Not everyone knows which parasites are most common in the human body.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, trichinellosis, alveococcosis and cysticercosis can lead to dangerous complications, including death.
Varieties
Parasites are found in adults and children.Almost everyone encounters them at least once in their life.The parasite group includes helminths (roundworms, tapeworms, flukes), protozoa, fungi, mites and lice.Protozoa that live in the human body include the following unicellular organisms:
- amoeba;
- balantidia;
- Giardia;
- blastocysts;
- cryptosporidium;
- Leishmania;
- trypanosomes;
- trichomonas;
- toxoplasma;
- plasmodium malariae.
This is not the entire list of protozoa.At home, you can get infected with helminths.They are divided into nematodes (roundworms), trematodes (flukes) and cestodes (tapeworms).Trematodes are represented by flukes, schistosomes, lung flukes and fascioles.Human parasites include roundworms.
Roundworms include pinworms, roundworms, trichinella and hookworms.Tapeworms often settle in the body.These parasites are distinguished by the fact that they can live in organs for decades.Cestodes include bovine, dwarf and porcine tapeworms, broad tapeworms, alveococci and echinococci.These parasitic worms cause diseases such as taenia, taeniarhynchiasis, hymenolepiasis, diphyllobotryosis, echinococcosis, alveococcosis of the liver, brain and lungs.
Protozoa
Protozoan parasites of man are very common.Most of them cannot be seen with the naked eye.The most frequently detected diseases are giardiasis, malaria, amoebiasis, cryptosporidiosis and balantidiasis.Each year, more than 500 million people worldwide develop giardiasis symptoms.
Children under the age of 14 predominate among these patients.Giardia are tiny parasites that live in the intestines and liver.The prevalence of giardiasis among adults reaches 5%.For 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 they consume contaminated water or food.Infection through soil and household items (dishes, toys) is possible.The mechanism of infection is fecal-oral.Children who attend 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 areas with a hot climate.The vectors are mosquitoes.A person becomes infected by being bitten by infected insects.
Signs of malarial parasites include fever, chills, profuse sweating, nausea, muscle aches, headache, reddened 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 presents with diarrhea, upper abdominal cramps, nausea, vomiting, thirst, and dry skin.
Helminths
According to the WHO, 50% of the population will suffer from 1 of 3 infections in their lifetime: trichuriasis, enterobiosis or hookworm.A person becomes infected with parasitic worms through a contact or fecal-oral mechanism.The following risk factors for the development of helminthiasis have been identified:
- drinking unboiled water;
- non-compliance with personal hygiene rules;
- patient contact;
- contact with wild and domestic animals;
- stay in children's groups;
- swimming in polluted waters;
- consumption of insufficiently thermally processed fish, meat, sushi, shredded meat, shellfish;
- permanent contact with the ground;
- walking barefoot on the ground (for tropical countries).
Children most often develop enterobiosis and ascariasis.The causative agent of enterobiosis is sedges.It is a small, up to 1 cm parasite of the roundworm group that lives in the small and large intestines.Enterobiosis, together with hymenolepiasis, belongs to the contact helminthiasis.This means that infection is possible through direct bodily contact with the patient (his hands).
Children who do not wash their hands before eating, bite their nails and put toys in their mouths are more likely to get sick.Adult parasites emerge from the intestine at night and lay eggs on the skin of the perianal area.They cause itching, and when combed, the eggs fall on the child's hands and then into the mouth.
Enterobiosis is manifested by anal itching, scratching of the skin, irritability, sleep disturbance, bruxism, urinary incontinence, pain in the iliac region and changes in stools.
Ascariasis is more dangerous.About 1 billion people are infected with it.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 the presence of parasites in the body are not always clearly expressed.Ascariasis manifests itself as eczema, asthenic syndrome, cough (during the migration phase), sweating, fever (in the acute stage), nausea, vomiting, bloating, delayed development of the child, stool disorders such as diarrhea or constipation.In the presence of such complaints, parasite control should be carried out.
Treatment
To get rid of parasites in the human body, you need to visit a doctor and undergo an examination.Not everyone knows how to determine the presence of parasites in the body.The examination includes stool examination for helminth eggs and Giardia cysts, blood test, scraping for enterobiosis, ELISA or PCR, ultrasound, tomography, muscle biopsy (for trichinellosis) 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 of parasites is done with medications prescribed by a specialist.
Folk remedies (watermelon and pumpkin seeds, onion infusion) will also help get rid of parasites.Medicines are selected by the doctor depending on the underlying disease.To get rid of parasites, conservative therapy is not always enough.
Surgical treatment is often required (for echinococcosis and alveococcosis).Body cleansing can also be done for preventative purposes.It is better to treat the patient with broad-spectrum drugs that are effective against several diseases.
Do not forget about parasites such as lice, mites and fungus.It is necessary to treat not only sick people, but also contact people.Clearing parasites does not prevent re-infection.It is necessary to prevent the development of the disease.The prevention of parasitic diseases includes regular hand washing after using the toilet, contact with the ground, riding in public transport, walking and before eating, boiling water, proper heat treatment of meat and fish, limiting contact with animals, deworming pets, avoiding barbecue, struganina, sushi and buns.Thus, protecting yourself from parasites is quite difficult, but possible.