Parasites in the body: you may not know about their existence

Parasites are everywhere: outside and inside

The word "parasite" comes from the Greek parasites - parasite. These organisms live and reproduce in the organs and tissues of the host, causing severe illness and even death. Such an infection is called an invasion. Parasites are divided into several groups, depending on their structure and “habitat,” and all of them are very dangerous.

Ectoparasites

This group includes parasitic organisms that live on or inside the skin. They cause itching, dermatitis, allergies, and carry dangerous infections.

• Head, body and pubic lice use their mouthparts to pierce the host's skin and drink blood. Infection with them is called pediculosis. Insects carry dangerous diseases - typhus and relapsing fever.
• The demodex mite (mite) is the causative agent of a disease called demodicosis. The length of the parasite is 0.48 mm, so it is not visible to the naked eye. The mite lives in human hair follicles, causing inflammation (folliculitis) and dermatitis. Damage to the eyebrows and eyelashes also leads to eye infections.
• The scabies mite causes, as the name suggests, scabies. The female parasite, 0.25–0.38 mm long, gnaws through the epidermis (layers of skin) to lay eggs. Scabies are formed in the thickness of the skin. Parasitism causes itching, rash, and allergic reactions. Affected: armpits, groin area, abdomen, interdigital spaces. The disease spreads quickly, because the female lays 3-4 eggs every day, from which larvae hatch after 2-3 days.

Endoparasites

Internal parasites live in the host organs (intestines, kidneys, liver) and blood, causing infection (invasion). There are more than 25 species of endoparasites. Every year, 15–16 million people die due to their fault.

Endoparasites include worms (worms) and protozoa. In recent years, the number of infestations has increased. Hidden forms of parasitism predominate; in 80% of cases the owner does not know that uninvited “guests” have settled in his body. Deaths due to parasitic diseases have also become more frequent. The development of tourism with visits to exotic countries has led to infection with tropical parasites, which in Russian conditions are difficult to identify and destroy.

Helminths

The most common of these parasites are:

• Roundworms are roundworms up to 40 cm long that live in the small intestine. The female lays up to 200 thousand eggs per day. Worms weaken the body, cause anemia and digestive disorders. Having huddled together, the worms clog the intestinal lumen and cause obstruction. Sometimes huge balls of tangled roundworms are removed from a person during surgery.
• Tapeworms (wide tapeworms) are tapeworms that, once they enter the human body, do not produce symptoms for a long time. The helminth, growing, causes bloating, anemia, disruption of the gastrointestinal tract and intestinal obstruction. People become infected with tapeworm by eating poorly processed fish.
• Pork and bovine tapeworms enter the body by eating undercooked meat that contains cysts (larvae) of the worm. Parasites multiply quickly, populating the host's body. A case of one person being parasitized by 104 pork tapeworms, the total length of which was 128 meters, is described. Sometimes tapeworm larvae begin to “walk” throughout the body, causing tissue swelling, high fever and muscle pain.
• Pinworms are small worms that live in the intestines. They are not as harmless as they seem. Infection causes allergic reactions; helminths crawl into the appendix, causing inflammation.
• Nematodes are a group of roundworms that parasitize the intestinal tract. Worms cause irritation of the intestinal wall and blockage of the bile ducts. 45 species of nematodes inhabit the human body. The most common are intestinal eel and whipworm.

Some worms live outside the gastrointestinal tract, causing extraintestinal helminthiases (flukes, echinococcus, pork tapeworm cysts). They cause damage to the nervous system, brain and internal organs. Patients have a fever, swelling, and blood in the urine. Dirofilariasis is dangerous, in which parasites are found in the heart. The parasite causes pain similar to the manifestation of ischemic heart disease.

Protozoa

In recent years, protozoan parasites have become widespread, affecting various organs and tissues:

• Giardia is an organism that affects the small intestine and leads to peristalsis disorders. The disease is often asymptomatic.
• Trichomonas and chlamydia are protozoa that cause inflammation of the genitourinary system.
• Blastocysts are intestinal parasites that irritate the mucous membrane and reduce immunity.
• Dysenteric amoebas are protozoa that cause a protracted form of ulcerative colitis. A person experiences abdominal pain, loose stools, and fever. The disease is dangerous due to intestinal perforation.

About roundworm infection

Roundworms cause a whole group of diseases.

Nematodes are a whole group of specific diseases caused by the same pathogen - roundworms.

Symptoms of such ailments can be very different, depending on the type of parasite that has entered the body. In general, all nematodes can be divided into two large categories:

• acute, characterized by a clear manifestation of symptoms from the very first days of the development of the disease;
• chronic, sluggish and passing, as a rule, almost asymptomatic.

How to become infected with helminths: raw water, exotic cuisine and unwashed hands

You should not think that parasites live only in people who do not take care of themselves and lead an asocial lifestyle. Anyone can become infected, because a person is not immune from communicating with sick people and “parasite carriers”. Uninvited “guests” enter the body through food, water from pets, through dirty hands and insect bites.

Infection is encouraged by people buying homemade lard, raw meat, dried and smoked fish at unauthorized markets. You can become infected in a canteen or cafe if sanitary conditions are not met there. Undercooked meat and fish dishes are dangerous.

The parasites have also benefited from the passion for Japanese cuisine, where thermally unprocessed fish is added to dishes. Not all sushi bar chefs follow sanitation rules. As a result, a person becomes infected with helminths.

How to suspect a parasite infection

In the presence of external parasites (lice, scabies mites, demodex), skin itching occurs, worsening at night. Areas of irritation, redness, blisters, and pustules appear on the skin. Sometimes allergies occur and the temperature may rise.

When infected with helminths, the clinical picture varies, but in all cases there are digestive problems (diarrhea or constipation), anemia and weakness. People lose weight even with an increased appetite, some people’s taste preferences change - a person craves fatty, salty, etc. This is how the body tries to replenish the loss of vitamins and microelements caused by worm parasitism.

Helminth infections are accompanied by bloating, pain in various parts of the abdomen, itching around the anus. Sometimes, during bowel movements, the worms fall out of the anus or come out with feces. With severe infestation, vomiting occurs with the discharge of helminths. In a sick person, the liver and spleen become enlarged and pain occurs in the right or left hypochondrium.

With helminthiases, neurological manifestations caused by poisoning by waste products of parasitic creatures are common: insomnia, irritability, constant fatigue, bruxism (grinding teeth in sleep).

Parasites weaken the body, undermine the immune system, and cause allergies. Manifestations of bronchial asthma are often associated with the presence of helminths (pinworms, whipworms, echinococci).

Classification of parasites

Let us consider in more detail the main types of human endoparasites. The appearance of many of them can only be seen under a microscope, and some, especially helminths, are striking in their size. Let's start with the simplest ones:

• Giardia, along with dysbacteriosis, is also the cause of hypovitaminosis, anemia and general intoxication of the body.
• Toxoplasma affects the brain, eyes, heart muscle, and nervous system, but they pose a particular danger to pregnant women due to the risk of fetal death or severe damage to the fetus.
• Amoebas can cause amebic dysentery, amebic encephalitis and other dangerous diseases.
• Trichomonas are sources of infectious diseases of the genitourinary system.

Take a test for worms

How to identify dangerous parasites

It is impossible to identify and treat dangerous residents on your own, especially since they can exist in a complex and by eliminating some, you will only make room for others. Every clinic has a parasitologist; he is the one who treats infestations. If there is no such specialist, you can make an appointment with a therapist.

The doctor will prescribe a number of tests:

• Blood for clinical analysis. With helminthiases, an acceleration of ESR, a decrease in hemoglobin and an increase in the number of eosinophils are observed.
• Biochemical blood test for ALT, AST, alkaline phosphatase, thymol test, amylase. An increase in these indicators is typical for infection with nematodes.
• Analysis of bile, mucus, sputum, muscle tissue.

Worm infestations are often disguised as other diseases. People undergo operations during which they find a eaten away pancreas or liver. It is not always possible to cure a patient with an advanced form, so you should not hope for a miracle - you need to take the same test for “worm eggs” in a timely manner. To make a diagnosis, endoscopy of the intestines and stomach is prescribed.

Diseases caused by parasitic protozoa are difficult to detect. The infection proceeds latently and destroys the body until the patient exhibits serious organ changes.

Roundworms

The most common causative agent of nematodes in humans is roundworm. Typically, the first signs of infection with this worm appear in the second week, when the larvae of the parasite begin the migratory phase.

Most patients suffering from one type or another of ascariasis exhibit the same characteristic symptoms of this condition. Thus, with helminthic infestation of the lungs, patients usually complain of:

1. temperature increase;
2. paroxysmal asthmatic cough accompanied by chest pain;
3. discharge from the lungs of a small amount of mucous sputum (sometimes streaked with blood).

Due to the ambiguity of symptoms, the described type of ascariasis is often confused with allergies, bronchitis, ARVI, asthma or even pneumonia. This kind of invasion is generally the last thing to be suspected, since the adult parasite does not take root in human lungs.

In other words, such a condition can arise only during the period of migration of roundworm larvae. As a result, only an x-ray showing a large number of infiltrates (that is, accumulations of eosinophils reacting to helminth toxins) in the patient’s lungs usually helps to establish an accurate diagnosis. With helminthic infestation of the intestines, the symptoms of the disease become more specific:

Treatment of helminthiasis

To cure a patient, he is relieved of parasites and their waste products. For treatment, anthelmintic drugs are used, selected taking into account the type of parasite and the patient’s condition. This should be done by a doctor, since all deworming tablets contain dangerous substances.

To expel large worms, the patient is prescribed a siphon enema. At the same time, make sure that the head of the helminth does not remain in the body, otherwise the parasite will grow again. To prevent re-infection, anthelmintic treatment is carried out in several courses.

After expelling the worms, drip infusions of solutions, restoratives and vitamins are prescribed. Restore the functions of organs affected by parasites.

Head lice can be eliminated using special sprays and mercury ointment. If pubic lice are detected, the hair in the groin area is shaved.

Sulfur ointment, benzyl benzonate and a number of other drugs are used to treat scabies. Demodicosis is treated with complex external agents, which include mercury, tar, zinc, and sulfur.

Prevention of parasitic infestations

In order not to “pick up” exo- and endoparasites, you need to:

• wash your hands, vegetables and fruits thoroughly before eating;
• remove dirt under nails;
• do not use other people’s combs, shoes and household items;
• do not walk on the floor in public places with bare feet, and wear a cap when swimming in the pool;
• do not buy food at “spontaneous” markets and do not eat in dubious catering establishments;
• boil or fry meat or fish;
• monitor the health of pets by carrying out deworming on time;
• use insect repellent when traveling;
• Having arrived from an exotic country, undergo a full examination and take tests.

Parasites quickly infect people, so when they are detected, people living with the patient are checked and, if necessary, they are treated too.

At Best Clinic you can get tested for the presence of worms and get advice from a general practitioner. Call us!

Parasites in the human body. Symptoms. Diagnostics. Treatment.

“Diseases of civilization” are well known to every modern person - these are allergies that are difficult to treat, frequent acute respiratory viral infections, runny noses and bronchitis, chronic fatigue and asthenia, problems with the stomach and intestines, abdominal pain. Obsessive symptoms that force you to change your lifestyle and cause a lot of discomfort, which often become the reason for numerous visits to doctors. The treatment ends, but the symptoms remain.

What can such violations indicate?

Poor health, increasing symptoms, unexplained manifestations from various body systems - respiratory, immune, nervous, digestive and others - are usually “attributed” to the modern busy rhythm of life, constant emotional and physical overload, which provoke general fatigue and decreased immunity. In fact, there can be many reasons for this condition, and very often the malaise is caused by only one negative factor, for example, helminthic infestation. In order to accurately determine the cause of the malaise and also find out whether there is an infection with parasites, you need to visit a doctor - a therapist, gastroenterologist or immunologist-allergist.

If there is a suspicion that the presence of parasites is the cause of the illness, the doctor prescribes tests for the presence of parasites. There are several available tests to determine helminthiasis. Treatment for the most part is quite simple: specific anthelmintic (anthelminthic) drugs are selected. If you ignore the problem, the presence of parasites in the body can lead to serious illnesses and sad consequences.