Parasites in the human body - is the treatment of folk remedies effective?

Almost every one of us has had to deal with manifestations of helminthiasis. These parasites have coexisted with humans for so long that Hippocrates himself mentioned them in his writings. According to WHO statistics, at present on Earth more than five billion people are affected by various types of helminthiasis.

The pharmacological industry regularly produces modern products designed to neutralize parasites in the human body, folk remedies for helminthiasis, supplementing traditional treatment, have also not lost their relevance.

About helminths

There are about 250 species of parasites living in human tissues and organs. All are divided into two classes:

1. flatworms (nemotodes);
2. ascaris (cestodia and trematodes).

Their size varies 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 not the most favorable. Types of organisms affected by parasites, according to the stage of their development:

• the final host, in which helminths can develop up to the stage of puberty;
• intermediate host, where helminths live until one of the stages of their development.

In the body of the final host, the parasite can go through a full cycle of development several times and live there for several decades. For various types of parasites, a person can be both an end host and an intermediate host, just as it can be for molluscs, fish and carnivores. Depending on the type of life cycle, cases of parasite infestation are classified as follows:

1. biohelminthiasis - the development of helminths takes place in organisms of different types;
2. soil-transmitted helminthiasis - helminth eggs spend part of their development cycle in the soil, without an intermediate host.

How does a parasite infestation work?

The routes by which helminths enter the human body are very diverse, they depend on social characteristics, natural and climatic factors, and food preferences. The main ways of infection with helminths:

• Through dirty hands, contaminated water, poorly processed food.
• When inhaling dust particles with worm eggs;
• Through the skin;
• After a mosquito bite as an intermediate host (Wuchereria bancrofti);
• By eating contaminated seafood, meat, fish (trematode).

The nutritional characteristics of some northern peoples suggest the use of lightly salted, raw fish as food. In this population, the prevalence of trichinosis and echinococcosis is high.

What organs are affected by helminthiasis

Defeat by helminths 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 worms at different stages of its existence can parasitize different parts of the intestine. Organs affected by helminthiasis:

1. Large intestine - roundworm, pinworms;
2. Duodenum - Strongyloides stercoralis;
3. lymph vessels,
4. Lungs - Paragonimidae;
5. Subcutaneous tissue - Larva migrans.
6. Helminths parasitize the hollow organs and tissues of the human body.

Depending on the localization of parasites, helminthiasis is divided into types:

• tissue (echinococcosis, cysticercosis);
• translucent (teniasis, enterobiasis, ascariasis).

Some of the helminths in the larval stage transform the tissues of the human body, forming capsules or granules around them (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 stay in the human body takes both visceral and skin forms, a person for them is an intermediate host.

Clinical manifestations of helminthiasis

Like many other infections, helminthiasis goes through two stages of development: acute and chronic. Their duration:

1. acute stage - from 2-3 weeks to several months;
2. chronic stage - from 2-3 months to several years.

Despite the variety of types of helminths and their localization, the symptoms of the acute phase have common manifestations - these are symptoms of allergies and toxic effects on the human body:

• a slight increase in temperature;
• muscle pain,
• Rashes,
• limb edema,
• enlarged lymph nodes,
• dyspepsia,
• enlarged spleen and liver,
• CNS damage.

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 helminthiasis to the chronic stage is marked by symptoms that depend on the organ affected by the parasites, the stage of development of the worms, their number and variety. In the chronic stage of helminthiasis, the following symptoms are diagnosed:

1. dyspepsia and pain in the intestines,
2. intestinal obstruction,
3. colitis in hemorrhagic form,
4. anemia,
5. avitaminosis,
6. drastic weight loss
7. obstructive jaundice, hepatitis (with liver damage),
8. loss of certain functions of the central nervous system (with localization of parasites in the brain),
9. inflammatory diseases of the pelvic organs (when pinworms migrate into the vagina),
10. ulcer of the stomach and intestines (with chronic anguillulosis),
11. damage to muscle tissue, formation of granuloma in the capillaries of the brain (with severe trichinosis),
12. damage to the lymphatic system (in case of infection with nematodes).

With helminthiasis caused by echinococcus, not only liver cysts form, but the parasites can damage bone tissue. This makes the bones brittle and creates an additional risk of bone fractures. The defeat of the human body by the larvae of Dirofilaria repens occurs in the form of the formation of a subcutaneous node containing parasites. This node is able to move through the thickness of the skin and mucous membranes.

Analyzing the symptoms of helminthiasis, one can be sure that there is no stable clinical picture of this disease, no clear specific signs.

Diagnosis of parasitic infestation

If you do not make an accurate diagnosis in time, you may miss the moment when the treatment started could be most effective.

The transition of helminthiasis from the acute stage to the chronic form often masks the true cause of the disease.

Infection with parasites can be confused with 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. In his arsenal there are enough modern methods for diagnosing a parasitic infection:

• laboratory examination of feces, bile, sputum, blood, urine,
• prianal scraping of mucus, duodenal contents to detect parasites, their eggs and larvae;
• Ultrasound, X-ray;
• Endoscopy, endobiopsy.

The most effective method is considered a serological test - a method of analyzing blood serum for the presence of an antigen of infection with certain types of helminths.

This study can show the presence of parasites even in the early stages of infection.

Treatment of parasitic infection with folk methods

According to the results of the diagnosis, the doctor prescribes anthelmintic therapy, the time of the control study after treatment.

All recommendations of a specialist should be followed carefully to avoid complications.

There is no need to remind about the observance of preventive hygiene measures that will prevent the infestation of family members with parasites and secondary infection.

Proponents of the use of folk recipes should remember that the use of these funds is an auxiliary method that does not replace drug treatment.

Like drugs, traditional medicines have contraindications and side effects. That's why it's worth discussing this method with your doctor before using them. Home remedies:

• Take peeled pumpkin seeds for 2 weeks, keeping the thin green skin on the seed.
• A decoction of the skin, removed from a pomegranate in 3/4 tsp. boiling water. The remedy is drunk on an empty stomach, it must be done in an hour and a half, dividing the broth into three doses. After a few hours, be sure to stimulate bowel movements with any laxative.
• Enemas with freshly squeezed carrot juice (40 ml) should be done daily for 7 days.
• Regular use of garlic and preparations containing it.
• The introduction of a whole clove of garlic into the rectum (against enterobiosis).
• Reception of freshly prepared garlic juice (10-15 ml) with warm milk (1 glass), the mixture should be drunk on an empty stomach, the remedy should be repeated 1-2 times a day.
• Infusion 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 should be watered. Effective against giardiasis.
• Garlic porridge enema, taken shortly before bedtime, is effective against pinworms and tapeworms. Enema solution: mix in a glass of water 1 tbsp. finely chopped garlic. Drive regularly throughout the week.
• A decoction of 2 cloves of garlic, 2 tbsp. milk, 1 tbsp. L. dried tansy flowers are administered as an enema. The enema mixture should be boiled for about 10 minutes. Perform 7 times, the treatment effect can be corrected by repeating the course after a ten-day break.

Herbs and Fresh:

1. 1 teaspoondried wormwood pour 400 ml (2 tablespoons) of boiling water, strain and cool, take an infusion of 1-2 tbsp. L. three times a day before each meal. Effective against ascariasis and enterobiosis.
2. Tansy (1 tablespoon of dried flowers) and 0. 5 liters of boiling water leave for 3 hours and enter the rectum as an enema before going to bed. The drug is contraindicated in pregnant women and children.
3. Infusion for half an hour from 4 tbsp. L. unripe walnuts and a glass of boiling salted water are filtered and taken simultaneously with a laxative. Effective against tapeworm, ascariasis, enterobiosis.
4. 1st. L. tansy flowers pour 200 ml of boiling water, an hour later the infusion is strained. The frequency of admission is standard - Art. L. 20 minutes before meals. So you need to be treated for 2-3 days, finish taking the infusion with a laxative.
5. A decoction of 1 kg of sorrel and 1 liter of boiling water is boiled for 2 hours (it is better to do this in a water bath), strained, a few tablespoons of sugar should be added to it. The volume of the final product is 1 glass of broth, it should be drunk 1-2 sips a day before meals.
6. Helminthiasis are complex infections with a multicomponent clinical picture. They can cause serious complications, cause irreversible damage to human health.

It is unacceptable to self-medicate in case of infection with parasites. Folk recipes should be used with extreme caution, only as an adjuvant accompanying drug therapy.