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 come to the conclusion that more than 25 percent of people in the world know from their own experience what helminthiasis is.
As a rule, roundworms and pinworms are most often found. These types of worms in humans are able to find a place in any of the organs.
The most favorite place for helminths is the intestines. And only then they live in the organs of the liver and lungs.
But no exception is the fact when parasites find their place in the eyeball or muscles.
External characteristics 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 may 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, i. e. 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, their thin and oblong body can reach up to 40 cm. The average length is 20 cm.
But this does not mean that there are no parasites more solid in size. These include a wide ribbon.
It is named so for a reason, because in appearance it resembles 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.
Types of helminths are divided depending on their location in the body. It can be tissue and luminal worms.
tissue 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 abnormalities in the liver, 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 the structure of their body. There can be round, flat, tape 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 form, the length of the worms reaches up to 40 cm in the largest case, but there are also 5 mm.
They choose nematodes for themselves as the location of the intestines, but it is possible that they will 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 to be a disease of dirty hands, and therefore children most often suffer from round parasites, who strive to take dirty hands into their mouths.
Other types of nematodes are also subdivided. There are:
Roundworm
Provoke the development of ascariasis. These are rather large worms, which can reach 40 cm in length.
They differ from their counterparts in the shape of the spindle. Similar representatives are substantiated in the area of the small intestine.
During life, they move to the heart, liver and lungs. Transported through the human body, they carry a great danger.
The thing is that all organs and ducts suffer from worms. Their life cycle is approximately equal to a year, but during this time a person will face a lot of unpleasant consequences associated with the manifestation of allergies, disruption of the digestive tract, as well as internal bleeding, obstruction of the intestinal organs.
If roundworms appear in children, this fact may negatively affect development. A child may 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.
Pinworms
Their body is grey. The length of such worms is 5-10 mm. The main localization of parasites is the intestine.
Most often, pinworms affect people who have swallowed their eggs through unwashed fruits of vegetables and or fruits.
To become a sexually mature individual, the eggs should overcome the period of 14 days. The total life span of parasites is approximately equal to a couple of months.
They disrupt the normal functioning of the digestive tract, which makes a person exhausted.
Vlasoglavy
These worms differ in their habitat. They choose to settle mainly in the large intestine.
Worms have a body of 3-5 cm. They are placed on the walls of the organ, absorbing blood. These worms provoke the disease trichuriasis, seriously sending the body.
They can exist in the human body for about 5 years. During this time, a person will have a serious violation of the stool, a problem with the desire to eat, i. e. 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 without attention, because against the background of their vital activity, the acute phase of appendicitis can begin.
This happens if the worms enter the caecum. They inflict a merciless blow to health, and therefore efforts must be made to quickly remove the whipworms.
Trichinella
Another type of worms, which are not large in size. They can reach 2-5 mm, but this does not mean that the worms do not strike at health.
They provoke trichinosis, which is manifested by high fever, swelling, fever and allergic reactions.
You can catch Trichinella through not fully cooked pork or game meat. These worms penetrate the muscles of the respiratory tract or the face, striking the tissues.
For 3 weeks, the eggs of worms can be encapsulated, and therefore the person recovers. But there are more difficult situations leading to death.
Another type of round worm is Toxocara. They are found in the dog's body. In appearance, they look like roundworm, but the 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 the internal organs, allergic reactions and other malfunctions in the body.
It should be noted that the larvae, having entered the human body, are not able to develop to the state of sexually mature individuals, this is possible only in the body of dogs.
Symptoms of roundworm infestation will 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
Tape-type worms 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 to sexually mature individuals, the worms must change the 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
Reaches about 10-15 m in length. It chooses the small intestine as its habitat.
It is able to provoke the development of diphyllobothriasis. A tapeworm species enters the body if a person has eaten incompletely cooked freshwater fish, in which there was an invasion by parasite larvae.
Infection is accompanied by severe pain in the abdomen, indigestion, anemia. This type of worm, like many other cestodes, looks really awesome.
Bull tapeworm
In length, this type of tapeworm can even 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. 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 parasite larvae. The worm settles in the area of the small intestine, which strikes at all organs of the human body.
Pork tapeworm
This type of parasite enters the human body through infected pork. Worms can be 8 m long.
They settle, as a rule, in the area of the intestine, where they conduct their parasitic activity.
Teniasis causes a severe malfunction of the stomach, accompanied by allergic reactions and nervous dysfunctions.
Another dangerous type of tapeworm is called echinococcus. 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 in full, provoking the development of echinococcosis.
The eggs of the parasite reach the larval stage. Subsequently, they grow into the tissue membrane of the organs, giving rise to 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 they experience the process of their development in meat.
Trematodes, they are flukes. 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 out blood and useful elements. Such worms can be even 1. 5 m in size. At first glance, they resemble a leaf of a plant.
The main source of flukes in the human body will again be undercooked, undercooked fish or seafood.
During their developmental stages, these parasites change hosts. The main varieties of flukes include the following subspecies:
- liver fluke;
- fluke.
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 able to infect the skin and soft tissues of a person. They provoke dracunculiasis.
In length, they can reach 120 cm. Rishta strikes at the subcutaneous tissue or muscle tissue.
Infection occurs during the consumption of untreated water. Infection can occur during bathing, because the parasites enter the intestines through the liquid, and then into 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 begins to corrode under the influence of this. At the site of damage there will be an ulcer, which the parasite uses to remove its larvae.
This phenomenon is accompanied by severe itching. Very often such phenomena are recorded in the tropics. As intermediate hosts, guinea worms choose freshwater crustaceans, i. e. cyclops.
Upon contact with water, a person can be introduced into the skin and intestinal acne. The method of infection with them is percutaneous.
Parasites cause defects to the skin and penetrate into the blood. Risk factors will be cases of walking barefoot on the ground, working with soil, swimming in ponds with dirty water.
Diagnostic measures of helminthiasis and treatment
If there is a suspicion of helminthic invasion in humans, the doctor recommends taking blood and fecal tests.
In the case of a general blood test, changes in the indicators of the leukocyte formula will shift to the right. The number of eosinophils will be pronounced.
Urine, sputum and the contents of the stomach, duodenum also play an important role. It is for this reason that the doctor may prescribe scrapings in the anal area and rectum.
After determining the type of worms in the human body, a specialist should choose the right course of treatment with medications, along with this, effective recipes of traditional medicine can be used.
Of course, it is worthwhile to understand that in order to avoid re-infection, it is necessary to adhere to preventive measures.
For successful treatment of the infected, 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 worms.
Folk remedies are time-tested, and many people believe that they are better than anthelmintic drugs offered by pharmacological organizations.
Their 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 popular traditional medicine recipes.
It is important to take into account the special type of worms, their localization, the characteristics of your body. If you make a mistake in the chosen course of treatment, the infection situation can become even more disastrous.
Expert advice
- Treatment with folk remedies should begin with diet therapy. It is better not to eat meat, fish for a week, i. e. stick to a vegetarian diet. This will entail a weakening of the forces of parasites, and therefore it will be a little easier to deal with worms. It is only important to consider that fasting in this case will not be a successful idea. The lack of food intake into the body will not affect the strength of 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 detection of infection and the course of therapeutic treatment is of great importance. In this case, the recovery time will be reduced to a minimum.