Based on statistics, it has been proven that more than one billion people are infected with helminths, which are popularly called worms. However, these indicators are conditional, since they are established based on the number of people who sought help from specialists who diagnosed a helminthic infestation.
In life, every person encounters worms at least once in his life (regardless of age and sex), but many of them are simply unaware of their infection and continue to transmit worms to other people. In the initial stages of infection, they do not cause discomfort, but in mass infection they can lead to toxic poisoning and even death. That is why you need to 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 capable of making holes in blood vessels by biting them. This leads to serious consequences in the form of erosions and other diseases, so firsthelminthic infestations should be treated.
Types of worms
Among the numerous varieties of helminths, 3 classes of worms can cause the greatest harm to the body: flukes, roundworms and tapeworms. Let's take a look at what these worms look like in 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 found in the human body.
In the photo, you can see the body of nematodes, which is characterized by a round shape, and therefore they are added to the class 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 class are most often found in the human body: whipworm, roundworm, trichinella (Trichinella) and pinworms. These types of worms in humans can be seen in the photo.
Male roundwormshave a shorter body length than females. Females can grow up to 40 centimeters. Ascaris are localized in the intestines, poisoning the body with toxic substances. When there is a large accumulation of parasites in this cavity, they are able to close the lumen of the intestine and obstruct passage. If you refuse treatment, the invasion can lead to death, since unnecessary substances in the body will no longer be eliminated and toxic poisoning will reach its limit.
PinwormsThey bark smaller in size compared to roundworms. The length of their body does not exceed 1 cm. These representatives actively reproduce, because living in the small intestine and rectum, they have access to the anus, and crawling out of it, the females lay larvae on the intrafemoral part, the anus, between the buttocks. At one time, an individual pinworm can lay up to 15, 000 eggs, causing skin irritation. Then the infected person begins to scratch the irritant, contributing to the spread of helminths to others. Most often pinworms are found in children, therefore, in preschool and school institutions, institutions with large crowds of people, examination for worm eggs is required.
Whipwormis an equally dangerous parasite, as the females of this helminth lay 3000-4000 eggs daily. When the worm reaches sexual maturity, it has a thread-like front end, making up 2/3 of the body length, and a thick grey-pink rear end, with transverse stripes. The average length of the helminth is 3-5 cm. The tails of female and male representatives differ: in females it is characterized by a curve, and in males it is spiral.
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.
Trichinellais a particularly dangerous parasite that lives in 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 therapeutic measures are not taken in time.
flukes
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Many people are interested in what parasites look like in the human body (photo) from the fluke class. In medical practice, they are called trematodes, but the most interesting thing is that they do not suck anything from the body, but feed on mucus, blood and what passes through the affected area from worms. Trematodes can grow up to 1. 5 meters in length and are found not only in the intestines, but also in other organs (even in the conjunctival sac).
However, fluke worms are able to adhere to the intestinal walls and thus resist accidental release along with the feces. These parasites have a functional digestive tract and reproductive system, but the respiratory and circulatory systems function at a minimal level.
Tapeworm
Tapeworm- a class of flatworms, which is divided into tapeworms and tapeworms. These individuals rarely enter the human body directly. Most often, infection with them occurs because a person eats fish infected with these parasites, but in animals they appear only in the larval stage and reach maturity inside the individual that has a backbone.
Parasites of this class have a special anatomical structure of the body, so the head of the worm serves only to attach to the intestinal wall, and this worm receives food through the whole body. The food of their host serves as food for the tapeworm, but the helminth is not digested by gastric juice, becausereleases a substance called antikinase.
Despite the similarity of these worms, when diagnosing it is imperative to distinguish them in order to establish the correct method of treatment.
Tapeworms have 2 suckers on their heads, which allows them to firmly attach to the intestinal wall, unlike representatives - tapeworms, which have 4 clinging 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 (stage 2) and move around the body until they settle in organs or systems, but most often remain in the gut. In phase 3, the worms can no longer migrate through the body, but are fully capable of reproducing and infecting a healthy population.
Despite the variety of worms and their characteristics, the infestation can be combined. This indicates the possibility of simultaneous residence in the digestive tract or organs of different types of worms without interfering with each other.
Worm infection can happen in 3 ways:
- From person to person.
- Through the ground.
- When following a raw food diet and intake of poorly processed foods, especially vegetables and fruits, herbs.
Signs of infection
Signs of helminth infection can be very different, but first of all you need to start from the stage of infection:
- Sharp. Lasts no more than 20 days. In this case, extensive allergic reactions of unknown origin are observed. This is due to the immune system's response to a given 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 for 2-3 years. In this case, the symptoms depend on the organ in which the parasites live, their number and the degree of damage to the tissue walls or body systems. In severe situations, they cause inflammation, and fast-growing species can have fatal consequences.
It is very important to know what parasites of any kind 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.
Timely detection of helminths plays an important role in human life, since not all parasites can exist practically harmlessly in the body. It is recommended that the whole family be examined by a doctor at least 1-2 times a year, wash hands before eating, eat only well-processed foods and use folk anthelmintics for prevention: clove powder or wormwood, tincture of walnut shells.