Since children's immunity is low, the child's body is quite easily affected by parasites. In addition, the child's body cannot produce a special digestive enzyme that can destroy worm larvae, a person acquires this ability with age.
Worm eggs cannot be seen visually, their size is microscopic, but they are present almost everywhere. The danger of infection arises when the child begins to understand the world by feeling various objects. In addition, the baby tries not only to touch objects, but sometimes to taste them. Litter boxes in yards, often used as toilets by stray animals, pose a great danger. Considering the weak natural defense of the baby's body against helminthic infections, it is not difficult to understand how high the chances of parasites affecting the child's intestines are. The main ways worms enter the child's body are:
- through unwashed hands;
- after contact with animals;
- through poorly cooked meat and fish;
- insects are also a frequent source of helminthic infection, as they carry worm eggs on their legs;
- unwashed vegetables and fruits;
- through contaminated water accidentally ingested while swimming in an open body of water.
An important factor is that, despite all the efforts of the parents, worms can be a source of re-infection of the child. The fact is that helminths periodically pass through the child's anus, lay eggs near it, which causes severe itching in the baby. The child itches, and small worm eggs, in turn, fall under his fingernails, from where they easily enter the mouth, and then move to the gastrointestinal tract and end up in the intestines again. After two weeks, the larvae turn into adults capable of laying eggs.
Worm infection in children, symptoms
There are about 300 types of parasites that can infect the human body, but pinworms and roundworms are more commonly diagnosed in children. Both types of worms affect the small intestines, and the symptoms of both types of parasite damage are quite similar:
- Loss of appetite, pale complexion, dark circles under the eyes.
- Restless sleep; sometimes a child may clench his teeth in his sleep.
- Headache, dizziness, lethargy and weakness appear.
- Sometimes there are worms in a child's stool and they can be seen with the naked eye.
- The baby feels itching in the genital area and anus.
- There is a disturbance in the digestive system, constipation can be replaced by diarrhea, abdominal pain and nausea are observed.
- The general blood count indicators may change, that is, a decrease in hemoglobin and an increase in the level of eosinophils and ESR.
- The vital activity of worms causes general poisoning of the body, which manifests itself in the appearance of allergic reactions, urticaria and atopic dermatitis.
- An increase in body temperature for no reason.
- Constant itching can cause inflammation in the genital mucosa.
- Worms not only poison the child's body with the products of their vital activity, but also actively consume the vitamins and minerals and food that the child's body needs so much, which often leads to vitamin deficiency and a decrease in the level of hemoglobin in the blood.
Folk remedies against worms
It must be admitted that folk remedies are the most suitable for the treatment of helminthic infections in children, the symptoms disappear quite quickly. However, before using them, you should definitely consult a doctor, because the child's body is very sensitive not only to the effects of parasites, but also to the incompetent use of drugs, even folk remedies. The most popular folk anthelmintic means are:
- Garlic enema. Garlic is an antiseptic given to humans by nature, it is also used against worms. A glass of cow's milk is mixed with a head of chopped garlic, the mixture is boiled, then cooled and filtered through a double layer of cheesecloth. At night, an enema is given to the child from the milk taken, one-third of the medicine is taken for him, and the child is treated in this way for at least a week.
- Chamomile decoction. Another natural antiseptic used in the treatment of various diseases. To prepare the decoction, take a tablespoon of dry chamomile grass and pour boiling water over it, leave it until it cools and give it to the child to drink during the day instead of water or tea. The treatment period is 5 days.
- Onion remedy. Chop a small onion, add milk and boil the resulting mixture, then cool and filter. As a result, 100 ml of the product is given to the baby three days in a row.
Simple folk recipes that will help treat a child from worms, watch the video:
Causes of helminthiasis
About 400 types of helminths can parasitize the human body, 70 of them are the most common in our country. As a rule, these are roundworms and tapeworms. Diseases caused by penetration of flukes (cat or liver flukes) are often detected.
The disease develops when the eggs or larvae of parasites enter the stomach. Tapeworms can change several hosts during their development from eggs to adulthood. You can also get infected by eating meat (beef, pork, game), unfiltered water, and contaminated vegetables and fruits.
Helminths are parasites in the organisms of mammals, fish, molluscs and amphibians. To prevent infection, you should avoid eating them raw, and you should not buy smoked and salted fish of unknown origin.
Symptoms of worms
Various types of worms can parasitize the digestive system, respiratory organs, lymph nodes, bone and muscle tissues. Their vital activity affects the body of the host in different ways. They can produce toxins, cause the development of inflammatory processes, allergic reactions, anemia, metabolic disorders, and have a traumatic effect on organs and tissues.
If adults have the following symptoms, you should contact the clinic to identify or rule out helminthosis:
- Increase in temperature. After taking anti-inflammatory and antipyretic drugs, it can rise sharply to 38 ° C and decrease for a short time. Sometimes the temperature remains high for 2-3 months.
- Dull or cutting pain in the stomach, frequent bowel movements (diarrhea or constipation), nausea.
- Itching in the anal region, worse in the evening.
- Immunity decreases with frequent colds or respiratory diseases - when infected with helminths.
- Loss or increase of appetite, sudden decrease in body weight.
- Bronchospasms, cough, shortness of breath, other respiratory disorders, pallor of the skin and mucous membranes.
- Itchy rash.
- Insomnia, frequent headaches, anxiety, irritability, depression.
- Pain in joints and muscles.
- Inflammation, enlarged lymph nodes.
- Edema.
In the absence of adequate treatment, helminths can cause the development of chronic pancreatitis, hepatitis, cholecystocholangitis, cause irreversible changes in tissues and even cause death.
Diagnostics
Infection with certain types of helminths gives a characteristic clinical picture. The patient can guess the diagnosis when he first visits the doctor. Examination of feces reveals the eggs of roundworms, pinworms and other roundworms that parasitize the intestines and other traces of life activity. Sometimes worms are seen on ultrasound. However, some small parasites are very difficult to identify. The diagnosis is made based on the combination of symptoms and the results of instrumental and laboratory tests.
If helminthosis is suspected in adults and children, the following should be taken:
- Stool analysis. It allows you to accurately determine the presence of common parasites in the body. However, some of them only lay eggs at certain stages of their life cycle, so it is recommended to survey several times at intervals of 3-4 days.
- General clinical blood test. It does not indicate the presence of larvae, eggs, adults, but the intensity of the inflammatory process, the number of leukocytes, etc.
- Biochemical analysis. It provides detailed information on protein metabolism, identifies abnormal loss or increased protein synthesis, and allows to rule out or suspect infection with certain helminths.
- Analysis of liver function indicators (bilirubin, pancreatic alpha-amylase, alkaline phosphatase, AST, ALT). Diagnosis of liver and pancreas involves infection with helminths.
- Urinalysis, blood test with glomerular filtration. They inform the doctor about the condition of the kidneys and the possibility of damage by parasites.
Examination of bile, sputum and duodenal contents can also be prescribed.
Ultrasound diagnostics can be prescribed to clarify the localization of parasites and assess the extent of damage. If you suspect the presence of helminths in the brain or eyes, computed tomography is performed. An X-ray is used to diagnose helminths in the lungs, and an endoscopy is performed in the stomach and intestines.
A comprehensive examination allows you to quickly and accurately determine the causes of the disease and prescribe adequate treatment. Do not refuse the exam. The more precisely the doctor determines the cause of the deterioration of health, the sooner he can help.
Which doctors should I consult?
If you suspect a helminth infection, you should contact a therapist who will conduct an initial examination and prescribe laboratory and instrumental tests. After the examination, the therapist will prescribe the treatment or refer to the specialist doctor.
Treatment
When diagnosed in time, helminthiasis can be easily eliminated with anthelmintic drugs. The doctor determines the dose depending on the patient's age, weight, degree of parasite damage, their type and location. To get rid of most worms, it is enough to take the drug 1-3 times. In addition to anthelmintic drugs, vitamin and mineral complexes are often prescribed to strengthen the immune system.
Severe intoxication, allergic reactions, infection against the background of severe chronic diseases, hospitalization in a hospital may be required. Doctors will not only cleanse the human body of parasites, but also perform detoxification therapy and vitamin therapy.
Surgical treatment is required for helminth damage to organs and tissues. Large numbers of roundworms sometimes cause blockage of the intestines and bile ducts. Their accumulation is surgically removed. The decision on the need for surgical treatment is made by a doctor after a thorough examination. The complexity and duration of the operation depends on the location of the parasites, their size and quantity.
Complications
Heartworm infections caused by common types of parasites can be treated with medications prescribed by your doctor. But if you do not pay attention to disturbing symptoms, deterioration of health, weakness, unexplained fatigue, reduced immunity, the disease can cause serious complications.
If the parasites enter the lungs and the patient does not consult a doctor with complaints of cough, shortness of breath, chest pain, difficulty breathing, pneumonia and even bronchial asthma.
Parasites found in the organs of the digestive system can cause diseases such as cirrhosis, liver abscess, hepatitis, intestinal cancer, gastrointestinal bleeding, accumulation of fluid in the abdominal cavity (ascites), peritonitis. They also often cause the development of chronic kidney diseases, meningoencephalitis and vision loss. Some cestodes (tapeworms) grow over 1 meter long, and the small roundworms can form tight balls. It disrupts the normal functioning of the body, causes severe intoxication and severe allergic reactions. Death is possible without emergency medical care.
Classification of parasites
Different types of worms affect the body differently and have their own characteristics both in terms of development, appearance and damage. There are three most common groups of worms: nematodes, cestodes, and trematodes.
The first group is protocavitary worms. They live in soil and water, so they can easily become infected in the litter box and when walking in general. It is this group that includes the most common pinworms and roundworms, as well as hookworms, trichinella and guinea worms. Depending on which parasite causes the infection, ascariasis, enterobiosis, trichuriasis, etc.
Cestodes are tapeworms that can live both in the intestines (the most common variant is tapeworms) and in organs (usually the larvae of tapeworms, echinococci and alveococci live there). Echinococcosis, taenosis, hymenolepiasis, etc. , depending on which of these types of worms are found in children.
The last of the three well-known groups are trematodes caused by trematodes. These are several types of flatworms - schistosome, cat/hepatitis, leucochloridium. They provoke opisthorchosis (transmitted from fish of the carp family) and fascioliasis (infects the liver and biliary system, infects through plants or water).
Symptoms
There are many symptoms and individual manifestations depend on which helminth eggs enter the body. Then we will talk about common symptoms for all parasitic infections, then about enterobiosis, ascariasis and 5 other types of infections.
- increased irritability, disturbed sleep, decreased persistence and attentiveness, frequent hysteria and anger;
- increased appetite associated with active weight loss;
- symptoms from the digestive system - diarrhea, constipation, nausea, pain in the right hypochondrium;
- dizziness and headache;
- food allergy;
- nasal discharge;
- diseases and infections of the reproductive system;
- brittle nails / hair;
Enterobiosis is a helminthosis in which the body is infected by pinworms. Larvae hatch in 4-6 hours, after 2-4 weeks they become adults - grayish or white roundworms 5-10 mm long. They settle in the intestine and appendix and lay their eggs outside the anus - at night, female pinworms come out into the air for this purpose. This reproduction mechanism causes severe itching at night - hence the restless sleep, tossing and turning, and screaming.
Additional specific symptoms:
- nocturnal urination;
- teeth grinding;
Ascariasis is a helminthiasis in which the body is colonized by roundworms. These worms are already larger - the average length of an adult is 25-30 cm. Larvae and eggs enter the body with insufficiently disinfected fresh fruits and vegetables. The development cycle takes place in the intestines, after which it passes to the lymph and blood vessels and is distributed throughout the body - in the liver, heart, lungs - through the flow of blood and lymph. Then they enter the oral cavity and are swallowed again. From this moment, adult roundworms begin to develop. It takes about 3 months.
How to suspect the presence of worms in children:
- liver, spleen, lymph nodes grow;
- the temperature rises, sometimes up to 38 degrees;
- weakness and weakness appear;
- respiratory pathologies develop - pneumonia, bronchitis and bronchial asthma;
- pressure drop;
- Gastrointestinal symptoms appear - constipation, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting, pain in the form of contractions;
- fear of light;
- nightmares at night;
- dry cough - orange sputum and bloody spots.
Breeding roundworms is more difficult than pinworms, because the female lays almost 250 thousand eggs every day. In no case should you rely on traditional methods or buy the first remedy you come across in a pharmacy - be sure to contact a specialist.
Babies may experience symptoms after a few weeks of life, for example, if they received worm eggs and larvae from their mothers at birth. As a rule, the symptoms manifest themselves in the form of lack of weight gain, excessive drooling, rash, paleness, blue under the eyes, constipation. The child is constantly restless, screams, sleeps and eats badly. The crying may become unbearable and the baby will turn blue in the process.
Worms are often the cause of the development of pulmonary pathologies and are diagnosed using ultrasound or X-ray. Parasites, especially the Exinococcus tapeworm, can not only damage the respiratory system, but can also spread further to the brain and heart. In the places where helminths develop in the lungs, scars and adhesions are formed, the shape of the lungs begins to change. Such changes cause a wide range of diseases - asthma, fibrosis, bronchitis, pleurisy, emphysema, etc. Echinococcosis occurs when the tapeworm enters the lungs, where the parasite develops into a cyst.
Symptoms will mainly depend on which helminth enters the body, but the child's discomfort and the presence of the above general symptoms should alert parents. If symptoms of worms appear, make an appointment with a pediatrician or gastroenterologist for a timely examination.
Diagnostics
Diagnosis of worms in children is carried out in different ways - depending on which worms the child is infected with, the place of residence, the location of the eggs and the toxins detected in the body will be different.
To make a diagnosis, the following can be prescribed:
- blood test - shows anemia, hemoglobin and eosinophil levels;
- analysis for parasites - helps to detect helminthosis in 99% of cases and in most cases helps to accurately identify the type (biomaterial for research - blood from a vein);
- stool examination - there may be no eggs in the stool, even if there is an infection, this diagnosis must be carried out 3 times to ensure the presence of worms, which takes time;
- smear - especially effective during pinworm infection, because their eggs are located outside the anus;
- stool analysis for dysbacteriosis;
- if there is a suspicion of infection not only of the gastrointestinal tract, but also of internal organs - CT, X-ray, ultrasound.
Diagnostics allows you to accurately determine the type of parasite and prescribe a specific treatment. The doctor prescribes medicines, diet, additional supportive procedures, and gives recommendations for care and hygiene.
In some cases, parents pay more attention to helminthosis and are constantly worried about infecting their child. This leads to regular "prophylactic" courses of serious anthelmintic drugs, which do not bring any benefit to the baby's body. If your child is not losing weight, feels well, is eating well, has healthy skin, and no itchiness in the anal area, he is probably healthy. If you want to be sure of this, it is better to pass the exam than to take an unnecessary course.
Treatment
The course of therapy for worms in children consists of several stages - preparation, therapy and cleaning. During the entire treatment period, it is necessary to carry out general preventive measures and carefully observe hygiene in order to prevent re-infection or re-infection of one of the family members. Some types of worms, such as tapeworms and echinococci, can only be removed surgically.
The preparatory stage includes taking various sorbents that absorb toxins and cleanse the body. They are followed by antihistamines, relieve general itching and prevent the development of allergic reactions to drugs.
Treatment of helminthosis in children at the main stage is direct administration of anthelmintic drugs in the form of tablets, suppositories or suspensions. Medicines are selected according to the type of helminths, individual indications and contraindications. Some anthelmintics work in 2 doses:
- the first course kills already advanced individuals;
- the second course helps to cope with larvae and eggs (prescribed 2 weeks after the first course).
Cleansing is designed to rid the body of the remains of dead parasites, at this stage sorbents, enemas and choleretic preparations are used. You can help your baby by adding raw carrots, dairy products, wholemeal bread, fruits, vegetables, fish oil, nuts, especially walnuts and peanuts to the diet.
In addition, in case of serious damage, a special diet can be used to restore the body, which will increase vitamin complexes, iron, minerals and hemoglobin, restore liver function and strengthen the body as a whole. The doctor describes the treatment plan in detail, avoiding side effects. Control tests are required. Self-medication and deviating from the plan are unacceptable.
Consequences of untreated parasitic infections
Helminths are a serious threat that can result in death or serious health problems if left untreated. An infected child poses a threat to the entire family and the environment because it spreads the disease.
Complications of worms in children:
- inflammatory exacerbation of appendicitis;
- epileptic seizures;
- several types of visual impairment;
- allergic reactions with abundant nasal discharge;
- development lagging behind peers;
- sexually transmitted infections, the most common in girls is vulvovaginitis;
- various types of pulmonary manifestations, including bronchial asthma;
- in difficult cases - damage to the brain and heart.
Prevention
In order to ensure that the treatment of worms in children is not required at all, it is necessary to actively engage in prevention, which consists of both daily measures and hygiene procedures, as well as taking medication.
How to protect your baby from parasitic infection:
- Observe hygiene rules - wash and bathe your child's hands regularly;
- regular care of toys - washing and cleaning (all toys must be disinfected after diagnosis);
- cut your nails as often as possible, clean them every day;
- iron clothes after washing;
- getting rid of bad habits - sucking fingers, pens, biting nails;
- give only boiled water to drink and explain the reasons;
- avoid swimming in natural water bodies;
- use repellents (insects often carry worm eggs), destroy all insects that enter the house;
- regularly check pets for parasites;
- Wash fruits and vegetables thoroughly, heat meat and fish sufficiently.
Some types of helminthiasis are difficult to treat, so we recommend preventive measures to prevent infection. When contacting the clinic, parents will receive full advice on how to properly carry out prevention to avoid problems in the future.