Worms can live in the human body for a long time without showing any signs of their presence. The main symptoms of a parasitic infection appear much later, while they often resemble the symptoms of other diseases. One can spend a long time looking for the cause of one's illness and be treated for a completely different disease, although the solution to the problem is worm infestation.
Usually parasites are suspected at later stages when the treatment of other diseases does not help. During this time, the worms in the body reach maturity and become more difficult to remove. It is important to be able to recognize the symptoms as soon as they appear and make a diagnosis immediately to find out if the parasitic infection is to blame for frequent allergic rashes and other unpleasant diseases.
What types of worms can a person have?
Worms are a common name for a number of parasites. In total, there are about a hundred of them, from which a small group of the most common representatives stand out, which should be mentioned separately.
Oysters
Pinworms are the most common type of helminth infestation that affects adults and children. Their presence is most easily determined. This type of worm lays eggs on the skin between the buttocks. Therefore, one scraping is often sufficient to determine the presence of spikes.
Ascaris
The "target" of roundworms is the respiratory tract. In ascariasis, copious sputum is excreted during coughing. If you take it for analysis, you can find traces of parasitic damage in it. It is also possible to increase body temperature.
Trichinella
These parasites are the most difficult to detect - they attach to the intestinal wall and do not come out like pinworms. Trichinosis has the highest mortality rate among all types of helminthic lesions - it is a difficult disease to treat. With the flow of lymph, Trichinella capsules can spread throughout the body.
The symptoms of this lesion are more like typhoid fever.
Trematodes
Trematodes are flatworms that affect the liver, lungs and blood. Infection usually occurs while you are in contaminated water or eating 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 helminth infestations are similar.
Symptoms
The symptoms of helminthic lesions are varied. If most of them are present, it is worth considering the possible parasitic invasion and making a diagnosis.
- Swelling of the abdomen, increased gas, any other problems with the colon.
- Frequent constipation or diarrhea. It depends on the stage of development of the parasites. Constipation occurs when specimens of worms become large and block the passage of the intestine with clots. Diarrhea shows that long individuals interfere with bile secretion.
- Allergic reactions. Especially noticeable if the person is not allergic. Allergies can manifest themselves in various 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 respiratory tract. This can provoke bronchitis, pneumonia, asthma.
- Itching in the anal area. Associated with the release of parasites for laying eggs. It appears mainly at night.
- Joint and muscle pain. They also occur due to the movement of parasites through the body.
- Gritting teeth - bruxism. It is associated with increased activity of the nervous system during a parasitic infection. Appears during sleep.
- Chronic fatigue and a depression-like condition. The waste products of worms literally poison the body, which leads to a deterioration in the well-being of man as a whole.
- All manifestations of reduced immunity, frequent colds. It can be difficult to heal quickly.
If most of these symptoms are observed, the likelihood of worms is high. It is better to perform a series of diagnostic tests immediately to confirm or refute this assumption.
Important! Each of these symptoms should be referred to a specialist immediately. These signs may indicate not only helminthic lesions, but also other serious diseases.
Diagnosis
When worms are affected, the diagnosis cannot be made solely by the presence of symptoms. A number of studies need to be done. Some of them give almost 100% accurate results.
- Various microscopic examinations of feces and scrapes. These methods are the cheapest and most common, but do not give 100% reliable results. Recognition of worms by these analyzes is possible only during egg laying, otherwise their presence will be invisible.
- ELISA - enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. This method gives an extremely accurate result, helps to determine the stage of development of worms and their appearance. The only disadvantage of this analysis is the rather high cost of its implementation.
- Chemoscanning. This method can help disprove or confirm the presence of worms in the body. With this blood test will be noticeable traces of their vital activity and intoxication. The essence of this method is in the study of "live" blood taken just now.
Important! It is usually recommended that you go through several studies to confirm the result.
Which doctor treats?
If helminth infestation is suspected, it is better to contact a regular therapist and describe the situation. If tests for parasites have already been performed on their own, they should be taken with them.
The therapist will refer you to a doctor who is more appropriate in the specific situation. If the worms are concentrated in the gastrointestinal tract, a specialist will issue a referral to a gastroenterologist. This happens in most cases, as most parasites live in the gut.
In some cases, consultation with a parasitologist or parasite specialist is required. But such doctors with a narrow profile are not everywhere, therefore situations that do not go beyond the scope of a typical infection are entirely subordinate to the attending physician.
Home therapy
Treatment should be started as soon as the disease is detected. Most anthelmintic drugs have many side effects, so it is recommended that you take them under your doctor's supervision.
Medications are different, depending on the type of worm that infects the body. In general, all drugs can be divided into several groups.
- Medicines for nematodes, which include pinworms and roundworms.
- Means for the treatment of cestodes - tapeworms, which include bovine tapeworm, small tapeworm, echinococcus.
- Medicines for trematodes, flatworms.
Important! It should be remembered that anthelmintic drugs are very toxic, they should be taken with caution.
Taking medication for prevention
As the use of anthelmintic drugs has a huge number of negative effects, it is not recommended to take it simply for preventive purposes, if there is no increased risk of infection. The infection can occur every day: if you take the pill today, you may get sick tomorrow.
There is a small list of indications for taking prophylactic drugs against worms:
- The appearance of worms in a family member or a person living in the same apartment. One can infect others, so if helminths are found in one of the family members, everyone else is advised to take prophylactic anthelmintic drugs.
- If the child goes to kindergarten, then he, his parents, siblings are also advised to take anthelmintic drugs for prevention. It is believed that in a closed children's group there is an increased risk of spreading parasites.
- Pets. If there are cats or dogs in the house, especially if they are often on the street, owners are advised to take prophylaxis with antiparasitic drugs.
- Contact with the earth, work with it. Especially for summer residents and wildlife lovers.
- Constant trips to exotic countries. There is a high probability of bringing a rare parasite from the south, then treatment will be complicated by the inability to quickly determine its type.
- Hobbies for wildlife. These include hiking, fishing, hunting.
Only in these cases is the prophylactic use of anthelmintic drugs permissible and useful.
Treatment with folk remedies
Often folk antiparasitic drugs come to the aid of worm pills. You need to be careful with them - some of them are dangerous or can be harmful if abused.
Bowel cleansing
Sometimes it is recommended to clean the intestines with enemas after taking anthelmintics, which literally get rid of dying parasites. The rationality of this method is questionable, but the usual enema with water is not dangerous - it can be done for your own peace of mind.
Some people recommend 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 water balance, so you should not use them. In addition, most parasites live in different parts of the gut. This method should be postponed as a last resort.
Garlic treatment
It is known that worms are afraid of spicy and burning foods. Therefore, during treatment, you can add more garlic to the diet as a spice. You can also eat a few cloves in the morning with a glass of milk. Then you need to empty your bowels and have breakfast. You can do it without milk - just this product makes it easier to take garlic.
It is not recommended to insert tampons soaked in garlic juice in 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 methods for taking them to control worms.
Every morning on an empty stomach you should eat a few tablespoons of pumpkin seeds. Then you have to wait about an hour and empty your bowels. If this cannot be done, you need to take a laxative. Then you can have breakfast.
For the second method, you need to mix one cup of ground roasted pumpkin seeds with a cup of honey and a spoonful of baking soda. Insist this mixture for about ten days in a dark place. Use only glass containers. The finished mixture should be eaten on a spoon every morning, well before meals.
Important! If you are allergic to folk remedies, they should be abandoned.
Prevention
The main prevention of parasitic diseases is to keep the body and home clean. After using the toilet, coming from the street - you should wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water. You cannot share towels, toothbrushes, combs with other people, even if they are family members.
Meat and fish should be rinsed before cooking and cooked well. Wash fruits and vegetables well, preferably pour boiling water over them before use.
It is not worth taking anthelmintic drugs for prevention, but you can periodically rely more on spicy foods, garlic. Pumpkin seeds can be added to the diet for the same purpose.
Knowing all the possible symptoms and manifestations of parasitic diseases, they can be detected at an early stage, after which they can be cured quickly and painlessly.