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 type is present in the body.This is necessary to select effective treatment methods, since most drugs are designed specifically to eliminate a specific type of helminths.

Are worms protozoa?

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

In protozoa all processes take place within the cellular 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 in comparison with insects: bedbugs, lice, etc., since the latter are much higher on the evolutionary scale.In this interpretation, the naming 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 huge number of these parasites are divided into main types:

• roundworms - roundworms (roundworms, pinworms, Trichinella, whipworms, etc.);
• tapeworms – tapeworms (tapeworms, porcine and bovine tapeworms, echinococci, etc.);
• flukes - trematode worms (liver, blood, lung and also flukes living in the intestine).

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

• luminal (intestinal), parasite in the intestine;
• tissue, located in other organs and tissues.

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

Nematodes (roundworms)

• Roundworms are the most common roundworms, 20 to 40 cm long, parasitic in the small intestine, but they migrate first into the human body, affecting the circulatory and respiratory systems.In addition to the intestines, these parasites can be found in the liver and gallbladder, heart and lungs.A common symptom of ascariasis is an allergic reaction.
• Pinworms are small worms up to 1 cm, which affect the intestine and cause enterobiasis with gastrointestinal disorders, tiredness, sleep disorders, etc.A characteristic sign of the presence of pinworms is itching in the anus, where they lay their eggs.
• Trichinella - these microscopic worms (their size is only a few millimeters) lead to serious diseases - trichinosis, which can lead to death if untreated.The 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 part of the body

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

Tapeworms (tapeworms)

• The large tapeworm, the body length of which reaches 10 m, leads to the development of diphyllobothriasis with nausea, weakness, vomiting, unstable stools, asthenia and anemia.
• The pork tapeworm is 3 to 8 m long, parasitic 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 tapeworms and is considered one of the most dangerous types of worms.If deworming is not carried out, it can live in the human body up to 18-20 years!Located in the large intestine, it causes severe intoxication from waste products, as well as diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, anemia, allergic reactions and nervous system problems.
• The dwarf tapeworm, only 1.5-5 cm long, is a source of hymenolepiasis with dyspeptic, painful 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 disastrous consequences in the form of damage to the liver and lungs, where cysts and tumors form, causing dysfunction of these organs.

Fluke worms (flukes)

• The liver fluke, or liver fluke, is shaped like a leaf, 30-50 mm long and 8-13 mm wide, and equipped with 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 cat fluke (Siberian), or cat fluke, is a flatworm 4-13 mm long.Location: ducts of the gallbladder, liver and pancreas.It causes opystorchiasis with the development of gastritis, ulcers, pancreatitis, cholecystitis and even liver cancer, which can be fatal.
• The lung fluke has an ovoid shape, a red-brown body with small spines between 7.5 and 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, the eggs of which cause enlargement of the liver, spleen and lymph nodes, formation of polyps in the intestine, diarrhea, granulomatous inflammation, leading to bladder cancer.

Diseases they cause

The most dangerous parasites living in the human body can cause a variety of diseases.Most often, a disease caused by a specific parasite has the same name.Therefore, various types of parasites in the human body can cause the following diseases:

• some parasites in humans (trematodes) cause flukes;
• Cestodoses occur when infected with tapeworms;
• if an adult or child has roundworms in the intestine, roundworms are diagnosed;
• leeches cause hirudinosis;
• Anthocephalosis is caused by acanthocephalians.

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

1. When the eyes are affected, onchocerciasis, demodicosis, cysticercosis and myiasis may occur;
2. Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract caused by unicellular parasites and helminths are ascariasis, trichinosis, hookworm, enterobiasis, intestinal myiasis and metagonimiasis;
3. Brain diseases: echinococcosis, toxoplasmosis, alveococcosis and cysticercosis;
4. Dermatological diseases – demodicosis, pediculosis, scabies, tubicosis, thrombodiasis, 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. Cardiac pathologies – dirophyllariasis and echinococcosis;
9. Diseases of the genitourinary system – alveococcosis, urate myiasis, echinococcosis;
10. Vascular pathologies – filariasis and schistosomiasis.

Flatworms

Parasitic flatworms, or trematodes (trematodes), have a characteristic leaf-shaped body shape.Their structure is quite organized: they have a digestive, excretory and nervous system.They change 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 yellowish tint and their length can exceed 12 m.Having gained a foothold in the human body, these parasites cause internal bleeding, disrupt the outflow of bile and cause pancreatic dysfunction.Dangerous consequences: purulent cholangitis, achilia, cholangiocarcinoma.

2. Liver shot.The intermediate host is livestock, and humans become infected by eating poorly processed meat from affected animals.As a result of the infection, the disease fascioliasis develops.These worms are relatively small in size (no more than 5-6 cm), but can cause 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 intense general intoxication.

In the human body you can find a huge number of different parasitic worms that can settle in various internal organs.They all cause chronic diseases that can lead to serious illnesses.If signs of helminthiasis of any kind appear, you should consult a doctor to begin appropriate treatment.

Bull tapeworm

The bovine tapeworm can reach a length of up to 12 m.It is a hermaphrodite that can produce more than 100,000 eggs, which are expelled in the form of excrement.The eggs fall into the soil, then onto plants, and these plants are eaten by livestock.In the animal's body, the eggs become larvae, located in the muscles.If a person eats contaminated beef, the larvae enter the intestine.The larvae are not transmitted from person to person.

Adult worms have a head with four suckers, a neck, and a body made up of segments.The number of segments is constantly growing;the mature segments can separate from the worm and crawl out of the human intestine.

Bull tapeworm

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

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

Tapeworms

Tapeworms, or tapeworms, include a variety of flatworms, whose length 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 suckers (hooks) for attachment to walls.The tapeworm is hermaphroditic and the eggs are found in segments.The worm absorbs nutrients across the entire surface of its body.

The following common types of tapeworms are distinguished:

1. Alveococcus.They can cause cholangitis and abscess, as well as spread to the spleen, muscles and brain.
2. Tapeworms or tapeworms.Bovine tapeworms cause the disease taeniarrhyncosis and are usually located in the small intestine.Serious complications: cholecystitis, intestinal obstruction, appendicitis.This worm can lead to the following consequences: atrophy of the intestinal lining, 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, with the exception of damage to the fetus inside the mother's uterus during pregnancy, which entails serious consequences for both the mother and the fetus, up to and including death.

Amoeba is a simple single-celled organism considered one of the first creatures to live on Earth.The disease caused by amoeba is called amoebiasis.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 become chronic.

Malarial plasmodium is the simplest unicellular 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 species:

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

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

Giardia is a pear-shaped protozoan that has two nuclei and four pairs of flagella.The main source is pigs and people.Giardiasis is a common disease that primarily 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 clear 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 serious disease, 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 are found in the spinal cord and brain, where they destroy cells and release toxins.