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

Before starting treatment for parasites, it is important to determine exactly which species is present in the body.This is necessary in order to choose effective methods of treatment, since most drugs are designed specifically to get rid of a certain type of helminths.

Are worms protozoa?

Sometimes you can hear the phrase that the patient is infected with protozoan worms.You must 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 take place in 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.It is therefore fundamentally wrong to classify worms as protozoa.

Sometimes helminths are called protozoan parasites compared to insects: bed bugs, lice, etc., because the latter are much higher on the evolutionary ladder.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 beef tapeworms, echinococci, etc.);
• trematodes - flukes (liver, blood, lung, 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:

• lumen (intestinal), parasitic in the intestine;
• tissues located in other organs and tissues.

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

Roundworms (nematodes)

• Ascaris are the most common roundworms with a length of 20 to 40 cm, parasitize the small intestine, but first migrate into 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.
• Pinworms are small worms up to 1 cm in size that affect the intestines and lead to enterobiasis with gastrointestinal disorders, exhaustion, sleep disorders, etc.A characteristic sign of the presence of pinworms is itching in the anus, where they lay eggs.
• Trichinella - these microscopic worms (their size is only a few millimeters) lead to severe diseases - 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

in the form of threads), whose larvae cause trichuriasis with diarrhea, acute abdominal pain and other symptoms resembling appendicitis.Anemia develops due to intoxication of the body.

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 tapeworm is 3 to 8 m long, parasitizes mainly in the small intestine and causes two diseases at the same time: taeniosis with dyspeptic, astheno-neurotic and abdominal syndrome and cysticercosis with intoxication, intestinal, allergic and respiratory syndromes.Depending on the localization of the cysticerci, the muscles, brain, heart, eyes, etc. are affected.
• The beef tapeworm, which can reach a length of up to 18 m, causes taeniarhynchiasis 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!Localized in the large intestine, it causes strong intoxication with waste products, 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 severe 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)

• Liver fluke, or liver fluke, has the shape of a leaf, 30-50 mm long and 8-13 mm wide, has shoots.It damages the liver lining and, by blocking the bile ducts, can completely block the flow of bile.It can lead to cirrhosis, jaundice and liver cancer.
• The cat (Siberian) fluke or cat fluke is a flat worm 4-13 mm long.Localization - ducts of the gall bladder, liver and pancreas.It causes opisthorchosis with the development of gastritis, ulcer, pancreatitis, cholecystitis and even liver cancer, which can be fatal.
• The lung fluke has an egg-shaped, red-brown body with small spines 7.5 to 12 mm long and 4-8 mm wide.It affects the lungs, causing inflammation, exudative pleurisy, focal fibrosis and lung cancer.When it enters 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, formation of polyps in the intestine, diarrhea, granulomatous inflammation leading to bladder cancer.

The diseases they cause

The most dangerous parasites living in the human body can cause various diseases.Very often a disease provoked by a certain parasite bears the same name as it.Thus, different types of parasites in the human body can cause the following diseases:

• certain parasites in humans (flukes) provoke trematodes;
• Cestodes occur when infected with tapeworms;
• if an adult or child has roundworms in the intestines, then nematodes are diagnosed;
• leeches cause hirudinosis;
• Anthocephalosis 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 affecting the eyes, onchocerciasis, demodicosis, cysticercosis and myiasis may occur;
2. Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract caused by unicellular parasites and helminths are ascariasis, trichinosis, hookworm, enterobiosis, intestinal myiasis and metagonimosis;
3. Diseases of the brain - echinococcosis, toxoplasmosis, alveococcosis and cysticercosis;
4. Dermatological diseases - demodicosis, pediculosis, scabies, pulicosis, thrombidosis, phthiriasis;
5. Pulmonary 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. Cardiac pathologies - dirofilariasis and echinococcosis;
9. Diseases of the genitourinary system - alveococcosis, urate myiasis, echinococcosis;
10. Vascular pathologies - filariasis and schistosomiasis.

Flatworms

Parasitic flatworms, or flukes (flukes), have a characteristic leaf-like body shape.Their system is quite organized - they have a digestive, excretory 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, the infection occurs through raw fish, which leads to the appearance of a rather dangerous disease - opisthorchosis.Parasites multiply very quickly, which can cause serious consequences.The worms have a yellowish tint, and their length can exceed 12 m.Being 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 fluke.The intermediate host is cattle, and humans become infected by eating poorly processed meat from affected animals.As a result of infection, the disease fascioliasis develops.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 parasite's larvae 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 severe general intoxication.

In the human body, you can find a huge number of different parasitic worms that can linger in various internal organs.All of them cause chronic diseases that can provoke severe pathologies.If signs of helminthiasis of any kind appear, you should consult a doctor to begin adequate treatment.

Whipworm

The beef tapeworm can reach a length of up to 12 m.It is a hermaphrodite that can produce more than 100,000 eggs, which are passed in feces.The eggs fall into the soil, then onto plants, and these plants are eaten by livestock.In the animal's body, the eggs turn into larvae, which are localized 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 body consisting of segments.The number of segments is constantly increasing;mature segments can detach from the worm and crawl out of the human intestine.

Whipworm

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

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

Tapeworm

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

The following common types of tapeworm are distinguished:

1. Alveococcus.They can provoke cholangitis and abscess, as well as spread to the spleen, muscles and brain.
2. Tapeworm, or tapeworm.The bovine tapeworm causes the disease taeniarhynchosis and is usually localized 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 primary host is cats.They can also be transmitted 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 in the mother's womb during pregnancy, which creates serious consequences for both the mother and the fetus, even death.

The amoeba is a simple single-celled organism that is believed to be one of the first creatures to live 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, possible formation of secondary intestinal lesions, with a tendency to chronicity.

Plasmodium malariae is the simplest unicellular organism, in the development cycle of which man is the temporary host and the mosquito is the permanent host.In the human body, the parasitic plasmodium is represented by 4 types:

• P. malarie – four-day malaria;
• P.vivax - three-day malaria;
• P.ovale - three-day ovale 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 because the plasmodium affects the red blood cells.

Giardia is a pear-shaped protozoan that has two nuclei and four pairs of flagella.Pigs and humans are the main source.Giardiasis is a common disease that primarily affects the liver and small intestine.The disease can manifest itself in both mild and severe form.

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

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