Based on statistics, it has been proven that more than one billion people are infected with helminths, which are popularly called worms. However, these indicators are conditional, as they are determined based on the number of people who seek help from specialists who diagnose helminth infestation.
In life, every person (regardless of age and gender) encounters worms at least once, but many people are simply unaware of their infection and continue to transmit worms to other people. In the initial stages of infection, they do not cause concern, but in case of mass infestation, they can cause toxic poisoning and even death. Therefore, you should know what worms are, how they appear in the body and how to eliminate the acquired disease.
Doctors have already studied many "uninvited guests" in the body of animals and humans, which can overload the immune system and bite into blood vessels. This leads to serious consequences in the form of erosion and other diseases, so helminthic infections should be treated first.
Types of worms
Among the numerous types of helminths, the greatest damage to the body can be caused by 3 classes of worms: flukes, roundworms and tapeworms. Let's see how these worms look in humans.
Roundworms
The class of roundworms is generally called nematodes. This is one of the most common types of worms that infect the human body. However, in addition to parasitic nematodes, there are also free-living nematodes, so they are not found in the human body.
In the photo, you can see the body of nematodes, which is characterized by a round shape, and therefore they were added to the class of roundworms. They have a thin and elongated body and are pointed at both ends.
During examination, the following worms of this class are most often found in the human body: whipworm, roundworm, trichina (Trichinella) and pinworm. People can see this type of worms in the photo.
Male roundwormshas a shorter body length than females. Females can grow up to 40 centimeters. Roundworms are localized in the intestines, poisoning the body with toxic substances. When there is a large accumulation of parasites inside this cavity, they can block the intestinal lumen and obstruct the opening. 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.
PinwormsCompared to roundworms, they have a smaller shell. The length of their body does not exceed 1 cm. These representatives reproduce actively, because living in the small intestine and rectum, they have access to the anus, and from there the female larvae crawl into the intraforal part, between the anus and the buttock. Once an individual pinworm can lay up to 15, 000 eggs, which causes skin irritation. Then the infected person begins to scratch the irritant, helping to spread the helminths to others. Most often, pinworms are found in children, so examination for worm eggs is required in preschool and school institutions, in institutions with a lot of people.
He built a whipis an equally dangerous parasite, because the females of this helminth lay 3000-4000 eggs per day. When the worm reaches sexual maturity, it has a thread-like fore-end, which is 2/3 of the body length, and a grayish-pink thick hind-end with transverse stripes. The average length of the helminth is 3-5 cm. The tail of female and male representatives differs from each other: in females, it is curved, and in males, it is spiral-shaped.
The danger of whipworm infection is that this worm penetrates the mucous membrane and deep layers. It can affect smooth muscles and feed on tissue fluid.
Trichinais a particularly dangerous parasite that lives inside the muscles and intestinal walls of humans. Visually, the worm looks like a long, twisted thread that reaches 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.
Flukes
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Many are interested in what the fluke class of parasites in the human body (photo) looks like. 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 phlegm, blood and those who pass through the area damaged by worms. Trematodes can grow up to 1. 5 meters in length and are located not only in the intestines, but also in other organs (even in the conjunctival sac).
However, worms of the class of worms are able to adhere to the intestinal walls, thereby resisting accidental excretion with the feces. These parasites have a functional digestive system and reproductive system, but the respiratory and circulatory systems are minimally functional.
Tapeworms
Tapeworms- the class of flatworms is divided into tapeworms and tapeworms. These individuals rarely enter the human body directly. Most often, infection with them occurs due to a person eating fish infected with these parasites, but in animals they occur only in the larval stage and reach maturity in a vertebrate individual.
Parasites of this class have a special anatomical structure of the body, so the head of the worm serves only to attach to the intestinal wall, and this worm feeds using the whole body. The food of the host serves as food for the tapeworm, but the helminth is not digested by gastric juice because it releases a substance called antikinase.
Despite the similarity of these worms, it is important to distinguish between them in order to determine the correct treatment method when making a diagnosis.
Tapeworms have 2 suckers on their heads, which allows them to securely attach to the intestinal wall, unlike their representatives - tapeworms with 4 adhesive teeth. The tapeworm's body length can reach 18 meters and occupies the entire length of the small intestine.
How to get infected with these worms?
The spread of helminths begins with the 1st stage, which is characterized by the entry of helminth eggs into the human body. They then hatch, become larvae (phase 2) and move throughout the body until they settle in organs or systems, but most often remain in the intestines. In stage 3, the worms are no longer able to migrate throughout the body, but they are able to reproduce sufficiently and infect a healthy population.
Despite the diversity of worms and their characteristics, the infestation can be combined. This indicates the possibility of living simultaneously in the digestive system or organs of different types of worms without interfering with each other.
Infection with worms can occur in 3 ways:
- From person to person.
- Through the land.
- When following a raw food diet and eating poorly processed foods, especially vegetables and fruits, herbs.
Signs of infection
Symptoms of helminth infection can be very different, but first of all, you should start with the stage of infection:
- Sharp. It 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. Allergies cause a skin rash, and clinical blood tests show elevated eosinophil levels.
- Received. At this stage, the disease can develop within 2-3 years. At this time, the symptoms depend on the organ where the parasites live, their number, and how much they damage tissue walls or body systems. In severe cases, they cause inflammation, and fast-growing species can be fatal.
It is very important to know what any kind of parasites look like, because sometimes dead adults can be passed along with feces, then based on the description of their appearance, you can speed up the diagnosis and choose a quick treatment method.
Timely detection of helminths plays an important role in human life, because not all parasites can exist practically harmless inside the body. It is recommended that the whole family undergo a doctor's examination at least 1-2 times a year, wash hands before eating, eat only well-processed foods, and use folk anthelmintic remedies for prevention: clove or wormwood powder, walnut bark tincture.