How to understand that you have worms

Personal hygiene has improved significantly over the past century, but the problem of worms is still relevant not only for rural residents, but also for city dwellers. Statistics make it clear how high the risk of contracting helminthic invasions is: every third person on the planet suffers from helminthiasis. But this disease does not always manifest itself clearly, and in some cases, the sick cannot correctly interpret the symptoms and remain in the dark for a long time without taking any measures. Questions about how to understand that you have worms arise both with helminthiasis and with other pathologies with similar symptoms.

Worms are an extensive group of parasitic worms, the main signs of the presence of which in the human body are similar to each other. Doctors believe that every person at least once in his life was exposed to helminthiasis. Moreover, the presence of helminths in the body can provoke the development of other diseases, sometimes very dangerous, so the issue of diagnosing this disease is very important.

Mechanisms of infection

Infection with worms occurs in four main ways:

• Water, earth or sand. Soil and water provide ideal conditions for the storage of parasite eggs. A person who bathes in open water is always at risk of swallowing eggs, which subsequently turn into adults. Not as rare as it might seem, people also swallow particles of earth, exposing themselves to the danger of infection. Certain types of parasites can enter the body directly through the skin.
• Food.On the shells of fruits and vegetables that have not been washed or cooked properly, there may be worm eggs. The consumption of raw or lightly processed meat, dried fish, dairy products, etc. is associated with no less risk.
• Contact with the patient. Direct contact can occur both with a sick person and with an infected animal. Joint activities, living in a common area, close communication contribute to the rapid entry of parasites into the intestines and its further development.
• Bites.Worms can be transmitted by insect bites. This is one of the rarest ways of infection in temperate latitudes, but sometimes it becomes the cause of the disease. In hot countries, this path is more common, which should be remembered when going on vacation to warm lands.

Symptoms

For those who want to know how to understand that you have worms, you should understand the principles of identifying symptoms. Any symptoms of helminthiasis do not appear immediately after infection, but only when the parasite stops migrating through the gastrointestinal tract and begins to develop into an adult.

Some of the signs are due to the ingestion of toxins that the worm releases during life. All wastes enter the intestinal lumen, from where they are absorbed into the bloodstream and carried to all organs. Usually there are more signs and they are stronger under the condition of multiple infection, when the number of worms becomes significant. In people who are immunosuppressed or have other chronic conditions, symptoms get worse in a relatively short period of time.

All signs are divided into two large groups: explicit and hidden. Explicit ones can be assessed independently at home, while hidden ones can only be determined on an outpatient basis with the help of appointments for certain tests and examinations.

Explicit

The obvious ones include symptoms by which it can be understood that worms are present in the body. Their presence does not cause too obvious symptoms, as, for example, happens with the development of viruses. Parasites are aimed at life inside the body, so too much deterioration in the condition of the infected host would be a threat to their life. For this reason, the symptoms do not require emergency care.

You can suspect or understand the presence of helminthic invasion by the following signs:

• Gradual weight loss for no apparent reason, which continues for several months, and sometimes for several years in a row. The rate of weight loss is not catastrophic, most often they are 2-5% per month. With a high intensity of infection in people with reduced immunity, this figure can reach up to 10%.
• Disorders of the gastrointestinal tract. Some worms are able to block the bile ducts or intestinal lumen, which provokes stable constipation. With a high intensity of release of toxins, on the contrary, recurrent diarrhea may occur. Due to inflammation of the walls of the upper part of the small intestine, increased flatulence and gas formation are often observed, and bloating is possible.
• Severe pain in the joints and muscles. Often such manifestations are attributed to the development of arthrosis, but in the case of helminths, this is caused by the migration of parasites. In addition, such pain may be due to the influence of toxins on the joints and muscle tissue.
• Itching near the anus. This phenomenon is caused by the fact that a large number of species of parasitic worms crawl out of the lumen of the rectum to reproduce and lay eggs. This causes intense itching, which tends to get worse in the evening and at night.
• allergic manifestations. Often occurs in response to the appearance of a large number of toxins in the blood or due to damage to the intestinal mucosa, which causes an increase in the immune system and an allergy reaction.
• Pulmonary manifestations. Possible in a wide range, ranging from constant coughing and ending with pneumonia. Characteristic for intense ascariasis occurring in a period of time not less than three months from the moment of infection.
• Elevated temperature. Such a manifestation can be of different intensity. Most often, a low temperature of about 37 ° C persists around the clock, but in rare cases fever can be observed.

Hidden

Hiding signs can only be revealed by a doctor who will adequately assess the clinical picture and be able to understand that worms may be the likely cause. Preventive measures for the diagnosis of helminthiases are:

• Analysis of feces for worms. It must be submitted in two stages, therefore, experts do not consider the results of one analysis as reliable. This is due to the cyclicity of reproduction, so it is far from always possible to understand from one analysis of feces that the patient suffers from helminths.
• Clinical blood test. Elevated levels of eosinophils indicate that parasites are likely to be present in the body. Often such an assumption arises after tests during the treatment or diagnosis of other diseases.
• Antibody analysis. At the moment, it is one of the most reliable diagnostic methods that help to understand whether a person has worms. Despite the fact that it is more expensive than similar drugs, recently doctors increasingly prefer to prescribe it because of its high information content and reliability.

Antiparasitic drugs or laxatives should not be taken before any clinical tests for parasites, as this makes diagnosis difficult.

Signs in a child

In children, the presence of worms is diagnosed more often than in adults. This is facilitated by poor hygiene, close contact with domestic or street animals, and incomplete development of the immune system. A growing organism usually reacts more acutely to the presence of parasites, and the consequences can be more global than in adults. But to understand that a child has worms is not very easy. Symptoms may be the same as in adults, but most often they are more acute.

In most cases, signs suggesting helminthic invasion in children are:

• Rapid weight loss. With a running picture, such a manifestation can lead to a delay in physical development;
• Deterioration of hair and nails. It occurs due to a long-term deficiency of nutrients and vitamins caused by a violation of the absorption of digested food in the intestine.
• Sleep disturbance. Pathology can cause the child to wake up more often at night, cry, spin and talk in a dream.
• Irritability. Intoxication of the nervous system and poor health can affect the emotional state of the child, cause increased excitability, capriciousness, tearfulness, etc.
• The desire to constantly scratch the anus. Children do not control external manifestations, so this symptom often helps to understand the cause of ailments and physical changes.

Some parents tend to give their children broad-spectrum antiparasitic drugs for prevention, but experts do not recommend doing this, since most of these drugs are quite difficult to tolerate. It is better to first understand whether the child is infected and what kind of treatment he needs, since the therapy of different types of worms is significantly different and is not always effective for helminths of other groups.