There are 4. 5 billion people registered worldwide suffering from parasitic infections (infestations). In addition, the number of people infected with helminths (worms) is constantly increasing.
Causes of helminth infection
It is not difficult to populate the worms in your body. Here are some of the causes of infection that are familiar to everyone from childhood:
- Lack of hygiene.The desire to eat unwashed fruits and vegetables, not to wear gloves while working in the garden and not to worry about hygienic procedures, leads to infection with a variety of helminths.
- Addicted to fast street food.It's no secret that the sellers of these foods don't always come for a medical check-up and often neglect basic hygiene. And their products are not stored in the best conditions. Another group at risk is street whites and pastry lovers.
- Love for exotic cuisinescontaining raw fish and shellfish dishes containing parasites. The increased incidence of fluke, broad tapeworm, nematodes, roundworms and beltworms are the sushi and roll lovers.
- Hthe ability to properly protect oneself from infection while resting.Love for the "Turkish coasts" led to more frequent cases of infection with exotic helminthiasis - schistosomiasis, hookworm, dracunculiasis. Having walked barefoot on an overseas beach, you can bring to your trip not only pleasant impressions, but also dangerous worms.
- Pet infectionwho often sleep with their owners. Fans of "kissing" an animal run the risk of catching parasites.
What parasites live in the human body
If an adult had the opportunity to look inside their body, they would be horrified:
- Roundworms -pinworms, roundworms, whipworms, nematodes, toxocaras, trichinella. Large helminths congregate in huge tangles, obstructing the lumen of the gut and causing an obstruction that requires surgical treatment. During the operation, doctors extract an incredible amount of parasites from the intestines of these people.
- Tapewormsappear among those who like to taste meat with blood and raw fish. They cause digestive problems, anemia, allergies. Children have seizures similar to epileptic fits. The most dangerous helminths of this group are echinococci, the larvae of which form huge cysts in the human body. When they break, the parasites are dispersed throughout the body. The infection can be fatal.
- suction cups- moats, moats and fascioles are dangerous parasites that suck blood from the vessels of the liver, pancreas, intestines and bladder.
- The simplest- Leishmania, amoeba, lamblia, etc. Although these tiny parasites are only visible under a microscope, they can lead to dangerous complications, including intestinal perforation and liver abscesses, which are fatal.
For what reasons can we suspect the presence of "strangers": if a stomach is sick, it means that someone is living there?
Signs of the presence of helminths:
- Stomach ache- the most common sign of helminth infection. It can be constant, periodic, affecting certain areas of the abdomen. Pain in the right hypochondrium with helminthiasis indicates damage to the liver and gallbladder by worms.
- Indigestion- diarrhea, constipation, irregular stools. Sometimes in the stool, patients see crawling segments of worms or even whole parasites. Poor 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 digestibility of food. The host does not feed itself, but the worms. Patients complain of weakness, fatigue, loss of strength, dizziness.
- Damage to the urinary tract,caused by parasites living in the kidneys and bladder. Patients complain of back pain and swelling. Sometimes traces of blood are visible in the urine.
- Chronic indolent vaginitis. . . Roundworms and pinworms crawl from the anus into the genital tract, causing vaginal dysbiosis and causing thrush to develop. Women are treated for the itching and discharge, not realizing that they are parasites.
- Skin manifestations.Infection with worms poisons the body and suppresses the immune system, leading to allergies. Rashes are different - from small blisters to large focal areas.
- Inflammation of the mucous membraneand itching in the anus caused by irritation from the crawling worms.
- General deterioration of health.Poor immunity, poor digestion, and anemia weaken the body, which cannot resist infections. A person is haunted by constant colds, acute respiratory infections, and acute respiratory viral infections.
Why ultrasound is more effective than traditional exams for worms and other parasites
Feces or scratches do not always reveal the worms. The point is that parasites have a certain development cycle and do not always lay eggs. There is a whole group of extra-intestinal helminthiasis, in which the worms live outside the intestine. In this case, the stool analysis will not provide any information.
Ultrasound of the abdominal cavity shows changes characteristic of the presence of parasites in the liver, pancreas. It is harmless, non-traumatic, and can be used multiple times.
If the ultrasound doctor does not detect live helminths and 100% signs of their presence, they will suspect an infection and order an additional examination. It helps to have an ultrasound and positive tests for I / worms. Research will reveal 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 on modern 3D and 4D devices, doctors often see living parasites in the intestines. If helminths are not found, their presence can be suspected by an enlarged, compacted pancreas in the head area. The spleen is also too big.
The liver with parasitic lesions by fluids, trematodes and fluke is enlarged. There are areas of dystrophy that interfere with the functioning of the organ.
The gallbladder also suffers. In patients, there is stagnation of bile, causing pain in the right hypochondrium. Sometimes the function of the bladder is so impaired that the organ on ultrasound is not determined at all.
The presence of parasites leads to the formation of abscesses - purulent, life-threatening liver damage. In 85% of cases, abscesses form in a lobe of the liver. The other departments are less affected. Purulent lesions are characteristic of hepatic amebiasis - infection with the simplest - an amoeba that enters the hepatic region from the intestines.
Significant changes in the liver are seen in echinococcosis, a parasitic disease in which cavities filled with helminth larvae form inside the organ. On ultrasound, rounded formations with clear boundaries are visible. These are cysts with parasites inside. Over time, calcium is deposited around the echinococcal foci. Such formations have a dense structure, therefore, on ultrasound they appear lighter than the surrounding tissues.
With prolonged infection, large cysts with septa form, resembling wheel spokes or large honeycombs. Destruction of the bile ducts is observed. With a Doppler examination, there is a violation of blood flow.
For lovers of Japanese cuisine. Parasites as a gift
Fans of Asian exoticism have a wide variety of parasites, but the most common opisthorchiasis is Chinese fluke infection. The source of helminths is unprocessed fish containing parasites.
At the onset of the disease, ultrasound in the liver and gallbladder reveals eosinophilic infiltrates - dense formations with clear boundaries. If the fight against helminths is postponed until better times, foci of dead cells will appear in these organs, resembling variegated areas, and the hepatic ducts will lose their elasticity. The situation can lead to the development of liver failure.
If the urinary tract is infected with parasites
Echinococcus affects not only the liver, but also the kidneys. When the parasite enters the kidney tissue, a single chamber cyst (bubble) containing larvae is formed. Smaller and smaller, the echinococcal cyst destroys the organ. Large parasitic cysts are fused in the liver, spleen and intestines.
Schistosomiasis is picked up by those who like to walk barefoot along the warm beaches of overseas countries. The larvae of the parasite enter the bloodstream through the skin, and then are carried away with the blood in the bladder. Having settled there, they cause the appearance of seals - infiltrates that appear in response to irritation of the walls of the bladder. When the infection spreads, the kidneys are affected.
Enzyme immunoassay - we bring helminths to drinking water
This test detects infection with one or more types of parasites. It is performed for the presence of ascaris, toxocara, trichinella, opisthorchis fluke, echinococci, Chinese fluke, etc.
The principle of the tests is based on the body's immune response to the presence of helminths. Infection with worms causes the production of protein antibodies, which are detected during analysis. Since each parasite causes the formation of a certain immunoglobulin, the results of the analysis show which helminths are found in the human body.
The analysis reacts to all forms of parasites - eggs, larvae, adult worms. The accuracy is better than 90%. The investigation shows not only the presence of infection, but also its degree.
After treatment, the analysis is repeated. A positive result can be observed for some time after the death of the parasites. The concentration of immunoglobulins will gradually decrease over several months. Then the analysis will be "clean". For research, blood is taken from a fasting vein in a volume of 3-5 ml. The analysis is performed twice.
Ultrasound and an immunoglobulin study can detect helminthiasis and start treatment. Thanks to their use, the number of cases of misdiagnosis, leading to complications, has decreased. The main thing is to see a doctor in time if you suspect a helminthic invasion.