Almost every one of us had to deal with manifestations of helminthiasis. These parasites have been coexisting with humans for so long that Hippocrates himself mentioned them in his writings. According to WHO statistics, at the moment on Earth, more than five billion people are affected by various types of helminthiases.
The pharmacological industry regularly produces modern products designed to neutralize parasites in the human body, folk remedies for helminthiasis, supplementing traditional treatment, have not lost their relevance either.
About helminths
There are about 250 species of parasites living in human tissues and organs. All of them are divided into two classes:
- flatworms (nemotodes);
- roundworms (cestodia and trematodes).
Their size ranges from a few millimeters to 10-12 m. Parasites become sexually mature very quickly, after which they acquire the ability to lay from ten to one hundred thousand eggs per day.
These eggs remain viable for a long time, even if the conditions in which they are not the most favorable. Types of organisms affected by parasites, according to the stage of their development:
- the final host, in which helminths can develop to the stage of puberty;
- intermediate host, where helminths live until one of the stages of their development.
In the body of the final host, the parasite can carry out a full cycle of its development many times, and live in it for several decades. For various types of parasites, a person can be both a final and an intermediate host, just as they can be mollusks, fish, and carnivores. According to the type of biological cycle, cases of infection with parasites are classified as:
- biohelminthiasis - the development of helminth takes place in organisms of various types;
- geohelminthiases - helminth eggs spend part of their development cycle in the soil, without an intermediate host.
How does a parasite infestation work?
The ways in which helminths enter the human body are very diverse, they depend on social characteristics, natural and climatic factors, and food preferences. The main ways of infection with helminths:
- Through dirty hands, contaminated water, poorly processed food.
- When inhaling dust particles with worm eggs;
- Through the skin;
- After a mosquito bite as an intermediate host (Wuchereria bancrofti);
- When eating contaminated seafood, meat, fish (trematode).
The nutritional features of some peoples of the North suggest the use of lightly salted and raw fish for food. In this population, the prevalence of trichinosis and echinococcosis is high.
What organs are affected by helminthiasis
Defeat by helminths can be localized in many organs and tissues. The localization of the helminth depends on the stage of its development, so the same type of worms at different stages of its existence can parasitize in different parts of the intestine. Organs affected by helminthiasis:
- Large intestine - roundworm, pinworms;
- Duodenum - Strongyloides stercoralis;
- lymph vessels,
- Lungs - Paragonimidae;
- Subcutaneous tissue - Larva migrans.
- Helminths parasitize in hollow organs and tissues of the human body.
Depending on the location of the parasites, helminthiases are divided into types:
- tissue (echinococcosis, cysticercosis);
- translucent (taeniasis, enterobiasis, ascariasis).
Some of the helminths at the larval stage transform the tissues of the human body, forming capsules or granules around themselves (trichinella, toxocara). There is a type of helminths that migrate at the stage of larvae and under the skin of a person, and in the tissues of his organs (larval helminths).
Their temporary stay in the human body takes both visceral and skin forms, a person for them is an intermediate host.
Clinical manifestations of helminthiasis
Like many other infections, helminthiasis goes through two stages of development: acute and chronic. Their duration:
- acute stage - from 2-3 weeks to several months;
- chronic stage - from 2-3 months to several years.
Despite the variety of types of helminths and their localization, the symptoms of the acute stage have common manifestations - these are symptoms of allergies and toxic effects on the human body:
- a slight increase in temperature;
- muscle pain,
- skin rashes,
- limb edema,
- enlarged lymph nodes,
- dyspepsia,
- enlargement of the spleen and liver,
- CNS damage.
A laboratory blood test indicates a change in its formula - eosinophilia and a significant increase in the number of leukocytes are diagnosed. The transition of helminthiasis to the chronic stage is marked by symptoms that depend on which organ is affected by parasites, on the stage of development of worms, their number, and variety. In the chronic stage of helminthiasis, the following symptoms are diagnosed:
- dyspepsia and pain in the intestines,
- intestinal obstruction,
- colitis in hemorrhagic form,
- anemia,
- avitaminosis,
- drastic weight loss
- obstructive jaundice, hepatitis (with liver damage),
- loss of some functions of the central nervous system (with the localization of parasites in the brain),
- inflammatory diseases of the pelvic organs (when pinworms migrate into the vagina),
- ulcer of the stomach and intestines (with chronic strongyloidiasis),
- damage to muscle tissue, the formation of granulomas in the capillaries of the brain (with severe trichinosis),
- damage to the lymphatic system (when infected with nematodes).
With helminthiases caused by echinococci, not only hepatic cysts are formed, but parasites can damage bone tissue. This makes the bones brittle and creates an additional risk of bone fractures. The defeat of the human body by the larvae of Dirofilaria repens occurs in the form of the formation of a subcutaneous node containing parasites. This node is able to move in the thickness of the skin and mucous membranes.
Analyzing the symptoms of helminthiasis, one can be sure that there is no stable clinical picture of this disease, no clear specific signs.
Diagnosis of parasite infestation
If you do not make an accurate diagnosis in time, you can miss the time when the treatment started could be most effective.
The transition of helminthiasis from the acute stage to the chronic form often masks the true cause of the ailment.
Infection with parasites can be mistaken for symptoms of completely different diseases.
It is extremely important not to self-medicate, but to seek medical help from an infectious disease specialist or parasitologist. In his arsenal there are enough modern methods for diagnosing parasitic infection:
- laboratory examination of feces, bile, sputum, blood, urine, rectal and
- prianal scraping of mucus, duodenal contents to detect parasites, their eggs and larvae;
- Ultrasound, radiography;
- Endoscopy, endobiopsy.
The most effective method is considered to be a serological test - a method of analyzing blood serum for the presence of an antigen to infection with certain types of helminths.
This study can show the presence of parasites even in the early stages of infection.
Treatment of parasitic infection with folk methods
According to the results of the diagnosis, the doctor prescribes anthelmintic therapy, the timing of the control study after treatment.
All recommendations of a specialist should be carefully followed to avoid complications.
It is unnecessary to remind about the observance of preventive hygiene measures that will prevent infestation of family members with parasites and secondary infection.
Supporters of the use of folk recipes need to remember that the use of these funds is an auxiliary method that does not replace drug treatment.
Like medicines, traditional medicines have contraindications and side effects. That is why it is worth discussing this method with your doctor before using them. Home Remedies:
- Taking peeled pumpkin seeds for 2 weeks, keeping the thin green skin on the seed.
- A decoction of the peel, removed from one pomegranate in 3/4 tbsp. boiling water. The remedy is drunk on an empty stomach, this must be done in an hour and a half, dividing the broth into three doses. After a few hours, be sure to stimulate the stool with any laxative.
- Enemas with freshly squeezed carrot juice (40 ml) should be done daily for 7 days.
- Regular use of garlic and preparations containing it.
- The introduction of a whole clove of garlic into the rectum (against enterobiasis).
- Reception of freshly prepared garlic juice (10-15 ml) together with warm milk (1 glass), the mixture should be drunk on an empty stomach, the remedy should be repeated 1-2 times during the day.
- Infusion 50 g of a mixture of garlic and grated horseradish root in half a liter of vodka. The mixture is infused for 1. 5 weeks, filtered. Mandatory dose - 1 tbsp. l. before each meal, the infusion must be washed down. Effective in giardiasis.
- Enema with garlic gruel, taken shortly before bedtime, is effective for pinworms and tapeworms. Enema solution: stir in a glass of water 1 tsp. finely minced garlic. Conduct regularly throughout the week.
- A decoction of 2 cloves of garlic, 2 tbsp. milk, 1 tbsp. l. dried tansy flowers are administered as an enema. The enema mixture should be boiled for about 10 minutes. Carry out 7 times, the effect of the treatment can be fixed by repeating the course after a ten-day break.
Herbs and fees:
- 1 tspdried wormwood pour 400 ml (2 tablespoons) of boiling water, strain and cool, take an infusion of 1-2 tbsp. l. three times a day before each meal. Effective for ascariasis and enterobiasis.
- Tansy (1 tbsp. Dried flowers) and 0. 5 liters of boiling water leave for 3 hours and enter as an enema in the rectum before going to bed. The drug is contraindicated in pregnant women and children.
- Infusion for half an hour from 4 tbsp. l. unripe walnuts and a glass of salted boiling water is filtered and taken simultaneously with a laxative. Effective against tapeworm, ascariasis, enterobiasis.
- 1 st. l. tansy flowers pour 200 ml of boiling water, after an hour the infusion is filtered. The frequency of admission is standard - Art. l. 20 minutes before meals. So you need to be treated for 2-3 days, finish taking the infusion with a laxative.
- A decoction of 1 kg of sorrel and 1 liter of boiling water is boiled for 2 hours (it is better to do this in a water bath), filtered, a couple of tablespoons of sugar must be added to it. The volume of the final product is 1 glass of broth, it must be drunk 1-2 sips a day before meals.
- Helminthiases are complex infections with a multicomponent clinical picture. They can cause serious complications, cause irreversible harm to human health.
It is unacceptable to self-medicate when infected with parasites. Folk recipes should be used with extreme caution, only as an adjuvant accompanying drug therapy.