Anyone can experience a worm infection. Young children - attend kindergarten, adults - for other reasons. Despite all preventive measures, you need to know the signs of worms in humans to notice the disease in time and start treating it. What are worms, where do they settle and how do they manifest - we will look in more detail.
What organs can be affected by worms?
There are two types of invasions: abdominal and tissue. Depending on the species, the habitats are also divided:
- The hollow worms settle in the small and large intestines. In particular, the first areas of the small intestine are affected by tapeworm, hookworm, roundworm. The lower part of the small intestine is the habitat of dwarf tapeworm, pinworm. The large intestine most often becomes a habitat for the whip.
- Tissue helminths affect organs of all kinds: liver, brain, lymph nodes, bile ducts.
Important! It is impossible to determine the signs of worms in a patient in the early stages of the invasion. While the number of worms is small, toxic poisoning with waste products is within normal limits, the body copes with the invasion. The appearance of characteristic or acute symptoms indicates a significant increase in the number of helminth infestations: the maturation of individuals and their dynamic development.
Types of chains
Determining the signs of worms in adults, you need to understand what kind of invasion we are talking about:
- Hairheads. The chains are named after the filamentous body with a thickening at the rear end. The life cycle of parasites is direct. Habitat - tropics, subtropics. The chains are located in the caecum, making them difficult to etch.
- Nematode. A subclass of roundworms that live in nature and the human body. The most famous representatives: roundworms, pinworms.
- Fluke. Flat type metals. They pose a huge threat to the body of the wearer as they are able to settle in any organ system. Representatives: schistosomiasis, opisthorchiasis worms.
- Pork tapeworm (tapeworm). Tapeworms are hermaphrodites. Having strong hooks on the head to attach to the walls, they can affect the brain, intestines, liver, eyes, muscles. Consequences of non-treatment: paralysis, death of the carrier.
All types of worms are found in the human body. After suffering from ascariasis, enterobiosis, diphyllobotriasis, the patient experiences a lack of nutrients, the intestines cease to absorb normal food residues. Consequences of invasion: metabolic disorders, neurohumoral reaction.
A few facts about the ways of infection:
- Ascariasis - unwashed vegetables, fruits, hands;
- Raw or lightly salted fish, caviar - diphyllobotriasis;
- Oysters - contact-bit method. The period of development is up to 60 days, after which there is a chronic phase of invasion, characterized by reduced immunity and high incidence of infectious diseases, exacerbation of chronic processes.
Signs of worms in humans
The general symptoms of worms in adults depend on the location of the helminths. The main danger is parasites that settle in vital organs. Worms appeared, the symptoms are implicit: weakness, cough. And although a complete diagnosis requires examination. However, there are a number of signs by which you can determine: where the worms are and whether they exist at all.
Brain
Most often there are no obvious symptoms, but if the worms live in the human brain, the patient may experience:
- constant bouts of nausea;
- frequent vomiting;
- severe weakness;
- lethargy of consciousness;
- reduced visual acuity, hearing;
- fluctuations in body temperature for no apparent reason;
- epilepsy.
Fact! Most often, parasites in the brain are detected only after autopsy.
In the body
Hundreds of known types of parasites can lodge in a patient's body. It is difficult to determine the presence of worms in the body of an adult. Symptoms vary depending on the areas of localization: in the heart, liver, lungs, under the skin. Common signs of worms in an adult:
- muscle, joint pain;
- deterioration of the skin;
- weight jumps: reduction or setting;
- severe constant fatigue;
- immediate reduction of immunity.
Fact! Some worms have the ability to crawl from the anus to the perineum, penetrate the bloodstream into other organs, appear in the abdominal cavity and affect the nose and ears.
In the intestines
The most common worms in people whose symptoms are more pronounced may be in the large and small intestine. The infection occurs through the mouth, by contact. The period of development of the larva and the adult from the egg takes place in the intestinal mucosa. The parasite takes nutrients for itself, blocking their absorption by the intestines. Therefore, there are intestinal problems that cause helminths in adults. symptoms:
- the stomach is often bloated;
- the chair is broken;
- flatulence occurs;
- changes in body weight;
- they constantly and strongly want to eat.
Of course, in worms the symptoms can be different, overgrown with characteristic signs of gastric diseases, if the patient has such. This is why proper diagnostic measures are so important. Only a specialist will determine exactly: where the worm is, the type and dynamics of the development of the invasion.
Signs of helminthiasis depending on the type of parasite
The symptoms of worms in an adult may differ from the symptoms in childhood. Strong immunity repels the invasion, but the child does not have such a feature. Knowing the signs of worms in a person, it is easier to understand the cause of the disease and at the first suspicion of infection consult a doctor. Specialist in infectious diseases, parasitologist, helminthologist - a specialist of the required profile will quickly understand where worms live in the human body and how to get rid of them.
Each parasite provokes its own symptoms:
- tapeworm has intestinal problems: loss of appetite, sleep disturbance, flatulence;
- from round - cough, bloating, flatulence, loss of appetite.
Important! Roundworms or roundworms grow up to 40 cm in length and are able to move easily on the walls of the intestine, living in the lungs and liver. This is a very dangerous invasion that must be discarded.
Whether tapeworms or roundworms have settled in the human body, they must be removed. Even in minimal amounts, the invasion can cause severe damage to the body, and in large quantities the parasites poison the host and often lead to the death of the patient. Knowing where the worms live, do not rush to write off the frequent bloating for ordinary indigestion, perhaps this is a sign of helminthiasis, which means it's time to go to the doctor.