Almost every one of us had to deal with the manifestations of helminthiasis. These parasites have coexisted with humans for as long as Hippocrates himself mentioned them in his writings. According to WHO statistics, there are currently more than five billion people on Earth affected by various types of helminthiases.
The pharmacological industry regularly produces modern products designed to neutralize parasites in the human body, folk remedies for helminthiasis, complementing the traditional treatment, also have not lost their importance.
About helminths
About 250 species of parasites live in human tissues and organs. They are all divided into two classes:
- flatworms (nemotodes);
- roundworms (cestodia and trematodes).
Their size varies from a few millimeters to 10-12 m. The parasites mature sexually very quickly, after which they gain the ability to lay from ten to one hundred thousand eggs a day.
These eggs remain stable for a long time, even if the conditions in which they are most unfavorable. Types of organisms affected by parasites, according to their stage of development:
- the last host, in which helminths can develop up to the stage of puberty;
- intermediate host, where helminths live up to one of the stages of their development.
In the body of the ultimate host, the parasite can carry out a full cycle of its development many times over and live in it for several decades. For different types of parasites, a person can be both a final and an intermediate host, as can mollusks, fish, and carnivores. According to the type of biological cycle, cases of parasitic infection are classified as:
- biohelminthiasis - the development of helminths occurs in organisms of different species;
- geohelminthiases - helminth eggs spend part of their developmental cycle on earth without an intermediate host.
How does parasite infection work?
The ways in which helminths enter the human body are very different, they depend on social characteristics, natural and climatic factors and food preferences. The main ways of infection with helminths:
- Through dirty hands, contaminated water, poorly processed food.
- When you inhale dust particles with worm eggs;
- Through the skin;
- After mosquito bites as intermediate host (Wuchereria bancrofti);
- When eating seafood, meat, contaminated fish (trematodes).
The nutritional characteristics of some Northern peoples suggest the use of slightly salted and raw fish for food. In this population the prevalence of trichinosis and echinococcosis is high.
Which organs are affected by helminthiasis
Loss by helminths can be localized to many organs and tissues. The localization of the helminth depends on the stage of its development, so the same type of worm at different stages of its existence can parasitize in different parts of the intestine. Organs affected by helminthiasis:
- Colon - round worm, worm;
- Duodenum - Strongyloides stercoralis;
- lymphatic vessels,
- Lungs - Paragonimidae;
- Subcutaneous tissue - Migrant larvae.
- Helminths parasitize on the empty organs and tissues of the human body.
Depending on the location of the parasites, helminthiasis is divided into types:
- tissue (echinococcosis, cysticercosis);
- translucent (taeniasis, enterobiasis, ascariasis).
Some of the helminths in the larval stage transform the tissues of the human body, forming capsules or granules around themselves (trichinella, toxocara). There is a type of helminth that migrates to the larval stage and under a person's skin, and to the tissues of his organs (larval helminths).
Their temporary stay in the human body takes on internal and skin forms, a person to them being an intermediate host.
Clinical manifestations of helminthiasis
Like many other infections, helminthiasis goes through two stages of development: acute and chronic. Their duration:
- acute phase - from 2-3 weeks to several months;
- Chronic phase - from 2-3 months to several years.
Despite the variety of helminth species and their localization, the symptoms of the acute phase have common manifestations - these are symptoms of allergies and toxic effects on the human body:
- a slight rise in temperature;
- muscle pain,
- skin rash,
- edema of the limbs,
- enlarged lymph nodes,
- indigestion,
- enlargement of the spleen and liver,
- Damage to the CNS.
A laboratory blood test shows a change in its formula - eosinophilia is diagnosed and a significant increase in the number of leukocytes. The onset of helminthiasis in the chronic phase is characterized by symptoms that depend on which organ is affected by the parasites, in the stage of development of the worms, their number and variety. In the chronic stage of helminthiasis, the following symptoms are diagnosed:
- indigestion and intestinal pain,
- intestinal obstruction,
- hemorrhagic colitis,
- anemia,
- Avitaminosis,
- drastic weight loss
- obstructive jaundice, hepatitis (with liver damage),
- loss of some functions of the central nervous system (with localization of parasites in the brain),
- inflammatory diseases of the pelvic organs (when breast worms migrate to the vagina),
- stomach and intestinal ulcers (with chronic strongiloidiasis),
- muscle tissue damage, formation of granulomas in the capillaries of the brain (with severe trichinosis),
- damage to the lymphatic system (when infected with nematodes).
With helminthiasis caused by echinococci, not only do liver cysts form, but parasites can damage bone tissue. This makes the bones brittle and creates an additional risk for bone fractures. Loss of the human body by the larvae of Dirofilaria repens occurs in the form of the formation of a subcutaneous node containing parasites. This joint is able to move in the thickness of the skin and mucosa.
By analyzing the symptoms of helminthiasis, one can be sure that there is no consistent clinical picture of this disease, there are no clear specific signs.
Diagnosis of parasite infection
If you do not make an accurate diagnosis in time, you may lose time when treatment started may be more effective.
The transition of helminthiasis from the acute phase to the chronic form often masks the true cause of the disease.
Infection with parasites can be confused with symptoms of completely different diseases.
It is extremely important not to self-medicate, but to seek medical help from an infectious disease specialist or parasitologist. In his arsenal there are many modern methods for diagnosing parasitic infection:
- laboratory examination of feces, bile, saliva, blood, urine, rectum and
- prian itching of mucus, duodenal contents to detect parasites, their eggs and larvae;
- Ultrasound, radiography;
- Endoscopy, endobiopsy.
The most effective method is considered to be a serological test - a method of analyzing blood serum for the presence of an antigen against infection with certain species of helminths.
This study may indicate the presence of parasites even in the early stages of infection.
Treatment of parasitic infection with folk methods
According to the results of the diagnosis, the doctor prescribes anthelmintic therapy, the time of the control study after treatment.
All the recommendations of a specialist should be followed carefully to avoid complications.
It is unnecessary to remember the observance of hygienic preventive measures that will prevent the infection of family members with parasites and secondary infection.
Supporters of the use of popular prescriptions should remember that the use of these funds is an auxiliary method that does not replace drug treatment.
Like medicines, traditional medicines have contraindications and side effects. This is why it is worth discussing this method with your doctor before using them. Home remedies:
- Taking peeled pumpkin seeds for 2 weeks, keeping the thin green skin on the seed.
- A decoction of the peel, removed from a pomegranate in 3/4 tablespoon. boiling water. The drug is taken on an empty stomach, this should be done for an hour and a half, dividing the fluid into three doses. After a few hours, be sure to stimulate the stool with some laxative.
- Enema with freshly squeezed carrot juice (40 ml) should be done daily for 7 days.
- Regular use of garlic and preparations containing it.
- Insertion of a whole clove of garlic into the rectum (against enterobiasis).
- Taking freshly prepared garlic juice (10-15 ml) together with warm milk (1 glass), the mixture should be drunk on an empty stomach, the drug should be repeated 1-2 times a day.
- Infusion of 50 g of a mixture of garlic and horseradish root minced in half a liter of vodka. The mixture is injected for 1, 5 weeks, filtered. Mandatory dose - 1 tablespoon. l. before each meal, the infusion should be washed. Effective in giardiasis.
- Garlic enema, taken shortly before bedtime, is effective for pinworms and tapeworms. Enema solution: mix in a glass of water 1 tbsp. finely chopped garlic. Perform regularly throughout the week.
- A decoction of 2 cloves garlic, 2 tbsp. milk, 1 tbsp. l. dried tansy flowers are administered as an enema. The enema mixture should be boiled for about 10 minutes. Perform 7 times, the effect of the treatment can be adjusted by repeating the course after a ten-day break.
Plants and fees:
- 1 tablespoon dried pour 400 ml (2 tablespoons) boiling water, drain and cool, take an infusion of 1-2 tablespoons. l. three times daily before each meal. Effective for ascariasis and enterobiasis.
- Tansy (1 tablespoon of dried flowers) and 0. 5 liters of boiling water are left for 3 hours and inserted as an enema into the rectum before going to bed. The drug is contraindicated in pregnant women and children.
- Infusion for half an hour from 4 tablespoons. l. unripe nuts and a glass of salted boiling water are filtered and taken simultaneously with a laxative. Effective against tapeworm, ascariasis, enterobiasis.
- 1 st. l. tansy flowers pour 200 ml boiling water, an hour later the infusion is filtered. Receipt frequency is standard - Art. l. 20 minutes before eating. So you should be treated for 2-3 days, finish taking the infusion with a laxative.
- A decoction of 1 kg of sorrel and 1 liter of boiling water is boiled for 2 hours (it is better to do this in a water bath), filtered, a few tablespoons of sugar should be added. The volume of the final product is 1 glass of gravy, you should drink 1-2 sips a day before meals.
- Helminthiases are complex infections with a multicomponent clinical picture. They can cause serious complications, cause irreversible damage to human health.
Self-medication is unacceptable when infected with parasites. Folk recipes should be used with extreme caution, only as an adjunct to drug therapy.