Parasitologists have their own definition of the summer season - the season of helminths.During the warm season, various kinds of parasites feel great and actively reproduce.
You can meet them everywhere - in country gardens, during a picnic, and during communication with our smaller brothers.How to avoid this meeting and what to do if it does happen?
Worms or helminths are parasites that affect people, animals, and even plants.Previously, it was generally accepted that helminth infections were the lot of unscrupulous people, but today it is known that this is not so.No one is safe from helminth infection.And according to expert estimates, worms affect from 70 to 95% of the world's population.
Signs of helminthiasis
There are often situations when it is not easy to guess about such a neighborhood.Symptoms of the presence of parasites in the body are non-specific.For some they will cause intestinal disorders, for others - asthenia, and for others they will not feel anything at all.Experts warn that worms can live in the human body for years and go undetected.However, a lot depends not only on your individual characteristics, but also on the type of parasites themselves.
People at risk for helminth infection include people with weakened immune systems and children under 3 years of age.The acidity of the gastric juice of a healthy adult is most often fatal for worms.Parasites live in any sandbox, and if a baby likes to put his fingers in his mouth, this can end sadly.
Pediatrician Maxim Pereverzentsev claims that for every square meter of sandbox there are at least fifty eggs of worms.In addition, young children often play with pets, which carry parasite eggs on their fur or in their saliva.
Enterobiasis
The most common childhood parasites are pinworms, which cause the disease enterobiasis.It is not difficult to suspect their presence.At night, pinworms lay eggs in the anus area, causing severe itching in humans.Other symptoms include decreased appetite and restless sleep.Enterobiasis must be treated, and only a doctor can help with this.A little-known fact: if a child is infected with worms, the vaccinations given to him will not be effective.
Here are some other symptoms that may indicate the presence of worms in the human body: abdominal pain, skin rashes, allergic reactions, increased salivation, constipation or diarrhea, nausea.
Of the three hundred types of worms known in the world, the two most common in our country are pinworms and roundworms, which parasitize the intestines.According to laboratory diagnostics doctor Vasily Yurasov, at least half of the population of our country has either one or the other.
Ascariasis
For example, it is quite easy to become infected with roundworms at the dacha - there are plenty of them in our garden beds.They enter the body through poorly washed vegetables and leafy greens.The lifespan of an roundworm is measured at two years, and, as Yurasov says, theoretically, ascariasis can go away on its own (in order to continue to exist, the worm must be in the ground).However, during these two years, these worms can greatly ruin your life, because they affect not only the gastrointestinal tract, but also the respiratory system.Most often, ascariasis manifests itself as skin dermatitis, muscle pain, stool disorders and dry cough, which worsens at night.If there are a lot of roundworms, they can lead to the development of pancreatitis, inflammation of the appendix, cholecystitis, intestinal obstruction, and liver abscess.
Toxoporosis
Toxoporosis is transmitted through domestic animals, which causes damage to the liver and mucous membranes of the eyes.Poorly fried kebabs or insufficiently smoked or salted fish (usually carp and carp) transmit tapeworms and liver flukes.
If we talk about the diagnosis of helminths, then everything is not so simple here.Each of us has been tested for eggworms at least once in our lives (for example, to get a certificate for a swimming pool), but detecting them in the research material is quite difficult.For example, roundworms release eggs every few days.Therefore, in order to understand the real situation, says laboratory diagnostics doctor Vasily Yurasov, such tests need to be taken at least three days in a row.
Diagnosis and treatment of helminthiasis
In addition, if there are serious suspicions about the presence of worms in the body, the doctor may prescribe an additional test - a stool test for worms.Based on the results of this analysis, a specialist will be able to understand the presence of helminths in the body based on a number of indirect signs.Another significant help for determining helminthic infestations is an enzyme-linked immunosorbent blood test, which allows you to determine antibodies to various kinds of parasites.To complete the picture, the doctor may prescribe the patient a routine biochemical blood test.For example, if it turns out that a person has exceeded the normative value of eosinophils, it is quite possible that the reason lies in the presence of something else in his body.
Parasites should be treated only under the strict supervision of a specialist.You should contact a therapist or parasitologist.As for prevention, it is quite simple.Wash your hands as often as possible, thoroughly rinse the greens from your garden beds, fry your meat and fish well, and don’t let your pets eat too much.Good folk remedies for prevention include pumpkin seeds, ginger and tansy.