There are 4.5 billion people registered worldwide suffering from parasitic infections (infestations).In addition, the number of people infected with helminths is constantly increasing.
Causes of helminth infection.
It is not difficult to introduce worms into your body.These are just some of the causes of infection that everyone has known since childhood:
- Insufficient hygiene.The desire to eat unwashed fruits and vegetables, not wearing gloves while working in the garden and not caring about hygiene procedures leads to infection with various helminths.
- Addiction to fast street food.It is no secret that sellers of this type of 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 empanadas are another risk group.
- Love for exotic cuisines., including dishes made with raw fish and shellfish that contain parasites.It is precisely the fans of sushi and rolls who are responsible for the increased incidence of trematodes, tapeworms, nematodes, roundworms and worms.
- norththe ability to adequately protect yourself from infections during rest.The love for the “Turkish coasts” has caused an increase in cases of infection with exotic helminthiases: schistosomiasis, hookworms and dracunculiasis.After walking barefoot on a beach abroad, you can bring from your trip not only pleasant impressions, but also dangerous worms.
- pet infectionThey 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 inside his body, he would be horrified:
- Intestinal worms –pinworms, intestinal worms, whipworms, nematodes, toxocara, trichinella.Large helminths accumulate in huge balls, obstruct the intestinal lumen and cause obstruction that requires surgical treatment.Doctors remove an incredible amount of parasites from these people's intestines during surgery.
- hadThey appear among those who like to taste undercooked meats and raw fish.It 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 spread throughout the body.The infection can be fatal.
- trematodes– Flukes, trematodes and flukes 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 only visible under a microscope, they can cause dangerous complications, such as intestinal perforation and liver abscesses, which are fatal.
By what signs can you suspect the presence of “strangers”?If your stomach hurts, it means someone lives in it.
Signs of the presence of helminths:
- abdominal pain- the most common sign of helminth infection.It can be constant, periodic and affect certain areas of the abdomen.Pain in the right hypochondrium during helminthiasis indicates damage to the liver and gallbladder by worms.
- Digestive disorders– diarrhea, constipation, irregular bowel movements.Sometimes patients see segments of crawling worms or even entire 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 does not feed itself, but the worms.Patients complain of weakness, fatigue, loss of strength and dizziness.
- Damage to the urinary tractcaused by parasites that live in the kidneys and bladder.Patients complain of lower back pain and swelling.Sometimes traces of blood are seen in the urine.
- Slow chronic vaginitis.Nematodes and pinworms crawl from the anus to the genital tract, causing vaginal dysbiosis and leading to the development of thrush.Women are treated for itching and discharge, not realizing that parasites are the problem.
- Skin manifestations.Worm infection poisons the body and suppresses the immune system, causing allergies.The rashes range from small blisters to large focal areas.
- Inflammation of the mucous membrane.and itching in the anal area caused by irritation from crawling worms.
- General deterioration of health.Weak immunity, poor digestion and anemia weaken the body, which cannot resist infections.A person is tormented by constant colds, acute respiratory infections and acute respiratory viral infections.
Why ultrasound is more effective than traditional exams in detecting worms and other parasites
Giving feces 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 the 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 on ultrasound and 100% of the signs of their presence, he will suspect an infection and prescribe an additional examination.It is also helpful to undergo an ultrasound if tests for worms are positive.The study will show where the parasites hide.
Signs of helminthiasis determined by ultrasound of the abdominal cavity: semi-living organs and live worms.
When examining the gastrointestinal tract with 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 and compacted pancreas in the head area.The spleen is also too large.
The liver increases in size due to parasitic infection by trematodes, trematodes and trematodes.Reveals areas of dystrophy that prevent the organ from functioning.
The gallbladder also suffers.Patients experience stagnation of bile, which causes 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, life-threatening purulent liver lesions.In 85% of cases, abscesses form in one lobe of the liver.Other departments suffer less frequently.Purulent lesions are characteristic of hepatic amoebiasis, an infection by 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 the echinococcal lesions.These formations have a dense structure, so on ultrasound they appear lighter than the surrounding tissues.
With prolonged infection, large cysts with septa form, resembling wheel spokes or large honeycombs.There is destruction of the bile ducts.Doppler examination reveals an alteration in blood flow.
For lovers of Japanese cuisine.Parasites - as a gift
Fans of exotic Asian species encounter a wide variety of parasites, but the most common is opisthorchiasis, a Chinese fluke infection.The source of helminths is raw fish that contains parasites.
At the beginning 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, which look like mottled areas, will appear in these organs, and the liver ducts will lose their elasticity.The situation may result in the development of liver failure.
If the urinary tract becomes a victim of parasites.
Echinococcus affects not only the liver, but also the kidneys.When the parasite penetrates the kidney tissue, a unicameral cyst (bladder) is formed containing larvae.Gradually increasing in size, the hydatid cyst destroys the organ.Large parasitic cysts attach to the liver, spleen, and intestines.
Schistosomiasis is contracted by those who like to walk barefoot on the warm beaches of overseas countries.The larvae of the parasite enter the bloodstream through the skin and are then carried to the bladder with the blood.By settling 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 carry helminths into clean water
This test can detect infection with one or more types of parasites.It is carried out due to the presence of nematodes, toxocara, trichinella, opisthorchis flukes, echinococci, Chinese flukes, etc.
The test principle is based on the body's immune response to the presence of helminths.Worm infection causes the production of protein antibodies, which are detected during the analysis.Since each parasite causes the formation of a certain immunoglobulin, the test results show which helminths are found in the human body.
The analysis reacts to all forms of parasites: eggs, larvae and 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 some time after the death of the parasites.The concentration of immunoglobulins will gradually decrease over several more months.Then the analysis will be "clean".For the study, blood is taken from a vein on an empty stomach in a volume of 3 to 5 ml.The analysis is performed twice.
Ultrasound and immunoglobulin tests can identify helminthiasis and begin treatment.Thanks to its use, the number of cases of incorrect diagnosis that cause complications has decreased.The main thing is to immediately consult a doctor if a helminth infestation is suspected.