm the presence of worms in the body. This blood test reveals traces of their vital activity and poisoning. The essence of this method lies in examining "living" blood that has just been drawn.
Important! It is usually recommended that multiple studies be carried out to confirm the result.
Which doctor treats?
If helminth invasion is suspected, it is better to contact a regular therapist and explain the situation to them. If tests to identify parasites have already been carried out independently, these should be taken with you.
The therapist will refer you to the doctor who is more appropriate in the particular situation. If the worms concentrate in the gastrointestinal tract, a specialist will issue a referral to a gastroenterologist. This happens in most cases because the majority of the parasites live in the intestines.
In some cases, a consultation with a parasitologist or a parasitic disease specialist is required. But such narrow-minded doctors are far from everywhere, so situations that do not go beyond the scope of a typical infection are completely subject to the attending physician.
Home therapy
Treatment should be started immediately after the disease is recognized. Most anthelmintics have many side effects, so they are recommended to be used under your doctor's supervision.
The drugs vary depending on the type of worm infecting the body. In general, all drugs can be divided into several groups.
- Medicines for nematodes, including pinworms and roundworms.
- Remedies for cestodes - tapeworms, including beef tapeworm, small tapeworm, echinococcus.
- Medicines against trematodes, flatworms.
Important! It should be remembered that anthelmintics are very toxic and should be taken with caution.
Taking medication for prophylaxis
Since the use of antihelminthics has a multitude of negative effects, simple preventive use is not recommended unless there is an increased risk of infection. Contagion can occur any day: if you take a pill today, you can get sick tomorrow.
There is a small list of indications for taking prophylactic agents against worms:
- The appearance of worms in a family member or a person living in the same apartment. The rest can be infected, so if helminths are found in one of the family members, everyone else is advised to take prophylactic antihelminthics.
- When a child goes to kindergarten, they, their parents, siblings are also advised to take antihelminthics for prevention. It is assumed that there is an increased risk of the spread of parasites in a closed group of children.
- Pets. If there are cats or dogs in the house, especially if they are often on the street, the owners are advised to take prophylaxis with antiparasitic medication.
- Contact with the ground, work with it. Especially for summer residents and animal lovers.
- Constant travels to exotic countries. There is a high probability that a rare parasite is brought from southern countries, then treatment is made difficult by the inability to quickly determine its type.
- Wildlife hobbies. These include hiking, fishing, hunting.
Only in these cases is the prophylactic administration of antihelminthics permissible and sensible.
Treatment with folk remedies
Often, folk anti-parasitic drugs come to the aid of the worms. You should be careful with them - some of them are dangerous or can be harmful if misused.
Colon cleansing
Sometimes colon cleansing with enemas is recommended after taking anthelmintics to literally flush out the dying parasites. The rationality of this method is questionable, but the usual water enema is not dangerous - it can be done for your own peace of mind.
Some people recommend doing an enema with baking soda or salt - this method is even more controversial. Soda and salt can burn the mucous membrane and unbalance the water balance, so you shouldn't use it. In addition, most parasites live in a different part of the intestine. This method should be postponed as a last resort.
Garlic treatment
It is known that worms are afraid of sharp and burning foods. Therefore, you can include more garlic in the diet as a spice during treatment. You can also eat several cloves with a glass of milk in the morning. Then you need to empty your bowels and have breakfast. You can do it without milk - this product just makes it easier to take garlic.
Inserting tampons soaked in garlic juice into the anus is not recommended. May cause allergies and burns.
pumpkin seed
Pumpkin seeds are another effective folk remedy for treating and preventing parasitic diseases. There are several methods of taking them to fight worms.
On an empty stomach, you need to eat a couple of tablespoons of pumpkin seeds every morning. Then you should wait about an hour and empty your bowels. If this is not possible, you will need to take a laxative. Then you can have breakfast.
For the second method, you need to mix a jar of ground roasted pumpkin seeds with a jar of honey and a spoon of baking soda. Let this mixture steep in a dark place for about ten days. Use only glassware. The finished mixture should be eaten with a spoon every morning, well before meals.
Important! If you are allergic to folk remedies, then these should be abandoned.
prophylaxis
The main prevention against parasitic diseases is keeping the body and house clean. After using the street toilet, you need to wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water. Towels, toothbrushes, or combs must not be shared with anyone, including family members.
Meat and fish should be rinsed and cooked thoroughly before cooking. Wash fruit and vegetables thoroughly, preferably pour boiling water over them before use.
It is not worth taking anthelmintics for prevention, but you can regularly rely more heavily on spicy food, garlic. Pumpkin seeds can be included in the diet for the same purpose.
By knowing all possible symptoms and manifestations of parasitic diseases, these can be recognized early and then cured quickly and painlessly.