Almost all of us have faced the manifestations of helminthiasis. These parasites have coexisted with humans for so long that Hippocrates himself mentioned them in his writings. According to WHO statistics, currently more than five billion people on Earth are affected by helminthiasis of various types.
The pharmaceutical industry regularly produces modern products designed to neutralize parasites in the human body; folk remedies for helminthiasis, which complement traditional treatment, have also not lost their importance.
About helminths
About 250 types of parasites live in human tissues and organs. They are all divided into two classes:
- flatworms (nematodes);
- roundworms (cestodes and trematodes).
Their size ranges from a few millimeters to 10-12 m. Parasites become sexually mature very quickly, after which they acquire the ability to lay ten to one hundred thousand eggs per day.
These eggs remain viable for a long time, even if the conditions in which they are found are not the most favorable. Types of organisms affected by parasites, according to their stage of development:
- final host in which helminths can develop to sexual maturity;
- intermediate hosts, where helminths live until one of the stages of their development.
In the body of the final host, the parasite can many times complete its full development cycle and live in it for several decades. For different types of parasites, humans can be either definitive or intermediate hosts, just as shellfish, fish and carnivores can be. According to the type of biological cycle, cases of parasite infection are divided into:
- biohelminthiasis - the development of helminths takes place in organisms of different species;
- geohelminthiasis - helminth eggs spend part of their development cycle in the soil, without intermediate hosts.
How does parasite infection occur?
The ways in which helminths enter the human body are very diverse, depending on social characteristics, natural and climatic factors, and preferences for food. Main methods of helminth infection:
- Through dirty hands, contaminated water, poorly processed food.
- When inhaling dust particles containing worm eggs.
- Through the skin.
- After a mosquito bite as an intermediate host (Wuchereria bancrofti).
- When you eat contaminated seafood, meat, fish (trematodes).
The eating habits of some peoples in the north suggest the use of lightly salted and raw fish. In this population, the prevalence of trichinosis and echinococcosis is high.
Which organs are affected by helminthosis?
Helminth damage can be localized in many organs and tissues. The localization of the helminth depends on the stage of its development, so the same type of worm in different stages of its existence can parasitize in different parts of the intestine. Organs affected by helminthosis:
- Large intestine - roundworms, pinworms.
- Duodenum - Strongyloides stercoralis.
- Lymph vessels.
- Lungs – Paragonimidae.
- Subcutaneous tissue - Larva migrans.
- Helminths parasitize in the hollow organs and tissues of the human body.
Depending on the location of the parasite, helminths are divided into types:
- tissues (echinococcosis, cysticercosis);
- luminal (taeniasis, enterobiasis, ascariasis).
Some helminths in the larval stage transform the tissues of the human body, forming capsules or granules around themselves (Trichinella, Toxocara). There is a type of helminths that migrate in the larval stage and under the skin of a person and in the tissues of his organs (larval helminths).
Their temporary residence in the human body has both a visceral and a cutaneous form; for them, humans are intermediate hosts.
Clinical manifestations of helminthiasis
Like many other infections, helminthiasis goes through two stages of development: acute and chronic. Their duration:
- acute phase - from 2-3 weeks to several months;
- chronic phase - from 2-3 months to several years.
Despite the diversity of helminth species and their localization, symptoms of the acute phase have common manifestations - they are symptoms of allergies and toxic effects on the human body:
- slight rise in temperature
- muscle pain,
- skin rash,
- swelling of limbs,
- enlarged lymph nodes,
- dyspepsia,
- enlargement of the spleen and liver,
- damage to the central nervous system.
A laboratory blood test indicates a change in its formula - eosinophilia and a significant increase in the number of leukocytes are diagnosed. The transition of helminthosis to the chronic stage is marked by symptoms depending on which organ is affected by the parasites, the degree of development of the worms, their number and variety. In the chronic phase of helminthiasis, the following symptoms are diagnosed:
- dyspepsia and pain in the intestines,
- bowel obstruction,
- colitis in hemorrhagic form,
- anemia,
- avitaminosis,
- sudden weight loss,
- obstructive jaundice, hepatitis (with liver damage),
- loss of some functions of the central nervous system (when the parasites are localized in the brain),
- inflammatory diseases of the pelvic organs (with the migration of pinworms into the vagina),
- stomach and intestinal ulcer (with chronic strongyloidiasis),
- damage to muscle tissue, formation of granulomas in brain capillaries (in severe trichinosis),
- damage to the lymphatic system (due to nematode infection).
In helminthiasis caused by echinococcus, not only liver cysts occur, but also bone tissue can be damaged by parasites. This makes the bones brittle and creates an additional risk of bone fractures. Damage to the human body by the larvae of Dirofilaria repens occurs in the form of the formation of a subcutaneous nodule containing the parasites. This node is capable of moving through the thickness of the skin and mucous membrane.
By analyzing the symptoms of helminthiasis, one can be convinced that there is no stable clinical picture of this disease or clear specific signs.
Diagnosis of parasite infestation
If the correct diagnosis is not made in time, you may miss the time when treatment could be most effective.
The transition of helminthiasis from an acute phase to a chronic form often hides the true cause of the disease.
Parasite infection can be mistaken for symptoms of completely different diseases. It is extremely important not to self-medicate, but to seek medical help from an infectious disease specialist or parasitologist. His arsenal includes many modern methods for diagnosing parasitic infestations:
- laboratory examination of feces, bile, sputum, blood, urine, scraping of rectal and anal mucus, duodenal contents to detect parasites, their eggs and larvae;
- Ultrasound, radiography;
- endoscopy, endobiopsy.
The most effective method is considered to be a serological test - a method of analyzing blood serum for the presence of antigens for infection with certain types of helminths.
This test can detect the presence of parasites even in the early stages of infection.
Treatment of parasitic infection with traditional methods
Based on the diagnostic results, the doctor prescribes anthelmintic therapy and the time of the control study after the treatment.
All recommendations of experts should be carefully followed to avoid complications.
It goes without saying that you should follow hygienic preventive measures that will prevent parasites from infecting family members and secondary infections.
Supporters of the use of traditional prescriptions must remember that the use of these drugs is an auxiliary method that does not replace drug treatment.
Like drugs, traditional medicine has contraindications and side effects. That's why it's worth discussing this method with your doctor before using them. Home Remedies:
- Consume peeled pumpkin seeds for 2 weeks, keeping the thin green skin on the seeds.
- Decoction of peel removed from one pomegranate in 3/4 tbsp. boiling water. The medicine is drunk on an empty stomach, it must be done an hour and a half before, dividing the decoction into three doses. After a few hours, be sure to stimulate the stool with any laxative.
- An enema with freshly squeezed carrot juice (40 ml) should be done daily for 7 days.
- Regular consumption of garlic and preparations containing it.
- Inserting a whole clove of garlic into the rectum (against enterobiasis).
- Take freshly prepared garlic juice (10-15 ml) with warm milk (1 glass), drink the mixture on an empty stomach, repeat intake 1-2 times during the day.
- Infusion of 50 g of a mixture of garlic and grated horseradish root in half a liter of vodka. The mixture is infused for 1. 5 weeks, filtered. Mandatory dose - 1 tbsp. l. Before each meal, the infusion must be washed off. Effective in giardiasis.
- An enema with mashed garlic, taken just before bed, is effective against pinworms and tapeworms. Enema solution: mix 1 teaspoon in a glass of water. finely chopped garlic. Carry out regularly throughout the week.
- Decoction of 2 cloves of garlic, 2 tablespoons. milk, 1 spoon. l. dried tansy flowers are given as an enema. The enema mixture should be boiled for about 10 minutes. Carry out 7 times, the effect of the treatment can be consolidated by repeating the course after a ten-day break.
Herbs and Fees:
- 1 tsp. of dried wormwood, pour 400 ml (2 tablespoons) of boiling water, strain and cool, take an infusion of 1-2 tablespoons. l. three times a day before each meal. Effective against ascariasis and enterobiasis.
- Pour tansy (1 tablespoon of dried flowers) and 0. 5 liters of boiling water for 3 hours and give as an enema in the rectum before going to bed. The product is contraindicated for pregnant women and children.
- Infusion of 4 tablespoons for half an hour. l. unripe walnuts and a glass of salted boiling water, strain and take at the same time as a laxative. Effective against tapeworm, ascariasis, enterobiasis.
- 1 tbsp. l. Pour 200 ml of boiling water over the tansy flowers and filter the infusion after an hour. The frequency of admission is standard - Art. l. 20 minutes before eating. So, you need to be treated for 2-3 days, finish taking the infusion with a laxative.
- A decoction of 1 kg of sorrel and 1 liter of boiling water is boiled for 2 hours (it is better to do it in a water bath), filtered and a couple of spoons of sugar should be added to it. The volume of the final product is 1 glass of decoction, drink 1-2 sips a day before meals.
Helminthiasis are complex infections with a multi-component clinical picture. They can cause serious complications and cause irreversible damage to human health.
It is unacceptable to self-medicate when you are infected with parasites. Traditional prescriptions should be used with great caution, only as an adjunct to drug therapy.