There are 4.5 billion registered people suffering from parasitic infections (infestations) in the world.Moreover, the number of people infected with helminths (worms) is constantly increasing.
Causes of helminthiasis infection
It is not difficult to get worms into your body.Here are just a few causes of infection that are known to everyone from childhood:
- Insufficient hygiene.The desire to eat unwashed fruits and vegetables, not to wear gloves while working in the garden and not to bother with hygienic procedures leads to infection with various helminths.
- Addiction to street fast food.It is no secret that sellers of such food do not always pass medical examinations and often neglect basic hygiene.And their products are not stored in the best conditions.Another risky group are lovers of street whites and cakes.
- Love for exotic cuisines, including raw fish and shellfish dishes that contain parasites.Sushi and roll lovers are responsible for the increase in the incidence of flukes, tapeworms, nematodes, roundworms and worms.
- Nthe ability to properly protect yourself from infection while on vacation.The love for "Turkish shores" led to an increased number of cases of infection with exotic helminthiasis - schistosomiasis, hookworm and dracunculosis.After walking barefoot on an overseas beach, you can take away from your trip not only pleasant impressions, but also dangerous earthworms.
- Infection from petswho often sleep with their owners.Those who like to "kiss" their pet risk contracting parasites.
What parasites live in the human body
If an adult had the chance to look at his body, they would be horrified:
- roundworms –pinworms, roundworms, whipworms, nematodes, toxocara, trichinella.Large helminths gather into huge balls, clog the intestinal lumen and lead to obstruction, which requires surgical treatment.Doctors remove an incredible amount of parasites from the intestines of such people during surgery.
- Tapewormsappear among those who like to taste rare meat and raw fish.It causes digestive problems, anemia, allergies.Children experience seizures similar to epileptic seizures.The most dangerous helminth of this group is echinococcus, whose larvae form huge cysts in the human body.When they burst, the parasites are dispersed throughout the body.Infection can be fatal.
- Flukes– flukes, flukes and fasciolas are dangerous parasites that suck blood from the vessels of the liver, pancreas, intestines and bladder.
- Protozoa– leishmania, amoeba, lamblia, etc.Although these tiny parasites are visible only under a microscope, they can cause dangerous complications, including intestinal perforation and liver abscesses, which are fatal.
What signs can be used to suspect the presence of "strangers": if your stomach hurts, it means that someone lives in it
Signs of the presence of helminths:
- Abdominal pain- the most common sign of helminth infection.It can be constant, periodic, affecting certain areas of the abdomen.Pain in the right hypochondrium during helminthiasis indicates damage to the liver and gallbladder by worms.
- Digestive disorders– diarrhea, constipation, irregular bowel movements.Sometimes patients see crawling worm segments or even whole parasites in their stool.Impaired food absorption and gastrointestinal dysfunction lead to weight loss.
- Anemia.Worms suck blood from the body and interfere with the digestion of food.The human host does not feed itself, but the worms.Patients complain of weakness, fatigue, loss of strength and dizziness.
- Damage to the urinary tractcaused by parasites that live in the kidneys and bladder.Patients complain of lower back pain and swelling.Sometimes traces of blood are visible in the urine.
- Delayed chronic vaginitis.Roundworms and pinworms crawl from the anus into the genital tract, causing vaginal dysbiosis and causing the development of thrush.Women are treated for itching and discharge, not realizing that the problem is parasites.
- Skin manifestations.Worm infection poisons the body and suppresses the immune system, which leads to allergies.The rash varies from small blisters to large focal areas.
- Inflammation of the mucous membraneand itching in the anal area caused by the irritation of crawling worms.
- General deterioration of health.Weak immunity, poor digestion and anemia weaken the body, which cannot resist infections.People are haunted by constant colds, acute respiratory infections and acute respiratory viral infections.
Why ultrasound is more effective than traditional examinations for worms and other parasites
Passing a stool or scraping does not always reveal worms.The fact is that parasites have a specific development cycle and do not always lay eggs.There is a whole group of extraintestinal helminthiasis, in which the worms live outside the intestine.In this case, the stool test will not provide any information.
Ultrasound of the abdominal cavity shows changes characteristic of the presence of parasites in the liver and pancreas.It is harmless, non-traumatic and can be used repeatedly.
If the doctor does not find live helminths and 100% signs of their presence on the ultrasound, he will suspect an infection and prescribe an additional examination.It is also helpful to undergo an ultrasound if the worm tests are positive.The study will show where the parasites are hiding.
Signs of helminthiasis determined by ultrasound of the abdominal cavity - semi-living organs and living worms
When examining the gastrointestinal tract using modern 3D and 4D devices, doctors often see live parasites in the intestines.If helminths are not detected, their presence can be suspected in an enlarged pancreas, compacted in the head area.The spleen is also too large.
The liver is enlarged due to parasitic infection with flukes, trematodes and flukes.It detects areas of dystrophy that interfere with organ function.
The gallbladder also suffers.Patients experience stagnation of bile, which causes pain in the right hypochondrium.Sometimes the function of the bladder is so disturbed that the organ is not detected at all on ultrasound.
The presence of parasites leads to the formation of abscesses - purulent lesions of the liver that are life-threatening.In 85% of cases, abscesses form in one lobe of the liver.Other departments suffer less often.Purulent lesions are characteristic of liver amoebiasis - infection by a protozoan - amoeba that penetrates the liver region from the intestine.
Significant changes in the liver are observed during echinococcosis, a parasitic disease in which cavities filled with helminth larvae form inside the organ.Ultrasound shows round formations with clear boundaries.These are cysts that contain parasites.Over time, calcium deposits around echinococcal lesions.Such formations have a dense structure, so on ultrasound they look lighter than the surrounding tissues.
With a prolonged infection, large cysts with partitions are formed, resembling the spokes of a wheel or a large honeycomb.Bile ducts are destroyed.Doppler examination reveals a blood flow disorder.
For lovers of Japanese cuisine.Parasites - as a gift
Lovers of Asian exotics have a large number of parasites, but the most common is opisthorchiasis - infection with the Chinese fluke.The source of helminths is unprocessed fish that contains parasites.
At the beginning of the disease, ultrasound reveals eosinophilic infiltrates in the liver and gallbladder - dense formations with clear boundaries.If the fight against helminths is postponed until better times, foci of dead cells will appear in these organs, which look like spotted areas, and the liver channels will lose elasticity.The situation can lead to the development of liver failure.
If the urinary tract becomes a victim of parasites
Echinococcus affects not only the liver, but also the kidneys.When the parasite penetrates the kidney tissue, a one-chamber cyst (bladder) is formed that contains the larvae.Gradually increasing in size, the hydatid cyst destroys the organ.Large parasitic cysts adhere to the liver, spleen and intestines.
Those who like to wander barefoot on the warm beaches of overseas countries get schistosomiasis.Parasite larvae penetrate the bloodstream through the skin and are then carried to the bladder with the blood.Having settled there, they cause the appearance of compaction - infiltrates that appear in response to irritation of the bladder walls.As the infection spreads, the kidneys are affected.
Enzyme immunological blood test - we bring helminths to clean water
This test can detect infection with one or more types of parasites.It is carried out for the presence of roundworms, toxocara, trichinella, opisthorchis fluke, echinococcus, Chinese fluke, etc.
The principle of testing is based on the body's immune response to the presence of helminths.Infection with worms causes the production of protein antibodies that are detected during analysis.Since each parasite causes the production of a certain immunoglobulin, the test results show which helminths are present in the human body.
The analysis reacts to all forms of parasites - eggs, larvae, adult worms.Accuracy is greater than 90%.The examination shows not only the presence of infection, but also its degree.
After the treatment, the test is repeated.A positive result can be observed some time after the death of the parasite.The immunoglobulin concentration will gradually decrease for several more months.Then the analysis will become "clean".For testing, blood is taken from a vein on an empty stomach in a volume of 3-5 ml.The analysis is done twice.
Helminthiasis can be identified and treatment can be started with ultrasound and immunoglobulin testing.Thanks to their use, the number of cases of wrong diagnosis that led to complications has been reduced.The main thing is to consult a doctor immediately if you suspect a helminthic infestation.