There are 4. 5 billion registered people in the world suffering from parasitic infections (infestations). In addition, the number of people infected with helminths (worms) is constantly increasing.
Causes of helminthiasis infection
It is not difficult to populate the worms in your body. Here are just a few of the causes of infection, familiar to everyone from childhood:
- Lack of hygiene.The desire to eat unwashed fruits and vegetables, not to wear gloves while working in the garden and not to worry about hygiene procedures, leads to infection with a variety of helminths.
- Street fast food addict.It is no secret that sellers of such foods do not always come for a medical examination and often neglect basic hygiene. And their products are not stored in the best conditions. Street whites and pastry fans are another risk group.
- Love for exotic cuisinescontaining raw fish and shellfish dishes containing parasites. The increase in the incidence of flukes, tapeworms, roundworms, roundworms and belt worms is due to fans of sushi and rolls.
- H.the ability to adequately protect themselves from infections while resting.The love for the "Turkish coasts" has led to more frequent cases of infection with exotic helminthiases - schistosomiasis, hookworms, dracunculiasis. After walking barefoot on an overseas beach, you can bring from your trip not only pleasant impressions, but also dangerous worms.
- Infection from petswho often sleep with their owners. Lovers of a pet's "kiss" run the risk of catching parasites.
What parasites live in the human body
If an adult had the opportunity to look into her body, he would be horrified:
- Round worms -pinworms, roundworms, whipworms, roundworms, toxocara, trichinella. Large helminths gather in huge tangles, obstructing the intestinal lumen and leading to an obstruction that requires surgical treatment. During the operation, doctors extract an incredible amount of parasites from the intestines of these people.
- Tapewormsthey appear among those who like to taste meat with blood and raw fish. They cause digestive problems, anemia, allergies. Children have seizures similar to seizures. The most dangerous helminth of this group is the echinococcus, the larvae of which form huge cysts in the human body. When they rupture, the parasites are dispersed throughout the body. The infection can be fatal.
- Suckers- flukes, flukes and pegs are dangerous parasites that suck blood from the vessels of the liver, pancreas, intestines and bladder.
- The simplest- Leishmania, amoeba, lamblia, etc. Although these tiny parasites are only visible under a microscope, they can cause dangerous complications up to intestinal perforations and liver abscesses, which are fatal.
On what basis can the presence of "strangers" be suspected: if a stomach is sick, it means that someone lives there
Signs of the presence of helminths:
- Stomach ache- the most common sign of helminth infection. It can be constant, periodic, affecting some areas of the abdomen. Pain in the right hypochondrium with helminthiasis indicates damage to the liver and gallbladder by worms.
- Indigestion- diarrhea, constipation, irregular bowel movements. Sometimes in the stool, patients see crawling segments of worms or even entire parasites. Impaired food absorption and gastrointestinal tract dysfunction lead to weight loss.
- Anemia.Worms suck blood from the body and interfere with the digestibility of food. The host man does not feed, but the worms. Patients complain of weakness, fatigue, loss of strength, dizziness.
- Damage to the urinary tract,caused by parasites that live in the kidneys and bladder. Patients complain of back pain and swelling. Sometimes traces of blood are visible in the urine.
- Chronic indolent vaginitis. . . Roundworms and pinworms crawl from the anus into the genital tract, causing vaginal dysbiosis and causing thrush to develop. Women are treated for itching and discharge, not realizing that they are parasites.
- Skin manifestations.Worm infection poisons the body and suppresses the immune system, causing allergies. Rashes are different: from small blisters to large focal areas.
- Inflammation of the mucosaand itching in the anus caused by irritation from crawling worms.
- General deterioration of health.Weak immunity, indigestion and anemia weaken the body, which cannot resist infections. A person is haunted by constant colds, acute respiratory infections, and acute respiratory viral infections.
Because ultrasound is more effective than traditional tests for worms and other parasites
Feces or scrapings don't always reveal worms. The fact is that parasites have a certain development cycle and do not always lay eggs. There is a whole group of extraintestinal helminthiasis, in which worms live outside the intestine. In this case, the stool analysis will not provide any information.
Ultrasound of the abdominal cavity shows changes characteristic of the presence of parasites in the liver, pancreas. It is harmless, non-traumatic and can be used many times.
If the ultrasound doctor does not detect live helminths and 100% signs of their presence, he will suspect an infection and prescribe an additional examination. It is useful to undergo ultrasound and with a positive test for I / worms. The research will reveal where the parasites are hiding.
Signs of helminthiasis, determined by ultrasound of the abdominal cavity - half-living organs and live worms
When examining the gastrointestinal tract on modern 3D and 4D devices, doctors often see live parasites in the intestines. If helminths are not found, their presence can be suspected by an enlarged, compacted pancreas in the head area. The spleen is also too large.
The liver with parasitic lesions due to flukes, flukes and flukes is enlarged. On it there are areas of dystrophy that prevent the organ from functioning.
The gallbladder also suffers. In patients, there is stagnation of bile, causing pain in the right hypochondrium. Sometimes the function of the bladder is so impaired that the organ on ultrasound is not determined at all.
The presence of parasites leads to the formation of abscesses - life-threatening purulent liver lesions. In 85% of cases, abscesses are formed in one lobe of the liver. Other departments are affected less frequently. Purulent lesions are characteristic of hepatic amoebiasis - infection with the simplest - an amoeba that enters the hepatic region from the intestine.
Significant changes in the liver are observed in echinococcosis, a parasitic disease in which cavities filled with helminth larvae form inside the organ. On ultrasound, rounded formations with clear boundaries are visible. These are cysts with parasites inside. Over time, calcium settles around the echinococcal foci. Such formations have a dense structure, therefore, on ultrasound, they seem lighter than the surrounding tissues.
With a prolonged infection, large cysts with septa are formed, resembling wheel spokes or large honeycombs. Destruction of the bile ducts is observed. With a Doppler examination, there is a violation of blood flow.
For lovers of Japanese cuisine. Parasites as a gift
Fans of Asian exoticism have a wide variety of parasites, but the most common opisthorchiasis is Chinese fluke infection. The source of helminths is unprocessed fish containing parasites.
At the onset of the disease, ultrasound in the liver and gallbladder reveals eosinophilic infiltrates - dense formations with clear boundaries. If the fight against helminths is postponed to better times, foci of dead cells will appear in these organs, which look like variegated areas, and the hepatic ducts will lose elasticity. The situation can provoke the development of liver failure.
If the urinary tract becomes a victim of parasites
Echinococcus affects not only the liver, but also the kidneys. When the parasite enters the kidney tissue, a single-chamber cyst (bubble) is formed containing larvae. Gradually increasing in size, the echinococcal cyst destroys the organ. Large parasitic cysts are attached to the liver, spleen and intestines.
Schistosomiasis is picked up by those who like to wander barefoot along the warm beaches of overseas countries. The parasite larvae enter the bloodstream through the skin and are then carried away with the blood in the bladder. Having settled there, they cause the appearance of seals - infiltrates that appear in response to irritation of the bladder walls. As the infection spreads, the kidneys are affected.
Enzyme immunoassay: we bring helminths into clean water
This test detects infection with one or more types of parasites. It is carried out for the presence of ascaris, toxocara, trichinella, opisthorchis flukes, echinococci, chinese, etc.
The principle of the test is based on the body's immune response to the presence of helminths. Worm infection causes the production of protein antibodies, which are detected during the analysis. Since each parasite causes the formation of a certain immunoglobulin, the results of the analysis show which helminths are found in the human body.
The analysis reacts to all forms of parasites: eggs, larvae, adult worms. Accuracy is over 90%. The survey shows not only the presence of infection, but also its degree.
After the treatment, the analysis is repeated. A positive result can be observed for some time after the death of the parasites. The immunoglobulin concentration will gradually decrease for several more months. So the analysis will be "clean". For research, blood is taken from a vein on an empty stomach in a volume of 3-5 ml. The analysis is performed twice.
Ultrasound and an immunoglobulin study can detect helminthiases and start treatment. Thanks to their use, the number of cases of misdiagnosis has decreased, leading to complications. The main thing is to consult a doctor in time if you suspect a helminth invasion.