There are different ways to infect 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.
Parasite infection methods.
Parasite infection methods 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 foods that a person consumes, remaining in the body temporarily or permanently.
You can become infected with helminths in the following ways:
- Through dirty hands.
- Upon contact with the ground.
- For insect bites.
- If you eat a piece of undercooked meat or fish.
- If you don't wash fruits and vegetables before eating them.
- If you have illiterate contact with animals.
- When coming into contact with a person sick with helminths.
Worm eggs can be found in soil, water, dirty fruits and vegetables, as well as meat or fish that have not undergone sufficient heat treatment.
In some cases, infection can occur due to an insect bite, but it is extremely rare, since helminth eggs enter the body mainly with food.Dirty hands can also become a source of helminth infection.
You can also become infected through a sick person who is a carrier of pinworms.The pinworm comes out through the anus and lays its eggs there.These, in turn, can remain in underwear and end up in a person's hands.The larvae can remain in the toilet, on the front door handle, and on other objects.If personal hygiene rules are not followed, they penetrate the bodies of other family members.If helminths are found in one of the family members, all household members should undergo treatment.
Waterborne infection occurs through drinking unboiled water or swimming.
What types of helminths exist?
The most common group of intestinal worms includes nematodes.These include hookworms, roundworms, pinworms, heartworms, and trichinella.
The second large group includes protozoan or unicellular parasites.These are amoebas, lamblia, neospores, cryptosporidia, etc.
Entamoeba histolytica infection can occur from drinking dirty water.In this case, loose stools, severe abdominal pain and vomiting appear.Sometimes, in severe cases, these manifestations cause complications in the liver.People often confuse amoebic dysentery infection with a viral infection.
Millions of single-celled parasites can exist and develop in the walls of the stomach, preventing the body's necessary nutrients from being properly absorbed.
Characteristic signs of giardiasis.
The symptoms of a parasite infestation are the following:
- Accumulation of gases in the stomach.
- Uneven stools with pieces of undigested food.
- Shivers.
- Increased sweating.
- Frequent abdominal pain.
- Soft stools.
In the absence of treatment for parasites, over time, a person will begin to lose weight and often become ill due to depletion of the immune system.Of course, it is not advisable to be guided solely by symptoms to identify parasites.It is necessary to carry out a series of blood and stool 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 views:
- Trematodes, these include schistosomes, opisthorchis, etc.
- Cestodes: echinococcus, pork tapeworm, alveococcus.
Intestinal worms or nematodes:
- pinworms.
- Ascaris.
- Trichinella.
- Hookworm.
The most common types of helminths are:
schistosomes
This type of worm is 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 bathing in contaminated water.Infection occurs through human mucous membranes and by accidental ingestion of dirty water during bathing.Once in the body, the larva in one day turns into an adult, capable of producing hundreds of similar organisms.
The schistosome 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, 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 that are dangerous, but their eggs.They accumulate in internal organs and cause damage with their spines, damaging the tissue, which usually causes various ulcers.
There are symptoms by which a person can determine the presence of schistosomes in the body:
- lack of appetite;
- anemia;
- enlarged liver and changes in the spleen;
- poor intestinal motility;
- stomachache;
- diarrhea or constipation;
- sudden weight loss;
- bleeding in the intestines;
- pain when urinating;
- allergic reactions;
- generalized weakness.
cestodes
Cestodes are tapeworms that can reach gigantic lengths.Thus, the length of an adult is 0.5 cm on average.A female cestode is capable of laying up to 200 thousand eggs over the course of a year.
Thanks to special devices on the heads in the form of suction cups, cestodes firmly adhere to the intestinal walls.In this case, the whole body suffers.These worms are especially dangerous for young children, since their vital activity exhausts the body and causes anemia in a short time.
The routes of infection are fecal-oral, that is, it involves 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 infestation:
- nausea and vomiting;
- yellowish color of the skin;
- pancreatitis;
- frequent colds;
- development of bronchitis and pneumonia.
Prevention of parasite infestation.
Since there are many forms of parasite infection, it is worth following some rules to protect yourself and your family members from possible ingestion of worm larvae.
- Compliance with personal hygiene standards.Frequent hand washing will prevent parasites from entering the human body.Children especially should be taught this, as they often put their hands and various objects in their mouths.
- Thoroughly wash fruits and vegetables with running or boiled water.
- Extermination of flying and crawling insects (flies, cockroaches) in residential areas, since they carry helminth eggs.
Many experts believe that every person, to one degree or another, carries parasites, so it is necessary to cleanse the body from time to time.