There are different ways of infecting humans with parasites.Statistics show that a frequent 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 in humans 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 parasite infection
The methods of parasite infection are different.Parasites are microorganisms that live at the expense of another organism and are linked to it biologically and ecologically.Parasites can feed on the juice, tissues and food that a person consumes, 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 an undercooked piece of meat or fish.
- If you do not wash fruits and vegetables before eating.
- If you are in illiterate contact with animals.
- In contact with a person sick with helminths.
Eggs of worms can be found in soil, water, dirty fruits and vegetables, as well as in meat or fish that has not been sufficiently thermally processed.
In some cases, infection can occur due to insect bites, but this is extremely rare, as helminth eggs generally enter the body through food.Dirty hands can also become a source of helminthiasis infection.
You can also get infected from a sick person who is a carrier of pinworms.The pinworm crawls through the anus and lays its eggs in the anus.They, in turn, can remain on underwear, ending up in someone's hands.Larvae can remain on the toilet, front door handles and other objects.If the rules of personal hygiene are not observed, they penetrate into the body of other family members.If helminths are found in one of the family members, all household members must undergo treatment.
Waterborne infection occurs by consuming 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.
Another large group includes protozoan, or unicellular, parasites.These are amoebae, lamblia, neospores, cryptosporidia, etc.
Entamoeba histolytica infection can occur by 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 an amoebic dysentery infection with a viral infection.
Millions of single-celled parasites can exist and thrive on the walls of the stomach, preventing the nutrients needed by the body from being properly absorbed.
Characteristic signs of giardiasis
Symptoms of parasite infection are as follows:
- Gas accumulation in the stomach.
- Uneven stool with pieces of undigested food.
- The chills.
- Increased sweating.
- Frequent stomach pains.
- Rare chairs.
In the absence of treatment for the parasites, over time the person will begin to lose weight and often become sick due to the depletion of the immune system.Of course, it is not recommended to be guided only by symptoms to identify parasites.To detect helminths, it is necessary to carry out a series of stool and blood tests.Treatment largely depends on the degree of infection.In folk medicine there are many recipes for the treatment of helminthiasis;in severe cases it is better to resort to medication.
Classification of helminths
Worms are divided into flat and round.
Views from the apartment:
- Trematodes, this includes schistosomes, opisthorchis, etc.
- Cestodes - echinococcus, pig tapeworm, alveococcus.
Roundworms or nematodes:
- Pinworm.
- Ascaris.
- Trichinella.
- Hookworm.
The most common types of helminths are:
Schistosomes
This type of worm is of different sexes;it looks like 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 by swimming in polluted waters.The infection occurs through the human mucous membrane and by accidentally swallowing 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 can be in the intestines, urine and mucous membranes.After defecation, schistosomiasis begins its journey in the same way.
This parasite can remain in the human body for decades, causing irreparable damage to the patient.Schistosomes themselves are not dangerous, but their eggs.They accumulate on the internal organs and cause damage with their spines, damaging 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 when urinating;
- allergic reactions;
- general weakness.
Cestodes
Cestodes are tapeworms that can reach gigantic lengths.So, the length of an adult is on average 0.5 cm.A female cestode can lay up to 200,000 eggs per year.
Thanks to special devices on their heads in the form of suction cups, cestodes are firmly attached to the intestinal walls.In this case, the whole body suffers.Such worms are especially dangerous for small children, because their vital activity exhausts the body and causes anemia in a short time.
The routes of infection are fecal-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 swallowed again.
The main signs of parasite infection:
- nausea and vomiting;
- yellowing of the skin;
- pancreatitis;
- frequent colds;
- development of bronchitis and pneumonia.
Prevention of parasite 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 the rules of personal hygiene.Frequent hand washing will prevent parasites from entering the human body.This should especially be taught to children, because they often put their hands and various objects in their mouths.
- Thorough washing of fruits and vegetables with running or boiled water.
- Extermination of flying and crawling insects (flies, cockroaches) in residential areas, because they are carriers of helminth eggs.
Many experts believe that every person, to one extent or another, is a carrier of parasites, so it is necessary to clean the body from time to time.