Subcutaneous parasites, living deep in the human skin, damage it and cause inflammation. They can penetrate from the main place of "unfolding" to other organs and cause serious illness. Most of the subcutaneous helminths are found in the southern countries, and an ordinary person can become infected with them during a vacation or business trip there.
The danger of subcutaneous helminthic invasion is that it is asymptomatic during the incubation period, which can last for years. This subsequently interferes with the treatment and reduces its effectiveness.
What are subcutaneous parasites?
Helminths affect not only the internal organs of a person, but also his skin. Entering its thickness, they damage the epidermis, feed on its cells and defecate. The waste products of subcutaneous worms cause poisoning, as they contain toxic substances. And the longer the worms are under the skin of a person, the more pronounced the symptoms of invasion.
Subcutaneous worms cause many diseases, since they affect the immune and lymphatic systems of the human body. For example, parasites can provoke the development of elephantism - elephantiasis. It interferes with the circulation of lymph in the body. This leads to an increase in the volume of the limbs and their disfigurement. At the last stage, the affected organ becomes covered with ulcers, necrosis develops.
Human helminths that live under the skin include:
- Dirofilaria nematodes. Cause heartworm disease. Infection of the body occurs through the bite of blood-sucking insects - lice, fleas, ticks, which are carriers of larvae from one host to another. An adult heartworm can reach 30 cm in length. The reproduction process occurs in the thickness of the skin, then the female deposits microfilariae in the bloodstream.
- filariae. It causes filariasis. They are parasitic roundworms. An adult can reach almost half a meter, while the diameter of the body does not exceed 0. 3 mm. Filariasis carriers are blood-sucking insects that transmit the larvae of the parasite from one host to another.
- bull worm larvae. A person provokes the development of cysticercosis. The infection occurs through the intestines, where the eggs of the parasite penetrate together with water, food and dirt. Subsequently, under the influence of gastric juices, their shell dissolves and the larvae come out. They are then transported throughout the body along with the bloodstream.
- Blood flukes of the genus Schistosoma. It's called schistosomiasis. An adult can reach 2 cm in length. Reproduction occurs through the penetration of larvae into the body - cercariae together with water.
Main manifestations and treatment
If a person has parasites under the skin, first of all this is reflected in the condition of him: sagging appears, color changes, scars and microcracks appear. This is due to the fact that the "guests" damage the skin, feeding on its cells and poisoning waste products.
Subcutaneous parasites in humans cause symptoms of helminthic invasion:
- allergic rashes;
- Cough;
- decreased immunity;
- itching;
- Peeling, redness of the skin;
- appetite problems;
- Joint and muscle pain;
- Sleep disturbance;
- Irritability;
- Apathy.
Skin parasites in a sick person cause malfunctions of the whole organism: anemia, dysbacteriosis, etc. develop.
Treatment of a parasitic disease is selected individually. The choice of method is influenced by the degree of damage to the body, the symptoms and the type of pathogen. In some cases, in addition to drug treatment, an operation may be necessary to remove the helminth from under the skin or even from the entire affected organ.
Along with anthelmintic drugs, antihistamines and vasoconstrictors are used. If the inflammation has started due to worms living under the skin, antibiotic therapy is required.
You should not try to get rid of helminths that live under the skin with the help of traditional medicine on your own; as practice shows, they are ineffective and can harm human health.
Symptoms of filariasis
Subcutaneous worms that cause this disease, filarial, appear in the human body after the bite of an infected bloodsucking insect. The largest number of cases is recorded in tropical and subtropical countries.
These subcutaneous worms in humans can live in the human body and not manifest themselves for a long time - the incubation period of the disease can last up to 7 years. This makes diagnosis difficult.
Symptoms and manifestations of invasion appear gradually, as the parasite grows under a person's skin and its effect on surrounding tissues. The most common manifestations of filariasis include:
- Urticaria;
- itching;
- warts;
- eczema;
- Small hard lumps under the skin.
As the disease worsens, fever, general weakness, headache, and drowsiness may occur.
Treatment of filariasis should be done in a hospital setting. For drug deworming, antiparasitic drugs are used. The effectiveness of the therapy is monitored by a blood test. In cases where it does not help, a sick person undergoes a surgical operation to restore the outflow of lymph from the affected organ.
Cysticercosis and schistosomiasis
Tapeworm larvae cause cysticercosis. This type of helminth is distinguished by its ability to survive: it is enough for a parasite to enter the human body, and it will quickly turn into an adult, which will then begin to multiply.
This feature makes it difficult to treat the disease: if the head segment remains after surgical removal of the worm, the parasite will grow back. Despite the fact that the adult tapeworm is found in the human intestine, its larvae spread throughout the body with the bloodstream, including under the skin. Subsequently, they can stay there for a long time - from 5 to 30 years.
If, with cysticercosis, the worms are coiled under the skin or in muscle tissue, then for a person the disease is asymptomatic. However, the location of the parasite can be determined by tumor-like growths that will rise above the skin. On palpation of the tubercle, it can be determined that it is hollow inside. The skin on the shoulders, the upper half of the chest, and the palms of the hands often become a favorite site for tapeworm larvae.
With subcutaneous cysticercosis, medication is not carried out, the patient must be under the supervision of a doctor. This is because when the parasite dies after the use of deworming agents, the toxins begin to enter the body. They, in turn, can give a strong allergic reaction.
Schistosome larvae, cercariae cause schistosomiasis in humans. Infection occurs through water. The first symptoms of worms under the skin appear 10-15 minutes after invasion. This is due to the fact that the worms under the skin secrete a large amount of their own secretory fluid, which provokes a toxic allergic reaction in a person.
First manifestations:
- intense itching;
- Urticaria;
- Eruption.
Then there is a pause, after which (after 1-2 months) the acute stage of schistosomiasis begins, indicating the abandonment of the disease:
- Fever;
- nocturnal hyperhidrosis;
- Urticaria;
- Dry cough;
- Changes in the qualitative composition of the blood.
At the moment, the treatment of schistosomiasis is limited to the use of 2 anthelmintic drugs. In the acute stage of the disease, steroids, antihistamines and anti-inflammatory drugs are also used.
Heartworm and Morgellon virus
These two diseases have similar symptoms, with some differences. With heartworm, a sick person finds on his body a small tubercle under the skin, which moves during palpation. This is what indicates that a subcutaneous worm has gotten into the body. The same manifestation of invasion is seen with the Morgellon virus.
The essential difference between these two parasites is that heartworms do not bother their host: the bubble under the skin does not cause discomfort, it can come and go from time to time. Worms parasitize on the arm, leg, near the eyes, nose, chest, in men - on the genitals. If heartworm is under the skin of a person for a long time, then under the influence of toxins his body temperature rises and weakness is felt.
With the Morgellon virus, severe itching of the skin from the helminthic invasion is felt. In the absence of medical assistance, a bleeding wound, eczema, soon appears. This several times increases the risk of infection of the body with other diseases.
The best treatment for the parasite is surgical removal.