There are 4.5 billion registered people worldwide suffering from parasitic infections (infestations).Moreover, the number of people infected with helminths (worms) is constantly increasing.
Causes of helminthiasis infection
It is not difficult to introduce worms into your body.Here are just a few causes of infection that are familiar to everyone from childhood:
- Insufficient hygiene.The desire to eat unwashed fruits and vegetables, not to wear gloves while working in the garden and not to bother with hygiene procedures leads to infection with a variety of helminths.
- Addiction to street fast food.It is no secret that sellers of such food do not always undergo medical examinations and often neglect basic hygiene.And their products are not stored in the best conditions.Lovers of street whites and pasties are another risk group.
- Love for exotic cuisines, including dishes made from raw fish and shellfish containing parasites.It is precisely the fans of sushi and rolls that are responsible for the increase in the incidence of flukes, tapeworms, nematodes, roundworms, and the worm.
- Nthe ability to properly protect yourself from infection during rest.Love for the “Turkish shores” has led to increased cases of infection with exotic helminthiases - schistosomiasis, hookworm, and dracunculiasis.After walking barefoot on an overseas beach, you can bring back from your trip not only pleasant impressions, but also dangerous worms.
- Infection from petswho often sleep with their owners.Those who like to “kiss” their pet run the risk of contracting parasites.
What parasites live in the human body
If an adult had the opportunity to look into his body, he would be horrified:
- Roundworms –pinworms, roundworms, whipworms, nematodes, toxocara, trichinella.Large helminths gather in huge balls, clogging the intestinal lumen and leading to obstruction, requiring surgical treatment.Doctors remove an incredible amount of parasites from the intestines of such people during surgery.
- Tapewormsappear among those who like to taste rare meat and raw fish.Causes digestive problems, anemia, allergies.Children experience seizures similar to epileptic seizures.The most dangerous helminth of this group is echinococcus, the larvae of which form huge cysts in the human body.When they rupture, the parasites are dispersed throughout the body.Infection can be fatal.
- Flukes– flukes, flukes and fasciolas are dangerous parasites that suck blood from the vessels of the liver, pancreas, intestines, and bladder.
- Protozoa– leishmania, amoeba, lamblia, etc. Although these tiny parasites are visible only under a microscope, they can cause dangerous complications, including intestinal perforation and liver abscesses, which are fatal.
By what signs can one suspect the presence of “strangers”: if your stomach hurts, it means someone lives in it
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 during helminthiasis indicates damage to the liver and gall bladder by worms.
- Indigestion– diarrhea, constipation, irregular bowel movements.Sometimes patients see crawling segments of worms or even whole parasites in their stool.Impaired food absorption and gastrointestinal dysfunction lead to weight loss.
- Anemia.Worms suck blood from the body and interfere with the digestion of food.The human host feeds not himself, but the worms.Patients complain of weakness, fatigue, loss of strength, and dizziness.
- Urinary tract damagecaused by parasites that live in the kidneys and bladder.Patients complain of lower back pain and swelling.Sometimes traces of blood are visible in the urine.
- Sluggish chronic vaginitis.Roundworms and pinworms crawl from the anus into the genital tract, causing vaginal dysbiosis and provoking the development of thrush.Women are treated for itching and discharge, not realizing that the problem is parasites.
- Skin manifestations.Infection with worms poisons the body and suppresses the immune system, leading to allergies.Rashes vary from small blisters to large focal areas.
- Inflammation of the mucous membraneand itching in the anal area caused by irritation from crawling worms.
- General deterioration in health.Weak 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 examinations for worms and other parasites
Giving stool or scraping does not always reveal worms.The fact is that parasites have a certain development cycle and do not always lay eggs.There is a whole group of extraintestinal helminthiases, in which worms live outside the intestines.In this case, a stool test will not provide any information.
Ultrasound of the abdominal cavity shows changes characteristic of the presence of parasites in the liver and pancreas.It is harmless, non-traumatic and can be used many times.
If the doctor does not find live helminths and 100% signs of their presence on the ultrasound, he will suspect infection and prescribe an additional examination.It is also useful to undergo an ultrasound if tests for worms are positive.The study will show where the parasites are hiding.
Signs of helminthiasis determined by ultrasound of the abdominal cavity - half-living organs and live worms
When examining the gastrointestinal tract using modern 3D and 4D devices, doctors often see live parasites in the intestines.If helminths are not detected, their presence can be suspected by an enlarged pancreas, compacted in the head area.The spleen is also too large.
The liver is enlarged due to parasitic infection by flukes, trematodes and flukes.It reveals areas of dystrophy that impede the functioning of the organ.
The gallbladder also suffers.Patients experience stagnation of bile, causing pain in the right hypochondrium.Sometimes the function of the bladder is so impaired that the organ is not detected at all on ultrasound.
The presence of parasites leads to the formation of abscesses - purulent liver lesions that are life-threatening.In 85% of cases, abscesses form in one lobe of the liver.Other departments suffer less frequently.Purulent lesions are characteristic of hepatic amebiasis - infection with a protozoan - an amoeba that penetrates the liver region from the intestine.
Significant changes in the liver are observed during echinococcosis, a parasitic disease in which cavities filled with helminth larvae form inside the organ.Ultrasound shows round formations with clear boundaries.These are cysts that contain parasites.Over time, calcium is deposited around echinococcal lesions.Such formations have a dense structure, so on ultrasound they look lighter than the surrounding tissues.
With prolonged infection, large cysts with partitions are formed, resembling wheel spokes or large honeycombs.There is destruction of the bile ducts.Doppler examination reveals a disturbance in blood flow.
For lovers of Japanese cuisine.Parasites - as a gift
A wide variety of parasites are found in fans of Asian exotica, but the most common is opisthorchiasis - infection with the Chinese fluke.The source of helminths is unprocessed fish containing parasites.
At the onset of the disease, ultrasound reveals eosinophilic infiltrates in the liver and gallbladder—dense formations with clear boundaries.If the fight against helminths is postponed until better times, foci of dead cells will appear in these organs, looking like mottled areas, and the hepatic ducts will lose their elasticity.The situation may result in the development of liver failure.
If the urinary tract becomes victims of parasites
Echinococcus affects not only the liver, but also the kidneys.When the parasite penetrates the kidney tissue, a single-chamber cyst (bladder) containing larvae is formed.Gradually increasing in size, the hydatid cyst destroys the organ.Large parasitic cysts adhere to the liver, spleen and intestines.
Schistosomiasis is contracted by those who like to wander barefoot along the warm beaches of overseas countries.The larvae of the parasite penetrate the bloodstream through the skin and are then carried into the bladder with the blood.Having settled there, they cause the appearance of compactions - infiltrates that appear in response to irritation of the walls of the bladder.As the infection spreads, the kidneys are affected.
Enzyme immunoassay blood test - we bring helminths to clean water
This test can detect infection with one or more types of parasites.It is carried out for the presence of roundworms, toxocara, trichinella, opisthorchis flukes, echinococci, Chinese flukes, etc.
The testing principle 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 the analysis.Since each parasite provokes the formation of a certain immunoglobulin, the test results show which helminths are in the human body.
The analysis reacts to all forms of parasites - eggs, larvae, adult worms.The accuracy is more than 90%.The examination shows not only the presence of infection, but also its degree.
After treatment, the test is repeated.A positive result can be observed for some time after the death of the parasites.The concentration of immunoglobulins will gradually decrease for several more months.Then the analysis will become “clean”.For the study, blood is taken from a vein on an empty stomach in a volume of 3-5 ml.The analysis is done twice.
Ultrasound and immunoglobulin testing can identify helminthiases and begin treatment.Thanks to their use, the number of cases of incorrect diagnosis leading to complications has decreased.The main thing is to consult a doctor promptly if you suspect a helminthic infestation.