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, trichinosis, alveococcosis and cysticercosis can lead to dangerous complications, including death.
Varieties
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, flukes), protozoa, fungi, mites and lice.Protozoa that live in the human body include the following single-celled organisms:
- amoeba;
- balantidia;
- Giardia;
- blastocysts;
- cryptosporidium;
- leishmania;
- trypanosomes;
- Trichomonas;
- toxoplasma;
- malaria plasmodia.
This is not a complete list of protozoa.You can get infected with helminths at home.They are divided into nematodes (roundworms), trematodes (flukes) and cestodes (tapeworms).Trematodes are represented by flukes, schistosomes, lung flukes and fasciola.Human parasites include roundworms.
Roundworms include pinworms, roundworms, trichinella and hookworms.Tapeworms often colonize the body.These parasites differ in 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, hymenolepiiasis, 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 detected diseases are giardiasis, malaria, amoebiasis, cryptosporidiosis and balantidiasis.Each year, more than 500 million people worldwide develop symptoms of giardiasis.
Children under the age of 14 predominate among such patients.Giardia are small parasites that live in the intestines and liver.The prevalence of giardiasis in 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 the source of infection.These parasites appear in the patient's body when they consume contaminated water or food.Infection is possible through soil and household items (dishes, toys).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 are stool instability, frequent stools, pain near the navel or in the right hypochondrium, weight loss, fatigue, drowsiness, bruxism (involuntary contractions of the chewing muscles).The skin is often involved.
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 regions with a warm climate.Carriers are mosquitoes.A person becomes infected when they are bitten by infected insects.
Signs of malaria parasites include fever, chills, profuse sweating, nausea, muscle pain, 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 is manifested by diarrhea, cramping pain in the upper part of the stomach, nausea, vomiting, thirst and dry skin.
Helminths
According to the WHO, 50% of the population will suffer from 1 of 3 infections during their lifetime: trichuriasis, enterobiosis or hookworm.A person becomes infected with parasitic worms through the contact or fecal-oral mechanism.The following risk factors for the development of helminthiasis are identified:
- drinking unboiled water;
- non-observance of personal hygiene rules;
- contact with the patient;
- contact with wild and domestic animals;
- stay in children's groups;
- swimming in polluted waters;
- consumption of insufficiently thermally processed fish, meat, sushi, planed meat, shellfish;
- constant contact with the earth;
- walking barefoot on the ground (for tropical countries).
Children most often fall ill with enterobiasis and ascariasis.The causative agent of enterobiasis is pinworm.This is a small, up to 1 cm parasite from the group of roundworms that lives in the small and large intestine.Enterobiasis, together with hymenolepiasis, belongs to contact helminthiasis.This means that infection is possible through direct physical contact with the patient (his hands).
Children who do not wash their hands before eating, do not bite their nails and do not 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 scratching, the eggs end up on the child's hands and then in the mouth.
Enterobiosis is manifested by anal itching, skin scratching, irritability, sleep disturbance, bruxism, urinary incontinence, pain in the iliac region and changes in stool.
Ascariasis is more dangerous.About a billion people are infected with it.Roundworms are long, round, thin worms that live in the small intestine.Their mass 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 (in the migration stage), sweating, fever (in the acute stage), nausea, vomiting, flatulence, delayed child development, 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, it is necessary to visit a doctor and undergo an examination.Not everyone knows how to determine the presence of parasites in the body.Examination includes stool analysis for helminth eggs and Giardia cysts, blood analysis, scraping for enterobiosis, ELISA or PCR, ultrasound, tomography, muscle biopsy (for trichinosis) and allergy tests.Epidemiological history is of great importance.
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 drugs prescribed by a specialist.
Folk remedies (watermelon and pumpkin seeds, onion infusion) will also help to 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).Cleansing the body can also be done for preventive purposes.It is better to treat the patient with broad-spectrum drugs that are effective against several diseases.
Don't forget parasites such as lice, mites and fungus.It is necessary to treat not only sick people, but also contact people.Clearing the parasite 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, contact with the ground, riding public transport, walking before eating, boiling water, proper heat treatment of meat and fish, limiting contact with animals, deworming pets, avoiding barbecue, stroganini, sushi and rolls.So, protecting yourself from parasites is quite difficult, but possible.