Almost every one of us has dealt with manifestations of helminthiasis. These parasites have coexisted with humans for so long that Hippocrates himself mentioned them in his writings. According to WHO statistics, different types of helminthiasis currently affect more than five billion people on Earth.
The pharmacological industry regularly produces modern products for neutralizing parasites in the human body, folk remedies for helminthiasis, which complement traditional treatment, have also not lost their relevance.
About helminths
There are about 250 species of parasites that live in human tissues and organs. All of them are divided into two classes:
- flatworms (nemotodes);
- Roundworms (cestodia and trematodes).
Their size ranges from a few millimeters to 10-12 m. Parasites become sexually mature very quickly, after which they acquire the ability to lay tens to hundreds of thousands of eggs per day.
These eggs remain viable for a long time even when conditions are not the most favorable. Types of organisms affected by parasites, depending on the stage of their development:
- the definitive host, in which the helminths can develop until puberty;
- Intermediate host in which helminths live up to one of their stages of development.
In the body of the definitive host, the parasite can go through a complete cycle of its development many times and live in it for several decades. For various species of parasites, humans can be both definitive and intermediate hosts, as can molluscs, fish, and carnivores. Depending on the nature of the biological cycle, cases of parasitic infestation are divided into:
- Biohelminthiasis - the development of helminths occurs in organisms of different species;
- Geohelminthiases - Worm eggs spend part of their development cycle in the soil without an intermediate host.
How does a parasite infestation work?
The routes by which helminths enter the human body are very diverse, they depend on social characteristics, natural and climatic factors, and dietary preferences. The main routes of infection with helminths:
- From dirty hands, contaminated water, poorly processed food.
- When inhaling dust particles with worm eggs;
- through the skin;
- After mosquito bite as intermediate host (Wuchereria bancrofti);
- When eating contaminated seafood, meat, fish (trematodes).
The nutritional characteristics of some northern peoples suggest the use of lightly salted and raw fish as food. In this population, the prevalence of trichinosis and hydatid disease is high.
Which organs are affected by helminthiasis?
Defeat by helminths can be localized in many organs and tissues. The localization of the helminth depends on its stage of development, so the same species of worms can parasitize in different parts of the intestine at different stages of its existence. Organs affected by helminthiasis:
- colon - roundworm, pinworms;
- duodenum - Strongyloides stercoralis;
- lymph vessels,
- lungs - Paragonimidae;
- Subcutaneous tissue - larva migrans.
- Helminths parasitize in hollow organs and tissues of the human body.
Depending on the location of the parasites, helminthiases are divided into types:
- tissues (echinococcosis, cysticercosis);
- translucent (taeniasis, enterobiasis, ascariasis).
Some of the helminths in the larval stage transform the tissues of the human body, forming capsules or grains around themselves (Trichinella, Toxocara). There is one type of helminth that in the larval stage and migrate under a person's skin and in the tissues of their organs (larval helminths).
Their temporary stay in the human body takes on both visceral and skin forms, a person is an intermediate host for them.
Clinical manifestations of helminthiasis
Like many other infections, helminthiasis goes through two stages of development: acute and chronic. Your duration:
- acute stage - from 2-3 weeks to several months;
- chronic stage - from 2-3 months to several years.
Despite the variety of types of helminths and their localization, the symptoms of the acute stage have common manifestations - these are symptoms of allergies and toxic effects on the human body:
- a slight increase in temperature;
- Muscle pain,
- rashes,
- limb edema,
- enlarged lymph nodes,
- Dyspepsia,
- enlargement of the spleen and liver,
- CNS damage.
A laboratory blood test indicates a change in its formula - eosinophilia and a significant increase in the number of leukocytes are diagnosed. The transition of helminthiasis to the chronic stage is characterized by symptoms that depend on which organ is affected by the parasites, the stage of development of the worms, their number and type. In the chronic stage of helminthiasis, the following symptoms are diagnosed:
- dyspepsia and pain in the intestines,
- 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 the localization of parasites in the brain),
- inflammatory diseases of the pelvic organs (when pinworms migrate into the vagina),
- gastric and intestinal ulcer (with chronic strongyloidiasis),
- damage to muscle tissue, formation of granulomas in the capillaries of the brain (in severe trichinosis),
- Damage to the lymphatic system (when infected with nematodes).
In helminthiases caused by echinococci, not only liver cysts are formed, but parasites can damage bone tissue. This makes the bones brittle and creates an additional risk of fractures. The defeat of the human body by the larvae of Dirofilaria repens occurs in the form of the formation of a subcutaneous node containing parasites. This lump can move in the thickness of the skin and mucous membranes.
Analyzing the symptoms of helminthiasis, one can be sure that there is no stable clinical picture of this disease, no clear specific signs.
Diagnosis of parasite infestation
If you do not make an accurate diagnosis in time, you may miss the moment when the treatment you have started could be most effective.
The transition of helminthiasis from the acute stage to the chronic form often obscures 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 its arsenal there are enough modern methods of diagnosing a parasitic infection:
- Laboratory examination of feces, bile, sputum, blood, urine, rectum, etc
- Prianal scraping 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 for infection with certain types of helminths.
This study can show 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 timing of the control study after treatment.
All recommendations of a specialist should be carefully followed in order to avoid complications.
It is unnecessary to remind about the observance of preventive hygiene measures that prevent the infestation of family members with parasites and secondary infections.
Advocates of using folk recipes need to remember that the use of these funds is an auxiliary method that does not replace drug treatment.
Traditional medicines, like medicines, have contraindications and side effects. That is why it is worth discussing this method with your doctor before using it. Home remedies:
- Take shelled pumpkin seeds for 2 weeks, keeping the thin green skin on the seed.
- A decoction of the zest removed from one pomegranate in 3/4 tbsp. boiling water. The remedy is drunk on an empty stomach, this must be done in an hour and a half, dividing the broth into three doses. Be sure to stimulate the stool with a laxative after a few hours.
- Enemas with freshly squeezed carrot juice (40 ml) should be done daily for 7 days.
- Regular use of garlic and preparations containing it.
- The introduction of a whole clove of garlic into the rectum (against enterobiasis).
- Reception of freshly prepared garlic juice (10-15 ml) along with warm milk (1 glass), the mixture should be drunk on an empty stomach, the remedy should be repeated 1-2 times a day.
- Infuse 50 g of a mixture of garlic and grated horseradish root in half a liter of vodka. The mixture is infused for 1. 5 weeks and filtered. Mandatory dose - 1 tbsp. l. The infusion must be washed down before each meal. Effective in Giardiasis.
- A garlic pulp enema just before bedtime is effective for pinworms and tapeworms. Enema solution: stir into a glass of water 1 tsp. finely chopped garlic. Perform regularly during the week.
- A decoction of 2 cloves of garlic, 2 tbsp. milk, 1 tbsp. l. dried tansy flowers are given as an enema. The enema mixture should be boiled for about 10 minutes. Carry out 7 times, the effect of the treatment can be fixed by repeating the course after a ten-day break.
Herbs and Fees:
- 1 teaspoon of dried wormwood pour 400 ml (2 tablespoons) of boiling water, strain and cool, take an infusion of 1-2 tbsp. l. three times a day before each meal. Effective in ascariasis and enterobiosis.
- Tansy (1 tablespoon of dried flowers) and 0. 5 liters of boiling water soak for 3 hours and before going to bed as an enema in the rectum. The drug is contraindicated in pregnant women and children.
- Infusion for half an hour of 4 tbsp. l. Unripe walnuts and a glass of salted boiling water are filtered and taken at the same time with a laxative. Effective against tapeworm, ascariasis, enterobiosis.
- 1. l. Tansy flowers pour 200 ml of boiling water, an hour later the infusion is filtered. The frequency of admission is usual - Art. l. 20 minutes before meals. So you need treatment for 2-3 days, stop 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, it is necessary to add a couple of tablespoons of sugar. The volume of the final product is 1 glass of broth, it must be drunk 1-2 sips a day before meals.
- Helminthiases are complex infections with a multi-component clinical picture. They can cause serious complications and cause irreversible harm to human health.
It is unacceptable to self-medicate when infected with parasites. Folk recipes should be used with extreme caution, only as an adjuvant concomitant drug therapy.