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, sufferers cannot correctly interpret the symptoms and remain in the dark for a long time without taking any action. 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 their presence in the human body are similar to each other. Doctors believe that each person at least once in her life was exposed to helminthiasis. In addition, 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.

Infection mechanisms

Worm infection occurs in four main ways:

• water, land 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 develop into adults. Not as unusual as it might seem, people also swallow dirt particles, exposing themselves to the danger of infection. Certain types of parasites can enter the body directly through the skin.
• Meal.Eggs of worms can be found in the skins of fruits and vegetables that have not been washed or cooked properly. The consumption of raw or slightly processed meat, dried fish, dairy products, etc. is associated with no less risk.
• Patient Contact. Direct contact can occur with both a sick person and an infected animal. Joint activities, living in a common area, close communication contribute to the rapid entry of parasites into the intestines and their further development.
• bite.The worms can be transmitted by insect bites. This is one of the rarest forms of infection in temperate latitudes, but sometimes it becomes the cause of the disease. In hot countries, this path is more common, which must be remembered when going on vacation to hot lands.

Symptoms

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

Some of the signs are due to the ingestion of toxins that the worm releases during its life. All waste enters the intestinal lumen, from where it is absorbed into the bloodstream and transported to all organs. Signs are usually more present and stronger under multi-infection conditions, when the number of worms becomes significant. In people who are immunocompromised or have other chronic conditions, symptoms worsen over a relatively short period of time.

All signs are divided into two large groups: explicit and hidden. The explicit ones can be evaluated independently at home, while the 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. Its presence does not cause very obvious symptoms, as occurs, for example, with the development of viruses. Parasites aim for life within the body, so excessive deterioration in the condition of the infected host would be life threatening. For this reason, the symptoms do not require emergency care.

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

• Gradual weight loss for no apparent reason, continuing for several months and sometimes for several years at a time. The rate of weight loss is not catastrophic, most often it is 2-5% per month. With a high intensity of infection in people with reduced immunity, this figure can reach up to 10%.
• Gastrointestinal tract disorders. Some worms can block the bile ducts or intestinal lumen, causing stable constipation. With a high intensity of toxin release, 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 due to the migration of parasites. Also, 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 come out of the lumen of the rectum to reproduce and lay eggs. This causes intense itching, which tends to be worse in the afternoon and at night.
• allergic manifestations. It 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 allergic reaction.
• Pulmonary manifestations. Possible in a wide range, ranging from constant cough to pneumonia. Characteristic of intense ascariasis that occurs in a period of time not less than three months from the time of infection.
• High temperature. Such a manifestation can be of different intensity. In most cases, a low temperature of about 37°C persists throughout the day, but in rare cases a fever may be observed.

Hidden

Hidden signs can only be revealed by a doctor who will properly assess the clinical picture and be able to understand that worms may be the probable cause. Preventive measures for the diagnosis of helminthiasis are:

• Analysis of feces for worms. It must be presented in two stages, therefore, the results of an analysis are not considered reliable by experts. This is due to the cyclicity of reproduction, so it is not always possible to understand from an analysis of feces that the patient suffers from helminths.
• Clinical blood test. Elevated levels of eosinophils indicate that parasites are likely 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, doctors recently prefer to prescribe it due to its high information content and reliability.

Antiparasitic drugs or laxatives should not be taken before any clinical test for parasites, as this makes diagnosis more 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 pets or strays, 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 understanding that a child has worms is not very easy. The symptoms can be the same as in adults, but most of the time they are more severe.

In most cases, the signs that suggest a helminthic invasion in children are:

• Fast weight loss. With an ongoing image, 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, roll over and talk in a dream.
• Irritability. Intoxication of the nervous system and poor health can affect the emotional state of the child, provoke increased excitability, capriciousness, crying, 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 so, as 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 she needs, since the therapy of different types of worms is significantly different and is not always effective for helminths of other groups.