Worms can live in the human body for long periods of time without showing signs of their presence. The main symptoms of a parasitic infection appear much later, while they often resemble the symptoms of other diseases. A person can look for the cause of his illness for a long time and treat it with a completely different illness, although the solution to the problem lies in the worm infection.
Usually, the suspicion of parasites arises at later stages when treating other diseases does not help. By this time, the worms in the body will reach maturity and will be harder to remove. It is important to recognize the symptoms immediately and make a diagnosis immediately to find out if the parasitic infection is to blame for common allergic rashes and other unpleasant illnesses.
What types of worms can humans have?
Worms are the names of many parasites. In total, there are about a hundred of them, of which a small group of the most common representatives should be mentioned separately.
Pinworms
Pinworms are the most common type of helminthic infection that affects adults and children. Their presence is easiest to establish. This type of worm puts eggs on the skin between the buttocks. Therefore, a scraping is often sufficient to determine the presence of fungal worms.
Wormwood
The "target" of ascaris is the airways. In ascariasis, abundant sputum is released during coughing. If you take it for analysis, you can find traces of parasite damage in it. An increase in body temperature is also likely.
Trichinella
These parasites are the hardest to detect - they stick to the intestinal wall and don’t come out like fungal worms. Trichinosis has the highest mortality rate of all types of helminthic lesions - a disease that is difficult to treat. As the lymph flows, Trichinella capsules can spread throughout the body.
The symptom of this lesion is more like typhoid.
Trematodes
Trematodes are flat worms that affect the liver, lungs, and blood. The infection usually occurs while consuming contaminated water or poorly cooked meat.
There are other types of helminthic lesions, but they are not as dangerous or widespread. The main symptoms and treatment of all helminthic invasions are similar.
Symptoms
The symptoms of helminthic lesions are varied. If most are present, it is worth thinking about and diagnosing the probable parasite invasion.
- Flatulence, increased gas production, any other problems with the work of the colon.
- Frequent constipation or diarrhea. It depends on the stage of development of the parasites. Constipation occurs when individuals of worms enlarge and block the passage of intestines with blood clots. Diarrhea indicates that tall individuals interfere with bile secretion.
- Allergic reactions. It is especially noticeable if the person is not allergic. Allergies can take many forms - rashes, eczema, boils and papillomas.
- Cough. Often dry with no other cold symptoms. Cough suppressants and antibiotics do not solve the problem.
- Inflammatory diseases of the respiratory system. Worms can migrate through the body and reach the airways. This can cause bronchitis, pneumonia, asthma.
- Itching in the anal area. It is related to the release of parasites required for laying eggs. It appears mostly at night.
- Joint and muscle pain. They also appear due to the movement of parasites through the body.
- Gnashing of teeth - bruxism. It is associated with an increase in the activity of the nervous system during a parasitic infection. Appears during sleep.
- A condition similar to chronic fatigue and depression. The waste products of worms literally poison the body, leading to a deterioration in the well-being of man as a whole.
- All manifestations of decreased immunity, frequent colds. It can be difficult to heal quickly.
If most of these symptoms are observed, there is a high probability of worms. It is better to run a series of diagnostic tests immediately to confirm or refute this assumption.
Important! Any of these symptoms should be discussed immediately with a specialist. These signs may indicate not only helminthic lesions but also other serious diseases.
Diagnostics
If worms are involved, the diagnosis cannot be made on the basis of the mere presence of symptoms. There are a number of studies that need to be done. Some of them give almost 100% accurate results.
- Different microscopic examination of stool and scraping. These methods are the cheapest and most common, but do not give 100% reliable results. With these analyzes, worms can only be detected when they lay their eggs, otherwise their presence will be invisible.
- ELISA - enzyme - linked immunosorbent assay. This method gives extremely accurate results, helping to determine the stage of development and type of worms. The only drawback of this analysis is the rather high cost of performance.
- Hemoscanning. This method can help to refute or confirm the presence of worms in the body. With this blood test, traces of their life activity and poisoning will be noticeable. The essence of this method is to test the "living" blood you just took.
Important! In general, several tests are recommended to confirm the result.
Which doctor is treating you?
If a helminthic invasion is suspected, it is better to contact a regular therapist and describe the situation to him or her. If tests to determine the presence of parasites have already been performed on their own, they should be taken with you.
The therapist will refer you to a more appropriate doctor for the situation. If the worms are concentrated in the gastrointestinal tract, the specialist will issue a referral to a gastroenterologist. This happens in most cases because most of the parasites live in the gut.
In some cases, it is necessary to consult a parasitologist or a specialist in parasitic diseases. But doctors with such a narrow profile are far from everywhere, so situations that do not go beyond the typical infection are fully exposed to the treating physician.
Home therapy
Treatment should be started as soon as the disease is detected. Most anthelmintics have a number of side effects, so it is recommended that you take them under the supervision of your doctor.
Medications vary depending on the type of worm that infects the body. Generally, each drug can be divided into several groups.
- Medicines for nematodes, which include dumplings and tapeworms.
- Drugs cestodes - tapeworms, which include bovine tapeworms, small tapeworms, echinococcus.
- Medicines against trematodes, flatworms.
Important! It should be recalled that anthelmintic drugs are very toxic and should be taken with caution.
Taking medication for prevention
Because taking anthelmintics has many negative effects, it is not recommended to take them unless there is an increased risk of infection. The infection can happen any day: if you take a pill today, you can get sick tomorrow.
There is a small list of indications for taking prophylactic drugs for worms:
- Appearance of worms in a family member or a person living in an apartment. The rest can be infected, so if a family member is found to have a worm infection, everyone else is advised to take prophylactic anthelmintics.
- If a child goes to kindergarten, he or she and his or her parents or siblings are also advised to take anthelmintics for prevention. It is believed that there is an increased risk of the spread of parasites in a closed children’s collective.
- Pets. If there are cats or dogs in the house, especially if they are often on the street, owners are advised to take prevention with antiparasitic agents.
- Contact with the ground, working with it. Especially for summer residents and wildlife lovers.
- Regular trips to exotic countries. There is a high probability that a rare parasite will be brought from the southern countries, then the treatment will be complicated by the fact that we cannot quickly determine its type.
- Wildlife hobby. This includes hiking, fishing and hunting.
Only in these cases is the prophylactic use of anthelmintic drugs permitted and preferred.
Treatment with folk remedies
Often, folk antiparasitic drugs help with anti-worm pills. You need to be careful with them - some of them can be dangerous or harmful if abused.
Intestinal cleansing
Sometimes, after taking anti-intestinal drugs, enema cleansing is recommended to literally flush out the dying parasites. The rationality of this method is questionable, but infusing it with ordinary water is not dangerous - you can do it for your own peace of mind.
There are those who suggest making an enema with baking soda or salt - this method is even more controversial. Soda and salt can burn the mucous membranes and upset the balance of the water balance, so they should not be used. In addition, most parasites live in another part of the gut. This method should ultimately be postponed.
Garlic treatment
It is well known that worms are afraid of sharp and burning food. Therefore, you can add more garlic to your diet as a spice during treatment. In the morning, you can eat several cloves with a glass of milk. You will then need to empty your bowels and have breakfast. You can do it without milk - only this product makes it easier to pick garlic.
It is not recommended to insert a swab soaked in garlic malt into the anus. May cause allergies and burns.
Pumpkin seeds
Pumpkin seeds are another effective folk remedy for the treatment and prevention of parasitic diseases. There are several ways to control worms.
On an empty stomach, you should eat a few tablespoons of pumpkin seeds every morning. Then wait about an hour and empty the bowel. If this is not possible, you should take a laxative. Then you can have breakfast.
The second method is to mix a glass of ground roasted pumpkin seeds with a glass of honey and a spoonful of baking soda. Infuse this mixture for about ten days in a dark place. Use only glassware. The finished mixture should be consumed in a spoonful each morning, well before a meal.
Important! If you are allergic to folk remedies, they should be discontinued.
Prophylaxis
The main prevention of parasitic diseases is to keep the body and home clean. After using the toilet, coming from the street - wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water. You cannot share towels, toothbrushes, combs with others, even if they are family members.
Meat and fish should be rinsed and cooked thoroughly before cooking. Wash fruits and vegetables thoroughly, preferably with boiling water before use.
It is not worth taking anthelmintics for prevention, but from time to time we can rely more heavily on spicy foods and garlic. For the same purpose, pumpkin seeds can be included in the diet.
Knowing all the possible symptoms and manifestations of parasitic diseases, they can be recognized at an early stage and then cured quickly and painlessly.