Not everyone knows what the most common parasites in the human body are.Parasites are living organisms that live in the human body and live at the expense of the host.Some of them are very dangerous.For example, trichinosis, alveococcosis, and cysticercosis can lead to dangerous complications, including death.
Variety
Parasites are found in adults and children.Almost every person encounters them at least once in their life.The group of parasites includes helminths (roundworms, tapeworms, trematodes), protozoa, fungi, mites and lice.Protozoa living in the human body include the following single-celled organisms:
- amoeba;
- balantidia;
- Giardia;
- blastocyst;
- cryptosporidium;
- leishmania;
- trypanosomes;
- Trichomonas;
- toxoplasma;
- malarial plasmodia.
This is not the entire list of protozoa.At home you can get infected with helminths.They are divided into roundworms (roundworms), trematodes (flukes) and tapeworms (tapeworms).Trematodes are represented by trematodes, schistosomes, lung flukes and flukes.Human parasites include roundworms.
Roundworms include pinworms, roundworms, trichinella, and hookworms.Tapeworms often lodge in the body.These parasites are distinguished by the fact that they can live in organs for decades.Tapeworms include bovine, dwarf and porcine tapeworms, broad tapeworms, tapeworms and echinococcus.These parasitic worms cause diseases such as taeniasis, teniarrhiasis, hymenolepiasis, diphyllobothriasis, echinococcosis, alveococcosis of the liver, brain and lungs.
Protozoa
Protozoan parasites of humans are widespread.Most of them cannot be seen with the naked eye.The most frequently encountered diseases are giardiasis, malaria, amoebiasis, cryptosporidiosis and balantidiasis.Each year, more than 500 million people worldwide develop symptoms of giardiasis.
Among these patients, children under 14 years of age prevail.Giardia are small parasites that live in the intestines and liver.The prevalence of giardiasis among adults reaches 5%.In children this figure exceeds 30%.Giardia can live for a long time in the form of spores (cysts).
A sick person is a source of infection.These parasites appear in the patient's body when he consumes infected water or food.Infection through soil and household objects (dishes, toys) is possible.The mechanism of infection is fecal-oral.Children attending kindergartens and schools get sick more often.
Against the background of giardiasis, dysbacteriosis and enteritis (duodenitis) develop.Symptoms of the presence of parasites in the body include stool instability, frequent bowel movements, pain near the navel or in the right hypochondrium, weight loss, fatigue, drowsiness, bruxism (involuntary contractions of the chewing muscles).The skin is often affected.
Parasites such as malarial plasmodia are often found inside humans.They cause malaria.These protozoa attack blood cells (red blood cells), causing severe anemia and hemolysis.This disease is more common in regions with warm climates.The carriers are mosquitoes.A person becomes infected when bitten by infected insects.
Signs of malaria parasites include fever, chills, profuse sweating, nausea, muscle pain, headache, redness of the skin, thirst, enlarged liver and spleen, and seizures.Intestinal parasites include cryptosporidium.A person becomes infected through water and food (milk).Contact with infected animals is dangerous.Cryptosporidiosis manifests as diarrhea, cramps in the upper abdomen, nausea, vomiting, thirst, and dry skin.
Helminths
According to the WHO, 50% of the population will suffer from 1 in 3 infections during their lifetime: trichuriasis, enterobiasis or hookworm.A person becomes infected with parasitic worms by contact or by a fecal-oral mechanism.The following risk factors for the development of helminthiasis are identified:
- drink unboiled water;
- failure to comply with personal hygiene rules;
- contact with the patient;
- contact with wild and domestic animals;
- stay in groups of children;
- swimming in polluted water;
- consumption of fish, meat, sushi, planed meat, insufficiently heat-treated shellfish;
- constant contact with the ground;
- walk barefoot on the ground (for tropical countries).
Children more often develop enterobiasis and ascariasis.The causative agent of enterobiasis is pinworm.This is a small parasite, up to 1 cm tall, from the roundworm group that lives in the small and large intestine.Enterobiasis, together with hymenolepiasis, belongs to the contact helminthiases.This means that infection is possible through direct physical contact with the patient (his hands).
Children who don't wash their hands before eating, bite their nails, and don't put toys in their mouths are more likely to get sick.The adult parasites emerge from the intestine during the night and lay their eggs on the skin of the perianal area.They cause itching and, if scratched, the eggs end up on the child's hands and then in the mouth.
Enterobiasis manifests itself with anal itching, skin scratching, irritability, sleep disturbances, bruxism, urinary incontinence, pain in the iliac region and stool changes.
Ascariasis is more dangerous.Approximately 1 billion people are infected.Roundworms are long, round, thin worms that live in the small intestine.Their massive invasion is dangerous for the development of intestinal obstruction.Signs of parasites in the body are not always clearly expressed.Ascariasis manifests itself as eczema, asthenic syndrome, cough (during the migratory phase), sweating, fever (in the acute phase), nausea, vomiting, abdominal swelling, delayed development of the child, stool disorders such as diarrhea or constipation.If there are such complaints, pest control should be carried out.
Treatment
To get rid of parasites in the human body, you need to consult a doctor and undergo an examination.Not everyone knows how to determine the presence of parasites in the body.The examination includes a stool test for helminth eggs and Giardia cysts, a blood test, a scraping for enterobiasis, ELISA or PCR, ultrasound, tomography, muscle biopsy (for trichinosis), and allergy tests.The epidemiological history is of great importance.
You can find out if there are parasites in the body even in the absence of symptoms of the disease.Cleansing the body from parasites is carried out with drugs prescribed by a specialist.
Folk remedies (watermelon and pumpkin seeds, onion infusion) will also help get rid of parasites.Drugs are selected by the doctor based on the underlying disease.To eliminate parasites, conservative therapy is not always sufficient.
Surgical treatment is often necessary (for echinococcosis and alveococcosis).Cleansing the body can also be done for preventive purposes.It is best to treat the patient with broad-spectrum drugs that are effective against several diseases.
Don't forget about parasites such as lice, mites and fungi.It is necessary to treat not only the sick, but also contact people.Eliminating parasites does not protect against reinfection.It is necessary to prevent the development of the disease.Prevention of parasitic diseases includes regular hand washing after using the toilet, touching the ground, using public transport, walking and before eating, boiling water, proper heat treatment of meat and fish, limiting contact with animals, deworming pets, avoiding barbecues, stroganin, sushi and rolls.Therefore, protecting yourself from parasites is quite difficult, but possible.