Almost all of us have had to deal with manifestations of helminthiasis. These parasites have lived with humans for so long that Hippocrates himself mentioned them in his writings. According to WHO statistics, more than five billion people on Earth are currently affected by various types of helminthiases.
The pharmaceutical industry regularly produces modern products designed to neutralize parasites in the human body, folk remedies for helminthiases, complementing 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 (nematodes);
- roundworms (cestodia and trematodes).
Their size varies from a few millimeters to 10-12 m. The parasites mature sexually very quickly, after which they acquire the ability to lay ten to one hundred thousand eggs a day.
These eggs remain viable for a long time, even if the conditions are not the most favorable. Types of organisms affected by parasites, according to the stage of their development:
- the final host, in which helminths can develop until puberty;
- intermediate host, where helminths live until one of the stages of their development.
In the body of the final host, the parasite can complete its development cycle many times and live in it for several decades. For many types of parasites, a person can be a final and intermediate host, as can molluscs, fish, and carnivores. According to the type of biological cycle, cases of infestation with parasites are classified as:
- biohelminthiasis - the development of helminths occurs in organisms of various types;
- geohelminthiases - helminth eggs spend part of their development cycle in the soil, without an intermediate host.
How does a parasite infestation work?
The ways in which helminths enter the human body are very diverse, depending on social characteristics, natural and climatic factors and food preferences. The main forms of infection with helminths:
- By dirty hands, contaminated water, poorly processed food.
- By inhaling dust particles with worm eggs;
- Through the skin;
- After a mosquito bite as an intermediate host (Wuchereria bancrofti);
- When eating contaminated seafood, meat, fish (trematode).
The nutritional characteristics of some peoples in the North suggest the use of raw and lightly salted fish for food. In this population, the prevalence of trichinosis and echinococcosis is high.
Which organs are affected by helminthiasis
Defeat by helminths can be localized in many organs and tissues. The location of the helminth depends on the stage of its development, so the same type of worm at different stages of its existence can parasitize in different parts of the intestine. Organs affected by helminthiasis:
- Large intestine - roundworm, pinworms;
- Duodenum - Strongyloides stercoralis;
- lymphatic 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:
- tissue (echinococcosis, cysticercosis);
- translucent (taeniasis, enterobiasis, ascariasis).
Some of the helminths in the larval stage transform the tissues of the human body, forming capsules or granules around themselves (trichinella, toxocara). There is a type of helminths that migrate in the larval stage and under a person's skin and in the tissues of their organs (larval helminths).
Their temporary stay in the human body takes visceral and cutaneous forms, a person for them is an intermediate host.
Clinical manifestations of helminthiasis
Like many other infections, helminthiasis goes through two stages of development: acute and chronic. Its duration:
- acute phase - from 2-3 weeks to several months;
- chronic phase - from 2-3 months to several years.
Despite the variety of types of helminths and their location, symptoms of the acute phase have common manifestations - they are symptoms of allergies and toxic effects on the human body:
- a slight rise in temperature;
- muscle pain,
- skin 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 from helminthiasis to the chronic stage is marked by symptoms that depend on which organ is affected by the parasites, the stage of development of the worms, their number and variety. In the chronic phase of helminthiasis, the following symptoms are diagnosed:
- dyspepsia and bowel pain,
- bowel obstruction,
- colitis in the hemorrhagic form,
- anemia,
- avitaminosis,
- drastic weight loss
- obstructive jaundice, hepatitis (with liver damage),
- loss of some central nervous system functions (with the location of parasites in the brain),
- inflammatory diseases of Organs pelvic organs (when worms migrate to the vagina),
- ulcer of the stomach and intestines (with chronic strongyloidiasis),
- damage to muscle tissue, the formation of granulomas in the capillaries of the brain (with severe trichinosis),
- damage to the lymphatic system (when infected with nematodes).
With helminthiases caused by echinococci, not only are liver cysts formed, but parasites can damage bone tissue. This makes bones brittle and creates an additional risk of bone 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 node is able to move through 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, nor clear specific signs.
Diagnosis of parasite infestation
If you don't make an accurate diagnosis in time, you may miss the moment when the treatment started could be most effective.
The transition of helminthiasis from the acute stage to the chronic form often masks 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 for diagnosing parasitic infection:
- laboratory examination of feces, bile, sputum, blood, urine, rectum and
- prian scraping of mucus, duodenal contents for detection of parasites, their eggs and larvae;
- Ultrasound, radiography;
- Endoscopy, endobiopsy.
The most effective method is considered 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 diagnostic results, the doctor prescribes anthelmintic therapy, the time of the control study after treatment.
All recommendations from a specialist must be followed carefully to avoid complications.
It is unnecessary to remember about the observance of preventive hygiene measures that will prevent infestation of family members with parasites and secondary infection.
Advocates of the use of folk recipes need to remember that the use of these resources is an auxiliary method that is not a substitute for drug treatment.
Just like medicines, traditional medicines have contraindications and side effects. That's why it's worth discussing this method with your doctor before using them. Home remedies:
- Taking peeled pumpkin seeds for 2 weeks, keeping the thin green husk on the seed.
- A decoction of the peel, removed from a pomegranate in 3/4 tbsp. boiling water. The remedy is drunk on an empty stomach, this should be done in an hour and a half, dividing the broth into three doses. After a few hours, be sure to stimulate the stool with any laxative.
- 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) together with warm milk (1 glass), the mixture should be drunk on an empty stomach, the remedy should be repeated 1-2 times during the day.
- Infusion of 50 g of a mixture of grated garlic and horseradish in half a liter of vodka. The mixture is infused for 1. 5 weeks, filtered. Mandatory dose - 1 tbsp. I. before each meal, the infusion should be watered. Effective in giardiasis.
- Enema with garlic porridge, taken just before bed, is effective for worms and tapeworms. Enema solution: stir in a glass of water 1 tsp. finely chopped garlic. Drive regularly throughout the week.
- A decoction of 2 cloves of garlic, 2 tbsp. milk, 1 tbsp. I. Dried tansy flowers are administered as an enema. The enema mixture should be boiled for about 10 minutes. Perform 7 times, the treatment effect can be corrected by repeating the course after an interval of ten days.
Herbs and fees:
- 1 tsp dry absinthe pour 400 ml (2 tbsp) of boiling water, strain and cool, take an infusion of 1-2 tbsp. I. three times a day before each meal. Effective for ascariasis and enterobiasis.
- Tansy (1 tbsp. Dried flowers) and 0. 5 liters of boiling water leave for 3 hours and enter as an enema into the rectum before going to bed. The drug is contraindicated in pregnant women and children.
- Infusion for half an hour from 4 tbsp. I. green walnuts and a glass of boiling salted water is filtered and taken simultaneously with a laxative. Effective against tapeworm, ascariasis, enterobiasis.
- 1st. I. tansy flowers pour 200 ml of boiling water, an hour later the infusion is filtered. The frequency of admission is standard - art. I. 20 minutes before meals. Then you need to be treated for 2-3 days, finish 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, a few tablespoons of sugar should be added to it. The volume of the final product is 1 glass of broth, it should be drunk 1-2 sips a day before meals.
- Helminthiases are complex infections with a multicomponent clinical picture. They can cause serious complications, cause irreversible damage to human health.
It is unacceptable to self-medicate when infected with parasites. Folk recipes should be used with extreme caution, only as an adjunct accompanying drug therapy.