Worms are to be understood as parasitic worms that invade the human body. In some animal species there are similar representatives.
Worms appear in the human body after infection with parasitic eggs.
After numerous studies, scientists have come to the conclusion that more than 25 percent of people in the world know from their own experience what helminthiasis is.
As a rule, roundworms and pinworms are found most often. These types of worms can find a place in any of the organs in humans.
The most popular place for helminths is the intestines. And only then do they live in the organs of the liver and lungs.
But no exception is the fact when parasites find their place in the eyeball or muscles.
External characteristics of worms in humans
During the diagnosis of the patient's body, the doctor must have all the knowledge about the possible penetration of worms, as well as their future removal.
Thanks to this information, it is possible to avoid complex conditions that can appear in the form of complications after infection with worm eggs.
That is why it is important to determine the worms in the human body at the time of infection with them, i. e. H. in the early stages.
One of the most popular types of helminths are roundworms and pinworms. In appearance, they resemble a white worm.
Surprisingly, their thin and elongated body can reach up to 40 cm, the average length is 20 cm.
However, this does not mean that larger sized parasites do not exist. This includes a wide range.
It's called that for a reason, because it resembles a ribbon in appearance. Its length varies within meters.
Classification department of worms
What types of worms are there in the human body? If this question really worries you, you should read the information at the bottom of the article.
Types of helminths are classified based on their location in the body. It can be tissue and lumen worms.
tissue worms
Tissue worms are those helminth species that prefer to settle in the pancreatic parenchyma, liver, brain substances, muscles and lung tissue.
Because of this, the pathology has several names: paragonimiasis with damage to the lungs, echinococcosis with abnormalities in the liver, filariasis - lymph nodes, cysticercosis with injury to the brain.
transparent worms
This type of helminth differs in that they prefer to live in the intestinal lumen. These helminths include roundworms, tapeworms, whipworms, pinworms, hookworms, broad-spectrum worms, and other worms.
Worms are also classified into species based on the structure of their bodies. There can be round, flat, ribbon and other varieties. But this will be discussed in more detail a little later in the article.
All-round view of human worms
This is a fairly common variety of helminths called nematodes.
Their bodies are round in shape, the length of the worms reaches up to 40 cm in the largest case, but it is also 5 mm.
They choose nematodes for themselves as the location of the gut, but it is possible for them to colonize tissues or other organs.
The spread of this type of worms is explained by the fact that eggs are transmitted when using unwashed vegetables or fruits. This type of pathology is considered a disease of dirty hands, and therefore most often children suffer from round parasites that strive to put dirty hands in their mouths.
Other types of nematodes are also subdivided. There is:
roundworm
Provoke the development of ascariasis. These are rather large worms that can reach 40 cm in length.
They differ from their counterparts in the shape of the spindle. Similar representatives can be found in the small intestine.
Over the course of life, they migrate to the heart, liver and lungs. Transported through the human body, they harbor a great danger.
The thing is that all organs and ducts suffer from worms. Their life cycle is about a year, but during this time a person will face many unpleasant consequences associated with the manifestation of allergies, disorders of the digestive tract, as well as internal bleeding and obstruction of the intestinal organs.
When roundworms appear in children, this fact can negatively affect development. A child can lag far behind their own peers in development.
These parasites get into the child's body in the same way through unwashed hands with soap and dirty food.
pinworms
Your body is grey. The length of such worms is 5-10 mm. The main location of parasites is the intestine.
Most commonly, pinworms infect people who have ingested their eggs through unwashed fruit and/or vegetables.
In order to become a sexually mature individual, the egg cells should overcome the period of 14 days. The total lifespan of parasites is about a couple of months.
They disrupt the normal functioning of the digestive tract, making a person exhausted.
Vlasoklavy
These worms differ in their habitat. They mainly colonize the large intestine.
Worms have a body of 3-5 cm, they are placed on the walls of the organ and absorb blood. These worms provoke the disease trichuriasis and seriously send the body.
They can exist in the human body for about 5 years. During this period, a person will have a serious violation of the stool, a problem with the desire to eat, i. e. H. There may be an increase or decrease in appetite, abdominal pain, and even anemia.
You should not ignore the fact of infection with whipworms, because against the background of their vital activity, the acute phase of appendicitis can begin.
This happens when the worms enter the appendix. They deal a merciless blow to health, and therefore efforts must be made to quickly get rid of whipworms.
trichinella
Another type of worms that are not large. They can reach 2-5mm, but that doesn't mean the worms aren't beating healthily.
They provoke trichinosis, which is manifested by high fever, swelling, fever and allergic reactions.
You can catch trichinella from undercooked pork or venison. These worms enter the muscles of the airways or face and hit the tissues.
For 3 weeks, the eggs of worms can be encapsulated, and therefore the person recovers. But there are more difficult situations that lead to death.
Another type of roundworm is Toxocara. They are in the dog's body. In appearance they look like roundworms, but the body length is 15-30 cm.
This type of worm can be found in the human body. In this case, the development of toxocariasis is observed, accompanied by a malfunction of internal organs, allergic reactions and other malfunctions in the body.
It should be noted that in the human body the larvae cannot develop into sexually mature individuals, this is possible only in the body of dogs.
The symptoms of roundworm infestation depend on the human health condition and the number of worms in the organs.
tapeworms in humans
Tapeworms pose a major threat to human health. They are called cestodes. These are worms that grow up to 18 m in length and are commonly divided into two types:
- ribbons;
- chains.
In order to develop into sexually mature individuals, the worms have to switch hosts. One of the stages of this process is its existence in the body of cattle.
The brightest representatives of this type are presented in a detailed description below.
wide band
Reaches about 10-15 m in length. It chooses the small intestine as its habitat.
It can provoke the development of diphyllobothriasis. One species of tapeworm enters the body when a person has eaten incompletely cooked freshwater fish that has invaded parasite larvae.
Infection is accompanied by severe abdominal pain, indigestion, and anemia. This type of worm, like many other cestodes, looks really fantastic.
bull tapeworm
In length, this type of tapeworm can reach even 18 m. This species is one of the largest in the human body.
It provokes the development of teniarinhoz pathology, which leads to physical exhaustion of the body. Also, a person may experience intestinal obstruction, malfunctions in the central nervous system.
This type of worm enters the body through the infested beef with parasite larvae. The worm settles in the area of the small intestine, which affects all organs of the human body.
pork tapeworm
This species of parasites enters the human body through infected pork. Worms can grow up to 8 m long.
As a rule, they settle in the area of the intestine, where they carry out their parasitic activity.
Teniasis causes severe malfunction of the stomach, accompanied by allergic reactions and nervous dysfunction.
Another dangerous tapeworm species is called Echinococcus. He settled in the body of dogs, cats.
Man is chosen as the intermediate habitat. Even in such a short time, it can completely damage the human body and provoke the development of echinococcosis.
The parasite's eggs reach the larval stage. They then grow into the tissue membrane of the organs and lead to the formation of cysts.
Only a surgical method is able to remove this manifestation of parasitic echinococci. For decades these individuals live in the bodies of adults and experience the process of their development in the flesh.
Trematodes are flukes. They differ from other types of tape parasites in that they have special suction cups on the body, thanks to which they are absorbed into the walls of human organs and tissues.
They suck blood and useful elements. Such worms can grow even 1. 5 m and at first glance resemble a leaf of a plant.
Again, the main source of flukes in the human body is undercooked, undercooked fish or seafood.
During their developmental stages, these parasites change hosts. The main varieties of leeches include the following subspecies:
- liver fluke;
- Fluke.
Based on the above information, it is possible to conclude that almost all worms enter the human body through meat.
In fact, this is not always the case, there are also types of parasites that infest the skin. They are discussed below.
Types of worms that infect human skin
Helminths called rishta can infect a person's skin and soft tissues. They provoke dracunculiasis.
In length they can reach 120 cm. Rishta hits the subcutaneous tissue or muscle tissue.
Infection occurs when drinking untreated water. Infection can occur during bathing as the parasites pass through the liquid into the intestine and then into the fiber.
Reaching sexual maturity, the helminth has the opportunity to excrete substances that have a negative effect on the human body. Under its influence, the skin begins to corrode. At the site of damage, an ulcer develops, with which the parasite removes its larvae.
This phenomenon is accompanied by severe itching. Very often such phenomena are recorded in the tropics. Seaworms choose freshwater crustaceans as intermediate hosts. H. Cyclops.
When in contact with water, a person can be introduced into the skin and intestinal acne. The method of infection with them is percutaneous.
Parasites cause skin damage and enter the blood. Risk factors are cases of walking barefoot on the ground, working with soil, swimming in ponds with dirty water.
Diagnostic measures of helminthiasis and treatment
If there is a suspicion of a helminth invasion in humans, the doctor recommends a blood and stool test.
With a general blood test, the changes in the indicators of the leukocyte formula shift to the right. The number of eosinophils will be pronounced.
Urine, sputum and the contents of the stomach and duodenum also play an important role. For this reason, the doctor can prescribe swabs in the anal area and rectum.
After determining the type of worms in the human body, a specialist should choose the right course of treatment with drugs, in addition, effective recipes of traditional medicine can be used.
Of course, it is worthwhile to understand that in order to avoid re-infection, it is necessary to adhere to preventive measures.
For the successful treatment of an infected person, it is important that the whole family conduct the deworming course, observe simple rules of hygiene. It is common to repeat the treatment 2 weeks after the first stage of worm removal.
Folk remedies have proven themselves, and many people believe that they are better than anthelmintics offered by pharmacological organizations.
Their main advantage will be the absence of contraindications and side effects as such.
It is important to note that it is impossible to start using popular recipes of traditional medicine without consulting a doctor.
It is important to consider the specific type of worms, their location and the characteristics of your body. If you make a mistake with the chosen treatment method, the infection situation can become even more devastating.
expert advice
- Treatment with folk remedies should begin with diet therapy. It is better not to eat meat and fish for a week, i. e. H. stick to a vegetarian diet. This leads to a weakening of the powers of parasites, and therefore dealing with worms becomes a little easier. The important thing to remember is that fasting will not be a successful idea in this case. The lack of food intake in the body does not affect the strength of helminths, but the person will feel much worse.
- You must wash your hands with soap before eating.
- It is necessary to carry out food processing.
- The timeliness of the detection of infection and the course of therapeutic treatment is of great importance. In this case, the recovery time is reduced to a minimum.