Worms in humans are a rather unpleasant phenomenon that can take a long time to appear. Parasitic worms are scientifically called helminths. The infection of humans is called helminthiasis. This occurs as a result of worm eggs entering our body. Contrary to popular belief that worms are a purely childhood disease, adults are also susceptible to serious parasite attacks. Scientists have calculated that one in four people on Earth carries this disease.
Where can they live?
Adult helminths move throughout the body until they settle in the organs that are best for them. The parasite eggs enter the intestine and settle there. This is the most common location. It is easy to detect worms in the intestines and remove them.
In second place in popularity among worms is the liver. Next come the lungs. There are very rare forms of the disease in which worms enter the eyeball and muscles.
Classification
Human worms are classified according to their location. There are luminal and tissue types.
Tissue- these are those that live in organs. They can cause the following diseases:
- paragonimiasis– this is a type of infection of lung tissue by worms;
- echinococcosis– liver damage;
- cysticercosis- brain;
- filariasis– lymph nodes.
The second type of human worms isluminous. This is the most common type of disease that affects the intestine. Worms can be completely different: hookworms, roundworms, tapeworms, whipworms, tapeworms, pinworms and others.
Development stages
Worms in an adult can arise from completely different sources. For the parasite to begin developing in the body, it must enter through the mouth. Worm eggs can be found in raw meat, untreated water from reservoirs or on dirty hands. In this form, they enter the oral cavity, then the stomach and are absorbed through the intestines.
Once in the stomach, the larva hatches from the egg, which begins its journey through the human body until it finds an ideal environment for its further development. If they are intestinal parasites, you won't need to move for long. If it is pulmonary or cerebral, the larva will move through the bloodstream until it settles in the right place.
In the third stage of development, the larva turns into an adult helminth, which feeds on vitamins and minerals intended for the human body. The parasite lays eggs again and reproduces at very high speed.
The deadline for completing all stages is from several hours to several days. During this period, it is important to choose a good remedy for worms for a person.
Symptoms
There are not always clear signs of worms in humans. Symptoms may only appear during certain periods of the illness or may not appear at all. When an adult lives in the body, it is extremely difficult to notice, as the disease can be confused with any other disease. Helminths can be detected randomly through stool examinations.
To imagine what happens in the body, let's consider the example of the roundworm's life cycle. This type of worm loves to travel and, in the process of moving around the body, can give itself away.
The cause of roundworm infection may be the consumption of unwashed fruits and vegetables. The parasite lays eggs in the soil and they can easily enter plants.
After the worm egg enters the mouth and stomach, it begins to grow and turns into a larva, which very quickly (within 2-3 hours) enters the circulatory system and begins to move through the small bloodstream. Your goal is the lungs.
In the lung tissue, the larva grows to become an adult, which will have little space and must eat the cells of the alveoli and small bronchi. At this stage the first symptoms appear and, if the diagnosis is made correctly, a remedy for worms will quickly help a person get rid of them.
The patient begins to cough, has episodes of shortness of breath and the body temperature increases. In rare cases, an allergic rash appears. This is how worms manifest themselves in humans. Symptoms and treatment will depend on the stage of development, as all of these signs can be confused with a common cold.
After the adult chews through the respiratory tract and reaches the mouth, it lays eggs for the person to ingest again and for them to end up in the gastrointestinal tract, where the cycle begins again.
Stages of the disease
Symptoms of worms in an adult will be different depending on the stage of the disease. There may be two of them:
- Acute
- Acquired.
The first phase appears in the first few days after infection, while the larvae travel through the body. A person may experience itching, redness of the skin, and rashes. There may be a dry cough with suffocating attacks. If you donate blood for testing, the result will show a significant increase in eosinophils.
The transition to the second phase indicates that human worms have settled in the right place and exist quietly, without bothering anyone. This is a hidden stage that may not appear for several years.
Medicines for worms in humans will only help eliminate them if an infection is discovered accidentally. Men and women need to listen carefully to their bodies. As the months pass that people feed the parasites, the general condition of the body changes. Metabolism suffers first. After all, the peculiarity of helminths is that, when they attach themselves to the walls of organs, they suck all the nutrients and minerals from the cells, impairing the functionality of the affected areas.
What could the consequences be?
There are parasites that cause dangerous conditions in the body. For example, the existence of trichinella or schistosome leads to anemia and vitamin deficiency.
Do not forget that worms also secrete their metabolic products into the human intestine, resulting in the development of dysbiosis and excessive reproduction of opportunistic organisms.
The immune system suffers. She becomes weaker and allergies appear. A person becomes susceptible to viral attacks and gets sick more often.
If human worms are not treated, the consequences can be unpredictable. Each type of parasite affects different organs and they are the ones that suffer first. If the liver is damaged, jaundice may occur. Hookworm leads to anemia, as this type of helminth feeds exclusively on blood. Therefore, the most important thing at any stage is to choose a remedy for worms for a person.
Diagnosis
Just two tests can save a life. This is a general blood and stool test. With an annual medical examination, the risks of not detecting a disease are minimal.
There will be the following changes in the blood: leukocytosis - shift in the leukocyte formula to the right and an increase in the number of eosinophils.
Worms in human feces are the safest and quickest way to detect them. You need to take the test again, then the result will be correct.
Worm Prevention Pills for Humans
Medicines can be divided into two groups: those that have a broad spectrum of action and those that kill a specific type of helminth. Because there are more than 70 types of worms that infect humans, it is impossible to determine without testing which parasite has entered. Pills for preventing worms in humans must be prescribed by a doctor.
In medicine, all worms are divided into three groups:
- nematodes;
- cestodes;
- trematodes.
Treatment will depend on the type of helminth that inhabits the body.
Nematodes (roundworms)
This species includes: pinworms, roundworms, trichinella, whipworm and toxocara. In children and adults, the first two representatives are found most frequently.
Cestodes (tapeworms)
Cestodes are a large number of representatives of helminths. The most common are teniarhynchosis, coenurosis, alveococcosis, sparganosis, broad tapeworm and others.
Trematodes (flatworms)
Representatives of this class can be listed for a long time. Most often, the body is affected by opisthorchiasis (cat worm), fascioliasis, clonorchiasis (Chinese worm), lungworm and others.
How to take deworming tablets
Regardless of what type of helminth has settled in the body of an adult or child, remember the basic and most important rule: if a worm is found in a family member, everyone must be treated. It is necessary to disinfect all items in the house. If you have pets, you need to check them first, as our pets could be the source of the problem.
All deworming medications affect the adults without affecting the eggs and larvae. Therefore, the second rule is: two weeks after taking the medicine, the course must be repeated. This is especially true in cases of pinworm infection. These parasites are so cunning that they leave the larvae outside the body and a person can become self-infected again.
It is recommended to take the tablets in the morning and do a cleansing enema in the evening.
Be careful! Any medications must be taken as prescribed by a doctor. This is especially true for cases of flatworm and tapeworm infection. They are so dangerous that treatment is carried out in a hospital. When taking them, the dosage must be strictly observed, taking into account the patient's weight and age, as the medications are very toxic. Self-medication in these cases is unacceptable!
Worm prevention
Mothers' debates about whether or not to take pills to prevent worms never stop. Some believe that this is a good way to protect against dangerous consequences, because children are more susceptible to infection. Others consider it unnecessary and do not want to burden their body with unnecessary pills.
Often, children of school and preschool age are affected by worms. The test for enterobiasis can give a false negative, and then the sick child, bringing parasites into the home or school, can infect everyone. Transmission of pinworm eggs occurs through household items, handshakes, pet hair, door handles and other surrounding objects.
The main prevention methods include following personal hygiene rules. It is necessary to wash your hands with soap after defecating, before eating, after leaving the house or visiting public places.
What to do if a child complains of itching in the anus? This is one of the most pronounced symptoms of pinworm infection. In this case, you need to get tested for enterobiasis as soon as possible. Let's say a child complains at night, and in the morning you need to run to the clinic.
If the result of the first scrape is negative and the itching continues, the test should be repeated after two days for a week and after another two weeks.
If one of the following statements applies to you, you should take preventive measures:
- presence of furry pets;
- constant playing in the sandbox or on the floor;
- travel to an exotic country;
- the father is an avid fisherman or hunter.
Popular recipes
Let's look at how to remove worms from a person at home. Recipes against helminths have been known since ancient times. And despite having been successfully replaced by synthetic substances, the popular method remains proven in prevention.
Let's look at the most effective recipes:
Onion, honey, aloe vera juice.Onion is considered the most universal medicine. It has anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and anthelmintic effects. Mix in equal proportions with aloe juice and honey and get a real remedy against worms. Take 1 teaspoon before breakfast for several days. Because the product is sweet, children will probably drink it.
Carrot Juice.Fresh carrots not only contain a whole storehouse of vitamins, but also have an anthelmintic effect. By drinking it on an empty stomach, you can enrich your body with energy for the whole day and at the same time prevent an unpleasant illness.
Garlic– one of the most effective remedies against worms. Let's look at recipes on how you can remove worms from a person at home:
- Chop or press the garlic. Wrap the resulting porridge in small portions in cheesecloth so that it looks like a candle. Insert into the anus at night for 10 days. This remedy is effective against pinworms and is used in adults and children.
- Garlic enemas. Another way to remove unpleasant neighbors from the intestines. The solution should consist of water and garlic chopped into gruel in proportion. For one cup you need a few cloves. Repeat the procedure twice a week.
- Garlic with honey. Another children's medicine option. To prevent the garlic from burning, it is mixed with natural honey. Take 1 teaspoon twice daily.
- Garlic with milk. For lovers of unusual flavors, milk-based remedies are offered. There are five crushed garlic cloves per liter of beef product. The mixture is boiled and taken in small portions before bed.
Herbal infusions
Since time immemorial, all medicines have been prepared from herbs. Mother Nature knows better than anyone how to get rid of worm parasites. It's time to systematize this knowledge.
To prepare a herbal medicine, you need to choose bitter plants such as cloves, wormwood, thyme, calamus and cumin. The prepared infusions must be taken every day. It will take a month to completely cleanse the body, but improvement occurs within 2-3 weeks after the course.
Let's look at the most famous recipes for herbal tinctures for the treatment of helminths:
- Based on tansy.Pour boiling water over the grass in the following proportion: 100 grams of dry mixture per 150 ml of hot water. Cover with a lid and let rest for 8 to 10 hours. You need to take 30 drops dissolved in a glass of water.
- Absinthe based.This herb needs to be infused in alcohol for a week. Proportion 1: 1. For 100 grams of herb, 100 ml of alcohol. Take 25 drops dissolved in a glass of water.
- Effectivetincture on walnut shells.It must be filled with alcohol per 100 grams of dry product and 150 ml of "fire" water.
- Clove-based.Dried, unopened buds of clove are used for tincture. Pour 100 grams of aromatic spices with a glass of boiling water and leave for at least 3 days. The daily dose of the medicine is 30 drops per glass of water.
Pumpkin seeds against worms
Pumpkin seeds are safe for children and adults. This is a very popular folk remedy for combating helminths. Let's look at how to remove worms from humans using this product.
What is the secret? The fact is that the shell of pumpkin seeds contains a substance such as cucurbin, which is destructive for worms. Therefore, you should only consume unpeeled green seeds.
Kucurbin does not kill worms, it only paralyzes them. Adult individuals lose the ability to move, cling to body cells and suck out nutrients, which means they will soon die naturally and be excreted through the human anus.
The most effective recipe is pumpkin seeds and castor oil. A portion of 100 shelled seeds should be consumed in the morning. Then take a teaspoon of castor oil. The latter has a laxative effect to remove parasites from the body.
Mix pumpkin and honey. First you need to grind the seeds into a gruel in a blender and then add a little honey. Eat muesli in the morning on an empty stomach. The course of treatment is several days. It is advisable to repeat after 2 weeks.
Another healthy breakfast is pumpkin seeds and garlic. First, the grains are fried in a frying pan without fat and water until golden brown. Then the mixture is placed in a blender, the garlic is added and ground into a paste. Let it sit overnight and take a tablespoon of the mixture in the morning.