Worms must be understood as parasitic worms that penetrate the human body. There are similar representatives in some animal species.
The worms appear in the human body after infection with parasitic eggs.
After conducting several studies, scientists have come to the conclusion that more than 25% of people in the world know from their own experience what helminthiasis is.
As a rule, roundworms and pinworms are found most often. These types of worms in humans are able to find a place in any of the organs.
The preferred site for helminths is the intestines. And only then do they live in the organs of the liver and lungs.
But no exception is the fact that the parasites find their place in the eyeball or in the muscles.
External features of worms in humans
During the diagnosis of the patient's body, the doctor must have all the knowledge about the possible invasion of worms, as well as how to remove them in the future.
Thanks to this information, it is possible to avoid complex conditions that can arise in the form of complications after infection with helminth eggs.
It is for this reason that it is important to determine the worms in the human body at the time of infection with them, that is, in the early stages.
One of the most popular types of helminths are roundworms and pinworms. In their appearance, they resemble a white worm.
Surprisingly, its thin, oblong body can reach up to 40 cm. The average length is 20 cm.
But that doesn't mean that there aren't more solid parasites in size. These include a wide ribbon.
It is called so for a reason, because in appearance it resembles a ribbon. Its length varies in meters.
Worm classification division
What are the types of worms in the human body? If this question really worries you, you should read the information below in the article.
The types of helminths are divided depending on their location in the body. It can be tissue and luminal worms.
fabric worms
Tissue worms should be understood as those types of helminths that prefer to settle in the pancreatic parenchyma, liver, brain substances, muscles and lung tissue.
It is for this reason that the pathology has several names: paragonimiasis in cases of lung damage, echinococcosis with liver abnormalities, filariasis - lymph nodes, cysticercosis in violation of the brain.
translucent worms
This type of helminth differs in that it prefers to live in the intestinal lumen. These helminths include roundworms, tapeworms, whipworms, pinworms, hookworms, broad tapeworms, and other worms.
Worms are also divided into species according to their body structure. There may be round, flat, ribbon and other varieties. But this will be discussed in more detail a little later in the article.
Round view of human worms
This is a fairly common variety of helminths, which are called nematodes.
Their bodies are presented in a round shape, the length of the worms reaches up to 40 cm in the largest case, but there are also 5 mm.
They choose nematodes for the location of the intestines, but it is possible for them to settle in tissues or other organs.
The prevalence of this type of worms is explained by the fact that eggs are transmitted during the use of unwashed vegetables or fruits. This type of pathology is considered a disease of dirty hands, and therefore children often suffer from round parasites, which struggle to bring dirty hands to their mouths.
Other types of nematodes are also subdivided. They exist:
worm
Cause the development of ascariasis. These are quite large worms, which can reach 40 cm in length.
They differ from their counterparts in the shape of the spindle. Similar representatives are proven in the area of the small intestine.
During life, they move to the heart, liver and lungs. Carried by the human body, they carry great danger.
The thing is, all organs and ducts suffer from worms. Its life cycle is approximately equal to a year, but during this period a person will face many unpleasant consequences associated with the manifestation of allergies, disruption of the digestive tract, internal bleeding, obstruction of intestinal organs.
If roundworms appear in children, then this fact can negatively affect their development. A child can lag far behind in the development of their own peers.
These parasites enter the child's body in the same way through unwashed hands and dirty food.
earthworms
Your body is gray. The length of these worms is 5-10 mm. The main location of the parasites is the intestine.
Most often, pinworms affect people who have swallowed their eggs through unwashed fruits and/or vegetables.
To become a sexually mature individual, the eggs must exceed the period of 14 days. The total lifespan of the parasites is approximately equal to a few months.
They disrupt the normal functioning of the digestive tract, which leaves a person exhausted.
Vlasoglavy
These worms differ in their habitat. They choose to settle primarily in the large intestine.
Worms have a body of 3-5 cm and are placed on the walls of the organ, absorbing blood. These worms cause the disease trichuriasis, seriously sending the body.
They can exist in the human body for about 5 years. During this period, a person will have a severe violation of stool, a problem with the desire to eat, that is, there may be an increase or decrease in appetite, pain in the abdomen, and even anemia.
You should not leave the fact of infection with whipworms unattended, because against the background of their vital activity, the acute phase of appendicitis can begin.
This happens if the worms enter the cecum. They inflict a merciless blow to health and therefore efforts must be made to quickly remove the worms.
Trichinella
Another type of worms, which are not large in size. They can reach 2-5 mm, but that does not mean that the worms do not reach health.
They cause trichinosis, which is manifested by high fever, swelling, fever, and allergic reactions.
You can catch Trichinella from uncooked pork or game. These worms penetrate the muscles of the respiratory tract or the face, reaching the tissues.
For 3 weeks, the worm eggs can be encapsulated and therefore the person recovers. But there are more difficult situations that lead to death.
Another type of round worm is the Toxocara. They are found on the dog's body. In appearance, they resemble roundworms, but their body length is 15-30 cm.
This type of worm can be in the human body. If this happens, the development of toxocariasis is observed, accompanied by a malfunction of Organs internal organs, allergic reactions and other malfunctions in the body.
It should be noted that the larvae, once in the human body, are not able to develop to the state of sexually mature individuals, this is only possible in the body of dogs.
The symptoms of roundworm infestation vary depending on the state of human health as well as the number of worms that are in the organs.
Tape type of worms in humans
Ribbon type worms pose a great danger to human health. They are called cestodes. They are worms that grow up to 18 m. They are usually divided into 2 types:
- tapes;
- chains.
To develop into sexually mature individuals, the worms must change their host. One of the stages of this process is the existence in the body of cattle.
The brightest representatives of this species will be presented in a detailed description below.
wide ribbon
It reaches about 10-15 m in length. It chooses the small intestine as its habitat.
It is capable of provoking the development of diphyllobothriasis. A tapeworm species enters the body if a person has eaten incompletely cooked freshwater fish, in which there has been an invasion of parasite larvae.
The infection is accompanied by severe pain in the abdomen, indigestion, anemia. This type of worm, like many other cestodes, looks really amazing.
bull tapeworm
In length, this type of tapeworm can reach 18 m. This species is one of the largest in the human body.
It provokes the development of the pathology of teniarinhoz, which leads to physical exhaustion of the body. In addition, a person may experience intestinal obstruction, central nervous system malfunction.
This type of worm enters the body through infected flesh with parasite larvae. The worm settles in the area of the small intestine, which affects every organ in the human body.
pork tapeworm
This type of parasite enters the human body through infected pork. The worms can be 8 m long.
They settle, as a rule, in the area of the intestine, where they carry out their parasitic activity.
Taeniasis causes a serious malfunction of the stomach, accompanied by allergic reactions and nerve dysfunctions.
Another dangerous type of tapeworm is called an echinococci. He settled in the body of dogs, cats.
People are chosen as an intermediate habitat. Even in such a short time, it can harm the human body completely, causing the development of echinococcosis.
The parasite eggs reach the larval stage. Subsequently, they grow on the tissue membrane of the organs, giving rise to the cystic formation.
Only a surgical method is able to remove this manifestation of parasitic echinococci. For decades, these individuals live in the body of adults and experience the process of their development in the flesh.
Trematodes, they are worms. They differ from other types of tape parasites in that they have special suction cups on the body, thanks to which they are absorbed into the walls of human organs and tissues.
They suck blood and useful elements. These worms can be up to 1. 5 m in size. At first glance, they resemble a leaf on a plant.
The main source of worms in the human body will again be undercooked or undercooked fish or seafood.
During their developmental stages, these parasites change hosts. The main varieties of worms include the following subspecies:
- liver worm;
- chance.
Based on the above information, it is worth concluding that almost all worms enter the human body through meat.
In fact, this is not always the case; there are also types of parasites that affect the skin. They will be discussed below.
Types of worms that affect the skin in humans
Helminths called rishta are capable of infecting a person's skin and soft tissues. They cause dracunculiasis.
In length, they can reach 120 cm. Rishta targets subcutaneous tissue or muscle tissue.
Infection occurs during consumption of untreated water. Infection can occur while bathing, because the parasites enter the intestine through the liquid and then through the fiber.
If the helminth reaches sexual maturity, it has the opportunity to secrete substances that have a negative effect on the human body. The skin starts to corrode under the influence of it. At the site of damage there will be an ulcer, which the parasite uses to remove its larvae.
This phenomenon is accompanied by intense itching. Often such phenomena are recorded in the tropics. As intermediate hosts, Guinea worms choose freshwater crustaceans, i. e. cyclops.
In contact with water, a person can be introduced to the skin and intestinal acne. The method of infection with them is percutaneous.
The parasites cause skin defects and enter the blood. Risk factors will be cases of walking barefoot on the ground, working with dirt, swimming in ponds with dirty water.
Diagnostic measures of helminthiasis and treatment
If helminthic invasion is suspected in humans, the doctor recommends doing blood and stool tests.
In the case of a general blood test, the changes in the leukocyte formula indicators will shift to the right. The number of eosinophils will be pronounced.
Urine, sputum and stomach contents, duodenum also play an important role. It is for this reason that the doctor may prescribe scrapings in the anal and rectal area.
After determining the type of worms in the human body, a specialist must choose the right course of drug treatment, along with this, effective recipes of traditional medicine can be used.
Of course, it is worth understanding that in order to avoid reinfection, it is necessary to adhere to preventive measures.
For the successful treatment of an infected person, it is important that the deworming course is carried out by the whole family, simple rules of hygiene are observed. It is customary to repeat the course of treatment 2 weeks after the first stage of getting rid of the worms.
Folk remedies are time-tested and many people believe they are better than the anthelmintic drugs offered by pharmacological organizations.
Its main advantage will be the absence of contraindications and side effects as such.
It is important to note that, without consulting a doctor, it is impossible to start using recipes from traditional folk medicine.
It is important to take into account the special type of worms, their location, the characteristics of their body. If you make a mistake in your chosen course of treatment, the infection situation can become even more disastrous.
professional advice
- Treatment with folk remedies should begin with dietary therapy. It is better not to eat meat, fish for a week, that is, to maintain a vegetarian diet. This will weaken the strength of the parasites and therefore it will be a little easier to deal with the worms. It is only important to consider that fasting in this case will not be a successful idea. The lack of food intake in the body will not affect the strength of the helminths, but the person will feel much worse.
- You need to wash your hands before eating with soap.
- It is necessary to carry out food processing.
- The timeliness of infection detection and the course of therapeutic treatment are of great importance. In this case, the recovery time will be reduced to a minimum.