Symptoms indicating the presence of parasites in the human body are nonspecific.In addition, they are different in the acute and chronic phases of the disease.How to recognize them?
Invasion of parasites into the human body has always been and remains one of the most pressing issues in medicine.Despite the fact that the level of sanitary culture of the population is constantly growing, the number of people suffering from the presence of parasites in the body does not decrease.In addition, due to the development of transport links and population migration, new types of parasites that were previously absent are constantly appearing.Accordingly, new symptoms appear indicating the presence of helminths in the human body.In addition, parasites that live in a child’s body require special attention.Let's try to figure out when you need to pay attention to your health and consult a specialist.
Classification of parasites
There are a huge number of species of parasites in the world, but not all of them are adapted to life in our climate.Therefore, in this article we will consider the classification and symptoms of only those parasites that are most common.Scientists divide all worms that can parasitize the human body into several groups.
According to their biological characteristics, parasites are divided as follows:
- Roundworms, or nematodes (pinworms, roundworms, whipworms, hookworms, intestinal eels, trichinella).
- Tapeworms, or cestodes (pork tapeworm, bovine tapeworm, dwarf tapeworm, cysticercus, broad tapeworm, alveococcus, echinococcus).
- Flukes (liver, pulmonary, feline, lanceolate, blood).
- Single-celled parasites (amoeba, lamblia, balantidium).
According to the characteristics of their life cycle, there are the following parasites:
- Biohelminths require intermediate hosts to pass through different phases of development.A sexually mature individual, capable of reproduction, lives in the body of the definitive host.
- Geohelminths - eggs mature and spread through the soil.
- Contagious helminths are transmitted directly from person to person.
Based on habitat in the body, it can be divided as follows:
- Cavity - parasitize in the intestines and other cavity organs, for example, bile ducts, bladder.
- Tissue - parasitize in parenchymal internal organs and muscles, that is, outside the intestine.
Clinical picture of helminthiases
What signs should you pay attention to?Conventionally, the course of helminthiasis can be divided into two phases - acute and chronic.The acute phase develops immediately after the parasite “settles” in the human body and lasts from two weeks to two months.
Acute phase
The symptoms of this phase are due to the body’s general response to the penetration of foreign proteins, that is, allergic mechanisms.The following syndromes come to the fore:
- intoxication;
- articular;
- dermatological;
- catarrhal;
- bronchopulmonary;
- hepatolienal;
- abdominal;
- cerebral.
Intoxication syndrome is characterized by increased body temperature, chills, sweating, general weakness, and muscle pain.The child may experience anxiety, crying for no reason, and poor sleep.Enlargement of peripheral lymph nodes often occurs.
Given the non-specificity of symptoms, patients are in no hurry to see a doctor, regarding the symptom complex as the initial phase of ARVI.But even if parents seek advice because their child has a high temperature, not every pediatrician will suspect the presence of parasites in the body at this stage.
Joint damage occurs as a type of reactive arthritis, due to the presence in the human body of proteins similar in structure to the proteins of parasites.Antibodies that are produced in response to the penetration of the pathogen affect not only it, but also tissues similar in structure to it.Patients complain of severe pain in the joint, swelling, redness, and increased local body temperature.
Skin lesions occur as allergic dermatitis and are characterized by itching and the appearance of various rashes.In some patients the rash is very pronounced, but there are others who do not notice its presence.
Catarrhal syndrome is accompanied by symptoms of a runny nose, conjunctivitis, and sore throat.Bronchopulmonary signs include a prolonged cough with sputum production, attacks of bronchial asthma, the clinical picture of pneumonia and pleurisy.
With almost all types of helminths, the liver and spleen become enlarged.But these organs pay special attention when Giardia, Echinococcus, and liver fluke settle in the human body.Then patients complain about:
- bitterness in the mouth;
- pain and heaviness in the right hypochondrium;
- yellowing of the skin and mucous membranes.
Abdominal syndrome can be very pronounced in a child of preschool or primary school age.Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain are observed.These symptoms are often the cause of misdiagnosis, when helminthiasis is regarded as acute intestinal intoxication.
Cerebral manifestations are moderate and are characterized by headache, dizziness, and decreased performance.
The severity of the above symptoms in both an adult patient and a child may vary.It depends on the strength of the immune system.In addition, the severity of the immune response depends on the morphological form in which the parasite is present in the body.The largest amount of antibodies is synthesized in response to the penetration of larvae.
Over time, the strength of the immune response weakens, and the disease becomes chronic.In this case, it can last for years, since its symptoms are mild and many simply do not pay attention to them.
Chronic phase
In this phase, the symptoms, or more precisely, their severity, are largely determined by the following factors:
- type of parasites that have entered the body;
- number of parasitic individuals;
- location of parasites in the body of an adult or child.
If the helminth is “armed” with suction cups, hooks, spikes or cutting plates, they mechanically damage the localization site, causing inflammation.
Volumetric formations that form as a result of the vital activity of helminths can compress neighboring structures.Moreover, if this is a vital organ, for example, the brain, then the consequences can be disastrous.
Since the parasite feeds on substances intended for the host’s body, the latter develops anemia, hypovitaminosis, and protein deficiency.
In order to survive in the human body, parasites severely suppress the immune system.As a result, susceptibility to viral and bacterial diseases increases; they tend to have a severe, protracted course, the development of complications, the formation of chronic forms and asymptomatic carriage.
Features of some helminthiases
Some helminthiasis have characteristic symptoms that make it possible to distinguish them from other diseases.
- A child suffering from enterobiasis will experience itching in the anus in the evening and at night.
- Massive whipworm infestation causes hemorrhagic colitis.
- Roundworms can cause intestinal obstruction, obstructive jaundice, and pancreatitis.
- Hookworm, feeding on the host's blood, is the cause of severe iron deficiency anemia.
- The presence of tapeworms can be diagnosed by a very specific complaint - the passage of parasite segments independently or during defecation.
- The urinary schistosome, which lives in the human body, is characterized by the appearance of a drop of blood at the end of urination.
- Fillariasis affects the eyes.
Due to the presence of the liver fluke, the patient develops chronic hepatitis, cholecystitis, and cholangitis.Such patients complain of pain and heaviness in the right hypochondrium, bitterness in the mouth, yellowing of the skin and mucous membranes.The same complaints are characteristic of giardiasis.Even after successful treatment, phenomena such as biliary dyskinesia often remain.
Echinococcus, alveococcus, cysticercus do not reveal their presence in any way until a cyst forms in the affected organ.Sometimes it can reach quite large sizes and, as a rule, is diagnosed accidentally.Cysticercosis of the central nervous system is characterized by a variety of symptoms due to the location of the cysts.
Conclusion
As can be seen from the above, the clinical picture of the presence of worms is very diverse.They are easily confused with other diseases, especially when the patient adheres to basic rules of personal hygiene in everyday life.If you notice suspicious symptoms that have no explanation, do not delay visiting your doctor.Competent consultation will help you avoid many troubles in the future.