Which parasites can live in the human body and how to fight them properly?

Before starting treatment for parasites, it is important to determine exactly which type is present in the body.This is necessary to choose effective methods of treatment, since most medications are specially designed to get rid of a particular type of helminth.

Are worms protozoa?

Sometimes you can hear the phrase that the patient is infected with protozoan worms.You should understand that protozoa are exclusively unicellular microorganisms, and in extreme cases they organize colonies.But they are never multicellular, like worms and helminths.

In protozoa, all processes occur within the cell cytoplasm and cell nuclei, while in worms the anatomical organization is much more complex: they have differentiated organs that perform special physiological functions.Therefore, it is fundamentally wrong to classify worms as protozoa.

Sometimes helminths are called protozoan parasites compared to insects: bugs, lice, etc., since the latter are much higher on the evolutionary scale.In this interpretation, the name of worms as protozoa is acceptable.

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The most common parasites

The most common endoparasites are, of course, helminths (worms), which, according to various sources, infect more than 80% of the world's population.

A large number of these parasites are divided into main types:

• nematodes - roundworms (roundworms, pinworms, Trichinella, whipworms, etc.);
• cestodes – tapeworms (tapeworms, pig and cattle tapeworms, echinococci, etc.);
• trematodes - fluke worms (liver, blood, lungs, as well as flukes that live in the intestines).

Sometimes you can find a more general classification, according to which all types of human parasites are divided into:

• luminal (intestinal), parasitic in the intestines;
• tissue, localized in other organs and tissues.

Let's look at a brief description of the most common types of helminths.

Roundworms (nematodes)

• Roundworms are the most common worms, 20 to 40 cm long, parasitic in the small intestine, but first migrate to the human body, affecting the circulatory and respiratory systems.Along with the intestines, these parasites can be found in the liver and gall bladder, heart and lungs.A common symptom of ascariasis is an allergic reaction.
• Worms are small worms up to 1 cm, which affect the intestines and lead to enterobiasis with gastrointestinal disorders, exhaustion, sleep disturbances, etc.A characteristic sign of the presence of worms is itching in the anus, where they lay eggs.
• Trichinella - these microscopic worms (their size is only a few millimeters) lead to a serious disease - trichinosis, which can lead to death if not treated.Adult species live in the human body in the muscles (respiratory, facial, etc.), causing muscle pain, fever, swelling and allergic skin rashes.
• Whipworms are small worms (up to 4.5 cm long, with the front of the body

thread-like), the larvae of which cause trichuriasis with diarrhea, acute abdominal pain and other symptoms resembling appendicitis.Due to intoxication of the body, anemia develops.

Tapeworms (cestodes)

• The broad tapeworm, whose body length reaches 10 m, leads to the development of diphyllobothriasis with nausea, weakness, vomiting, unstable stools, asthenia and anemia.
• The pig tape has a length of 3 to 8 m, parasitizes mainly in the small intestine and causes two diseases at once: taeniasis with dyspeptic, astheno-neurotic and abdominal syndromes and cysticercosis with intoxication, intestinal, allergic and respiratory syndromes.Depending on the location of the cysticerci, the muscles, brain, heart, eyes, etc. are affected.
• The bovine tapeworm, which can reach a length of up to 18 m, causes teniahrynchiasis and is considered one of the most dangerous types of worms.If deworming is not done, it can live in the human body for up to 18-20 years!Located in the large intestine, it causes severe intoxication with residues, as well as diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, anemia, allergic reactions and problems with the nervous system.
• The dwarf tapeworm, only 1.5-5 cm long, is the source of hymenolepiasis with dyspeptic, pain and astheno-neurotic syndromes, which mainly affect the digestive and nervous systems of the body, as well as the liver.
• Echinococcus is considered the smallest tapeworm - its length is only from 2.5 to 8, rarely 9 mm, but infection with it has serious consequences in the form of damage to the liver and lungs, where cysts and tumors are formed, causing dysfunction of these organs.

Fluke worms (trematodes)

• The liver fluke, or liver fluke, is leaf-shaped, 30-50 mm long and 8-13 mm wide, and has suckers.It damages the lining of the liver and, by blocking the bile ducts, can completely block the outflow of bile.It can lead to cirrhosis, jaundice and liver cancer.
• The (Siberian) cat fluke, or cat fluke, is a flatworm 4-13 mm long.Localization - ducts of the gallbladder, liver and pancreas.It causes opisthorchiasis with the development of gastritis, ulcers, pancreatitis, cholecystitis and even liver cancer, which can be fatal.
• The pulmonary tube has an oval shape, a red-brown body with small spines ranging in length from 7.5 to 12 mm and a width of 4-8 mm.It affects the lungs, causing inflammation, exudative pleurisy, focal fibrosis and lung cancer.By penetrating the brain, it causes encephalitis and meningoencephalitis.
• Schistosomes (blood flukes) are dioecious worms 1-2 cm in size, whose eggs cause enlargement of the liver, spleen and lymph nodes, the formation of polyps in the intestine, diarrhea, granulomatous inflammation, leading to bladder cancer.

The diseases they cause

The most dangerous parasites that live in the human body can cause a number of diseases.Very often, a disease provoked by a specific parasite has the same name as it.Thus, different types of parasites in the human body can cause the following diseases:

• some parasites inside humans (flux) provoke trematodes;
• Cestodes occur when infected by tapeworms;
• if an adult or a child has roundworms in the intestines, then nematodes are diagnosed;
• leeches cause hirudinosis;
• Anctocephalosis is caused by acanthocephalans.

However, parasites in the human body can affect more than one organ.Depending on the location of the parasites in the human body, the following parasitic diseases are distinguished:

1. When the eyes are affected, onchocerciasis, demodicosis, cysticercosis and myiasis may appear;
2. Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract caused by parasites and single-celled helminths are ascariasis, trichinosis, hookworm, enterobiasis, intestinal myiasis, and methagonimiasis;
3. Brain diseases - echinococcosis, toxoplasmosis, alveococcosis and cysticercosis;
4. Dermatological diseases - demodicosis, pediculosis, scabies, pulicosis, thrombidiasis, phthiriasis;
5. Lung pathologies - echinococcosis, ascariasis, acariasis, alveococcosis, tominxosis, etc.;
6. Liver diseases - opisthorchiasis, alveococcosis, echinococcosis, clonorchiasis;
7. In the mouth, ears and oral cavity, parasites can cause different types of myiasis;
8. Pathologies of the heart - dirofilariasis and echinococcosis;
9. Diseases of the genitourinary system - alveococcosis, urate myases, echinococcosis;
10. Vascular pathologies - filariasis and schistosomiasis.

Flatworms

Parasitic flatworms, or flukes, have a characteristic leaf-like body shape.Their structure is quite organized - they have a digestive, secretory and nervous system.They change their hosts during their life cycle.

The following types have become widespread:

1. Siberian fluke (cat fluke), or opisthorchis.Most often, infection occurs through raw fish, which leads to the appearance of a rather dangerous disease - opisthorchiasis.Parasites multiply very quickly, which can cause serious consequences.The worms have a yellow tint, and their length can exceed 12 m.Occupying a place in the human body, these parasites provoke internal bleeding, disrupt the outflow of bile and cause pancreatic dysfunction.Dangerous consequences: purulent cholangitis, achillea, cholangiocarcinoma.

2. Liver enlargement.The intermediate host is cattle, and humans become infected by eating poorly processed meat from affected animals.Fascioliasis develops as a result of the infection.These worms are relatively small in size (no more than 5-6 cm), but they can provoke dangerous pathologies: liver abscesses, cholangitis, hepatitis.Through the blood, the larvae of the parasite can spread throughout the body.
3. Schistosoma.The worm is able to settle in blood vessels, consuming blood components.As a result of its vital activity, the development of varicose veins and tumor formations is possible.The main symptom is general intense intoxication.

In the human body you can find a large number of different parasitic worms that can occupy different internal organs.All of them cause chronic diseases that can provoke serious pathologies.If signs of helminthiasis of any kind appear, you should consult a doctor to start adequate treatment.

Bull bar

The cattle bar can reach a length of up to 12 m.It is a hermaphrodite that can produce more than 100,000 eggs, which are excreted in the feces.The eggs fall to the ground, then to plants, and these plants are eaten by livestock.In the animal's body, the eggs become larvae, which are located in the muscles.If a person eats contaminated beef, the larvae enter the intestines.Larvae are not transmitted from person to person.

Adult worms have a head with four suckers, a neck, and a segmented body.The number of segments is constantly increasing;mature segments can be separated from the worm and crawled out of the human intestine.

Bull bar

Symptoms of the disease are nausea, vomiting, dyspeptic disorders, increased salivation, dizziness, weakness, nervousness, fatigue, abdominal pain with undetermined localization, allergies, appetite fluctuations.

To remove the tapeworm from the body, there is a scheme consisting of 3 stages: preparatory (cleansing the body), treatment with antiparasitic drugs, recovery (diet, herbal drugs).

Tapeworms

Tapeworms or cestodes include a variety of flatworms, the length of which can vary from 2 mm to 10-12 m.The body of such parasites has a specific structure - numerous segments, a neck and a head with suction cups (hooks) for attachment to walls.The cestode is a hermaphrodite, and the eggs are laid in segments.The worm absorbs nutrients over the entire body surface.

The following common types of tapeworms are distinguished:

1. Alveococcus.They can provoke cholangitis and abscess, as well as spread to the spleen, muscles and brain.
2. Tapeworms, or tapes.Bovine tapeworm causes the disease teniarynchosis and is usually found in the small intestine.Serious complications - cholecystitis, intestinal obstruction, appendicitis.This worm can lead to the following consequences: atrophy of the intestinal mucosa, Gunther's glossitis, leukopenia.

Protozoan parasites

Toxoplasma gondii is a type of parasite whose main host is cats.They can also be carried by warm-blooded animals and humans.The disease caused by toxoplasma is called toxoplasmosis.The course of the disease is mild, except for damage to the fetus inside the mother's womb during pregnancy, which creates serious consequences for both the mother and the fetus, up to death.

Amoeba is a simple single-celled organism that is considered one of the first creatures to have lived on Earth.The disease caused by amoeba is called amebiasis.Intestinal infection, with a predominant ulcerative lesion of the large intestine with the appearance of bloody diarrhea, the possible formation of secondary intestinal lesions, tending to be chronic.

Malaria plasmodium is the simplest single-celled creature, in the development cycle of which a person is a temporary host and a mosquito is a permanent host.In the human body, the parasitic plasmodium is represented by 4 types:

• P. malaria – four-day malaria;
• P.vivax - three-day malaria;
• P.ovale - three-day oval malaria;
• P.falciparum - tropical malaria;

The duration of the interval between outbreaks depends on the type of pathogen.In addition to all this, anemia develops, as the plasmodium affects the red blood cells.

Giardia is a pear-shaped protozoan that has two nuclei and four pairs of flagella.The main source is pigs and humans.Giardiasis is a common disease that mainly affects the liver and small intestine.The disease can occur in both mild and severe forms.

Trichomonas are flagellated, unicellular, pear-shaped organisms that cause the disease trichomoniasis, are sexually transmitted, and affect the genitourinary system.It is noted that both men and women are affected, but in men the disease is usually asymptomatic.

Trypanosomes are a genus of unicellular flagellated protozoa.Trypanosomiasis causes a severe illness and sleeping sickness is fatal to humans.Trypanosomes are transmitted by bedbugs and tsetse flies.In the host's body, the parasite multiplies under the skin, then penetrates the lymphatic system and blood.Most pathogens reside in the spinal cord and brain, where they destroy cells and release their toxins.