Based on statistics, it has been proven that more than a billion people are infected with helminths, which in the people are called worms. However, these indicators are conditional, because they were established based on the number of people who sought help from specialists who assigned a diagnosis of helminth infestation.
In life, every person encounters worms at least once in their life (regardless of age and gender), but many are simply not aware of the infection and continue to transmit worms to other people. In the initial stages of infection they do not cause discomfort, but in case of mass infestations they can lead to toxic poisoning and even death. Therefore, you should know what worms are, how they appear in the body and how to overcome the acquired disease.
Doctors have already studied many "unwanted guests" in the bodies of animals and people who overload the immune system and are capable of puncturing blood vessels by gnawing them. This causes serious consequences in the form of erosions and other diseases, so helminth infestations must be treated first.
Types of worms
Among the numerous varieties of helminths, the greatest harm can be caused to the body by 3 classes of worms: trematodes, roundworms and tapeworms. Let's look at what these worms look like in humans.
Nematodes
The roundworm class is commonly called roundworms. This is one of the most common types of worms that infect the human body. However, in addition to parasitic roundworms, there are also free-living roundworms, so they are not found inside the human body.
In the photo you can see the body of roundworms, which is characterized by a round shape, and that is why they were added to the roundworm class. They have a thin, elongated body and its ends are pointed on both sides.
During examination, the following worms of this class are most often found in the human body: whipworms, roundworms, trichina (Trichinella) and pinworms. These types of worms in humans can be seen in the photo.
Male nematodesthey have a shorter body length than females. Females can grow up to 40 centimeters. Roundworms are localized in the intestine, poisoning the body with toxic substances. When there is a large accumulation of parasites inside this cavity, these are able to close the intestinal lumen and prevent its patency. If you refuse treatment, the invasion can lead to death, because unnecessary substances in the body will no longer be eliminated and toxic poisoning will reach its limit.
PinwormsThey bark smaller in size than roundworms. The length of their body does not exceed 1 cm. These representatives actively reproduce, because living in the small intestine and rectum, they have access to the anus, and, crawling out of it, females lay larvae on the intrafemoral part, the anus, between the buttocks. At the same time, a single pinworm can lay up to 15, 000 eggs, creating skin irritation. Then the infected person begins to scratch at the irritant, contributing to the spread of helminths to others. Most often, pinworms are found in children, so in preschool and school institutions, in institutions with large crowds of people, an examination for worm eggs is required.
Whipwormsit is an equally dangerous parasite, because the females of this helminth lay 3, 000-4 per day. 000 eggs. When the worm has reached sexual maturity, it has a thread-like anterior end, which constitutes 2/3 of the length of the body, and a thick, grey-pink posterior end with transverse stripes. The average length of the helminth is 3-5 cm. The tails of female and male representatives differ: in females it is characterized by a bend, and in males it is spiral-shaped.
The danger of whipworm infection is that this worm penetrates the mucosa and deep layers. It can affect smooth muscles and feed on tissue fluids.
Trichinais a particularly dangerous parasite that lives inside the muscles and intestinal walls of humans. Visually, the worm looks like a long twisted thread, reaching 4. 5 mm and 1. 6 mm in diameter. The vital activity of such a helminth can lead to the death of the carrier if therapeutic measures are not taken in time.
Lucky breaks
.png)
Many people are interested in how parasites appear in the human body (photo) of the fluke class. In medical practice they are nicknamed trematodes, but the most interesting thing is that they do not suck anything from the body, but feed on mucus, blood and what passes through the area affected by the worms. Trematodes can grow up to 1. 5 meters in length and are found not only in the intestine, but also in other organs (even in the conjunctival sac).
However, worms of the trematode class are able to adhere to the intestinal walls and thus resist accidental excretion together with feces. These parasites have a functional digestive tract and reproductive system, but the respiratory and circulatory systems function at a minimal level.
Tapeworms
Tapeworms- a class of flatworms, divided into tapeworms and tapeworms. These individuals rarely enter the human body directly. Most often, infection with them occurs due to the fact that a person eats fish infected with these parasites, but in animals they occur only in the larval stage and reach maturity inside an individual who has a backbone.
Parasites of this class have a special anatomical structure of the body, so the head of the worm serves only for attachment to the intestinal wall, and this worm receives nutrition using the entire body. Their host's food serves as food for tapeworms, but helminths are not digested by gastric juice, because it releases a substance called antikinase.
Despite the similarity of these worms, when making the diagnosis it is imperative to distinguish them to establish the correct treatment method.
Tapeworms have 2 suction cups on their heads, which allow them to firmly attach to the intestinal wall, unlike representatives - tapeworms, which have 4 adhering teeth. The body length of the tapeworm can reach 18 meters and occupy the entire length of the small intestine.
How can you get infected with these worms?
The spread of helminths begins with phase 1, characterized by the entry of helminth eggs into the human body. They then hatch, become larvae (stage 2) and move throughout the body until they settle in the organs or systems, but most often remain in the intestine. In stage 3, the worms are no longer able to migrate throughout the body, but are perfectly capable of multiplying and infecting a healthy population.
Despite the variety of worms and their characteristics, the infestation can be combined. This indicates the possibility of simultaneous residence in the digestive tract or organs of different types of worms, without interfering with each other.
Worm infection can occur in 3 ways:
- From person to person.
- Through the ground.
- When you follow a raw food diet and eat minimally processed foods, especially fruits and vegetables, herbs.
Signs of infection
Signs of a helminth infection can be very different, but first of all you should start from the stage of the infection:
- Acute. Lasts no more than 20 days. In this case, extensive allergic reactions of unknown origin are observed. This is due to the immune system's response to a stimulus. The allergy causes a rash, and clinical blood tests show higher-than-normal levels of eosinophils.
- Acquired. The disease at this stage can develop over 2-3 years. In this case the symptoms depend on the organ in which the parasites live, their number and how much they have damaged the tissue walls or body systems. In severe situations, they cause inflammation and fast-growing species can have fatal consequences.
It is very important to know what parasites of any type look like, because sometimes dead adults can be transmitted together with feces, so based on the description of their appearance you can speed up the diagnosis and quickly select a treatment method.
Timely detection of helminths plays an important role in human life, because not all parasites are able to exist practically harmlessly inside the body. It is recommended that the whole family be visited by a doctor at least 1-2 times a year, wash their hands before eating, eat only well-processed foods and use folk anthelmintic remedies for prevention: clove or wormwood powder, tincture of walnut peel.