Worms should be understood as parasitic worms that enter the human body. There are similar representatives in some animal species.
Worms appear in the human body after infection with parasitic eggs.
After conducting numerous studies, scientists have concluded that more than 25 percent of people in the world know from their own experience what helminthiasis is.
As a rule, round and pinworms are most common. These types of worms in humans are able to find a place in each of the organs.
The most favorite place for helminths is the intestines. And only then do they live in the organs of the liver and lungs.
But it is no exception when parasites find their place in the eyeball or muscles.
External characteristics of worms in humans
At the time of diagnosing the patient's body, the doctor must have all the knowledge about the possible invasion of worms, as well as how to eliminate them in the future.
Thanks to this information, it is possible to avoid complex conditions that can occur in the form of complications after infection with helminth eggs.
It is for this reason that it is important to identify worms in the human body at the time of infection, ie in the early stages.
One of the most popular types of helminths are roundworms and pinworms. They look like a white worm.
Surprisingly, their thin and elongated body can reach 40 cm. The average length is 20 cm.
But this does not mean that there are no parasites of more solid size. These include a wide bar.
It is so named because it looks like a ribbon. Its length varies within meters.
Classification division of worms
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 according to their location in the body. These can be tissue and luminal worms.
tissue worms
Tissue worms should be understood as those species of helminths that prefer to settle in the parenchyma of the pancreas, liver, brain substances, muscles and lung tissue.
For this reason, the pathology has several names: paragonimiasis in cases of lung damage, echinococcosis with abnormalities in the liver, filariasis - lymph nodes, cysticercosis with brain disorders.
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, 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 later in the article.
Round view of human worms
This is a fairly common variety of helminths called nematodes.
Their bodies are presented in a round shape, the length of the worms reaches 40 cm in the largest case, but there are also 5 mm.
They choose nematodes for themselves as a place in the gut, but it is possible for them to settle in tissues or other organs.
The spread of this type of worm 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 most often suffer from round parasites that tend to take dirty hands in their mouths.
Other types of nematodes are also subdivided. There are:
Ascaris
Provoke the development of ascariasis. These are quite large worms that can reach 40 cm in length.
They differ from their counterparts in the shape of the spindle. Such representatives are justified in the field of small intestine.
During life, they move to the heart, liver and lungs. Transported through the human body, they pose a great danger.
The thing is that all organs and ducts suffer from worms. Their life cycle is approximately equal to one year, but during this time a person will face many unpleasant consequences associated with allergies, digestive disorders, as well as internal bleeding, blockage of intestinal organs.
If roundworms appear in children, this fact can negatively affect development. A child can lag far behind in development from his own peers.
These parasites enter the child's body in the same way through unwashed hands with soap and dirty food.
Oysters
Their body is gray. The length of such worms is 5-10 mm. The main site of parasites is the gut.
Shingles most often affects people who have ingested their eggs through unwashed vegetables and / or fruits.
To become a sexually mature individual, the eggs must overcome a period of 14 days. The total lifespan of parasites is approximately several months.
They disrupt the normal functioning of the digestive tract, which makes a person exhausted.
Hairheads
These worms differ in their habitat. They choose to settle mainly in the colon.
Worms have a body of 3-5 cm. They are placed on the walls of the body, swallowing blood. These worms provoke the disease trichuriaza, seriously sending the body.
They can exist in the human body for about 5 years. During this time, the person will have a serious stool disorder, a problem with the desire to eat, ie there may be an increase or decrease in appetite, abdominal pain and even anemia.
You should not ignore the fact of infection with whipworms, as against the background of their vital activity may begin the acute phase of appendicitis.
This happens if the worms enter the caecum. They deal a relentless blow to health and therefore efforts must be made to quickly remove the whips.
Trichinella
Another type of worm that is not large in size. They can reach 2-5 mm, but this does not mean that worms do not strike health.
They provoke trichinosis, which manifests itself with fever, bloating, fever and allergic reactions.
You can catch Trichinella through undercooked pork or game. These worms penetrate the muscles of the airways or face, hitting the tissues.
For 3 weeks, the worm's eggs can be encapsulated and therefore the person recovers. But there are also more difficult situations leading to death.
Another type of roundworm is Toxocara. They are found in the dog's body. In appearance they look like roundworms, but the length of the body 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 malfunction of internal organs, allergic reactions and other malfunctions in the body.
It should be noted that the larvae that enter the human body are not able to develop to the state of sexually mature individuals, this is possible only in the body of dogs.
The symptoms of roundworm infection will vary depending on the state of human health, as well as the number of worms found in the organs.
Tapeworms in humans
Tapeworms pose a great danger to human health. They are called cestodes. These are worms that grow up to 18 m. It is customary to divide them into 2 types:
- ribbons;
- chains.
In order to develop into sexually mature individuals, worms must change hosts. 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 detail below.
wide ribbon
It reaches about 10-15 m in length. It chooses the small intestine as its habitat.
It is able to provoke the development of diphyllobotriasis. A type of tapeworm enters the body if a person has eaten incompletely cooked freshwater fish in which there has been an invasion by parasite larvae.
The infection is accompanied by severe abdominal pain, indigestion, anemia. This type of worm, like many other cestodes, looks really great.
Bull tapeworm
This type of tapeworm can reach up to 18 m in length. 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. Also, a person may experience intestinal obstruction, malfunctions in the central nervous system.
This type of worm enters the body through the affected beef with larvae of parasites. The worm settles in the small intestine, which strikes all the organs of the human body.
Pork tapeworm
This type of parasite enters the human body through infected pork. The worms can be 8 m long.
They are found, as a rule, in the intestinal tract, where they carry out their parasitic activity.
Teniasis causes severe stomach upset, accompanied by allergic reactions and nervous dysfunction.
Another dangerous type of tapeworm is called echinococcus. It settled in the body of dogs, cats.
Humans have been selected as intermediate habitats. Even in such a short time it can completely harm the human body, provoking the development of echinococcosis.
The eggs of the parasite reach the larval stage. Subsequently, they grow in the tissue membrane of the organs, leading to the formation of a cyst.
Only a surgical method is able to eliminate this manifestation of parasitic echinococci. For decades, these individuals have lived in the bodies of adults and experienced the process of their development in meat.
Trematodes, they are flukes. They differ from other types of tapeworms 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 the blood and useful elements. Such worms can be as large as 1. 5 m. At first glance, they look like a leaf of a plant.
The main source of flukes in the human body will again be insufficiently processed fish or seafood.
During their stages of development, these parasites change hosts. The main species of flukes include the following subspecies:
- hepatic fluke;
- coincidence.
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. These will be discussed below.
Types of worms that affect the skin in humans
Helminths, called rhizomes, are able to infect a person's skin and soft tissues. They provoke dracunculiasis.
They can reach 120 cm in length. Rishta strikes the subcutaneous or muscle tissue.
Infection occurs during the consumption of untreated water. Infection can occur during bathing, as the parasites enter the intestines through the fluid and then into the fibers.
If the helminth reaches sexual maturity, it has the ability to release substances that have a negative effect on the human body. The skin begins to corrode under the influence of this. There will be an ulcer at the site of the lesion, which the parasite uses to remove its larvae.
This phenomenon is accompanied by severe itching. Very often such phenomena are registered in the tropics. As intermediate hosts, sea worms choose freshwater crustaceans, ie cyclops.
Upon contact with water, a person can be introduced into the skin and acne in the intestines. The method of infection with them is percutaneous.
The parasites cause skin defects and enter the bloodstream. Risk factors will be the cases of walking barefoot on the ground, working with soil, swimming in lakes with dirty water.
Diagnostic measures for helminthiasis and treatment
If helminth infestation is suspected in humans, the doctor recommends taking blood and fecal tests.
In the case of a general blood test, changes in white blood cell counts will shift to the right. The number of eosinophils will be clearly expressed.
Urine, sputum and the contents of the stomach and duodenum also play an important role. For this reason, your doctor may prescribe a scraping of the anal area and rectum.
After determining the type of worms in the human body, the specialist must choose the right course of drug treatment, and in addition, effective recipes of traditional medicine can be used.
Of course, it is worth understanding that in order to avoid re-infection, it is necessary to adhere to preventive measures.
For the successful treatment of an infected person it is important that the course of deworming is carried out by the whole family, to follow simple rules of hygiene. It is usual to repeat the course of treatment 2 weeks after the first stage of getting rid of worms.
Folk remedies have been tested over time and many people believe that they are better than anthelmintic drugs offered by pharmacological organizations.
Their main advantage will be the lack of contraindications and side effects as such.
It is important to note that without consulting a doctor it is impossible to start using popular recipes of traditional medicine.
It is important to take into account the special type of worms, their location, the characteristics of your body. If you make a mistake in the chosen course of treatment, the situation with the infection can become even more devastating.
Expert Council
- Treatment with folk remedies should begin with dietary therapy. It is better not to eat meat, fish for a week, ie stick to a vegetarian diet. This will weaken the parasites and therefore make it a little easier to deal with the worms. It is important to keep in mind that fasting in this case will not be a successful idea. Lack of food intake in the body will not affect the strength of helminths, but the person will feel much worse.
- You should wash your hands with soap before eating.
- It is necessary to carry out food processing.
- Of great importance is the timeliness of detection of the infection and the course of therapeutic treatment. In this case, the recovery time will be reduced to a minimum.