Various scientific studies have confirmed the link between many human pathologies and parasitic diseases. Often, worms in humans do not show any characteristic symptoms of the disease, so they can exist in the body for many years, causing complications and dangerous pathologies. Sometimes the only symptom of a parasitic disease may be black dots in the feces or light-colored helminth eggs and worms in the feces. To find out whether there are worms in the human body, it is necessary to conduct a diagnosis. First of all, they are conducting a study on feces, so it is so important to know what worms look like in human feces, and also to understand the types of parasites in humans. In addition to the types of parasites, our article will describe the symptoms of worms in humans and methods of diagnosing a parasitic disease.
Symptoms of worms in humans
It is easy to understand what the worm eggs look like in the feces and the worms themselves, from the photo. Different worms in a person in the photo can vary greatly. The size of some egg or adult worms is very small, other parasites in feces and their eggs can be seen without a microscope. That is why, in order to answer the question of whether eggs can be seen with the naked eye, it is necessary to take into account the worms that live in a person.
Eggs in feces do not always appear, sometimes the only symptoms of helminthiasis can be the following conditions:
- weightloss;
- general weakness;
- often there is rapid fatigue;
- the skin turns pale;
- itching in the anal area.
However, some of the symptoms of the disease, which are caused by worm larvae or adults, the patient does not even associate with worms. These symptoms include the following:
- flatulence, diarrhea and constipation;
- nausea and vomiting;
- pain in the navel and right hypochondrium.
When such symptoms appear, first of all, a study of fecal masses should be conducted. In this case, the smallest worm eggs in the feces can be detected. Since self-identification of worm eggs is difficult, it is best to return the feces to the laboratory for analysis. Only a specialist knows what worm eggs look like.
Sometimes there are no parasites in the feces, but the patient shows signs of general intoxication. When parasitic toxins affect the human nervous system, the following symptoms of the disease appear:
- dizziness;
- fatigue;
- headache;
- increased irritability;
- drowsiness;
- the Depression;
- seizures;
- temperature rise.
If worms and their eggs are found in the feces of a child, the symptoms of the disease are often supplemented by various allergic manifestations:
- urticaria, dermatitis;
- Rashes;
- skin itching, redness.
Worms in the feces of an adult or child can be detected only at a certain stage of the disease, and even not always. That is why it is not so important to know what the larvae of parasites look like, because it is necessary to understand the symptoms of a particular parasitic disease:
- The pinworms that cause enterobiasis usually cause severe itching in the anal area, which is worse at night. This is due to the fact that these nematodes (roundworms) lay their eggs on the perianal folds, crawling out of the anus.
- A characteristic symptom of hookworm, diphyllobothriasis and trichuriasis will be anemia and beriberi.
- The symptomatology of ascariasis depends on the stage of development of the helminth. At the migratory stage, the clinical picture is expressed by a set of symptoms of the respiratory system (shortness of breath, cough, bronchitis, pneumonia). At the intestinal stage, characteristic symptoms of gastrointestinal pathologies appear. In this case, black spots may appear in the stool.
- Fever, facial swelling, and muscle aches occur with trichinosis.
- If trematodes have settled in the liver, pancreatitis develops, yellowing of the sclera and skin appears, and the spleen enlarges. With this form of the disease, black threads and dots in the fecal masses may be absent.
- Schistosomiasis causes bleeding in the genitourinary system, so there may be urine mixed with blood. Often, the parasite causes digestive disorders.
Types of worms
In the photo, the worms in a person can differ significantly depending on whether they belong to a particular species. Thus, tapeworms and roundworms parasitize the human body. In the photo, helminths of the same variety may also differ. So, pinworms, nematodes, trichinella, roundworms, hookworms belong to the order of roundworms. There are two classes of flatworms:
- cestodes (this is pork and bovine tapeworm, echinococcus, large tapeworm, alveococcus);
- trematodes (these include schistosomes, opisthorchis, paragonim).
What this or that helminth looks like, you can find out in the photo. We will describe the features of the existence of the main parasites of the human body:
- Pinworms cause enterobiasis, the symptoms of which appear on the third day after infection. Eggs enter the body with unwashed hands, fruits and herbs.
- Vlasoglav causes a disease called trichocephalosis. Its first symptoms can be seen 21-35 days after invasion. Infection occurs when cooking in unsanitary conditions. Usually the patient is tormented by diarrhea, loss of appetite, abdominal pain. It could be an inflammation of the appendix.
- The culprit of diphyllobothriasis is a large tapeworm. The disease manifests itself in 2-5 weeks from the moment of infection. The parasite enters the body with infected poorly fried fish. This helminth can live in the human body for decades, causing anemia, beriberi, intestinal obstruction, allergies and poisoning.
- Roundworms are the culprits of ascariasis. It is when infected with these worms that black dots can appear in the stool of an adult and a child. From the moment of invasion to the appearance of a clinical picture, it takes up to three months. The parasite enters the intestines with plant foods.
- Ascaris - hookworm causes hookworm. Infection can occur when working in the ground, walking barefoot on the ground. The disease appears 5 to 8 days after infection. First there is itching and swelling at the site of penetration of the parasite, then a cough with profuse sputum, dizziness, weakness.
- Giant liver fluke causes fascioliasis. The parasite enters the body with contaminated water and plant food. The first signs of the disease can be observed 0. 5-1 month after the start of the invasion. The disease is manifested by a dry cough, fever, abdominal pain and loss of appetite.
- A worm called trichinella is the culprit of trichinosis in humans. Helminths can enter the human body with poorly processed meat and fats. The first symptoms appear two days after infection. Usually the patient is tormented by diarrhea, heartburn and nausea.
Diagnosis of helminthiasis
When diagnosing many helminthiasis, a study of feces is first carried out. If you find black dots in the feces or white worms in the feces, this analysis should be done as soon as possible.
However, not only feces with black dots are an indication for a coprogram. Often, even eggs invisible to the eye can be easily identified under a microscope. More accurate diagnosis of fecal masses for the detection of helminth DNA particles is carried out using the PCR technique.
If a person has a lot of black dots in the feces, it is worth mentioning, among other diagnostic methods, the following:
- Scratching the area near the anus;
- Blood test by ELISA, PCR, RNGA and other methods;
- Be sure to do blood biochemistry and KLA;
- In some cases, ultrasound, MRI, and CT are done to identify parasite sites;
- To diagnose the migratory stage of helminths, an X-ray examination is indicated.
In some forms of helminthiasis, sputum, rectal mucus, urine, and gallbladder contents may be examined. In addition, endoscopic examination is sometimes used in diagnosis.