Symptoms that signal worms in children. Do not delay the treatment!

Most often, worms appear in preschool and primary children. Where do the worms come from? The main cause of helminth invasion in children is improper hygiene. Young children don't always wash their hands, they love putting their fingers in their mouths, biting their nails and eating unwashed fruits and vegetables. The development of the helminthic invasion occurs if a person has weakened immunity. The immune system in children is just forming, it is unable to cope with a large number of foreign agents. Signs of worms in children resemble symptoms of poisoning or diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.

Why are worms dangerous for a child's body? They damage internal organs, suck up nutrients, cause inflammation. The toxins that helminths secrete negatively affect the baby's nervous system. You can remove worms with the help of traditional and traditional medicine.

Types of helminthiasis in children

Helminths in children appear quite often, especially in preschool age. The risk of infection is always high. The child can get an infection in kindergarten, on the playground, in contact with animals. Also, children often neglect to wash their hands after using the bathroom, before eating.

What are worms? Worms are a huge group of parasitic worms. They can live in the intestines, liver, airways, some can affect the heart and brain. The main types of worms in children:

1. Roundworms - the largest class of human parasites, includes pinworms, roundworms, hookworms, trichinella.
2. Tapeworms: the class includes bovine and porcine tapeworms (tapeworms), echinococcus.
3. Flukes are digenetic flukes, these include schistosomes, opisthorchis, flukes (liver and cat).

In addition, parasitic diseases are caused by protozoa (protists) - single-celled organisms; in the human intestine, Giardia or parasitic amoeba.

Diseases caused by parasites in children have varying degrees of danger, but have similar symptoms. The vast majority of parasitic nematodes in the gastrointestinal tract are found in the contents of the duodenum, in the feces. The source of nutrition for worms is digested food (most often carbohydrates), sometimes blood. Helminthiases in children have symptoms similar to an eating disorder or gastrointestinal disease.

The most common types of helminthiasis in children

Children are much more prone to worm infestation than adults. The most common helminthiases in children:

1. Enterobiasis (pinworm infection).
2. Ascariasis (invasion of roundworms).
3. Giardiasis (invasion of giardia).

Pinworms live only in the intestine. Larvae of migratory nematodes enter the respiratory tract, liver and heart. Giardia most often causes liver and gallbladder diseases, even if they cannot survive within these organs. Are these diseases contagious?

Enterobiasis is transmitted from person to person by handshaking, contact with the household items used by the patient.

Ascariasis and giardiasis, under certain conditions, can also be transmitted from the child to other family members.

Enterobiasis

The main cause of pinworm infection is dirty hands. In addition, parasite eggs can enter the baby's body when eating poorly washed fruits. Signs of worm infection appear 3-4 weeks after the date of infection. A characteristic sign of enterobiasis is itching in the anal area, which appears during sleep. Unpleasant sensations are caused by the movement of female worms, which crawl out to lay eggs. With strong invasion, you can see worms in the feces of a child with the naked eye.

When the baby scratches his anus and then his hands enter his mouth (which often happens with young children), reinfection occurs. Therefore, during the treatment period of helminthiasis, children should be monitored so that they regularly wash their hands and eat only well-processed foods.

Ascariasis

Nematode infection occurs through unwashed products, insufficiently thermally processed meat, through contact with animals. Parasites enter the baby's body in the form of eggs and larvae. The eggs develop in the intestine, the larvae begin to migrate through the blood and lymphatic channels. They reach the liver, the right ventricle of the heart, the lungs. These organs are regularly and abundantly supplied with oxygen, which is so necessary for the larvae to become adults. From the lungs, the larvae will enter the bronchi, trachea, cough and be swallowed with saliva in the stomach. The cycle of movements continues until the larva grows.

With worms in children, in addition to typical symptoms, an intense cough may appear. Helminthiasis in children is detected using a coprogram and specific blood tests.

Giardiasis

Giardiasis in a child develops when more than 10 cysts enter the body. The cysts are immobile, resistant to environmental conditions, the form of existence of the lamblia from which, under favorable conditions, individuals able to reproduce develop. Motile protists can only live under conditions created only in the human small intestine.

Stages of development of the invasion of Giardia in humans:

1. Cysts from the oral cavity enter the stomach and then into the duodenum. The protective capsule is destroyed, two Giardia are released.
2. Giardia eats simple carbohydrates, multiplied by longitudinal division of the cell in half.
3. Part of the parasites pass into the large intestine, where they can only exist in the form of cysts.
4. During the act of defecation, the cysts come out, entering the external environment.

Giardia cysts are found in water, vegetables, fruit, meat, household surfaces. They are very tough, they are difficult to destroy with conventional detergents. The risk of human-to-human transmission is low.

Typical symptoms of helminthiasis in children

The first signs of worms appear 2-4 weeks after infection. Worm infestation in children can occur in an acute or latent form. If the parasite population is small, the baby may not feel any discomfort.

The main symptoms of worms in children:

1. Abdominal pain of different localization and intensity, manifested by convulsions.
2. Stool disorders, diarrhea and constipation.
3. Nausea.
4. Reduced appetite or, conversely, brutal.
5. Intestinal dysbacteriosis.
6. Loss of energy, dizziness.
7. Disorders of sleep.
8. Dermatitis.
9. Pale skin, blue dark circles under the eyes.
10. Girls can develop urinary incontinence.

Dermatitis (rash, redness, itchy skin) is the result of an allergic reaction to the toxins released by helminths. Harmful substances also affect the state of the nervous system. Children seem tired, become irritable, capricious.

Acute infection is accompanied by symptoms of helminths in children: fever, vomiting, diarrhea.

Test for helminths in children

How to identify worms in a child? Worm infestations in children are difficult to determine from the clinical picture. Symptoms of different helminthiases are similar to each other. The detection of worms is carried out both with the help of time-tested and new laboratory diagnostic methods.

1. Histological analysis of feces allows you to check for the presence of helminth eggs in feces.
2. Microscopic examination of scrapings from the anus (helps to recognize enterobiasis).
3. Analysis of the contents of the duodenum. Worms or protozoa can be found in the duodenal contents.
4. General blood test with leukocyte formula. Indirect signs of the presence of worms are an increase in the level of eosinophils and anemia.
5. Serological tests for antibodies to helminth antigens.
6. Analysis by polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

PCR is the most reliable and sensitive method for diagnosing helminth invasions. Blood, feces, scrapings are suitable for analysis. The study determines the presence of foreign DNA in a biological sample. The efficiency of the histological coprogram is lower than that of PCR and ELISA.

Principles of treatment of helminthic invasions

How to get rid of worms in children? The method of treatment depends on the type and degree of helminth invasion. Usually, helminthiases are treated conservatively (without surgery), but an operation is performed to remove the echinococcal cysts.

Treatment of worms in children consists of several stages:

1. Prepare the body for treatment.
2. Actually therapy, taking anthelmintic drugs.
3. Recovery of the body after illness and drugs. It is necessary to normalize the functioning of the nervous system, increase immunity, eliminate intestinal dysbacteriosis.

The treatment period usually lasts about three months. Before starting therapy, it is necessary to accurately determine whether the child has worms. Treatment is prescribed and supervised by a doctor.

Drug therapy of helminthiases in children

An integrated approach will help to completely cure any variety of helminthiasis, without harm to the body. You can cure worms in a child using certain drugs:

1. Anthelmintic drugs. They include antiparasitic drugs that differ in spectrum and principle of action. Appointed according to the type of invasion. It will be more convenient for the child to take the drug in the form of a suspension.
2. sanitary napkins. They bind toxins, accelerate the elimination of worms from the body. Only strictly defined doses of sorbents can be taken, otherwise severe digestive disorders can occur.
3. Antiallergic agents. Helps relieve the symptoms of allergies to helminth waste products.
4. Hepatoprotectors. Assign during the payback period. Helps normalize the functioning of the liver.
5. enzymatic preparations. Restores normal digestion.

In the treatment of enterobiasis, the patient is also prescribed enemas. If the child is prone to constipation, the doctor will prescribe laxatives for children. It is important to provide regular stools so that parasites and toxins are eliminated from the body. It is impossible to take any drug uncontrollably, as there is a possibility of side effects.

Traditional medicine for worms

Traditional medicine is undesirable to use for the treatment of helminthiasis in children. They do not kill worms and do not help remove them from the body. Folk remedies can only be used in conjunction with drug treatment.

How to remove worms from a child by folk methods? There are some of the more common recipes:

1. Pumpkin seed. Contains components that interfere with the normal functioning of worms, remove toxins. The peeled seeds (100 g) are crushed and poured with olive oil (100 ml). The tincture is given to the child before meals (three hours) for three days. The treatment is repeated after 2 days. Pumpkin seeds can be boiled in milk (15 seeds in 1 glass). The remedy is given to the child to drink before lunch.

2. Garlic mixture. Rub a few cloves of garlic (2-3) on a fine grater, mixed with a little water until the mixture is smooth. For a small child, garlic gruel is mixed with a spoonful of milk or orange juice, given to drink before bedtime.
3. Onion in oil. 100 grams of onion is chopped, covered with a teaspoon of salt, poured with 50 ml of sunflower or olive oil. The mixture is given to the baby for five days in a row before going to bed.

Beetroot and carrot juice, echinacea tincture will help increase the immunity of the baby. Restores the nervous system - chamomile. Chamomile is also used for enemas for enterobiasis.

Folk remedies are contraindicated in children with peptic ulcer, gastritis, pancreatitis, a tendency to allergies. And, of course, before you start testing "grandmother's recipes" on a child, first consult a pediatrician and parasiticist, otherwise the outcome of such therapy can be the most unpredictable.

Food supplements and homeopathy for worms

The internet is full of advertisements for biologically active additives (BAAs) and homeopathic remedies that, according to the manufacturers, will completely remove the worms. Reviews about the funds are extremely positive.

Why can't food supplements be used to treat worms in a child? Biologically active food supplements help normalize metabolism, increase body resistance, improve the functioning of internal organs, but do not eliminate parasites. They can only be used in conjunction with traditional drugs.

Homeopathic preparations consist of a complex of natural extracts. They also do not have a harmful effect on worms. But they can increase immunity, restore metabolism. In many countries today it is forbidden to prescribe homeopathic medicines due to their ineffectiveness.

Prevention of helminthiasis in children

Prevention of the appearance of helminthiasis in children includes simple measures:

1. Hygiene. Parents should make sure that the child regularly wash his hands, take a bath or shower, do not bite his nails, do not take toys in his mouth.
2. Sufficient heat treatment of meat and fish.
3. Regular scraping for enterobiosis (this procedure is carried out in kindergarten).
4. Healthy sleep, observance of the daily routine.
5. Balanced diet.
6. Taking vitamins.

Drug prophylaxis should be performed if cases of infection are recorded in a daycare or school, family member or pet has contracted the infection.

Symptoms of helminths in children are easily confused with manifestations of food poisoning, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. How to find out if a child has worms, the doctor will tell you. Babies can be treated for worms after making an accurate diagnosis under the close supervision of a specialist. Caring parents should understand that the health of young children is completely in their hands.