Parasitism in nature is a widespread phenomenon.It refers to the coexistence of two or more organisms that are not interconnected in any way, but form a chain of host-parasite relationships.The second side uses the first as a source of food and habitat.A person must often act as the owner.
Ranking
Human parasites include all creatures, except bacteria and viruses, which live and feed at their expense, thereby causing harm.Many creatures can live on or inside the human body.They can be divided into two large groups:
- endoparasites;
- ectoparasites.
The former exist inside the body, in various physiological systems and organs.These either live on the body like mites or lice, or attack like bedbugs.
Endoparasite group
A very large group that includes protozoa, helminths and some other parasites.
Protozoa or protozoa
They are so called because most of them are single-celled microorganisms.The human body can be affected by approximately 50 species of single-celled organisms.Protozoan infections cause various diseases.
Their infection can occur in different ways:
- during sexual contact;
- with food;
- by insect bites, etc.
The most common sexually transmitted parasitic infection is trichomoniasis.Its causative agent is Trichomonas vaginalis.According to statistics, two out of every hundred people on the planet are infected with trichomoniasis.
The presence of trichomoniasis can be recognized by the following symptoms.Women's experience:
- copious frothy discharge of yellowish-greenish discharge;
- burning, itching, and swelling of the genitals;
- hyperemia of the vaginal mucosa, etc.
Signs of the disease in men are less pronounced:
- pain when urinating;
- discharge from the urethra;
- sometimes blood in the urine.
Trichomonads are dangerous because they can lead to various complications (infertility, cervical cancer, etc.).
In addition, they can change shape, disguise themselves as other cells of the body (lymphocytes, platelets) and harbor intracellular microorganisms (viruses, chlamydia, etc.), which makes the latter difficult to identify and destroy.
For treatment, antimicrobial drugs from the 5-nitroimidazole group are mainly used.
Giardiasis is another common disease of protozoan origin.The causative agent is lamblia.Parasite the small intestine.When entering the large intestine, Giardia loses its mobility and turns into cysts (a form of stable temporary existence), which are excreted with feces.
Infection occurs through consumption of food and water contaminated with cysts.
Cysts can also be introduced into the body through dirty hands.For this reason, giardiasis often affects young children (1 to 4 years old), who are not inclined to follow the rules of personal hygiene..
The presence of Giardia can be suspected by intestinal disorders (constipation alternating with diarrhea, bloating, rumbling, nausea, pain in the upper abdomen) and general malaise (lack of appetite, weakness, irritability, etc.).
Giardiasis is treated with the same medications as trichomoniasis.
Other diseases caused by protozoan parasites:
- amoebiasis;
- malaria;
- leishmaniasis;
- toxoplasmosis;
- sleeping sickness, etc.
Helminths
People often call them worms.More than 400 types of parasitic worms can live in humans.The most common are pinworms and human roundworms.
Pinworms are small round worms.Males reach a length of 5-6 millimeters, females - 10. They are the cause of enterobiasis.They live in the cecum and appendix.Pinworms are not difficult to detect because they cause severe itching in the anal area.This is because females crawl through the anus at night and lay eggs in the skin.
When scratching, eggs are found under the nails and on the hands.Then the person spreads them himself, touching various things with unwashed hands.
Treatment is carried out with anthelmintic drugs.All family members must be treated.In addition to medications, hygiene is very important in this case, because enterobiosis is a classic disease of dirty hands.Nails should be cut short, hands should be washed thoroughly, linen should be washed in hot water and ironed with a hot iron.The apartment must be cleaned with water.
Human roundworm is another type of parasitic roundworm.They are much larger and more dangerous than pinworms.The length of females can reach 40 centimeters, males are smaller.
Ascaris eggs enter the body in the same way as pinworm eggs.In the small intestine, eggs develop into larvae, which penetrate through its walls into the circulatory system.Then begins migration throughout the body.The bloodstream carries them to the liver, the right side of the heart, the lungs and even the brain.
As they travel through these organs, the larvae create a whole host of problems for humans.In the digestive system, they damage the liver, intestines and pancreas.
They can block the bile ducts and lead to acute cholangitis and pancreatitis.
Located in the heart, they cause pain, local hemorrhages and the development of coronary heart disease.
The consequences of staying in the lungs are coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, bronchitis, etc.
When moving through the brain, neuroses, dizziness, convulsions and epileptic-like seizures can be observed.
Other symptoms of ascariasis:
- nausea and vomiting;
- rapid fatigue during physical work;
- loss of appetite and body weight;
- diarrhea;
- pain in the abdomen;
- rash and itching.
Various anthelmintics are used to combat roundworms.
Other common helminthiases include:
- schistosomiasis;
- trichinosis;
- echinococcosis;
- clonorchiasis;
- opisthorchiasis;
- hookworm infection, etc.
Other endoparasites
This group contains rarely found parasites.For example, the larva of the horsefly, which lives in Central and South America, can cause dermatobiasis.The female fly lays its eggs in the abdomen of mosquitoes, mosquitoes and ticks.When bitten by insects, the larvae emerge from the eggs and burrow into the skin.Inflammation begins and pus forms.After a while, the larvae leave the person.
The sand flea, which causes tungiasis, acts in the same way.But here, a fertilized female is introduced into the epidermis.
Ectoparasites
There are fewer of them than endoparasites.The most famous of them:
- lice;
- ticks.
Ectoparasites also include fleas, bedbugs and mosquitoes.But they never live directly on or inside a person.They attack a person and, having had their fill, leave him.
Three types of lice parasitize humans (head, body and pubis).
Parasites, contrary to popular belief (they like dirt), can be contracted by any clean person.
Whatever the type of lice, its symptoms are the same:
- itching;
- crying (release of serous exudate by damage to the epidermis);
- scabs on painful areas;
- pyoderma (purulent skin lesion).
Different types of lice prefer to live on different parts of the body, hence the classification of lice.
Sometimes it is a mixed type, for example when head and pubic parasites are present on the body.
The most dangerous are body lice.They can carry typhus, relapsing fever and Volyn fever.Lice cannot tolerate other dangerous diseases (HIV, hepatitis), since viruses entering the intestinal tract with the blood of an infected person are digested.
It is better not to use home remedies (kerosene, dichlorvos) to get rid of lice.The pharmaceutical industry offers a wide selection of anti-pediculosis drugs in the form of ointments, creams, aerosols and shampoos.They are based on insecticides.A fine comb for combing the nits is included with the preparations.Disinsection of clothing and linen is also necessary.
The scabies, or itch, mite causes scabies, a contagious skin disease.You can get infected in the most random way, for example, by holding the railing of a public building.Infection is guaranteed by close physical contact, especially sexual contact.It takes 15 minutes for the tick to penetrate the epidermis.The insect is very small (one to three tenths of a millimeter).Ticks come to the surface twice during their life.The first time in the form of a larva to penetrate into another place, the second time - for mating.
The main problems faced by humans are caused by women.They lay eggs during the first half of the day, and at night they gnaw the passages in the epidermis.
Recognizing scabies is easy.It is accompanied by unbearable itching, which sharply intensifies in the evening and night.An inflammatory linear scab can be seen on the skin.People prone to allergies suffer from severe allergic reactions.Due to strong scratches, the skin is saturated with fluid, swells and sometimes becomes covered with bloody crusts.
Scabies is treated with antiscabiotic agents.They are available in the form of emulsions, sprays and creams.It is necessary to treat not only the affected areas, but also the entire body (with the exception of the face and scalp).They wash the body before or after treatment.You cannot wash during this.If there are crusts on the body, they are softened and removed.Rub in the cream or emulsion for at least two minutes.Do not wash your hands for three hours after using the product.You are allowed to shower every other day.Linen is ironed, furniture and clothes are treated with an antiseptic.After two days, the course is repeated.
Another intradermal mite is acne iron.It is also very small (maximum 0.5 millimeters).Lives in the mouth of hair follicles, sebaceous and meibomian gland ducts (at the edge of the eyelids).The disease in this case is called demodicosis.
90% of people suffer from acne, but the pathological process does not always start, mainly when the immune system is weakened or as a result of severe stress.
At the initial stage, acne, rashes and ulcers appear.When follicles are damaged, eyelashes and hair fall out.As the disease progresses, the skin turns earthy gray and becomes lumpy.Demodicosis is dangerous due to the addition of secondary infection and scar formation.
Treatment of demodicosis is quite complicated.The disease is chronic in nature, as it requires long treatments and high drug concentrations.Intensive use of antiparasitic drugs has a detrimental effect on the condition of the liver and hematopoietic processes.However, long-term stable remission can be achieved.Simultaneous treatment by a dermatologist and a dermatocosmetologist is considered the most effective.
If you suspect a parasitic infection, you should not try to identify it yourself and check the effectiveness of antiparasitic drugs or folk remedies.It is easier to go to the doctor and take all the necessary tests.Properly prescribed treatment will cleanse the body of these harmful parasites.