“Diseases of civilization” are well known to every modern person - these are allergies that are difficult to treat, frequent ARVI, runny nose and bronchitis, chronic fatigue and asthenia, problems with the stomach and intestines, abdominal pain.Obsessive symptoms that force you to change your lifestyle and cause a lot of discomfort, which often become the reason for numerous visits to doctors.The treatment ends, but the symptoms remain.
What can such violations indicate?
Poor health, increasing symptoms, unexplained manifestations from various body systems - respiratory, immune, nervous, digestive and others - are usually “attributed” to the modern busy rhythm of life, constant emotional and physical overload, which provoke general fatigue and decreased immunity.In fact, there can be many reasons for this condition, and very often the malaise is caused by only one negative factor, for example, helminthic infestation.In order to accurately determine the cause of the malaise and also find out whether there is an infection with parasites, you need to visit a doctor - a therapist, gastroenterologist or immunologist-allergist.
If there is a suspicion that the presence of parasites is the cause of the illness, the doctor prescribes tests for the presence of parasites.There are several available tests to determine helminthiasis.Treatment for the most part is quite simple: specific anthelmintic (anthelminthic) drugs are selected.If you ignore the problem, the presence of parasites in the body can lead to serious illnesses and sad consequences.
Symptoms of parasite infection in adults
Most adults associate helminth infection with children, and there is an explanation for this well-established opinion: helminth infestations are indeed widespread in childhood, because young children may not follow hygiene rules, are in large groups of children, and so on.However, helminthiases also occur in adults!Moreover, parasites in the body can cause symptoms that a person not related to medicine would never associate with helminthic infestation.
For example, parasites can contribute to the development of allergies, since they themselves (and their metabolic products) are allergens, and they also disrupt the functioning of immune defense mechanisms, which leads to a decrease in immunity.Various allergic reactions develop (runny nose, lacrimation, skin rash, swelling, diarrhea) to familiar foods, pollen, household dust, and they quickly intensify.Against the background of changes in the immune system, frequent acute respiratory viral infections are observed, and general health worsens.
On the part of the digestive system, when infected with parasites, there are
- pain in the upper abdomen, near the navel,
- bloating often occurs
- diarrhea,
- painful cramps in the lower abdomen,
- constipation,
- itching
Such symptoms may indicate infection with roundworms, which live mainly in the small intestine, which is why the listed unpleasant sensations develop.Painful cramps in the lower abdomen, constipation, and itching in the anus are more typical when infected with pinworms, since they are localized in the large intestine.With all helminthic infestations, appetite is impaired, and it can not only disappear, but also intensify.
Some helminthic infestations, for example, echinococcosis, opisthorchiasis, are asymptomatic.
Complications of helminthiases that develop without treatment include the following (some of them are listed):
- anemia occurs due to impaired absorption of nutrients from the intestine, absorption of vitamins and proteins;studies show that even a mild degree of helminthic infestation can cause such disorders;
- intestinal obstruction - mechanical blockage of the intestine, most often occurs in children under 10 years of age, but adult patients also appear in world statistics; intestinal obstruction can cause death;
- blockage of the bronchi (with ascariasis) and corresponding manifestations from the respiratory system;
- jaundice (with ascariasis) due to blockage of the bile ducts.
Important! An adult can become infected with parasites by consuming thermally unprocessed food (fish, meat) or insufficiently washed greens.Dangerous helminths can enter the human body from pets - dogs, cats, turtles, etc. That is why even adults need to undergo periodic tests to detect helminthic infestation, especially if persistent symptoms from the digestive system are observed.
Diagnosis of helminthiases
Some helminthic infestations are extremely difficult to detect in feces due to the peculiarities of the life cycle of parasites, for example, with ascariasis, in such cases it is necessary to determine antibodies in the blood to helminths.When identifying pinworms, the analysis is informative (accurate).
Blood test to determine antibodies to helminths
These studies are prescribed to determine the presence of pathogens such as roundworm, toxocara and others in the body.The tests are accurate and allow you to determine the presence of a parasitic infection.
Important! At the end of treatment, it is necessary to verify its effectiveness (elimination of parasites) by conducting repeated studies.
Frequently performed tests - specific tests for helminthic infestations, as well as general and biochemical blood tests - help identify more dangerous health problems that require immediate treatment and can be fatal.For example, in conjunction with tests for helminth infections, tests are prescribed to identify hidden viral infections that cause serious harm to the body and weaken the immune system - for the Epstein-Bar virus, cytomegalovirus and others.That is why any test prescribed by a doctor can give him important information about the reasons for the patient’s poor health and allow him to begin targeted treatment in a timely manner.
Treatment of helminthiases in the clinic
Despite the unpleasantness of the situation, most helminthiases are treated by using special medications.Modern anthelmintic drugs are well tolerated, do not give serious side effects, and if the treatment regimen is followed, individually selected by the doctor, taking into account the condition of the body.Strict adherence to the rules for taking medications guarantees the complete elimination of parasites from the body.
However, the treatment does not end there.It is necessary to eliminate the consequences caused by helminthic infestation in the body, so the doctor may prescribe drugs that improve digestion (enterosorbents, probiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs), antiallergic drugs, expectorants, antianemic drugs (iron supplements), vitamin-mineral complexes and others.I would like to especially note that therapy is always strictly individual and depends on the characteristics of the body of each individual patient, therefore it is best to carry out treatment under the supervision of a doctor.
The clinic provides patients with a unique opportunity to further improve their body health with herbal medicines.A gastroenterologist, also certified as a herbalist, will individually select a herbal mixture based on medicinal herbs with anti-inflammatory, anthelmintic, and antiallergic effects.Herbal medicine courses help normalize digestion and eliminate discomfort - heartburn and belching, bloating and stool disorders, restoration and support of the body is as comfortable as possible for the patient.The clinic also uses homeopathic treatment as a supportive treatment, since these drugs have a mild complex effect on various body systems.