Parasitism in nature is a widespread phenomenon.It refers to the coexistence of two or more organisms that are not related to each other in any way, but form a chain of host-parasite relationships.The second part uses the first as a source of food and habitat.Someone often needs to act as the owner.
Classification
Human parasites include all creatures, except bacteria and viruses, that live and eat at his expense, causing harm.There are many creatures that can live in or on the human body.They can be divided into two large groups:
- endoparasites;
- ectoparasite.
The first exists in the body, in various physiological systems and organs.The latter either live on the body like mites or ticks, or attack like bugs.
A group of endoparasites
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 about 50 species of single-celled organisms.Protozoan infections cause various diseases.
Infection with them can occur in different ways:
- during sexual intercourse;
- with food;
- through insect bites, etc.
The most common sexually transmitted parasitic infection is trichomoniasis.The causative agent is Trichomonas vaginalis.According to statistics, two out of a hundred people on the planet are infected with trichomoniasis.
The presence of trichomoniasis can be recognized by the following symptoms.Women's experience:
- abundant frothy discharge of yellowish-green discharge;
- burning, itching and swelling of the genitals;
- hyperemia of the vaginal mucosa, etc.
Symptoms of the disease in men are less obvious:
- pain during urination;
- discharge from the urethra;
- sometimes blood in the urine.
Trichomonas is dangerous because it can cause various complications (infertility, cervical cancer, etc.).
In addition, they can change shape, disguise themselves as other body cells (lymphocytes, platelets) and provide protection to intracellular microorganisms (viruses, chlamydia, etc.), which makes the latter difficult to identify and destroy.
For treatment, antimicrobial drugs from the 5-nitroimidazoles group are mainly used.
Another common disease of protozoan origin is giardiasis.The causative agent is lamblia.Parasitizing the small intestine.Upon penetration into the large intestine, Giardia loses its mobility and turns into a cyst (a stable form of temporary existence), which is excreted with the feces.
Infection occurs through ingestion of food and water contaminated with cysts.
Cysts can also enter the body through dirty hands.For this reason, giardiasis often affects young children (1-4 years), who do not tend to follow the rules of personal hygiene..
The presence of Giardia can be suspected by intestinal disorders (constipation alternating with diarrhea, flatulence, rumbling, nausea, pain in the upper abdomen) and general malaise (lack of appetite, weakness, irritability, etc.).
Giardiasis is treated with the same drugs 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 due to the fact that females crawl out through the anus at night and lay eggs in the skin.
When scratching, the eggs get under the nails and on the hands.Then the person spreads it himself, touching various things with unwashed hands.
Therapy is carried out with anthelmintic drugs.All family members need to be treated.In addition to medication, hygiene is very important in this case, because enterobiasis is a classic disease of dirty hands.Nails should be cut short, hands should be washed clean, linen should be washed with hot water and ironed with a hot iron.The apartment needs to be wet cleaned.
Human roundworms are another type of parasitic roundworm.They are much larger and more dangerous than pinworms.Females can reach 40 centimeters in length, males are smaller in size.
Ascaris eggs enter the body in the same way as pinworm eggs.In the small intestine, the egg turns into a larva, which penetrates its wall into the circulatory system.Then the migration to the rest of the body begins.The blood flow takes it to the liver, the right side of the heart, the lungs, and even the brain.
Moving through these organs, larvae create various 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.
Being in the heart, they cause pain, local bleeding, and the development of coronary artery disease.
The result of staying in the lungs is cough, wheezing, shortness of breath, bronchitis, etc.
When moving through the brain, neurosis, 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 weight;
- diarrhea;
- pain in the stomach;
- skin 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 rare parasites.For example, gadfly larvae, which live in Central and South America, can cause dermatobiasis.Female flies lay eggs in the stomachs of mosquitoes, gnats and ticks.When bitten by an insect, the larvae hatch from the eggs and burrow into the skin.Inflammation begins and pus forms.After a certain time, the larvae leave the person.
Sand fleas, which cause tungiasis, act in the same way.But here a fertilized woman is inserted into the epidermis.
Ectoparasites
There are fewer of them than endoparasites.The most famous among them:
- lice;
- fleas
Ectoparasites also include fleas, bed bugs and mosquitoes.But they never live directly in or within a person.They attack a person and, having had enough, leave him.
Three types of lice parasitize humans (head, body, and genitals).
Parasites, contrary to popular belief (they love dirt), can be acquired by any clean person.
Regardless of the type of lice, the symptoms are the same:
- itching;
- weeping (release of serous exudate through damage to the epidermis);
- crusts in the diseased area;
- pyoderma (purulent skin lesions).
Different types of ticks prefer to live in different parts of the body, hence the classification of ticks.
Sometimes it is a mixed type, for example, when head and genital 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), because the virus, entering the intestinal tract together with the blood of an infected person, is digested.
It is better not to use home remedies (kerosene, dichlorvos) to get rid of ticks.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 thin comb for combing nits eggs is included with the preparation.Disinfection of clothes and linen is also necessary.
Scabies mites, or scabies, cause scabies, an infectious skin disease.You can get infected in the most random way, for example, by holding the fence in a public building.Infection is guaranteed through close physical contact, especially sexual contact.It takes 15 minutes to penetrate the epidermis.The insect is very small in size (from one to three tenths of a millimeter).Ticks come to the surface twice in their life.The first time in larval form to penetrate to other places, the second time - to mate.
The main problem for mankind is caused by women.They lay eggs in the first half of the day, and at night they gnaw through the channels in the epidermis.
Recognizing scabies is easy.It is accompanied by unbearable itching, which increases sharply in the evening and at night.Inflamed linear scabs can be seen on the skin.People who are prone to allergies experience severe allergic reactions.Due to strong scratches, the skin becomes saturated with fluid, swells, and sometimes is covered with a bloody crust.
Scabies is treated with antiscabiotic agents.They are available in the form of emulsions, aerosols, and creams.It is necessary to treat not only the affected area, but also the whole body (except the face and scalp).They wash the body either before or after therapy.You can not wash during it.If there is a crust on the body, it is softened and removed.Rub 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 day.Linen is ironed, furniture and clothes are treated with antiseptics.After two days, the course is repeated.
Another intradermal mite is the pimple iron.It is also very small in size (maximum 0.5 millimeters).Lives in the mouth of hair follicles, sebaceous and meibomian gland ducts (at the edge of the eyelids).The disease is called demodicosis in this case.
90 percent of people have acne, but the pathological process does not always begin, especially when the immune system is weak or due to severe stress.
In the early stages, acne, rashes, and ulcers appear.When follicles are damaged, eyelashes and hair fall out.As the disease progresses, the skin changes color to earthy gray and becomes lumpy.Demodicosis is dangerous due to the addition of secondary infections and scar formation.
Treatment of demodicosis is quite complicated.The disease is chronic, because a long course of therapy and a high concentration of drugs are required.Intensive use of antiparasitic drugs has an adverse effect on the state of the liver and the hematopoietic process.However, stable long-term remission can be achieved.Treatment by dermatologists and dermatocosmetologists simultaneously is considered the most effective.
If you suspect a parasitic infection, you should not try to identify them yourself and check the effectiveness of antiparasitic drugs or folk remedies.It is easier to go to the doctor and get all the necessary tests.Correctly prescribed treatment will rid the body of these dangerous parasites.