Worms (helminths)

Worms are parasitic worms that live in the bodies of humans and animals. They are difficult to detect as they disguise themselves as many other diseases and conditions. Symptoms of helminthic infection range from mild to severe fainting with severe intoxication. We will show you where you can get infected with worms and how to get rid of them.

What is it

Worms are considered the most common parasites in humans. Today science recognizes about 300 worm diseases. The most common are intestinal worm diseases - enterobiasis and ascariasis, which affect more than 2 billion people.

The size of worms that live in the body varies from a few millimeters to several meters. For example, the length of worms that cause enterobiasis does not exceed 1 cm. Some tapeworms (for example, the tapeworm) reach 12-15 meters.

Causes of helminthiasis

Helminthiasis is a disease in which worm infection occurs. Worms enter the human body and remain there. These parasites live not only in the intestines but also in other organs and tissues.

According to the World Health Organization, one in four people on Earth is infected with worms. At the same time, WHO experts note that the real number of infected is at least 50%. This mainly applies to countries with a low sanitary culture (these are some countries in Africa and Southeast Asia). Elsewhere, more than 1. 5 million cases of helminth infection are reported each year. Most of them are children.

How can you become infected with worms?

There are 4 ways of infection:

1. Through the earth. Such diseases are called geohelminthiasis. Unwashed fruits can harbor tens of thousands of parasites. That is why it is so important to wash vegetables, fruits and hands thoroughly before eating. Walking pets are another source of earthworms.
2. After contact with an infected person. Parasitic worms are extremely fertile. In just one day, the female worm is able to lay up to 5, 000 eggs in the human body. Eggs and adults can be passed on to other people through bedding and other household items. After that, it is enough for the infected to not wash their hands, and the worms will penetrate inside.
3. When eating contaminated food. Such helminthic diseases are called biohelminthiasis. You can catch the parasite with insufficient heat treatment of meat, poultry or fish.
4. Through insect bites. This type of transmission is rare. As a rule, very small parasites can be transmitted through insect bites.

Consider the risk factors that increase the chance of worm infection in adults and children:

• Failure to follow the rules of hygiene - if you do not wash your hands behind the street, using the toilet, or before eating.
• The habit of biting nails - there is a lot of dirt under them with germs and parasites. This also includes the habit of taking pens, pencils and other objects in your mouth.
• Poor care for pets, especially those who go outside.
• Eating unwashed vegetables and fruits.
• Use of water from questionable sources.
• Poor cleaning of residential premises.
• Passion for pet food that has not undergone proper culinary processing.

Who is at risk

No one is immune to worm infection. It is enough to leave sluggish in matters of hygiene, and the parasite larva can "explode" in the body. The following categories of people are particularly susceptible to helminthiasis:

• Young children. Most often, helminthic infestations are observed in children. This is due to the fact that the child neglects the rules of hygiene. Young children put objects in their mouths, and on the way they often dig in the mud. In groups, children tend to contact each other more closely than adults, which also increases the chance of infection.
• Pet families. Eggs and larvae of parasites, which were introduced by the way into residential neighborhoods with pets, can be anywhere. Often, owners of dogs, cats and other animals are not even aware of the problem and learn about the presence of worms when they contact a veterinarian for another reason.
• Nutrition. Lovers of exotic cuisine like sushi, raw meat or fish are also at risk.
• Travelers. This is especially true for people traveling to places with a low level of hygiene.
• Summer residents, agricultural workers. People who work in vegetable gardens, orchards or just live in the countryside.
• People who encounter fish or raw meat in their work. For example, vendors or cooks - while processing, cutting and preparing food.

Myth 1: There are no parasites in marine fish.

Many people mistakenly believe that worms are found only in river fish, and they are not in the sea because of the salt water. In fact, sea fish are mainly affected by parasites that are not dangerous to humans. In this respect, raw river fish is more dangerous than raw sea fish. But this does not mean that sea fish is completely safe: it is always recommended to process any fish - fry it completely, boil it or freeze it for 3 days.

Classification of helminthiasis

There are several classifications of parasitic worms. By location, the worms are:

• Intestines - live in the small or large intestines. These include ascaris, eels, worms, bovine worms and others.
• Pulmonary - live in the tissues of the bronchopulmonary system. Most often it is a pulmonary stroke.
• India - parasitizes various tissues of the body. Tissue worms include schistosomes, trichinella, and toxocar.
• Liver and gallbladder parasites. They are hepatic leakage, giant hepatic fossa and clonic (Chinese stroke).

There are 4 classes of helminthic diseases, depending on the pathogen:

• Nematodes - caused by roundworms. These are ascariasis, enterobiasis, trichinosis, trichocephalosis, toxocariasis, ankylostomiasis and others.
• Cestodoses - the causative agents are tapeworms. Such pathologies include hymenolepiasis, teniasis, teniarinchiasis, diphyllobothriasis, and cystcerciasis.
• Dystomiasis is a disease caused by flatworms. These are fascioliasis, opisthorchiasis, dicroceliosis.
• Protozoa - The causative agents are protozoa, such as lamblia, toxoplasma or amoeba.

More than 70 species of parasitic worms have been distributed. The most common are the following helminthic diseases (see table).

The invasions were poisonous

disease	The causative agent and its characteristics	Transfer method
Ascariasis	It is called ascaris. These are round worms that live in the intestines. They can grow up to 30-40 cm. Roundworms feed on almost all nutrients from food. In the process of vital activity, worms damage the intestinal walls to the point of drilling	Most often, ascaris eggs are transmitted through the fecal-oral route. They persist for a long time on the ground and on the surface of vegetables, fruits, herbs and berries
Enterobiasis	It develops when pinw worms enter the body. These are small round worms, the size of which is 0. 5-1 cm. The main risk in enterobiasis are the toxic products of worm waste	Contact an infected person. Worm eggs remain on different surfaces for some time.
Giardiasis	Caused by microscopic parasites - lamblia. Pathogens produce toxic substances and damage tissues	Giardia is spread through the fecal-oral route as well as through contaminated food and water
Opisthorchiasis	The causative agents are small worms up to 2 cm in size. Most often they parasitize the liver and bile ducts. With opisthorchiasis, poisoning with toxic substances and mechanical tissue damage occurs	Opisthorchiasis pathogens are transmitted by raw fish
Echinococcosis	It is caused by echinococci - tapeworms, the size of which does not exceed 5 cm. Echinococci parasitize various tissues, including the heart and brain. Pathogens cause severe disturbances in the functioning of the organs and systems of the body. In some cases, they can provoke a malignant tumor process.	They are spread through dirty hands and contaminated food. Carriers of Echinococcus can also be dogs and rodents.
Dipillobothriasis	Causing agents - large tapeworms, reaching 10-15 meters. Tapeworms live in the small intestine and cause serious damage to the host body. Worms produce toxic substances and significantly impair the functioning of the digestive tract	Transmitted by eating raw fish
Trichocephaly	Named after the whipworm, a round worm that looks like a hair. Vlasoglava can reach 5-6 meters. Worms live in the intestines, penetrating the submucosal layer. Cause intoxication, inflammation and acute anemia	Invasion is carried out by swallowing the eggs of the parasite

Worm infections are also classified according to stages:

• Acute helminthiasis - appears 2-4 weeks after infection. In this case, the symptoms of the worms are observed from 1 week to several months. If you do not perform therapy, the disease becomes chronic.
• Chronic helminthiasis - manifestations depend on the type of parasite. For example, if these are parasites with larval reproduction, then prolonged allergic reactions will follow. Other chronic worm diseases can be asymptomatic or accompanied by pain, maltreatment, fatigue and other symptoms.

Complications of helminthiasis

If helminthiasis is not treated, then this leads to serious, sometimes life-threatening complications:

• Anemia - anemia, an insufficient number of red blood cells and hemoglobin in the blood. This condition is due to the fact that worms consume some of the nutrients needed for normal hematopoietic functioning.
• Destruction of tissues and organs. Worms live not only in the lumen of the gastrointestinal tract, but also in the thickness of tissues, for example, liver, lungs, muscles. After all, tissues are affected during the migration of worms, when they move from one department (or organ) to another - ulcers and foci of persistent inflammation form. Against this background, the risk of developing infections and malignant tumors increases.
• Diseases of the nervous system. This is due to the toxic waste products of worms that poison the body. Nerve tissues are more sensitive to toxins. This can lead to irritability, headaches, insomnia and other signs of nervous system damage.
• Allergic reactions. Toxic substances secreted by worms can also act as allergens. Human immunity may respond inadequately to these substances. This leads to the appearance of typical allergic symptoms - rash, skin rash, itching, and sometimes nausea and vomiting.

The presence of worms in the body also leads to a lack of the following minerals:

• Zinc. With zinc deficiency, immunity decreases, a person often catches a cold and suffers from other infectious diseases. The possibility of developing prostatitis and infertility increases because this trace element is extremely important for the health of the reproductive system.
• SelenReduces immunity, and also increases the risk of malignant tumors.
• Jod. Iodine deficiency in children leads to stunted growth and development (physical and mental). In adults, the work of the thyroid gland deteriorates, metabolic processes slow down.
• Manganese. With the lack of manganese, the bones become brittle. A person quickly loses weight, he often suffers from cramps and dermatitis.
• Chrome. Lack of this element leads to developmental delay and impairment of carbohydrate metabolism.

Worms and immunity

Often, worms are accompanied by other parasites - toxoplasma and chlamydia. This is due to the suppression of immunity. A healthy body is able to resist invaders, but with helminthiasis, the defense is weakened. Toxoplasmosis is especially dangerous during pregnancy, as it can lead to fetal death.

Symptoms of helminthiasis

Signs of worms are different in both adults and children. The most common symptoms are:

• itching in the anus is the most common symptom of intestinal worms;
• gnashing of teeth in a dream - occurs due to toxins released by worms;
• leakage in sleep and in the morning;
• nausea when brushing teeth in the morning;
• skin of hands and feet;
• allergic skin rash;
• a strong feeling of hunger, to the point of fainting;
• swelling (often allergic);
• itchy skin;
• chronic fatigue;
• headache and dizziness;
• mental disorders for no known reason (stress, neurosis, depression);
• bloating;
• symptoms of intestinal disorders;
• change in body weight (both overweight and thin);
• the simultaneous course of several diseases (or the success of one disease over another);
• cramps or pulling pains in the abdomen;
• anemia;
• delay in physical and mental development in children;
• child hyperactivity or lethargy;
• enlarged lymph nodes (often in the acute stage of helminthiasis).

When you see a doctor

An infectious disease therapist or specialist deals with the treatment of parasitic diseases. A physician should be consulted if one or more of the above symptoms are found. Due to a rather sophisticated worm masking system, you need to explain the symptoms to your doctor as accurately as possible, and also talk about your lifestyle: what food do you prefer, if you have traveled recently? and where, are there pets, etc.?

Diagnosis of the disease

If the doctor suspects a helminthic infestation, then it is not difficult to identify it. For this, the following diagnostic procedures are used:

• Stool examination. A stool sample is submitted to the laboratory. They may contain eggs or larvae of parasites that live in the intestines.
• Scrap for enterobiasis. A swab is taken from the anus with a cotton swab. With this analysis, pinw worms can be identified. Wiping should be done early in the morning, before going to the toilet.
• A blood test for antibodies. This is a very informative test with which you can identify many parasites. However, even with a positive result, there is no 100% guarantee that the parasites are still in the patient's body because the antibodies remain even after they have been eliminated.
• Instrumental diagnostics. Use of radiography, MRI and CT with the use of contrast agents. These diagnostic methods make it possible to identify large worms and some pathological changes in tissues caused by helminthic invasion.

As a rule, the doctor prescribes various studies to increase the reliability of the data obtained. Sometimes a patient has to be tested several times to make an accurate diagnosis.

Important!When confirming helminthiasis, it is necessary to notify other close family members about it. An examination for them is also recommended. If the test is positive, it is important that all infected family members receive treatment. Otherwise, the parasite eggs will again enter the body of the healed person, and everything will have to be repeated from the beginning.

Treatment of helminths in children and adults

Despite the abundance of antiparasitic drugs in pharmacies, you can not take them yourself. Prescribing a comprehensive treatment, the doctor seeks not only the removal of parasites, but also the elimination of the consequences of their vital activity.

As a rule, in addition to anthelmintic drugs, the patient is prescribed other vitamins and medications that eliminate the symptoms of the disease. The doctor chooses the medication separately for each patient because the symptoms are different for everyone.

Drugs for the treatment of helminthiasis

With helminthic infestations, patients are prescribed a complex of the following drugs:

• Anthelmintic drugs. These are anthelmintic drugs that either remove or kill the worms. These goals are achieved by disrupting the metabolism of parasites or paralyzing their muscles. In the latter case, they lose their ability to stay in the gut and are excreted.
• Antihistamines. If the patient is allergic to parasites, then at the time of treatment, doctors prescribe antiallergic medication. This is extremely important, as with the mass death of worms, a large number of allergens are released, which can provoke a strong allergic reaction. Antihistamines block the production of histamine, the main mediator of an allergic reaction.
• Enterosorbents. These are drugs that are able to bind substances to the gastrointestinal tract. During the treatment of worms, enterosorbents are used to bind and remove toxic substances secreted by the worms.
• Vitamins and minerals. Most often, B vitamins (folic acid and B12) and iron preparations are prescribed. This is necessary to treat anemia.
• Hepatoprotectors. These are medicines that protect the liver from toxic substances. These include preparations based on essential phospholipids or plant materials (milk thistle, artichoke, licorice, St. John's wort and other herbs).
• Probiotics and prebiotics. Prescribed to restore intestinal microflora. Probiotics are living cultures of beneficial bacteria. Prebiotics are indigestible food ingredients (such as fiber) that are fermented only by the intestinal flora.

Surgery

In most cases, it is enough to drink a complex of medicines. However, sometimes doctors are still forced to use surgery. For example, a large accumulation of roundworms can cause intestinal obstruction. This is an urgent condition that requires surgery.

Worms can accumulate in the bile duct, against the background of which obstructive jaundice and even liver abscess develop. The same situation can occur in the pancreas, leading to acute pancreatitis. If worms enter the appendix, appendicitis develops. All of these conditions require immediate surgery.

Often, surgery is used when organs are damaged by echinococcosis. These parasites accumulate, forming echinococcal plugs in the liver, lungs, bones, kidneys, and even the brain. The danger of such an outlet is that it can become irritated and explode.

Folk remedies for worms

Folk remedies for worms are not as effective as anthelmintic drugs. This is only an auxiliary method - the main treatment is prescribed by a doctor.

Folk remedies include pumpkin seeds, which contain cucurbitin, a substance that has an antihelminthic effect.

Myth 2: Garlic enemas get rid of worms

Worms really do not like garlic because it contains phytoncides - antibacterial and antiparasitic substances. However, it is not necessary to do garlic enemas for helminthiasis. In the colon, where the contents of the enema are injected, there are very few worms. Most parasites live in the small intestine, so this procedure is useless. In addition, from such an enema, you can get serious irritation of the mucous membranes.

Prevention and precautions

In most cases, the prognosis for treating helminthiasis is favorable. A timely visit to a doctor will avoid a number of complications caused by worms.

Worm prevention is reduced in accordance with the following recommendations:

• Wash your hands with soap and water before eating, after returning from the road, using the toilet or after contact with animals.
• Wash vegetables, fruits and herbs thoroughly. Better pour boiling water over them.
• Do not use other people's toiletries and other people's dishes.
• Give up bad habits (smoking, alcohol).
• Avoid stress, it will have a beneficial effect on immunity.
• Adjust your pet to the vet, vaccinate at the right time.
• Each year, undergo a comprehensive preventive examination, including tests for worm eggs.
• Cook meat, poultry, fish and eggs appropriately.

Myth 3: Parasites die in frozen meat.

This is only true for some worms. For example, beef ribbon really dies when the meat is deep frozen (minus 12 and below). And, for example, Trichinella larvae can be eliminated only after 2-3 hours of cooking.

cONcluSiON

The main cause of helminthic infestations is inadequate hygiene. Improving sanitation and proper cooking of animal feed significantly reduces the likelihood of helminthiasis. In most cases, worms do not pose a risk to human health if detected in time. But lack of treatment nevertheless leads to serious consequences - anemia, damage to the nervous system and other infections.