Nematodes - round worms - the most common worms, capable of damaging the human body. There are several subspecies of roundworms. They have approximately the same anatomical structure, but the habitat can be different. Taking into account the localization of adults, physicians distinguish intestinal, pulmonary, cardiac nematodes, nematodes can be present in the liver, in the larynx, in the muscles of the infected person. Infection with rare species of worms is also possible. The identification of an infectious agent within the host organism helps to form an effective treatment regimen. The identification process begins with a careful collection of an anamnesis of the disease by glittis, as well as some laboratory tests.
Ways of infection by nematodes of the human body are different. The most common species( such as ascarids and pinworms) penetrate through the mouth. Further their way is predetermined - through the stomach into the intestine. Some species( pinworms, for example) remain there, parasitize, reproduce and die without leaving the hollow organ. That's why such nematodes are called intestinal.
Intestinal nematodes
Other species migrate throughout the body. They easily penetrate into the liver of a sick person, into the bile ducts, into the bronchi. Round worms can parasitize even in the heart, then the cardiac form of helminthiasis is diagnosed. Depending on where the localization takes place, a clinical picture of the invasion is formed. Signs of the presence of worms indicate the appearance of chronic diseases( which were not previously in the patient), symptoms of general intoxication, weight loss. Each form of nematode has its own characteristic manifestations, we will talk about them in more detail.
Almost all adult individuals of nematodes live and reproduce in the host's body, occupying its thin or thick intestine. They eat red blood cells, which is why the patient develops anemia. Increased gas production, frequent constipation or diarrhea, pain in the epigastric region, a constant feeling of hunger, weight loss with normal appetite - all these manifestations may indicate the development of intestinal form of helminthiosis. To distinguish the invasion from any other disease of the gastrointestinal tract can be, by identifying the presence of immune disorders and nervous disorders.
Pulmonary nematodes
Pulmonary nematodes are especially severe. And all because they are accompanied by symptoms of chronic bronchitis and acute forms of pneumonia, fibrosis or pleurisy, bronchial asthma or pneumosclerosis, other dangerous diseases affecting important body functions. Patients with this form may complain about:
- Severe shortness of breath or attacks of suffocation.
- Cough in the morning with a small amount of sputum.
- Pain in the chest area, which is characterized by acute tingling sensations.
- Listening with a phonograph helps to hear wheezing and noise in the lung area.
- Possible nausea and vomiting, headaches, vision problems, the appearance of an allergic rash.
Lung infection occurs during the migration of the larvae of some nematodes( strongyloid, for example) inside the host organism. They get into the human body by the oral route or through the skin. It is easy to drill the walls of blood vessels and, together with lymph, continue to run along all internal systems.
Most of them settle in the lungs and finally develop until the sexually mature age. Almost all nematodes try hard to cling to the inside of the host's body behind the walls of the affected organs. With their hooks, suckers and tentacles, they literally bite into the mucous layer, disrupting the integrity of the tissues. The activity of nematode larvae inside the human body is capable of provoking different responses. It can be inflammation of damaged areas, the emergence of allergic processes, the formation of cysts, and even necrosis of affected tissues.
After the death of the larva, the capsule in which she lived is calcined. This phenomenon also causes certain complications. The presence of nematodes in the described organ requires complex treatment. To eliminate roundworms, broad-spectrum anthelmintics are used that can kill not only adult nematodes inside the host organism, but also their larvae and eggs. In parallel with this, patients are prescribed antihistamines, medications that help to eliminate the accompanying symptoms. The huge role is played by the prevention of repeated infections.
Nematodes parasitizing the larynx
Dry cough often causes nematodes to enter the larynx region. If a large number of larvae or even adults are parasitized in the bronchi, when the cough is accompanied by sputum, the worms enter the mouth, then they swallow, and this is the direct way to re-infecting with infestation. But worms in the throat are dangerous not only this. Larvae and adults in the larynx usually do not linger, they will seek to find a more convenient place for themselves inside the host organism, so nematodes often settle in the nose, in the maxillary sinuses. And then the symptoms of chronic rhinitis and sinusitis appear. Antibiotics do not help to get rid of worms. The presence of such a clinical picture is an occasion to suspect nematode, to go and pass on the analysis of feces, phlegm and mucus from the throat. Such studies allow us to identify the cause of malaise, as well as identify the causative agent of helminthiosis. And this is the first step towards choosing the means for successful treatment.