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What worms do people have?

The cause of many diseases and ill health is helminth infection.Various worms can penetrate the human body.Their sizes vary from the smallest millimeters to 16-18 meters.Parasitizing in all organs and tissues, they cause enormous damage to health.To protect yourself from invasion (infection), it is advisable to know what types of worms exist and understand how you can become infected with each type of parasite.

parasites from the human body

Types of worms - which parasites live in the human body

Depending on the location of parasitism in the body and the characteristics of the infection, parasites are divided into several classes.

Classification of worms depending on their location in the human body:

  1. Intestinalare worms that live in the gastrointestinal tract, mainly in the small intestine.Sometimes they penetrate other organs.This group includes tapeworms and roundworms.
  2. Extraintestinal– they develop, live and reproduce in different organs outside the intestines.They can be localized in the lungs, eyes, brain and liver.This group includes flatworms.
worms from the human body

Classification of worms depending on the way they enter the human body:

  1. Contagious- are transmitted to a healthy person from an infected person during contact.Another source of infection are household items: towels, toys.Representatives of this species are dwarf tapeworms and pinworms.
  2. Biohelminthosis- transmitted by contact with an animal, as a result of consuming contaminated meat that has not been subjected to sufficient heat treatment.In order to become potentially dangerous to humans, these parasites must live for a certain period in the body of an animal that is an intermediate host.This species includes beef and pork tapeworms.
  3. Geohelminthiasis- part of the life cycle is spent in the human body, and part in the soil.This is a necessary condition for their development.You can get infected through improperly washed vegetables and fruits.This group includes roundworms and trichinella.

Depending on their biological characteristics, helminths are divided into three types - roundworms, tapeworms and flukes.

tapeworms from the human body

roundworms (nematodes)

Roundworms are so called because their bodies are round in cross-section.These parasites are most often found in the child's body.This type includes:

  1. Pinworms– parasitize in the large and small intestine.The length of their body does not exceed 1 cm.Most often, helminthic infestation of pinworms affects children.These parasites live for 1-2 months.If you strictly follow personal hygiene, you can heal without taking medicine.If it is not followed, repeated self-infection is possible.
  2. Roundworms– worms up to 45 cm long, which parasitize in the small intestine.They can move freely inside the intestines.Their lifespan is 14 months.During that period, they release toxins into the blood, systematically poisoning the body.
  3. Whipworm- worms, whose body length is 3-4 cm.They parasitize in the colon and cecum, digging into their mucosa to suck blood.Very toxic.They live up to 5 years.
  4. Trichinella– a parasite 3-4 mm long, which can be infected through meat that has not been sufficiently thermally processed.Helminths live in different organs, settling in the muscles of the eyes, heart and lungs.Life expectancy is up to 2 years.
  5. Hookworm and nekator- have the same biological characteristics, development cycle and method of parasitism, so they are united under the same name "hookworms".These helminths, 10-15 mm long, are localized in the duodenum.They enter the human body through the skin after contact with contaminated soil.They feed on blood by biting blood vessels, which leads to iron deficiency anemia.This parasite is difficult to identify.
trichinella from the human organism

tapeworms (cestodes)

The tapeworm has a flat body that is divided into segments.As the worm grows, the segments separate from the body and are excreted in the feces.These ribbon-shaped individuals can be up to 20 m long.They parasitize in the intestines, where they attach to its walls with suckers.

In order to infect a person, tapeworms must go through one of the stages of development in the animal's body.

These parasites live in the body for years.Representatives of this group:

  1. Broad tapeworm– reaches a length of up to 20 m.It parasitizes in the small intestine, causing severe dysfunction of the digestive tract.You can become infected if you eat the meat of freshwater fish and crustaceans that have not been thermally processed.
  2. Bull tapeworm- helminth 6-12 m long.It lives in the small intestine, attached by suction cups to its mucous membrane.The source of infection is beef that has not been subjected to appropriate heat treatment.
  3. Pork tapeworm– a parasite up to 2 m long, which enters the body through raw or poorly processed pork meat.It attaches to the walls of the small intestine.
  4. Echinococcus– a parasite that can be contracted from cats and dogs.A person is the intermediate host of this helminth, therefore, when they enter the body, the larvae penetrate the tissues, any organs and form echinococcal cysts.They can only be removed surgically.
  5. Alveococcus- species of echinococcus.Very dangerous helminths that can live in all organs, but primarily parasitize the liver.They actively grow and develop according to the principle of cancer metastasis, gradually infecting the whole body.The worms can be removed surgically.
pork tapeworm from humans

flukes (trematodes)

Butterflies are a type of worms that parasitize all organs and tissues.They feed on epithelial cells.They reach a length of 1.5 m.The body is leaf-shaped.The route of infection is the consumption of fish and seafood raw or after insufficient heat treatment.This type includes:

  1. Liver fluke– worm 7-20 mm long.Parasitic on the liver and bile ducts.It provokes the development of serious diseases and functional disorders.
  2. Fluke– a worm 4-13 mm long, localized in the gallbladder.
fluke in the gallbladder

Symptoms - signs of worms in humans

How exactly helminthiasis manifests depends on the type of worms that have infected the body and their number.Main symptoms of helminthic infestation:

  • diarrhea or constipation;
  • flatulence, flatulence;
  • pain in muscles and joints;
  • anemia;
  • allergic reactions;
  • dermatitis;
  • weight problems - weight loss or obesity;
  • sleep disorder;
  • nervousness, irritability, depression;
  • apathy, fatigue;
  • cough, inflammation of the respiratory tract;
  • weakened immunity.
insomnia as a symptom of worms in the body

How to tell if there are worms

If symptoms appear that may indicate the presence of worms, it is worth making a diagnosis.The following tests will help identify parasites:

  1. Chair review.
  2. Blood test.
  3. Study of duodenal secretion.
  4. Analysis of perianal and rectal mucus.
  5. Ultrasound, tomography, endoscopy.

You can be sure of the diagnostic result if you do the test 3-4 times with a gap of several days.One analysis is not enough to confirm the absence of helminthic infestation.

The human body can be affected by one type of worm or several at once.All of them, regardless of size, cause serious health problems and are the cause of complex chronic diseases that cannot be cured for years.In order to eliminate the risk of infection, it is necessary to periodically carry out diagnostics and preventive treatment.This is especially true for pet owners.