There are 4. 5 billion registered people in the world with parasitic infections (parasitic infections). Moreover, the number of people infected with helminths (filarial worms) is constantly increasing.
Causes of helminth infections
It is not difficult to release worms into your body. Here are some causes of infection, familiar to everyone from childhood:
- Insanitary.The desire to eat unwashed fruits and vegetables, not wearing gloves when gardening and not paying attention to hygienic procedures, leads to infection with a variety of helminths.
- Addicted to street fast food.It's no secret that such grocers don't always come to the doctor and often neglect basic hygiene. And their products are not kept in the best condition. Street and pet white fans are another at-risk group.
- Love for strange foodsContains raw fish and shellfish containing parasites. For fans of sushi and rolls that increase in the incidence of tapeworms, broad tapeworms, roundworms, roundworms and ringworms is due.
- Hthe ability to properly protect itself from infection at rest.Love for the "Turkish coast" has led to more frequent cases of foreign helminth infections - schistosomiasis, strongyloidiasis, filariasis. After walking barefoot on a foreign beach, you can bring back to your trip not only pleasant impressions, but also dangerous worms.
- Infection from petswho usually sleep with their owners. People who love to "kiss" a pet are at risk of catching parasites.
What parasites live in the human body
If an adult had a chance to look at his body, he would be horrified:
- Roundworm -pinworms, roundworms, roundworms, roundworms, roundworms, roundworms. Large helminths gather in very large clumps, obstructing the lumen of the intestine and leading to an obstruction that requires surgical treatment. During the surgery, doctors removed an incredible amount of parasites from the intestines of such people.
- Tapewormsappeared among those who liked to taste meat with blood and raw fish. They cause digestive problems, anemia, allergies. Children have seizures similar to epilepsy. The most dangerous helminths of this group are echinococcus, whose larvae form giant cysts in the human body. When they break off, the parasites disperse throughout the body. Infection can be fatal.
- Bloodsuckers- Flukes, tapeworms and large liver flukes are dangerous parasites that feed on blood vessels of the liver, pancreas, intestines and bladder.
- The simplest thing- Leishmania, amoeba, lamblia, . . . Although these tiny parasites can only be seen under the microscope, they can cause dangerous complications such as intestinal perforation, fatal liver abscess.
On what grounds one might suspect the presence of a "stranger": if the stomach is sick, then someone lives in it.
Signs of the presence of helminths:
- Stomachache- the most common sign of helminthic infection. It can continuously, cyclically, affect certain areas of the abdomen. Right lower quadrant pain associated with helminthic infection indicates liver and gallbladder damage by worms.
- Undigested- diarrhea, constipation, irregular bowel movements. Sometimes in the stool, the patient sees the feces of crawling worms or even parasites. Impaired absorption of food and dysfunction of the gastrointestinal tract lead to weight loss.
- Anemia.Worms suck blood out of the body and interfere with the digestion of food. The host man did not feed himself, but gave worms. Patients complain of weakness, fatigue, loss of strength, and dizziness.
- Urinary tract injury,caused by parasites that live in the kidneys and bladder. The patient complains of back pain and swelling. Sometimes traces of blood can be seen in the urine.
- Chronic vaginitis, difficulty breathing. . . Roundworm and pinworm crawl from the anus into the genital tract, causing genital disorders in the vagina and stimulating the development of thrush. Women are treated for itching and discharge, not realizing that it is a parasite.
- Skin manifestations.Worm infections poison the body and suppress the immune system, leading to allergies. The rash is different - from small blisters to large focal areas.
- Mucositisand itching in the anus caused by the crawling worms.
- Declining general health.Poor immunity, poor digestion, anemia make the body weak and unable to fight infections. A person is haunted by constant colds, acute respiratory infections and acute respiratory infections.
Why ultrasound is more effective than traditional tests for worms and other parasites
Faeces or crumbs do not always detect worms. The fact is that the parasite has a certain cycle of development and does not always lay eggs. There is a whole group of gastrointestinal helminths, in which the worms live outside the intestines. In this case, stool analysis will not provide any information.
Ultrasound of the abdominal cavity revealed changes characteristic of the presence of parasites in the liver, pancreas. It is harmless, non-traumatic and can be used many times.
If the sonographer does not detect live helminths and 100% signs of their presence, the doctor will suspect an infection and order further examination. It is helpful if you undergo an ultrasound and test positive for I/worms. Research will reveal where the parasites are hiding.
Signs of helminthiasis, determined by ultrasound of the abdominal cavity - semi-live organs and live worms
When examining the digestive tract on modern 3D and 4D devices, doctors often find parasites living in the intestines. If no helminths are found, their presence can be suspected because of an enlarged pancreas, which is located in the head region. The spleen is also too large.
Liver damage caused by flukes, flukes, large liver flukes. On it, areas of dystrophy are found that interfere with the functioning of the organ.
Gallbladder also suffers. In the patient, there is stagnation of bile, causing pain in the right lower quadrant. Sometimes bladder function is so impaired that no organ can be identified on ultrasound.
The presence of parasites leads to the formation of abscesses - life-threatening purulent liver damage. In 85% of cases, an abscess forms in one lobe of the liver. Other parts are less affected. Purulent lesions are characteristic of hepatic amoeba - the simplest infection - a type of amoeba that enters the liver region from the intestines.
Significant changes in the liver are observed in echinococcosis, a parasitic disease in which cavities filled with helminth larvae are formed inside the organ. On ultrasound, round shapes with clear boundaries can be seen. These are cysts with parasites inside. Over time, calcium is deposited around the foci of cocci. Such formations have a dense structure, so on ultrasound they look lighter than the surrounding tissues.
As the infection persists, large septal cysts are formed, like wheel spokes or large honeycombs. Destruction of the biliary tract is observed. With a Doppler examination, there is a violation of blood flow.
For Japanese food lovers. Parasites as a gift
Asian exotics fans have a wide variety of parasites, but the most common fascioliasis is a Chinese fluke infection. The source of helminths is unprocessed fish that contains the parasite.
At the onset of the disease, ultrasonography of the liver and gallbladder revealed an eosinophilic infiltrate - a dense formation with clear boundaries. If the fight against helminths is postponed until better times, dead cells will appear in these organs, looking like patchy areas, and the hepatic ducts will lose their 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 invades the kidney tissue, a single-chamber cyst (bubble) containing the larvae is formed. Increasing in size, cysts destroy internal organs. Large parasitic cysts are welded to the liver, spleen, and intestines.
The schistosomiasis is chosen by those who like to walk barefoot along warm foreign beaches. The parasite larvae enter the bloodstream through the skin, and are then carried with the blood into the bladder. After settling there, they cause the appearance of sealing - penetration that appears in response to irritation of the walls of the bladder. As the infection spreads, the kidneys are affected.
Enzyme immunoassay - we bring worms to clean water
This test detects infection with one or more types of parasites. It is performed for the presence of roundworms, toxocara, trichinella, opisthorchis flukes, echinococci, Chinese flukes, etc. v.
The principle of testing is based on the body's immune response to the presence of helminths. Worm infection induces the production of protein antibodies, which are detected during the analysis. Since each parasite stimulates the formation of a certain immunoglobulin, the results of the analysis show which helminths are present in the human body.
Analyze responses to all forms of parasites - eggs, larvae, adult worms. Accuracy is more than 90%. The survey not only showed the presence of the infection but also its extent.
After treatment, the analysis was repeated. Positive results can be observed for some time after the parasite has died. The levels of immunoglobulins will gradually decrease over the next several months. Then the analysis will be "clean". For the study, blood was taken from a vein on an empty stomach in a volume of 3-5 ml. The analysis was performed twice.
Ultrasound and a study of immunoglobulins can detect helminthiasis and initiate treatment. Thanks to their use, the number of misdiagnosis, leading to complications, has been reduced. The main thing is to consult a doctor in time if you suspect an invasion of helminths.