Despite the current development of civilization and modern medicine, various microorganisms remain in this world to live, multiply and harm. These include: bacteria, germs and worms. 70-80% of people in the world are infected with helminths. These are man's most terrible enemies, which must be fought.
Helminths and their larvae use the human body for their own development and reproduction, while extracting nutrients from it, depriving the carrier of the opportunity to receive all necessary micro and macro elements. They can live not only in the intestines, but also in the muscles, lungs, liver, joints, which not only leads to the destruction of organs, tissues and systems, but also causes a number of diseases that lead to death. Therefore, each person needs prevention of various types of worms to avoid complications caused by helminthiases.
Methods of penetration of helminths into the human body
Given the number of helminths that can live in the human body, they have many ways to enter the carrier. It is children who are most often infected, because they often play in the sand, come into contact with the soil and animals, and also do not always eat well-processed fruits. Adults are more often infected precisely by their children or due to non-compliance with basic hygiene standards.
Specialists have recorded the following forms of penetration of helminths into the body:
- If a person after an active day sat down to dinner without washing his hands, along with food, he will consume the microbes, bacteria and helminth eggs collected during the day, which will lead to infection. Also, invasion can occur if a person puts their dirty hands in their mouth.
- Unwashed vegetables or fruits come into contact with the soil or infected limbs. Insufficient processing of such products leads to infection in the manner described above.
- Poorly processed meat and fish products. The processing of meat products is necessary to destroy the helminth larvae in them, preventing them from entering the body and starting to develop.
- The use of untreated water can also serve as a source of infection, as worm larvae can be present in the water.
- Flies and insects come into contact with soil that contains helminth eggs, and can carry worm larvae on their feet and place them in food consumed by humans.
- When swimming in open water, a person is able to swallow water containing parasite eggs and thus cause infection.
- With direct contact with contaminated soil, helminth invasion can also occur, as some helminths can enter the human body through microcracks in the skin.
- Regular treatment of pets is necessary, because animals absolutely do not follow a nutritious diet and often eat raw meat from mice infected with tapeworm.
- Exotic cuisine, water from an unverified source, insects and foreign animals can instantly hit a person, because in exotic countries it is not customary to process every product well (there are countries where a diet of raw foods or meat with blood is welcome).
Symptoms of helminth infestation
Sometimes the disease can occur without symptoms, so an annual body exam for helminthiasis is recommended. The diagnosis must be carried out by the whole family, as the infection of one person puts the rest of the family at risk. When signs of helminthic invasion appear, it is urgent to visit a doctor to receive timely medical attention.
Helminths cause the following symptoms:
- Physical weakness and elevated thermometer readings.
- Headache and whirling.
- apathy state.
- Abdominal pain.
- Itching sensation in the anus.
- Splenic and liver enlargement.
- Skin rashes, in the form of dermatosis or urticaria.
- Nausea, diarrhea alternating with constipation, vomiting.
- Anemia, hypovitaminosis.
- Bad smell in the mouth.
- Sudden weight loss or sudden hunger can occur, leading to obesity.
After listening to your complaints, the parasitologist will prescribe medication to eliminate the helminthic symptoms and their pathogen, based on the severity of the invasion. If during the examination the larvae of the worms are not found, he will advise suitable medicines for use as prophylaxis.
Pros and cons of worm prevention
Many are interested to know if it is still necessary to take measures and use drugs specially designed for worms for prevention purposes? Here the opinions of experts differ. Some believe that preventive treatment is not necessary, as a nonspecific technique is enough to prevent invasion and the use of folk remedies.
And others argue that only drugs serve as a barrier between large-scale invasion and health, so only pharmacological drugs will help prevent an outbreak of helminthiases in the population.
It is known that it is easier to prevent a disease than to get rid of it later, and the prevention of various types of worms makes it possible to prevent large-scale invasions, timely destroying individual helminths.
Helpful hints. To prevent infection of the whole family, it is recommended to drink a course of worm tablets in spring and autumn, periodically use folk remedies that allow you to create a microflora in the body that is not suitable for the life of helminths, and also to apply measures non-specific preventive measures that protect against accidental penetration of parasites into the body. This is especially true for people who keep pets and eat low quality food.
Nonspecific anthelmintic prophylaxis
These preventive measures allow you to protect yourself from helminth attack without financial cost.
This will require:
- Regularly observe hygiene standards: change bedding and underwear in a timely manner, perform water procedures, wash hands with soap and water before eating (especially after visiting public transport, restrooms and shops).
- Visit the beach in beach shoes. There are many helminth larvae in the soil, which penetrate the sand from the animal's feces and enter the human body through cracks in the legs. Even after walking on the beach in flip-flops, it is recommended to wash your feet with soap to prevent worms from taking hold in your body.
- It is good to wash fruits and vegetables, fry meat and fish to destroy all helminth larvae available in these products.
- Strengthen the immune system so that the body can more easily deal with helminth infestation and diseases caused by parasites.
- Perform anthelmintic therapy on pets, as they also become infected with helminths and transmit them to humans.
- Do not drink water from unverified sources. Worm larvae can live in water for a long time; therefore, before drinking it must be boiled and it is better to replace it completely with purified water.
Sometimes a person does not have the opportunity to apply these security measures, for example, during a long journey by train, bus, etc. Then parasites have the opportunity to penetrate the unprotected body and attack it, so it is necessary to carry out prevention of worms in children and adults.
Prevention against helminths in humans: drugs
Currently, there are many anthelmintic drugs, but self-prescription of the treatment is not recommended. This should be done by a specialist who knows the characteristics of the drugs and knows how to choose the right dosage for your body. Preventive treatment for worms in humans should be aimed at destroying young worms and maintaining the body.
As you know, many drugs are prohibited to be taken together with alcohol. This reduces the effect of the drug and increases the side effects. If you want to get a positive treatment result, you should exclude alcohol from your diet 1 week before taking the medication and for 30 days after preventing helminth infestation.
Folk methods for the prevention of worms in humans
Traditional medicine also shows good results in preventing helminthiasis. Some herbal remedies create an uncomfortable atmosphere in the digestive system for the worms to live in, as a result, they are forced to leave the host's body. Before using these recipes, you should consult a doctor, as due to their bitter properties, they can further harm a person who has diseases of the digestive system or kidneys.
- Tincture of walnuts in alcoholprepared as follows: take a glass of chopped walnut partitions, pour a glass of vodka. Ready infusion can be taken in a day, 5-7 drops on an empty stomach, for 10-15 days.
- A decoction of absinthe and tansy: initially you will need to grind the herbs, as a result of which 2 tbsp. Pour boiling water over collection spoons, insist and take 100-150 ml. within a month.
- Garlicit has no contraindications and is available to everyone. For the prevention of helminthiasis, you should eat 2-3 cloves of garlic daily.
- pumpkin seedshave good antiparasitic activity. You need to eat 2 cups of pumpkin seed on an empty stomach, at least 1 time a week. Also from this product you can prepare curative anthelmintic tinctures.
- carrot rootwill be useful for the prevention of helminths in the form of juice. You will need to crush 1 carrot, strain the juice and drink it before meals.
- Ashes of linden branches: Ash has long been famous for its healing properties. The ash from linden branches has anthelmintic properties, so it is also used today. For the prevention of helminthiasis, you need to add 1 teaspoon of ash to a glass of milk and drink it on an empty stomach.
Medicines according to the above recipes should be taken once a week. If a person has not had any protection against helminths for a long time, these funds will need to be drunk daily for 2 weeks and then changed to weekly use.
Traditional medicine has many anthelmintic agents to fight parasitic worms. In the old days, grandparents and great-grandparents used these means, because they act on worms and do not harm the human body. Consequently, prevention with folk remedies does not require much effort and expense with drugs, but you cannot do without drug prevention either, especially if you suspect the presence of an early stage of invasion.