Prevention of parasites
Parasitic diseases are very widespread among humans. At least once in a lifetime, every person has come across one or another type of parasite. According to the World Health Organization, more than 4.5 billion people are affected by parasitic infestations in the world, and each year this figure increases by 100 million. It is difficult to fight them, but it is not difficult to become infected with parasites.
If we turn to the roots of the word "parasite", then translated from Greek it means "parasite" or "parasite", which fully reflects the essence of these organisms.
The damage that parasites can inflict on their host varies widely:
- Mechanical damage to organs (for example, intestines or glandular ducts).
- Blocked lymphatic vessels.
- Embolism of blood vessels with their subsequent rupture, the formation of hemorrhages.
- Embolism of life-supporting arteries by the parasites themselves or by their larvae, which can even lead to the death of a person.
- Eating of host tissues by parasites (for example, the causative agent of amoebic dysentery feeds on cells of human mucous membranes).
- Disruption of the normal life of the body, with disruptions in the digestive system and metabolic processes, with a deficiency of various vitamin and mineral substances, etc.
- Parasites poison the human body, contributing to the development of toxic-allergic reactions.
This is not a complete list of what damage parasites can inflict on their host's body. It will vary depending on the type of pathogen, on how long ago the infection occurred, on the number of parasites, on their aggressiveness, on the site of invasion, on the method of reproduction, etc.
Content:
- Types of worms
- Ways of infection with parasites
- Prevention measures for parasitic infestation
Types of worms
There are many parasites that can harm the human body. The most famous of these are the worms, which predominantly inhabit the intestines.
However, there are other types of harmful parasitic creatures that can significantly reduce the quality of human life, among them:
- Worms (pinworms, roundworms, whipworm, rat tapeworm, etc.).
- Protozoa parasites (intestinal Trichomonas, lamblia, chlamydia, toxoplasma, amoeba, lichen pathogens, etc.).
- Ectoparasites, which include lice (head, pubic, clothing), bedbugs, scabies mites, mites of the genus "Demodex", blowfly larvae.
- Other parasites: gadfly larvae, parasites from the group of entomoses, sand flea larvae, etc.
All of them cause various disorders in the human body, which is why it is so important to prevent parasitic infection.
Read more: types of parasites in the human body
Ways of infection with parasites
To prevent parasitic infestation, you need to know how parasites enter the human body:
- Through the digestive tract. Most often, the seeded parasite larvae are poorly washed vegetables, fruits, thermally unprocessed meat or fish, etc. It is dangerous if sanitary and hygienic rules are not observed among catering workers, among sellers and among the population itself. Animals are often the source of infection. It has been established that 1 g of cat feces can contain up to 20 million Toxoplasmas, and 1 loaf of bread from a street tent will simultaneously contain several types of helminths.
- Through the respiratory tract, after inhalation of eggs or cysts of parasites.
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Through the skin and mucous membranes. For example, the larvae of schistosomes pierce the human skin while swimming in fresh water bodies.
- Through insect bites (mosquitoes, flies, gadflies, etc.).
- From one person to another in a household contact, for example, when it comes to scabies, enterobiasis, intestinal toxoplasmosis, etc.
- Intrauterine route from mother to child during pregnancy.
Some parasitic diseases are symptomatic, while others do not manifest themselves. Often people are unsuccessfully treated for allergies for a long time, and it goes away after a course of anthelmintic drugs. Therefore, it is very important to comply with preventive measures aimed at preventing the disease.
Prevention measures for parasitic infestation
Prevention of parasites is the observance of a set of measures aimed at preventing their penetration into the body. It is possible that some recommendations, such as regular hand washing, may seem trivial. Nevertheless, it is the non-observance of the rules of personal hygiene that most often leads to the development of parasitic diseases.
Food and water processing:
- For disinfection of vegetables, fruits, greens from helminths, it is necessary to pre-soak in water for a period of 20 to 30 minutes, followed by rinsing the products under running water for 5 minutes.
- All greens must be thoroughly cleaned of soil, disassembled into leaves, feathers and stems. You can wash the herbs in a soapy solution followed by rinsing in running water.
- As for berries with a lobular or rough structure (strawberries, raspberries, strawberries), they should be washed in a soda solution of 1.0% concentration, and then rinsed with clean water.
- An additional method for disinfecting vegetables is their processing with a weak iodine solution (0.2%).
- There are specialized devices for purification and disinfection of drinking water from parasites at water treatment plants. It is assumed that the water supply to the houses must be clean. However, if there are doubts about its quality, then the most reliable method of water disinfection is boiling.
- Thorough heat treatment of meat and fish. So, parts of the carcasses of cattle or pork carcasses should be divided into small pieces, no more than 8 cm thick and boiled for 2.5-3 hours. The fish should be cooked for at least 20 minutes if we are talking about chopped carcasses, and at least 30-40 minutes if the fish is boiled whole.
- To rid the fish of tapeworm larvae (some varieties of fish are infected with them in 80-100% of cases), you can thoroughly freeze it at a temperature of at least -12 ° C. For river fish (ruff, pike, burbot, perch, etc.), the freezing time is at least 72 hours. For salmon, grayling, peled, omul, char, the freezing time should be at least 60 hours. To disinfect chum salmon, pink salmon, taimen and other large sea fish, it must be kept at a temperature of -15 ° C for at least 50 hours.
- To destroy the larvae of opisthorchids and other trematodes, the fish must be kept at a temperature of minus 28 ° C for at least 32 hours. Helps in the fight against certain parasites by salting fish. The same goes for caviar.
- All food purchases must be made at authorized retail locations. Only there the sellers have all the necessary quality certificates (he is obliged to provide them at the first request of the buyer), and this is the only way to reduce the risks of acquiring contaminated products.
- You should not eat raw dairy products as they can contain dangerous parasites and bacteria.
- Do not drink water from open sources. It is highly undesirable to consume drinks sold on the street for bottling.
Compliance with the rules of personal hygiene:
- It is important from childhood to teach children to wash their hands after a walk, after going to the toilet, after contact with animals, before each meal. Naturally, adults should not forget about hand washing.
- If there is no opportunity to wash your hands after visiting public places, then you can use special antiseptic and antibacterial gels and formulations. They allow you to eliminate parasites on your hands with a probability of up to 98 - 100%. However, one should not get too carried away with such means and use them very often, so as not to disturb one's own microflora.
- It is important to maintain cleanliness in the house, carry out daily wet cleaning with washing floors and disposing of household items from dust accumulation. It is good to use not a broom, but a vacuum cleaner for processing carpets and upholstered furniture.
- All toys of the child must be kept clean. So, soft toys are processed with a vacuum cleaner, or washed in a washing machine at high temperatures. Other toys made of plastic, wood, metal, rubber, etc. should be washed in a bowl of soapy water. The procedure for processing objects with which the child interacts must be carried out at least once every 30 days.
- Children should be weaned from the bad habit of biting their nails, licking their fingers, taking any foreign objects into their mouths. Statistics indicate that the habit of biting nails is present in 25% of young people and 45% of adolescents. Therefore, this problem is relevant not only for children.
- Children should trim their fingernails short so that dirt does not accumulate underneath. Women with a manicure need to carefully monitor the cleanliness of their nails.
- It is strongly recommended to iron children's underwear, regardless of whether there was a parasitic infection or not.
Prevention of transmission of parasites from pets to humans:
- All pets must undergo deworming with special drugs. These can be purchased at veterinary stores. The course should be repeated once every 3 months.
- It is important not to let the animal on the bed, on the table, in those places where dishes and food are stored.
- After cleaning the pet's pet toilet (which should always be kept clean), hands should be thoroughly washed using soap.
- The pet's bowl should be in a place strictly designated for this purpose. It is important to monitor the cleanliness of the dishes from which the animal feeds.
General recommendations:
- The house should be free of insects (flies, mosquitoes, bedbugs, etc.), as they are often carriers of parasites. In nature, use repellents as much as possible.
- During rest, you need to swim exclusively in the places designated for this purpose. This rule is especially true for tropical countries.
- It is undesirable to walk barefoot on the beach, do not lie on the sand or on the ground without using a mat.
- Avoid contact with street animals, as this can lead to infection.
- Do not contact people who have signs of a parasitic infection (for example, scabies).
- Do not use other people's accessories for personal hygiene.
- It is important to keep the body's immune system normal, since it is she who is responsible for the health of a person as a whole.
Although the prevention of parasites includes a rather impressive list of recommendations, almost all of them are known to everyone from childhood. It is not at all difficult to carry out them, it will be much more difficult to get rid of parasites in the body if the infection does occur.
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
