Based on statistics, it has been proven that more than a billion people are infected with helminths, commonly known as worms. However, these indicators are conditional, since they were established based on the number of people who sought help from specialists who diagnosed helminth infestation.
In life, every person encounters worms at least once in their life (regardless of age and gender), but many are simply unaware of their infection and continue to transmit the worms to other people. In the early stages of infection, they do not create discomfort, but in case of massive infestations, they can lead to toxic poisoning and even death. Therefore, you need to know what worms are, what they look like in the body and how to overcome the acquired disease.
Doctors have already studied many "unwelcome guests" in the bodies of animals and people who overload the immune system and are able to puncture blood vessels by gnawing on them. This leads to serious consequences in the form of erosions and other diseases, which is why helminthic infestations should be treated first.
Types of worms
Among the many varieties of helminths, the greatest harm can be caused to the body by 3 classes of worms: flukes, roundworms and tapeworms. Let's see what these worms look like in humans.
Roundworms
The roundworm class is commonly called nematodes. It is one of the most common types of worms that infect the human body. However, in addition to parasitic nematodes, there are also free-living nematodes, which is why they are not found inside the human body.
In the photo you can see the body of nematodes, characterized by a round shape, which is why they were added to the class of roundworms. They have a thin, elongated body and its ends are pointed on both sides.
When examined, the following worms of this class are most often found in the human body: whipworms, roundworms, trichinella (Trichinella) and pinworms. These types of worms in humans can be seen in the photo.
Male roundwormshave a shorter body than females. Females can measure up to 40 centimeters. Roundworms are localized in the intestines, poisoning the body with toxic substances. When there is a large accumulation of parasites inside this cavity, they are able to close the intestinal lumen and hinder permeability. If you refuse treatment, the invasion can lead to death, since unnecessary substances in the body will no longer be eliminated and toxic poisoning will reach its limits.
PinwormsThey are smaller than roundworms. Their body length does not exceed 1 cm. These representatives reproduce actively, because living in the small intestine and rectum, they have access to the anus, and crawling out of it, females lay larvae on the intrafemoral part, the anus, between thebuttocks. At a time, one pinworm can lay up to 15, 000 eggs, causing skin irritation. Then the infected person begins to scratch the irritant, thereby contributing to the spread of helminths to others. Most often, pinworms are found in children. Therefore, in preschool and school institutions, busy establishments, an examination of worm eggs is required.
Whipwormis an equally dangerous parasite, because females of this helminth lay 3, 000-4, 000 eggs daily. When the worm has reached sexual maturity, it has a threadlike anterior end, constituting 2/3 of the length of the body, and a thick posterior end of gray-pink color, with transverse stripes. The average length of a helminth is 3-5 cm. The tails of female and male representatives differ: in females it is characterized by curvature, and in males - in the form of a spiral.
The danger of whipworm infection is that this worm penetrates the mucous membrane and deep layers. May affect smooth muscle and feed on tissue fluid.
Trichinais a particularly dangerous parasite that lives inside the muscles and intestinal walls of humans. Visually, the worm looks like a long twisted wire reaching 4. 5 mm and 1. 6 mm in diameter. The vital activity of such a helminth can lead to the death of the carrier if therapeutic measures are not taken in time.
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Many people are interested in what fluke class parasites look like in the human body (photo). In medical practice, they are nicknamed trematodes, but the most interesting thing is that they do not suck anything from the body, but feed on mucus, blood and what passes through the area affected by the worms. Trematodes can grow up to 1. 5 meters long and are found not only in the intestines, but also in other organs (even in the conjunctival sac).
However, worms of the fluke class are able to adhere to the intestinal walls and thus resist accidental excretion with feces. These parasites have a functioning digestive tract and reproductive system, but the respiratory and circulatory systems function at a minimal level.
Tapeworms
Tapeworms- a class of flatworms, divided into tapeworms and tapeworms. These individuals rarely enter the human body directly. Most often, their infection occurs when a person eats fish infected with these parasites, but in animals they occur only in the larval stage and reach maturity inside an individual with a columnvertebral.
Parasites of this class have a special anatomical structure of the body, so that the head of the worm only serves to attach to the intestinal wall and this worm feeds using the whole body. The food of their host serves as food for tapeworms, but helminths are not digested by gastric juice, instead releasing a substance called antikinase.
Despite the similarity of these worms, when diagnosing it is imperative to distinguish them in order to establish the correct method of treatment.
Tapeworms have 2 suction cups on their heads, which allows them to securely attach to the intestinal wall, unlike representatives - tapeworms, which have 4 teeth attached. The body length of the tapeworm can reach 18 meters and occupy the entire length of the small intestine.
How can you become infected with these worms?
The spread of helminths begins with phase 1, characterized by the entry of helminth eggs into the human body. Then they hatch, become larvae (phase 2) and move throughout the body until they settle in organs or systems, but most often they remain in the intestines. In phase 3, the worms are no longer able to migrate throughout the body, but they are fully capable of multiplying and infecting a healthy population.
Despite the variety of worms and their characteristics, infestations can be combined. This indicates the possibility of simultaneous residence in the digestive tract or organs of different types of worms, without interfering with each other.
Worm infection can occur in 3 ways:
- From person to person.
- Through the ground.
- When you follow a raw food diet and eat poorly processed foods, especially vegetables and fruits, herbs.
Signs of infection
Signs of helminth infection can be very different, but first of all you need to start with the stage of infection:
- Acute. Does not last more than 20 days. In this case, widespread allergic reactions of unknown origin are observed. This is due to the immune system's response to a stimulus. The allergy causes a rash, and clinical blood tests show higher than normal levels of eosinophils.
- Acquired. At this stage, the disease can develop over 2 to 3 years. In this case, the symptoms depend on the organ in which the parasites live, their number and the extent of damage to tissue walls or body systems. In severe situations, they cause inflammation and fast-growing species can have fatal consequences.
It is very important to know what parasites of any type look like, because sometimes dead adults can be transmitted with feces, and then, based on the description of their appearance, you can speed up the diagnosis and quickly select a method oftreatment.
Timely detection of helminths plays an important role in human life, since not all parasites can exist practically harmlessly inside the body. It is recommended that the whole family be examined by a doctor at least 1-2 times a year, wash their hands before eating, eat only well-processed foods and use folk anthelmintic remedies for prevention: nail powderclove or wormwood, tincture of walnut bark.