For the parasitologist, parasites in the human body are standard work. For the average patient, helminthic invasion is a terrible pathology. The situation is exacerbated by the fact that one tends to increase the scale of the problem without knowing the enemy. Basic knowledge of the types of parasites that can live in the human body will help to overcome fear. And knowing the problem, you can now competently build methods to deal with it or the principles of protection against it. In the material below we will analyze which worms parasitize in the human body.
Types of worms in the human body
It is worth knowing that not all real-life worms in the human body can live. For many, the natural habitat is animal organisms, water or just soil. The following is a list of the most common parasites in the human body with concomitant clinical manifestations.
Ostrica
This is the most common parasite that enters the human body. In addition, even humanoid primates can suffer from enterobiosis. Most often the pinworm is localized in the body of preschool children. Children from 1 to 10 years are sick.
Worm infection occurs when a healthy person comes in contact with an infected person (shaking hands, touching dirty linen, towels, etc. ) with unwashed hands. In addition, with food, the eggs of pinworms enter the human body.
Important: insects (flies, cockroaches) can also lay helminth eggs.
An elderly woman crawls through the anus at night and lays her eggs in the folds of the skin of the anus, which causes severe itching. Also, the patient may experience intermittent lower abdominal pain if the intensity of the helminthic invasion is already high. It is these symptoms of parasite infection that indicate pinworms in the body. They can be mixed with general fatigue and allergic skin reactions.
Giardia
Protozoa of the genus Whip. The localization of such parasites in the human body occurs more often in the small intestine. However, with blood flow, protozoa can reach the liver and gallbladder. Parasites enter a person through dirty hands, unwashed vegetables / fruits or by drinking dirty water.
The symptoms of Giardia parasites are:
- Pain in the right hypochondrium;
- Stool disorders;
- Excessive gas evolution;
- Nausea;
- neuroses;
- Allergic manifestations on the skin.
Ascaris
Roundworms in people who live most often in the small intestine. But at the same time with the flow of blood, they can easily migrate to any organs. It is often localized in the heart, lungs, liver and even in the brain.
Infection with helminth infestation occurs through dirty hands, on which the parasite's eggs from vegetables, fruits, soil, etc. could remain. In this case, the symptoms of the parasites vary depending on the stage of the disease. Thus, during the migration of the larva, the following symptoms of parasites are observed in the body:
- Fever (38 degrees);
- Dry cough at night with shortness of breath;
- Swollen lymph nodes.
With the further location of the worms in the human body, the following symptoms are formed:
- Stool disorder (constipation and diarrhea);
- Nervous disorders;
- Pneumonia;
- Heart failure;
- Nausea;
- Vomiting;
- Frequent headaches;
- Stomach pain.
Histological amoeba
An amoeba is a protozoan parasite. It affects the human body through dirty hands, through the use of dirty food (vegetables, fruits, herbs) and even through anal contact. Flies can also carry amoebiasis. Amoeba provokes the formation of ulcers on the walls of the colon and further damage to other organs and systems. In this case, the signs of parasites in the body will be as follows:
- Stools with blood and mucus;
- Abdominal pain;
- anemia;
- General weakness and fatigue;
- Formation of abscesses in those organs in which the parasite can be localized.
Toxocara
A roundworm that provokes a helminth infestation called toxocariasis. In this case, the parasite can be localized in the intestine, in the eyes, in the brain. Toxocar carriers are canine (dogs, wolves, foxes, etc. ). Infection occurs either by contact with a sick animal or by indirect contact with its feces. Infection with parasites of this type leads to different symptoms, depending on the organ in which the worm larva has settled. So, in intestinal toxocariasis, the symptoms will be as follows:
- Nausea and vomiting;
- Diarrhea and constipation;
- Abdominal pain.
In ocular toxocariasis, the patient has the following signs of parasite infection:
- Decreased vision;
- Purulent discharge from the affected eye;
- Formation of boils on the eyelids;
- Redness of the sclera of the eyes;
- Retinal detachment.
- Headache;
- Dizziness and fainting;
- Increased intracranial pressure;
- Nervousness and hallucinations;
- Decreased vision and concentration.
In this case, the clinical picture is often confused with brain oncology.
- In cardiac toxocariasis, the patient will experience heart failure, such as tachycardia, arrhythmia, valvular insufficiency, and heart pain.
- If the respiratory system is affected by toxocara, there will be signs of pneumonia or bronchitis, as well as frequent shortness of breath.
- If the worm settles under the skin, then the patient will feel itching, movement and redness on the skin at the site of the helminth.
Wideband
This helminth lives in the small intestine of its biological host. It gets there through the mouth along with contaminated food (fish, fish needle) or water. The signs of worms in the body of this species are as follows:
- Abdominal pain;
- Nausea;
- Persistent anemia that cannot be corrected with iron supplements;
- In the advanced stage of the pathology, the patient develops intestinal obstruction due to a large accumulation of parasites in it.
Pork tapeworm
This helminth lives in the body of livestock (rabbits, pigs), as well as in the body of dogs and even camels. It enters the human body along with contaminated meat that has undergone insufficient heat treatment. If an adult worm is found in the patient's body, the diagnosis is "tapeworm". If the helminth is found in the larval stage, then the diagnosis is "cysticercosis".
Important: the patient with teniasis is dangerous both for himself (ingestion of parasite larvae in the brain, eyes, skeleton) and for others.
The list of symptoms of the parasite in the human body looks like this:
- Sudden decrease in appetite;
- Severe headaches;
- Abdominal pain;
- seizure;
- Decreased vision (with ocular tenia).
Important: the treatment of swine tapeworm is carried out only in a hospital under the supervision of specialists.
.jpg)
Beef tapeworm (tapeworm)
A parasite that lives in the human body in an individual. He gets there with infected cow meat. The list of signs of the parasite in the human body looks like this:
- Uncontrollable appetite and lack of weight gain;
- Unstable chair;
- Abdominal pain;
- Severe allergic reactions;
- Nausea.
Important: the parasite comes out on its own when using certain anthelmintic drugs. In addition, its maximum length can be about 12 meters.
Necatator and hookworm
These round parasites enter the human body either routinely through dirty hands and food, or through the soil when in contact with it. The symptoms of the presence of such parasites in the human body look like this:
- Rash on the body in the form of papules and vesicles (pimples with purulent content);
- Severe dry cough with shortness of breath;
- Abdominal pain;
- Persistent anemia;
- Diarrhea;
- Nausea;
- Critical loss of appetite.
Alveococcus
This parasite belongs to the group of cestodes. At the same time, it is worth knowing that helminths are extremely dangerous to humans, as they first form a primary inflammatory focus in the liver, and then its metastases spread to other organs. Human infection occurs by ingesting helminthic oncospheres in the human mouth. This most often occurs when carcasses are cut, during hunting, when using herbs and fruits collected in the forest and insufficiently processed for food, as well as in direct contact with pets infected with the invasion. In this case, only a specialist should assess the symptoms and treatment tactics. The clinical picture of helminthic invasion looks like this:
- Nausea and specific belching;
- Pain in the right hypochondrium;
- Allergy;
- Severe itchy skin;
- Heating the site where the parasite is located and the abscess bursting.
Important: Localization of such an invasion is often found in the lungs or brain. They get rid of the parasite only in a timely manner.
Echinococcus
Canids and cats are carriers of echinococci. In this case, the person for the parasite is only an intermediate host. The danger of echinococcus for humans lies in the fact that the helminth seriously affects human organs and systems, provoking the formation of cysts in them. Most often, people who work with animals and butcher meat are infected with echinococci. That is, the parasite can enter the human body when it cuts the carcass of an animal, when it eats contaminated meat or water. Here it is worth knowing that the signs of parasites in an adult may not appear for a long time. When the phase of absence of symptoms is over, the following clinical picture appears:
- Heavy hives;
- Itchy skin;
- Soreness at the location of the larva of the parasite;
- Fever and fever (in the suppuration of cysts).
Gnastostoma
This type of helminth enters the human body with contaminated birds, fish or frog meat. You can also get dirty water with worm larvae in it. The presence of such worms in the human body is manifested by the following symptoms:
- Severe dry cough;
- Pain in the area of the location of the larva of the parasite;
- Severe swelling;
- Severe itchy skin;
- Fever.
Important: after one week all symptoms disappear by themselves, but appear with regular frequency for many years. Great danger is damage to the eyes and brain with worms. This can be fatal.
Schistosome
The flow of worms. It is dangerous because it can penetrate the human body even through intact skin. Infection occurs in dirty water (more common in Africa), when washing clothes in dirty water or when watering the soil with it. In the acute stage of invasion, the following first signs appear:
- Excessive body temperature (up to 39 degrees and more);
- Formation of papules on the body;
- Severe itchy skin.
In the chronic stage the disease manifests itself in the form of symptoms of prostatitis, colitis, colpitis, ascites, renal hydronephrosis and others. Schistosomiasis can be detected by urine analysis.
Trichinella
A round parasite that parasitizes the muscles of the human body at the larval stage and migrates to the small intestine when it reaches maturity. Trichinella is deadly to humans. You can become infected with this infestation when you eat poorly fried / cooked meat from wild and worm-infected animals. If the reader does not know how to determine the presence of such a parasite in the body, then the clinical picture of the pathology looks like this:
- Vomiting and severe diarrhea;
- Abdominal pain;
- Loss of appetite;
- Muscle pain;
- Skin rashes;
- Swelling of the eyelids;
- The temperature rises to 40 degrees.
Important: Trichinosis is the only helminthic infestation in the human body that is also treated with corticosteroid drugs.
Once you know what parasites can live in the human body and how the infection occurs, as well as the symptoms of helminthic invasion, you can insure yourself and your loved ones against infection. And if you suspect an infection with one or another type of parasite, seek specialized help in time.