Worms are worms that lead a parasitic life in the body of their host - a person. Age does not matter. Adults and children are equally susceptible to infection. The classification of helminthiasis is very extensive, especially in countries with a hot climate.
There are 3 classes of parasitic worms:
- round (nematodes) - pinworms, roundworms;
- ribbon (cestodes) - pork tapeworm, bovine tapeworm, echinococcus;
- tapeworms, moats (trematodes).
The most common worms in children are pinworms, which cause enterobiasis. These helminths are small, on average up to 1 cm, white-gray in color with a curved body. The place of localization of these parasites is the large intestine, but they can also enter the lower parts of the small intestine. Pinworms breed on the skin near the anus. At night, female pinworms come out to lay eggs in the folds of the skin, often penetrating the lips of girls, which ends in infectious diseases of the genitals. In total, these helminths live for about 1 to 1. 5 months. The process of self-infection in a child can lead to the fact that the discomfort will continue for many years. Parasites can be detected with the naked eye in the stool.
Roundworms are another type of worm that is most common in children. Of a characteristic species, reaching a length of 15 cm, these nematodes settle in the lumen of the loops of the small intestine, moving towards the moving piece of food. Roundworms very rarely enter the stool. Females periodically release eggs, which can be found in the analysis of feces. But if during the study they were not found, it does not mean that the child is not infected. The life cycle of a roundworm can last for several years.
The reasons
The baby's curiosity is carried out by his fingers, the child, learning about the world, actively touches everything under his arm and immediately pulls into his mouth, trying to find strength and taste. Thus, pinworm eggs safely enter the digestive tract of their future small host.
A child becomes infected with worm eggs from the surface of unwashed fruit when he drinks contaminated water. Very often the infection occurs when communicating with animals, or when playing in the ground, sandbox, where cats and dogs like to solve their physiological problems. After a walk, children often do not wash their hands, and all the dirt, as well as the eggs of parasites, get into their mouths.
Symptoms
If a child has been infected with a large number of parasitic worm eggs, a sharp deterioration can occur within a few days. In milder cases, the first symptoms of invasion appear after several weeks or even months. It all depends on the child's immunity. It can cope with parasites very well and slow down their development. But gradually the defenses are reduced and the helminths infect the body, causing serious problems.
The first signs are symptoms of poisoning (intoxication). The vital activity of worms is accompanied by the release of a large number of animal toxins that can poison the child's body. In the intestines, the parasitic worms use up nutrients, which causes the baby to gradually become deficient in proteins, carbohydrates, fats and vitamins.
The child has:
- emaciation,
- pallor of the skin,
- weakness, frequent dizziness,
- increased body temperature, headaches,
- bad dream,
- tears,
- depressed mood.
Bowel ailments manifest themselves - constipation, loose stools, rumbling and abdominal pain, fits of nausea and vomiting, painful sensations in different parts of the abdomen and bloating. The disease may be accompanied by allergic conditions: itching, rash, cough, inflammation of the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract. The weakening of immunity leads to the addition of infectious diseases.
Diagnosis and treatment
The diagnosis of helminthiasis in the stool is quite difficult. This is due to the fact that roundworm eggs or pinworms do not appear in the stool every day, and the technique of smear microscopy from the analysis requires great caution. To increase the reliability of the fecal analysis for worm eggs, it is advisable to take at least 3 days in a row.
If there is an increased risk of infection by worms (contact with animals, the child's play on the ground or in open sandboxes, the child's habit of taking things in his mouth, biting his nailsor licking your fingers, etc. ), it is advisable to undergo a thorough examination, which includes, in addition to a triple analysis of the stool, special blood tests for anti-helminth antibodies.
In the presence of allergic manifestations of unknown origin, an increase in the number of eosinophils in the blood test, persistent intestinal dysbiosis, it is advisable to donate blood for the determination of class E immunoglobulins (Ig E and G) roundworms and other helminths. You can look for worms in pets.
By evaluating all the indirect signs and the anamnesis, the doctor may recommend anthelmintic treatment without direct evidence of the presence of worms in the child, if other pathologies causing similar clinical manifestations are excluded in all limbs. family in order to avoid the formation of a focus of infection with each other with helminth eggs. In this situation, in addition, it is necessary to strengthen hygiene measures, especially for boiling and ironing bed and personal linen on both sides.