Subcutaneous parasites, which live in the thickness of human skin, damage it and cause inflammation. They can penetrate from the main place of "deployment" to other organs and cause serious illness. Most subcutaneous helminths are found in southern countries, and a normal person can become infected with them during a vacation or business trip there.
The danger of subcutaneous helminth 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 a person's internal organs, but also his skin. Entering its thickness, they damage the epidermis, feed on its cells and defecate. The waste products of subcutaneous worms cause intoxication, as they contain toxic substances. And the longer the worms are under a person's skin, the more pronounced the symptoms of invasion.
Subcutaneous worms cause many diseases, as 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. In the last stage, the affected organ becomes covered with ulcers, necrosis develops.
Human helminths that live under the skin include:
- Roundworms of the genus Dirofilaria. It causes 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 takes place in the thickness of the skin, so the female lays microfilariae in the bloodstream.
- Filarie. It causes heartworm disease. They are parasitic nematodes. An adult can reach almost half a meter, while the diameter of the body does not exceed 0. 3 mm. Carriers of filariasis are blood-sucking insects that transmit parasite larvae from one host to another.
- Bull larvae. A person provokes the development of cysticercosis. Infection occurs through the intestine, where the parasite's eggs penetrate along with water, food, dirt. Subsequently, under the influence of gastric juices, their shell dissolves - the larvae come out. Then they are transported throughout the body along with the bloodstream.
- Blood flukes of the genus Schistosoma. It is called schistosomiasis. An adult can reach 2 cm in length. Reproduction occurs through the penetration of larvae into the body - cercariae along with water.
Main manifestations and treatment
If a person has parasites under the skin, then first of all this is reflected in his condition: flaccidity appears, color changes, scars and microcracks appear. This is due to the fact that the "hosts" damage the skin, feed on its cells and poison waste products.
Subcutaneous parasites in humans cause helminth invasion symptoms:
- Allergic rashes;
- Cough;
- Reduced immunity;
- Itching;
- Peeling, redness of the skin;
- Problems with appetite
- Pain in the joints and muscles;
- Sleep disorders;
- Irritability;
- Apathy.
Parasites of the skin in a sick person cause malfunctions of the whole organism: anemia, dysbacteriosis, etc. develops.
Treatment of a parasitic disease is selected individually. The choice of method is influenced by the degree of damage to the organism, symptoms and the type of pathogen. In some cases, in addition to drug treatment, an operation may be required to remove the helminth from under the skin or even the entire organ that has been affected.
Along with anthelmintic drugs, antihistamines, vasoconstrictors are used. If the inflammation has started due to the worms living under the skin, antibiotic therapy is required.
You should not try to get rid of helminths living under the skin with the help of traditional medicine alone - as practice shows, they are ineffective and can harm human health.
Symptoms of filariasis
The subcutaneous worms that cause this disease - heartworms - appear in the human body after the bite of an infected bloodsucking insect. The largest number of cases are recorded in tropical and subtropical countries.
These subcutaneous worms in humans are able to 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 can occur.
Treatment of heartworm should take place in a hospital setting. For the deworming of drugs, 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 surgery 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 rapidly develop into an adult, which will then begin to multiply.
This feature makes treatment of the disease difficult: 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. After that, they can stay there for a long time, from 5 to 30 years.
If, with cysticercosis, the worms are wrapped 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 neoplasms that will rise above the skin. On palpation of the tubercle, it can be determined that it is hollow inside. The skin of the shoulders, the upper half of the chest and the palms of the hands usually become a favorite place for tapeworm larvae.
With subcutaneous cysticercosis, drugs are not carried out, the patient must be under the supervision of a doctor. This is due to the fact that when the parasite dies after the use of antiparasitic agents, toxins begin to enter the body. In turn, they 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 causes a toxic allergic reaction in a person.
First manifestations:
- Intense itching;
- Urticaria;
- Rash.
Then there is a pause, after which (after 1-2 months) the acute stage of schistosomiasis begins, which indicates the abandonment of the disease:
- Fever;
- Nocturnal hyperhidrosis;
- Urticaria;
- Dry cough;
- Changes in the qualitative composition of the blood.
At present, the treatment of schistosomiasis is limited to the use of 2 anthelmintic drugs. In the acute stage of the disease, steroids, antihistamines, anti-inflammatory drugs are also used.
Heartworm and Morgellon virus
These two diseases have similar symptoms, with some differences. With heartworm disease, 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 ended up in the body. The same manifestation of invasion is observed with the Morgellon virus.
The essential difference between these two parasites is that heartworm does not bother their host: the subcutaneous blister does not cause discomfort, it can appear and disappear from time to time. Worms parasitize in the arm, leg, near the eyes, in the nose, on the chest, in men - in the genitals. If heartworm remains under the skin of a person for a long time, under the influence of toxins, his body temperature rises and weakness is felt.
With the Morgellon virus, severe itching is felt on the skin of the helminthic invasion. In the absence of medical assistance, a bleeding wound soon appears, eczema. This several times increases the risk of infection of the body with other diseases.
The best treatment for the parasite is surgical removal.