Helminths - Causes And Symptoms Of Helminth Infection

2024 Author: Josephine Shorter | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 21:43

Helminths

Helminthiasis occurs in people all over the world. The prevalence of a particular parasitic invasion depends on the specific category of the population. So, children are most often infected with pinworms, fishermen with diphyllobothriasis, hunters with trichinosis. Meanwhile, helminthiases contribute to the development of dangerous diseases that were not previously associated with parasites. Recent studies allow arguing that there is a clear relationship between cancer and the presence of helminths in the body.

The danger of helminthiasis comes down to the fact that they most often have a latent course. Parasites can exist in the human body for years and not give themselves out. At this time, the patient himself will be unsuccessfully treated for diseases of the digestive tract, liver, gallbladder, etc. Therefore, it is so important to know the signs and symptoms indicating the presence of helminths in the human body.

Content:

• What are helminths?
• Causes of helminths
• How does helminth infection occur?
• Where can helminths parasitize?
• Common symptoms of helminths in humans
• Symptoms of helminths, depending on their type
• Test to determine possible helminthiasis
• Treatment of helminths
• How to get rid of helminths?

What are helminths?

Helminths, colloquially called worms, are parasitic worms that inhabit the organisms of humans, animals or plants. Infection with parasites is called "helminthiasis" and is extremely common: every year millions of people around the world are infected with helminths. The most common types of helminthiasis are ascariasis, hookworm and trichocephalosis.

Tapeworms, flatworms and roundworms are considered helminths. A person can be a carrier of four hundred species of parasites such as nematodes, worms, flat and annelid worms. Each of these groups has several classes that parasitize the human body. For example, trematodes cause trematodosis, tapeworms (cestodes) cause cestodes, scrapers cause acanthocephalosis, and nematodes cause nematodes.

The peculiarities of the life cycle of helminths most often do not allow them to multiply in the human body (with the exception of pinworms and some other worms).

Helminths can be localized in the intestinal lumen and the intestine itself (ascariasis, trichocephalosis, teniarinchiasis, strongyloidosis), in the organs of the hepatobiliary system (liver, gallbladder, biliary tract), lungs (paragonimiasis, tominxosis) and in other tissues.

In addition to mechanical damage, worms harm the body by the products of their metabolism and decay.

Helminthiasis can occur in two stages: early (acute) and late (chronic). At an early stage, the main harm is caused by the toxic-allergenic effect of enzymes and metabolic products of helminth larvae. As a result of helminthic invasion, an inflammatory reaction occurs. The course of the chronic stage of helminthiasis depends on the type of parasite.

Helminthiasis is a dangerous disease, because it aggravates the course of diseases that a person already has, inhibits the body's defenses, and has a detrimental effect on the nervous system, development and working capacity of a person. Also, parasites reduce the effectiveness of vaccines and increase the number of pathogenic microorganisms in the human intestine.

The most dangerous is the damage to the central nervous system, heart and eyes by helminths.

Causes of helminths

In short, helminth infection occurs mainly through water and food. Some parasites (schistosomes, hookworms) can enter the human body through the skin. Much less often, parasites can be transmitted by transmission or by airborne droplets (when a person swallows helminth eggs along with dust and air). But most of the infection occurs due to the consumption of unwashed food, drinking dirty water and non-observance of basic hygiene rules.

The carriers of parasites and their sources are those organisms in which helminths grow and lay eggs. It can be both a person and an animal. A person is able to be not only the final, but also the intermediate host of worms.

How does helminth infection occur?

If you talk in detail about the causes of infection, then helminth eggs can enter the human body in the following ways:

• Contact helminthiases are those infestations that are transmitted from one person to another. Contact helminthiases are the most common, for example, this group includes a disease such as enterobiasis (pinworm infection).

• Geohelminthiases are those invasions that are transmitted through soil (through water), which contains mature eggs of parasites. They get there with the feces of animals or humans. The transfer of invasive eggs to food by insects (flies, cockroaches, etc.) is possible, infection by direct contact with a sick animal is not excluded.
• Biohelminthiases are those invasions that a person becomes infected with when eating meat of animals and fish that has not undergone proper heat treatment. The danger is shish kebab, sushi, meat, dried fish, bacon, etc.
• Some helminths are able to enter the human body with insect bites.

The leading mechanism of infection is fecal-oral, in which a person puts the eggs of helminths into his mouth in one way or another. This most often occurs during meals or drinking.

Infection with helminths through the soil. Almost any contact with the soil is dangerous in terms of infection with parasites, therefore, after working with the soil, it is necessary not only to wash your hands with soap, but to thoroughly process your nails. It is important to monitor the length of the nails in children and cut them off in time.

All products that grow in the ground and which a person eats raw should be washed under running water and scalded with boiling water. This applies to vegetables, fruits and herbs.

Pets that walk on the street are capable of carrying a huge amount of dirt, including parasites. Therefore, contact between children and pets always carries the threat of infection. Moreover, cats and dogs can be carriers of almost all types of helminths.

Among the insects that spread the infection, flies are recognized as the most dangerous. They are frequent inhabitants of toilets, cattle pens, after which they can completely freely crawl on food, carrying helminth eggs on their legs and wings.

Infection with helminths from a sick person. When female pinworms mature in the child's body, they crawl out onto the skin of the anal folds in order to lay eggs. One individual leaves about 5000 eggs near the anus. The process of laying them provokes severe itching, as a result of which the child begins to comb the problem area. The eggs are spread on underwear, bedding, and the arms of a child. Then he touches toys, doorknobs, furniture and other household items with these hands. Other children and adults also touch them. The eggs of the helminths are attached to their hands, after which they are brought into the mouth during a meal. The risk of infection increases many times over if you neglect the rules of hygiene and do not wash your hands before eating, after using the toilet and public places. This is the mechanism of transmission of helminths from person to person.

Infection with helminths through water. The waterway of the spread of helminths is also an urgent problem. A huge number of eggs end up in open water bodies, wells, springs, etc. Therefore, it is so important to use filters with a bactericidal effect, especially for those people who live in rural areas. Always boil it before drinking. Parents need to make sure that children do not swallow water while swimming in lakes and rivers. Moreover, you should not drink water from open sources, even from springs.

Children are more susceptible to helminthiasis. This is due to certain reasons. Firstly, it is easier for helminths to get along in a child's body, since its defenses are not yet fully formed, and the acidity of gastric juice is low compared to the acidity of an adult's gastric juice. Secondly, the child learns independently by about 5-6 years to observe hygiene rules. Until that time, he “tastes” the whole world around him. Therefore, the risk of invasion not only of the child, but also of all members of his family remains, at least until the baby enters school.

No helminths are capable of infinitely multiplying and existing in the human body. All of them have a certain life span and after a while they simply die. For example, roundworms live no more than a year, and pinworms no more than 2 months. In order for a person to become infected again, it is necessary to re-enter the eggs into the digestive tract. Only in this way can the life cycle of helminths continue.

If you exclude the possibility of re-infection, that is, reduce the likelihood of swallowing invasive helminth eggs to zero, you can get rid of them without any treatment. But for this it is necessary to observe strict hygiene rules. Thus, pinworms can be removed from the body in 3-4 weeks. However, children of preschool and primary school age will definitely not be able to adhere to all recommendations.

Where can helminths parasitize?

Distinguish between tissue and luminal helminths, which depends on the place of their existence in the human body.

Luminal helminths live mainly in the intestinal cavity. There are about 100 species of parasites that are known to inhabit various parts of this digestive organ. These include roundworms, broad tapeworm, hookworms - they all parasitize in the small intestine. The "guest" of the large intestine is the whipworm. The lower third of the small intestine is inhabited by pinworms and dwarf tapeworm.

Tissue helminths parasitize inside human organs and tissues. They are found in muscles, in the brain (cysticercosis), in the lungs (paragonimiasis), in the liver (echinococcosis). Parasites such as filariae can infect the lymphatic tract.

There are also helminths, which can be simultaneously attributed to both tissue and luminal. For example, roundworms in the larval stage can get into almost any organ with blood flow, but the worm becomes sexually mature only in the intestinal cavity.

Common symptoms of helminths in humans

Signs of helminths in the human body can be very diverse. The most striking of them are: weight loss, pale skin, itching in the anus, asthenic syndrome. However, these symptoms will be fully expressed with massive helminth infestation. To suspect the presence of parasites in the body, you can focus on some other signs that indirectly indicate helminthiasis. Moreover, the patient often perceives them as symptoms of another disease, from which he begins to be treated ineffectually.

Symptoms of the acute stage of helminth infection. Typically, symptoms of helminth infection appear two to four weeks after infection. Helminthiasis is characterized by an increase in temperature, the appearance of a rash on the skin, inflammation of the mucous membrane of the eyes (conjunctivitis), and swelling of the face. Also, a symptom of helminthic invasion can be diseases of the upper respiratory tract. In particular, children are often diagnosed with sore throat, enlarged lymph nodes (lymphadenopathy), pneumonia, pleurisy, bronchitis and bronchospasm. Parasites can harm all tissues of the body, affecting the heart (myocarditis), liver (hepatitis), diseases of the central nervous system (meningoencephalitis, thrombosis of cerebral vessels).

Symptoms of the acute stage of helminthic invasion can appear from 7 days to 4 months, and if the patient has not been provided with effective assistance, the disease flows into the chronic stage, the clinical manifestations of which depend on the type of pathogen of helminthiasis. The patient may have allergy symptoms, which, with certain helminthiases (their larval forms), can even cause anaphylactic shock. The rest of the symptoms depend on where the helminths are located, what size they are and what their number is.

For example, helminthic intestinal damage is expressed by digestive disorders, pain in the lower abdomen; with damage to the biliary system, pain appears in the upper abdomen, in the side. In addition, weakness, decreased ability to work, increased fatigue, and anemia are common symptoms.

The most dangerous forms of helminthiasis are damage to the eyes, kidneys, heart, lungs or brain.

Disruptions in the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract. If a person has intestinal parasitic invasion, then the intestines will be the first to signal the presence of a helminth in the body. Symptoms are reduced to the occurrence of diarrhea, which is replaced by prolonged constipation, vomiting and abdominal pain may occur. The place of pain localization is the umbilical region and the right hypochondrium. In addition, the person suffers from excess gas production.

Symptoms like these can be pronounced or not too intense. It depends primarily on how many helminths parasitize in the intestines. Some of them are capable of producing hormone-like substances that provoke diarrhea. If large worms parasitize in the intestines, then in large numbers they can cause intestinal obstruction.

Neurological symptoms. The more helminths in the body, the more toxic substances they release. These waste products of parasites primarily negatively affect the functioning of the nervous system.

A person begins to suffer from frequent headaches, he has dizziness, nausea. People often confuse these symptoms with migraines and take painkillers to relieve unwanted symptoms of the disease.

In parallel, there may be joint pains, muscle pains. Some patients note an increase in body temperature up to 38 ° C and above.

Depression of the nervous system and a lack of vitamins contribute to the patient's rapid fatigue, the development of chronic fatigue syndrome. A person is constantly feeling weak, he has problems sleeping, and in the daytime he becomes more irritable. Children often cry out at night, complain of nightmares. All this leads to decreased academic performance and developmental delays.

Allergic reactions, manifestations of the skin. Human skin suffers from the vital activity of helminths. Allergic reactions are almost always accompanied by helminthiasis. At the same time, even some of its own proteins, the immune system perceives as waste products of worms and attacks them. Skin rashes are the result of the release of histamine by mast cells and the accumulation of plasma, which slightly lifts the skin.

Allergic reactions can proceed as urticaria, allergic rhinitis or bronchitis, possibly the development of bronchial asthma. In addition, the patient's nails and hair condition worsens, cracks appear on the heels, the skin of the feet and palms begins to peel off.

Deterioration of the immune system. Helminthiases always negatively affect the state of the immune system. In humans, existing chronic diseases are exacerbated, the development of inflammatory processes in various organs is possible. The nasopharynx, the reproductive system suffers. Stomatitis, sinusitis, vulvovaginitis, etc. are often observed.

Some scientists believe that teeth grinding at night is a sign of helminthiasis.

Symptoms of helminths, depending on their type

Different types of worms will provoke different symptoms. In addition, they depend on the massiveness of the invasion and on the place of parasitism of the worm in the body. With ascariasis, the first signs of the disease may appear as early as 2 days after infection. However, most of the helminths make themselves felt 14-21 days after the invasion. Although the incubation period can be much longer. For example, with filariasis, it ranges from six months or more.

Very often there is a complete absence of any symptomatology of the disease, especially if one helminth parasitizes the body. Signs of invasion can appear only when the parasite reaches enormous size, for example, as in the case of infection with a wide tapeworm.

Symptoms of enterobiasis (pinworms). A specific sign of the presence of pinworms in the intestines is pronounced anal itching, which tends to intensify at night. Itching occurs at intervals of 1-2 weeks, provided that a small number of helminths parasitize in the intestines. In the event that the invasion is massive, itching will bother on an ongoing basis.

Symptoms of ascariasis (roundworm). The symptoms of ascariasis depend on the phase of development of the helminths. During migration through the systemic circulation, the larvae enter the lungs and other organs. This is expressed in a slight increase in body temperature, in increased weakness, in the appearance of a cough with phlegm. An X-ray of the lungs taken at this time allows visualization of volatile infiltrates, which either disappear or appear in other places.

If the invasion is massive, then the development of pneumonia and even ascariasis is not excluded. At the same time, a person develops allergic reactions, a jump of eosinophils in the blood is observed.

When the ascaris larvae reach the intestines and begin to grow and multiply, the patient's functional disorders of the digestive system come to the fore. A person loses weight, as roundworms produce substances that block enzymes such as pepsin and trypsin. They, in turn, are responsible for the absorption of proteins.

Ascariasis is dangerous with complications, including: pancreatitis, jaundice, appendicitis, the development of intestinal obstruction.

Symptoms of trichocephalosis, ankylostomiasis, schistosomiasis and diphyllobothriasis. These helminthiases contribute to the development of vitamin deficiency and anemia. Worms produce toxins that have a negative effect on the normal intestinal microflora. Thus, it creates favorable conditions for the reproduction of pathogenic flora.

Trichinosis symptoms. Helminthiasis is manifested by myalgia, fever, swelling of the eyelids and face.

Symptoms of fascioliasis, clonorchiasis and opisthorchiasis. These are hepatic helminthiases, which provoke characteristic symptoms. The patient's spleen and liver increase in size, there are signs of pancreatic insufficiency. Neurological disorders are no less clearly manifested, the development of cholecystitis and cholangitis is possible.

Strongyloidosis symptoms. The symptoms of this type of helminthiasis are varied. The patient develops dyspeptic disorders, allergization of the whole organism occurs, the liver, spleen and gallbladder are disrupted.

Symptoms of genitourinary schistosomiasis. A person with genitourinary schistosomiasis primarily suffers from dysuric disorders. Blood impurities appear in the urine.

Test to determine possible helminthiasis

The test to determine the possible helminthiasis involves counting positive answers to the questions presented. By their number, conclusions can be drawn regarding the risk of the presence of helminths in the body.

• Itching in the anus bothers you periodically or constantly.
• The head often hurts, dizziness occurs.
• Rashes appear on the skin.
• Nausea is common and may result in vomiting.
• Disturbed by bloating, unstable stools (constipation is replaced by diarrhea).
• The quality of night sleep has deteriorated. Worried about insomnia, screaming in a dream.
• The lower limbs often swell.
• The lymph nodes are enlarged.
• Allergic reactions occur (bronchial asthma, urticaria, cough and allergic rhinitis).
• Periodically, there are abdominal pains that go away on their own.
• A bitter taste appears in the mouth.
• Persecuted by chronic fatigue and fatigue.
• There are preschool children in the house. Work in a preschool educational institution.
• The skin and mucous membranes have a yellow tint.
• The body temperature rises periodically for no apparent reason.
• Sometimes joints and muscles hurt.
• Grinding teeth or snoring is heard during sleep.
• The diet includes such products as: sushi, dried fish, lard with inclusions of meat.
• Weight is decreasing. Appetite is increased or decreased.
• Fruits and vegetables that a person eats may not be washed or scalded with boiling water.

If there are more than seven positive answers, then there is a risk of the presence of helminths in the body. If there are more than 15 positive answers, then the probability of helminthiasis is very high and it is necessary to seek the advice of a specialist.

Treatment of helminths

Treatment for helminths is called deworming. It can be medication or surgical (some helminths can only be removed by surgery). Alternative methods of treating helminthic invasion are also popular. In addition, you should also take care of personal hygiene and follow the rules of food preparation. It is very important to take measures to stimulate immunity, because during helminthiasis it is depressed.

How to get rid of helminths?

To rid the human body of helminths, you will need to take antiparasitic drugs. They are active against various types of worms, so a doctor should prescribe them. In addition, there are drugs with a wide spectrum of action, but this does not mean that they can be used alone. In Russia, about 70 species of helminths parasitize, including: trematodes, nematodes and cestodes. It is only a doctor who can determine which parasite lives in the human body on the basis of laboratory tests (feces analysis, scraping for enterobiasis, blood test for giardiasis, etc.).

Currently, parasitologists in their arsenal have about 10 different drugs that can treat patients with helminthiases. The dosage and course of treatment is selected in each case individually and depends on the age of the patient, on the type of helminths, on the presence of concomitant diseases, etc.

It is possible to use drugs such as:

• Pirantel (Kombantrin, Nemocid, Helmintox).
• Nemozole, Vormil based on Albendazole.
• Piperazine.
• Decaris (Levamisole).
• Pirvinium, Vanquin, Pircon (Pirvinium embonate).
• Vermox, Vermacar, Wormin, Mebex, Vero-Mebendazole with the main active ingredient Mebendazole.
• Medamin (Carbendacim).

Since some drugs are not able to destroy the larvae of helminths, but only act on adults, the risk of re-self-infection remains. To minimize it, it is necessary to undergo a second course of treatment after 14-21 days.

Author of the article: Danilova Tatyana Vyacheslavovna | Infectionist

Education: in 2008 received a diploma in General Medicine (General Medicine) at the Pirogov Russian Research Medical University. Immediately passed an internship and received a diploma of a therapist