Not everyone knows which parasites are most common in the human body.Parasites are living organisms that live inside the human body and live at the expense of the host.Some of them are very dangerous.For example, trichinosis, alveococcosis, and cysticercosis can cause dangerous complications, including death.
Varieties
Parasites are found in adults and children.Almost everyone encounters them at least once in their lifetime.The parasitic group includes helminths (worms, tapeworms, flukes), protozoa, fungi, mites, and ticks.Protozoa that live in the human body include the following single-celled organisms:
- Amoeba;
- Balantidia;
- Giardia;
- blastocysts;
- Cryptosporidium;
- Leishmania;
- trypanosomes;
- Trichomonas;
- Toxoplasma;
- Malarial plasmodia.
This is not a complete list of protozoa.At home you can be infected with helminths.They are divided into nematodes (roundworms), trematodes (flukes) and cestodes (tapeworms).Trematodes are represented by flukes, schistosomes, pulmonary flukes, and fasciola.Human parasites include roundworms.
Roundworms include pinworms, roundworms, trichinella, and pinworms.Worms 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, Alveococcus, and Echinococcus.These parasitic worms cause diseases such as taeniasis, teniarynchiasis, hymenolepiasis, diphyllobothriasis, echinococcosis, alveococcosis of the liver, brain and lungs.
Protozoa
Human protozoan parasites are widespread.Most of them cannot be seen with the naked eye.The most frequently detected diseases are giardiasis, malaria, amebiasis, cryptosporidiosis and balantidiasis.Every year, more than 500 million people worldwide develop symptoms of giardiasis.
Among such patients, children under the age of 14 predominate.Giardia is a small parasite that lives 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.This parasite appears in the patient's body when they consume infected water or food.Infection through soil and household items (dishes, toys) is possible.The mechanism of infection is fecal-oral.Children who attend kindergarten and school 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 contraction of the masticatory muscles).The skin is often affected.
Parasites such as malarial plasmodia are often found in 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 hot climates.The carrier is a mosquito.A person becomes infected when bitten by an infected insect.
Signs of malaria parasites include fever, chills, heavy 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 an infected animal is dangerous.Cryptosporidiosis is manifested by diarrhea, severe pain in the upper abdomen, nausea, vomiting, thirst, and dry skin.
Helminths
According to the WHO, 50% of the population will experience 1 of 3 infections during their lifetime: trichuriasis, enterobiasis or worms.A person becomes infected with parasitic worms by contact or fecal-oral mechanism.The following risk factors for the development of Helminthiases are identified:
- drink unlimited water;
- failure to comply with personal hygiene rules;
- Contact with the patient;
- contact with wild and domestic animals;
- live in a group of children;
- swimming in polluted waters;
- Consumption of fish, meat, processed meat, meat, shellfish, shellfish;
- continuous contact with the land;
- Walking barefoot on the ground (for tropical countries).
Children most often develop enterobiasis and ascariasis.The causative agent of Enterobiasis is pinworm.These are small parasites, up to 1 cm from the group of worms that live in the small and large intestines.Enterobiasis, along with hymenolepiasis, belongs to the Helminthiases relationship.This means that the infection may be through direct 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 scratched, the eggs end up on the child's hands and then into the mouth.
Enterobiasis is manifested by itching of the anus, scratching of the skin, irritability, sleep disturbances, bruxism, urinary incontinence, pain in the iliac region, and changes in stool.
Ascariasis is more dangerous.About 1 billion people are infected with it.Roundworms are long, round, thin worms that live in the small intestine.Massive invasion by them 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 migration phase), sweating, fever (in the acute stage), nausea, vomiting, flatulence, delayed development of children, stool disorders such as diarrhea or constipation.If there are such complaints, parasite control should be carried out.
Treatment
To get rid of parasites in the human body, you need to see a doctor and undergo an examination.Not everyone knows how to determine the presence of parasites in the body.These examinations include stool tests for hawk eggs and Giardia cysts, blood tests, enterobiasis scrapings, ELISA or PCR, ultrasound, tomography, muscle biopsy (for trichinosis), and allergy tests.Epidemiological history is very important.
You can find out if there are parasites in the body even if there are no symptoms of the disease.Cleansing the body of parasites is carried out with medicines prescribed by experts.
Folk remedies (watermelon and pumpkin seeds, onion infusion) will also help get rid of parasites.Medicines are chosen 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 carried out for preventive purposes.It is better to treat patients with broad-spectrum drugs that are effective against several diseases.
Do not forget about parasites such as fleas, mites and fungus.It is necessary to treat not only sick people, but also contact people.Clearing parasites does not protect against reinfection.It is necessary to prevent the development of this disease.Prevention of parasitic diseases includes regular hand washing after using the toilet, contact with the ground, riding public transport, walking and before eating, boiling water, proper heat treatment of meat and fish, limiting contact with animals, destroying pets, avoiding barbecue, stroganina, sushi and rolls.Therefore, protecting yourself from parasites is quite difficult, but possible.