Parasitism is a widespread phenomenon in nature.It refers to the coexistence of two or more organisms that are not related in any way, but form a chain of host-parasite relationships.The second party uses the first as a food source and habitat.One must act as the owner most of the time.
Classification
Human parasites include all living things except harmful bacteria and viruses that live and feed on it.There are many organisms that can live in or on the human body.They can be divided into two large groups:
- endoparasites;
- ectoparasites.
The first are present inside the body, in various physiological systems and organs.The latter either live in the body like ticks or lice, or attack like bedbugs.
Group of endoparasites
A very large group that includes protozoa, helminths and some other parasites.
Protozoa or protozoa
They are called so because most of them are single-celled microorganisms.The human body can be affected by about 50 species of single-celled organisms.Protozoal infections cause various diseases.
They can be infected in different ways:
- during sexual intercourse;
- with food;
- through 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:
- abundant foamy discharge of yellowish-green discharge;
- burning, itching and swelling of the genitals;
- hyperemia of the vaginal mucosa, etc.
Symptoms of the disease are less pronounced in men:
- pain when urinating;
- discharge from the urethra;
- sometimes there is blood in the urine.
Trichomonas are dangerous because they can cause various complications (infertility, cervical cancer, etc.).
In addition, they can change shape, disguise themselves as other cells of the body (lymphocytes, platelets) and give shelter to intracellular microorganisms (viruses, chlamydia, etc.), which makes it difficult to identify and destroy the latter.
Antimicrobial drugs from the 5-nitroimidazole group are used for treatment.
Another common disease of protozoal origin is giardiasis.The causative agent of the disease is lamblia.It parasitizes the small intestine.When Giardia enters the large intestine, it loses its motility and turns into cysts (a stable temporary form of existence) that are excreted with the feces.
Infection occurs as a result of consumption 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 old) who are not inclined to follow the rules of personal hygiene..
The presence of Giardia can be suspected in intestinal disorder (diarrhea, bloating, rumbling, nausea, constipation alternating with pain in the upper abdomen) and general disorder (weak 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 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 enterobiosis.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 of the anus at night and lay eggs on the skin.
When scratching, the eggs fall under the nails and on the hands.Then the person spreads them by touching various things with unwashed hands.
Therapy is carried out with anthelmintic drugs.All family members should be treated.In addition to drugs, hygiene is very important in this case, because enterobiosis is a classic disease of dirty hands.Nails should be shortened, hands should be washed thoroughly, linen should be washed in hot water and ironed with a hot iron.The apartment needs to be wet cleaned.
The human roundworm is another type of parasitic worm.They are larger and more dangerous than pinworms.Females can reach 40 centimeters in length, males are smaller.
Ascaris eggs enter the body like pinworm eggs.In the small intestine, the eggs develop into larvae that penetrate through its walls into the circulatory system.Then the migration begins throughout the body.The bloodstream carries them to the liver, right side of the heart, lungs, and even the brain.
Passing through these organs, the larvae cause many problems for people.In the digestive system, they damage the liver, intestines and pancreas.
They can block the bile ducts and cause acute cholangitis and pancreatitis.
Being in the heart, they cause pain, local bleeding and the development of coronary artery disease.
The consequences of staying in the lungs are coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, bronchitis, etc.
Neuroses, dizziness, convulsions, epilepsy-like convulsions can be observed while moving in the brain.
Other symptoms of ascariasis:
- nausea and vomiting;
- rapid fatigue during physical work;
- decrease in appetite and body weight;
- diarrhea;
- abdominal pain;
- skin rash and itching.
Various anthelmintics are used to combat roundworms.
Other common helminthiasis include:
- schistosomiasis;
- trichinosis;
- echinococcosis;
- clonorrhoea;
- opisthorchosis;
- corn infection etc.
Other endoparasites
This group contains rare parasites.For example, the larva of the crow living in Central and South America can cause dermatobiasis.The female mosquito lays her eggs in the abdomens of mosquitoes, gnats and ticks.When insects bite, the larvae hatch and burrow into the skin.Inflammation begins and pus forms.After a certain period of time, the larvae leave the person.
The sand flea, which causes tungiasis, acts in a similar way.But here a fertilized female is inserted into the epidermis.
Ectoparasites
Their number is less than endoparasites.The most famous of them:
- lice;
- ticks.
Ectoparasites also include fleas, bed bugs and mosquitoes.But they never live directly on or within a person.They attack a person and leave him after they have had enough.
Three types of lice parasitize humans (head, body and groin).
Parasites, contrary to popular belief (they love dirt), can be acquired by any clean person.
Regardless of the type of lice, its symptoms are the same:
- itching;
- weeping (release of serous exudate with damage to the epidermis);
- crusts in painful places;
- pyoderma (purulent skin lesion).
Different types of lice prefer to live in different parts of the body, hence the classification of lice.
Sometimes it is a mixed type, for example, when there are cephalic and pubic parasites in the body.
The most dangerous are body lice.They can have typhus, relapsing fever, and Vol's fever.Lice cannot tolerate other dangerous diseases (HIV, hepatitis), because viruses that enter the intestinal tract along 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 thin comb for combing nits is included in the preparations.Disinfection of clothes and linen is also necessary.
A scabies mite or itch causes an infectious skin disease.You can get infected in the most random way, for example, by holding the railing in a public building.Infection is guaranteed by close physical contact, especially through sexual intercourse.It takes 15 minutes for the tick to penetrate the epidermis.The insect is very small in size (up to three tenths of a millimeter).Ticks come to the surface twice in their life.The first time in the form of larvae to penetrate another place, the second time - for mating.
The main problems for people are caused by women.They lay eggs in the first half of the day, and bite the passages of the epidermis at night.
Scabies is easy to recognize.It is accompanied by intolerable itching that worsens sharply in the evening and at night.An inflammatory linear itch may appear on the skin.People prone to allergies experience serious allergic reactions.As a result of intense scratching, the skin becomes saturated with fluid, swells, and sometimes is covered with bloody crusts.
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 areas, but also the whole body (except for the face and scalp).They wash the body either before or after therapy.You cannot wash during this time.If there are crusts on the body, they are 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.Showering is allowed every day.Linen is ironed, furniture and clothes are treated with an antiseptic.After two days, the course is repeated.
Another intradermal tick is acne iron.The size is also very small (maximum 0.5 millimeters).It lives in the mouths of hair follicles, in the ducts of sebaceous and meibomian glands (at the edges of the eyelids).In this case, the disease is called demodicosis.
90 percent of people have acne, but the pathological process does not always occur, 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 changes color to earthy gray and becomes lumpy.Demodicosis is dangerous due to the addition of secondary infection and the formation of scars.
Treatment of demodicosis is quite complicated.The disease is chronic, as long courses of therapy and high concentration of drugs are required.Intensive use of antiparasitic drugs has a bad effect on the condition of the liver and hematopoietic processes.However, stable long-term remission can be achieved.Simultaneous treatment by a dermatologist and dermatocosmetologist 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 harmful parasites.