Based on statistics, it has been proven that more than one billion people are infected with helminths, popularly called worms. However, these indicators are conditional, because they were determined based on the number of people who sought help from specialists who assigned the diagnosis of helminth infection.
In life, every person encounters worms at least once in their life (regardless of age and gender), but many are simply unaware of their infection and continue to transmit the worms to other people. In the initial stages of infection, they do not cause discomfort, but in the case of mass infestations, they can lead to toxic poisoning and even death. Therefore, you should know what worms are, what they look like in the body and how to overcome the acquired disease.
Doctors have already studied many "uninvited guests" in the body of animals and humans that overload the immune system and are able to make holes in blood vessels by gnawing on them. This causes serious consequences in the form of erosions and other diseases, so helminthic infestations must be treated first.
Types of worms
Among the numerous varieties of helminths, the greatest damage can be caused to the body by 3 categories of worms: neck, roundworms and tapeworms. Let's see what these worms look like to humans.
Roundworms
The class of roundworms is commonly 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 inside the human body.
In the photo you can see the body of nematodes, which is characterized by a round shape, which is why they were added to the category of roundworms. They have a thin and elongated body, and its ends are pointed on both sides.
During the examination, the following worms of this category are most often found in the human body: whipworm, roundworm, trichina (Trichinella) and pinworm. These types of worms in humans are shown in the photo.
Male roundwormsthey have a shorter body length than females. Females can grow up to 40 cm. Roundworms are found in the intestines, poisoning the body with toxic substances. When there is a large accumulation of parasites within this cavity, they can close the intestinal lumen and obstruct patency. 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 limits.
PinwormsThey peel smaller in size compared to roundworms. Their body length does not exceed 1 cm. These representatives reproduce actively, because living in the small intestine and rectum, they have access to the anus, and coming out of it, the females lay larvae in the intrafemoral part, the anus, between the buttocks. Each time, a single worm can lay up to 15, 000 eggs, causing skin irritation. The infected person then begins to scratch the irritant, helping to spread the helminths to others. Most often, pinworms are found in children, therefore, in preschool and school institutions, institutions with large crowds of people, an examination for worm eggs is required.
Whipis an equally dangerous parasite, because the females of this helminth give birth to 3. 000-4. 000 eggs daily. When the worm has reached sexual maturity, it has a thread-like forelimb, which is 2/3 of the body length, and a thick grayish-pink hindlimb with transverse stripes. The average length of a helminth is 3-5 cm. The tails of female and male representatives differ: in females it is characterized by a bend, and in males it has a spiral shape.
The danger of whipworm infection is that this worm penetrates the mucous membrane and deep layers. It can affect smooth muscle 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, reaching 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 timely therapeutic measures are not taken.
Flukes
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Many people are interested in what parasites look like on the human body (photo) of the order of fluke. 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 mucus, blood and everything that passes through the affected area from the worms. Trematodes can reach a length of 1. 5 meters and are found not only in the intestines, but also in other organs (even in the conjunctival sac).
However, flukes can attach to the intestinal walls and thus resist accidental excretion with the feces. These parasites have functional digestive and reproductive systems, but respiratory and circulatory systems function at a minimal level.
Tapeworms
Tapeworms- a category of flatworms, which is divided into tapes and tapes. These atoms 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 appear only in the larval stage and mature inside a person who has a backbone.
Parasites of this category have a special anatomical structure of the body, so the head of the worm serves only for attachment to the intestinal wall, and this worm receives nutrition using the whole body. Their host's food serves as food for the tapeworm, but the helminth is not digested by the gastric fluid because it releases a substance called antikinase.
Despite the similarity of these worms, during diagnosis it is imperative to distinguish them in order to establish the correct method of treatment.
Tapeworms have 2 teeth on their heads, allowing them to securely attach to the intestinal wall, unlike representatives - tapeworms, which have 4 attached teeth. The length of the tapeworm's body can reach 18 meters and occupy the entire length of the small intestine.
How can you get infected with these worms?
The spread of helminths begins with phase 1, 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 phase 3, the worms are no longer able to migrate throughout the body, but are quite capable of multiplying and infecting a healthy population.
Despite the variety of worms and their characteristics, the infestation can be combined. This indicates the possibility of simultaneous stay in the digestive tract or organs of different types of worms, without interference between them.
Worm infection can occur in 3 ways:
- From person to person.
- Through the ground.
- When you follow a raw food diet and eat poorly processed foods, especially vegetables and fruits, herbs.
Signs of infection
Signs of helminthic infection can be very different, but first of all you should start from the stage of infection:
- Acute. It lasts no more than 20 days. In this case, widespread allergic reactions of unknown origin are observed. This is due to the immune system's response to a stimulus. The allergy causes a skin rash and clinical blood tests show higher than normal levels of eosinophils.
- Acquired. The disease at this stage can develop over a period of 2-3 years. In this case, the symptoms depend on the organ in which the parasites live, their number and how much they have damaged the 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 parasites of any type 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 quickly choose a treatment method.
Early detection of helminths plays an important role in human life, because not all parasites are able to exist practically harmless inside the body. It is recommended that the whole family be examined by a doctor at least 1-2 times a year, wash your hands before eating, eat only well-processed food and use folk anthelmintics for prevention: clove or wormwood powder, walnut peel tincture.