According to the WHO, more than 4 billion people on Earth suffer from parasites. Such a massive infection is explained by the underestimation of the problem, the insufficient education of the population, the ineffective diagnosis and treatment of patients.
All parasites that can cause disease in humans can be divided into three major groups:
- Protozoa or protozoa. There are many varieties of them, but only a few are widespread in the world - Giardia, Toxoplasma, Trichomonas.
- Worms or helminths. In the CIS countries there are roundworms, pinworms, toxocara, Trichinella, swine and bovine tapeworms, echinococci, cat flukes and others.
- Ectoparasites (parasitize on the outside) - lice with head lice, ticks.
Infection of the human body with parasites of the latter group is quite easy to spot, but protozoa and worms often come as a "surprise" to their "owners".
Why are parasites dangerous?
Most parasites live long and actively multiply in the human body, so the diseases they cause take a chronic, constantly recurring course. In this case, the affected organs cease to function fully, immunity decreases, the patient becomes more vulnerable to infections.
As a result, the body of a person infected with parasites is exhausted, weak, poisoned by parasitic toxins and allergic. These processes, of course, do not develop at lightning speed, but years of ignorance about the presence of the pest in the body and, consequently, the lack of treatment cause serious health problems.
How can you get infected?
Knowing the basic ways to get parasites is a chance to protect yourself and stay healthy. If we focus on pathogens common in CIS countries, then the list of possible routes of transmission of these parasites in humans will be as follows:
- Through dirty hands.
- Through dirty water (including swimming in it).
- Through unwashed vegetables and fruits.
- Through raw or undercooked meat and fish.
- Contact with an infectious animal.
- Sexual contact (this is how trichomoniasis is transmitted).
How to suspect the presence of a parasite in a person?
Each parasite is characterized by its own localization in the human body, respectively, and a special clinic of the defeat of one or another organ. However, several features can be distinguished that are common to all helminthiasis and some diseases caused by protozoa.
Intoxication
Its appearance is related to the vital activity of the parasite in humans, namely the products secreted by it poison the patient's body. This is manifested by headache, weakness, nausea, decreased appetite, irritability.
Allergy
Most often it is a skin rash that appears and disappears and does not respond well to dermatological treatment. This can manifest as diathesis in babies. The origin of such a rash is also explained by the effect of the parasite's toxins on the body. If a person is allergic, the worm infection can cause more severe symptoms - swelling of the mucous membranes, attacks of bronchospasm, etc.
Weight loss
This symptom is especially pronounced in children who seem to eat well but do not gain weight, lose weight and at the same time look exhausted. The reason for the weight loss lies again in the competition for nutrients in the body of the patient with worms.
Periodic hyperthermia
In addition, the temperature does not rise much - up to 37, 5. This occurs against the background of the lack of obvious signs of some kind of disease.
Intestinal disorders
This is flatulence, constipation, diarrhea, rumbling and abdominal pain. Quite often these symptoms are explained by the presence of dysbiosis and are unsuccessfully treated with antibiotics and bacterial drugs.
Anemia
Parasites inside a person feed on it, therefore the nutrients, micro- and macroelements, as well as vitamins, often consumed by the patient, are not enough to meet the body's own needs. The first sign of such a deficiency is a lack of iron in anemia, which manifests itself with pale skin and mucous membranes, dizziness.
Difference in food preferences, hunger for sweets
These phenomena can also be explained by the lack of certain nutrients in the patient's body.
The appearance of these signs, all at once, should alert you and force you to see a doctor.
Diagnostic and protection methods
It should be noted immediately that all alternative methods for detecting parasites in the human body (eg the advertised Fol's method) cannot be considered a reliable source of information. Therefore, you can only rely on microscopic examination of the stool, as well as multiple and specific blood tests for antibodies to individual worms and protozoa. The latter can be done in private laboratories.
In order not to fall victim to the parasite, one must follow simple rules:
- Always and everywhere wash your hands with soap and water.
- There are only vegetables, fruits and herbs that are well washed or even better scalded with boiling water.
- Do not drink raw water.
- Do not swim in muddy waters.
- It is mandatory to perform full heat treatment of meat and fish products.
- Wash toys periodically, and those that have been outside, such as in a sandbox, should be disinfected.
- Check your pets for parasites every year.
Parasitic agents
Doctors recommend prophylaxis of worms 2 times a year with special preparations. It is impossible to arbitrarily prescribe to yourself and even more so to a child such drugs, as they are all toxic not only to worms. Therefore, you should consult a doctor about the possibility of using this or that drug and its dosage.
If the presence of a parasite in the human body is confirmed, it is worth looking for a good parasitologist to prescribe an effective treatment regimen, as taking one drug is usually not enough.