Parasitologists have their own definition of the summer season: helminth season.During the warm season, various types of parasites feel great and actively reproduce.
You can find them everywhere: in rural gardens, during a picnic and during communication with our younger brothers.How to avoid this encounter and what to do if it happens?
Worms or helminths are parasites that affect people, animals and even plants.Previously it was believed that helminth infections were caused by unscrupulous people, but today we know that this is not the case.No one is safe from helminth infection.And according to expert estimates, worms affect 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.The symptoms of the presence of parasites in the body are not 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 unnoticed.However, a lot depends not only on its individual characteristics, but also on the type of parasites.
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 usually fatal to worms.Parasites live in any sandbox, and if the 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 worm eggs.Additionally, young children often play with pets, which carry parasite eggs in their fur or saliva.
enterobiasis
The most common childhood parasites are pinworms, which cause the disease enterobiasis.It is not difficult to suspect its presence.At night, pinworms lay eggs in the anus area, causing intense 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 vaccines given 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 nematodes, which parasitize the intestines.According to the doctor specializing in laboratory diagnostics Vasily Yurasov, at least half of the population of our country suffers from one or the other.
ascariasis
For example, it is quite easy to get infected with roundworms at the dacha;There are many in our garden beds.They enter the body through poorly washed vegetables and leafy greens.The lifespan of an intestinal worm is measured in two years, and, as Yurasov says, in theory, ascariasis can disappear on its own (to continue to exist, the worm must be in the soil).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 intestinal worms, 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, causing 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, not everything is so simple here.Each of us at least once in our life has been tested for eggworms (for example, to obtain a certificate for a swimming pool), but detecting them in research material is quite difficult.For example, worms release eggs every few days.Therefore, to understand the real situation, says laboratory diagnostics doctor Vasily Yurasov, these tests should be carried out at least three days in a row.
Diagnosis and treatment of helminthiasis.
Also, 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 important aid in determining helminth infestations is an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay blood test, which can determine antibodies against various types 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, rinse vegetables from your garden thoroughly, fry meat and fish thoroughly, and don't let your pets eat too much.Good home remedies for prevention include pumpkin seeds, ginger, and tansy.