Parasitizing worms that exist at the expense of humans, there are a huge number, but only a few dozen of them are the most common and bring real harm to the body. Worm sizes are very different and range from a few millimeters to several meters. But the variety of colors they have is very limited. As a rule, helminths are transparent or translucent, white or whitish in color. However, there is another color in parasites that prefer the human body to inhabit.
When talking about brown worms in humans, it means specifically wide tapes. Strictly speaking, this type of parasite, reaching a length of 10 or more meters, is not in adult form brown worms, but its eggs, which originate in the small intestine, are oval and with a lid, have a golden brown color. The life cycle of a wide ribbon is complex and changes several hosts during their development.
Stages of development include:
- Helminth eggs, when released into the environment with feces, are transported to a body of water and transformed into a larva.
- The larva is absorbed by the crustacean, which in turn serves as food for freshwater fish.
- With the use of infected fish, the larvae of the brown worm enter the intestine and attach to the mucosa, where the transformation is completed into an adult.
The body of the worm consists of two thousand segments containing eggs as depicted in a photo of brown worms. In the human body, he can live up to twenty years. The negative impact of a wide ribbon on the body is associated with mechanical action on the walls of the intestine, irritation of the nerve endings and poisoning with the products of the vital activity of the parasite. As a result, necrosis and atrophy of tissues, disruption of normal functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, development of a deficiency of folic acid and a lack of vitamin B12, with a simultaneous decrease in blood levels of vitamins C, B, B1.
Symptoms of helminthic invasion appear gradually and begin with nausea, abdominal pain, unstable stool, increased or decreased appetite. The development of a deficiency of vitamins leads to increased fatigue, weakness, dizziness, palpitation, swelling on the face, inflammation of the tongue. The manifestation of symptoms depends on the degree of involvement of brown worms, concomitant diseases and other factors. The disease caused by this type of parasite is called diphyllobothriasis and the treatment is based on the use of special antiparasitic agents. Relapse of the disease, caused by brown helminths, is quite possible and then prescribe a repeated course of treatment.