Fluke – a parasite that can be caught in Turkey and Egypt. Symptoms do not appear until years later

The fluke is a parasite that is often responsible for abdominal pain or non-bacterial cystitis. It is worth doing fluke tests after returning from holidays in Turkey, Tunisia, Egypt, China, Thailand and other countries in Southeast Asia. In addition, sushi, salads and salads eaten in restaurants, smoked salmon, and even aquariums with exotic fish can also be sources of infection. As a result of infection with flukes, various troublesome ailments appear from the side of the digestive and urinary systems. What else is worth knowing about flukes?

1. The easiest way to get infected with the parasite is during trips, especially to Africa and Asia
2. The first symptoms of infection may appear even several years after the fluke enters the body
3. Symptoms of infection are most often digestive problems, weakness, increased temperature
4. Fluke infection can have various chronic effects on our body, and if left untreated, it can be the beginning of the development of neoplastic disease.
5. You can find more such stories on the TvoiLokony home page

Flukes – characteristics

The fluke looks similar to a tapeworm. It can be found in both humans and animals. There are several types of flukes, and each of them is responsible for diseases of various systems in the human body. Several specific species of flukes pose a threat to humans. The most common fluke infection takes place during trips abroad to Africa or Asia.

The fluke is a parasite, which means that the human body bears high health costs for its presence. Unfortunately, most often the first symptoms resulting from the presence of flukes in the human body are visible only a few years after the infection. The fluke enters the human body most often through the skin or with food. The liver fluke, blood fluke and intestinal fluke cause the greatest damage.

Flukes – pathways of infection

Infection with flukes is only possible through the ingestion and through the skin in areas where a high fluke population is confirmed and a high number of infections have been reported. Today, these are mainly areas of Asia and Africa. For this reason, people traveling to these regions of the world should be very careful not to eat raw local vegetables, fruit, fish or shellfish. What is very important, remember that the first symptoms of fluke infection may not appear until several years after the infection.

In order for the blood to become infected with flukes, contact with parasites living in water reservoirs is necessary. The mature flukes then live and multiply in the host’s blood vessels. Other types of flukes enter the human body along with food. Importantly, you should also avoid drinking the water in which the fish or crabs you eat live – it is also a source of infection.

Check it out: Five dangerous parasites

Flukes – diagnostics

Diagnosis of fluke infection is very difficult because its symptoms are often quite general, and they do not appear until several years after contact with the flukes. The diagnosis is preceded by a thorough medical interview. It should primarily include questions about travel and the products consumed during the trip. Urine sample tests, saliva and stool analysis as well as blood tests are also worth doing.

Blood tests are the easiest way to make a proper diagnosis because flukes, like all parasites, produce antigens. When your body tries to fight an infection on its own, it starts producing antibodies against them. Blood tests for flukes look for these antibodies. In the laboratory, it is possible to perform serological, molecular and immunological tests for flukes. It is also worth checking the number of eosinophils, the presence of which indicates a parasite infection. The test results are available after approximately 14 days.

It is important, however, that even blood tests do not always give a clear result and can be misleading. Therefore, if in doubt, repeat blood tests for flukes.

Flukes – symptoms of infection

Symptoms of fluke infection are the most frequently reported symptoms:

1. higher temperature;
2. diarrhea, nausea, vomiting;
3. weakness;
4. lack of appetite;
5. pain in the liver area;
6. sneezing;
7. allergic itching of the skin.

Most often, patients are unaware that such ailments may be the result of infection with flukes. Moreover, the statistics show that the symptoms of allergies, runny nose, itching of the eyes or rash may indicate the presence of flukes in our body. The presence of the parasite in the body can also be seen as asthma, headaches, and a feeling of general fatigue and breakdown. Infection may also be indicated by the development of irritable bowel syndrome and associated digestive problems.

1. At Medonet Market you can buy the Panaseus parasite dietary supplement, which contains active ingredients with antiparasitic properties, including thyme extract, oregano, as well as Cretan, fennel and curcumin extract.

Remember that the symptoms are often related to the system that was attacked by the fluke. Most often, pain appears first in a given area, e.g. in the liver, pancreas or lungs. Fluke infection can have various chronic effects on our body, and if left untreated, the infection can start the development of cancer. Carriers of this parasite often experience such large drops in immunity that they also begin to suffer from various autoimmune diseases.

When the flukes stay in the host’s body for a longer time and the infection becomes chronic, attacks of liver, intestine and spleen pains begin to appear, which significantly increase in size. Chronic hepatitis is also found in many people.

Check it out: Helminthotherapy – treatment with parasites

Flukes – types

Flukes is a parasite found in both humans and animals. It belongs to the flatworms. Adult flukes have a flat body that is 1 to several centimeters long. They also have two suction cups that allow the flukes to attach to the tissue. In this way, they can live in the human body for up to several years. Flukes are divided into specific types, and this division is related to the systems in which flukes live:

1. blood fluke – Schistosomal fluke, which leads to a blood disorder called schistosomiasis. This fluke feeds on human blood. It can be encountered in the Middle East and Africa. It penetrates the human body through the skin;
2. hepatic fluke – also called biliary. There are two types of liver flukes: Chinese flukes, or Clonorchis, and Fasciola flukes. Both types can be found all over the world, but the greatest risk of infection with liver flukes is associated with visits to Asia. Man can get infected with it by eating freshwater fish;
3. intestinal fluke – it is the Fasciolopsis fluke and it is responsible for the disease fasciolopsosis. This type of fluke is found in the Far East and India. You can get infected with it through food;
4. pulmonary fluke – you can catch it all over the world, except in Europe and North America. Infection with pulmonary fluke is possible through the ingestion;
5. pancreatic fluke – the source of the infection is food. Importantly, pancreatic fluke resides in the body of people with diabetes much more often. 

The diagnosis of the flukes is very difficult, and the parasite itself is extremely tricky. Traditional diagnostic methods almost always fail, for example the presence of hepatic flukes is often confused with liver tumors. On the other hand, pancreatic fluke, although there is little research on it, is often indicated as one of the causes of diabetes, pancreatitis, and even pancreatic cancer. The greatest number of registered cases of flukes is related to blood flukes. There are several species of blood fluke that are the most common causes of bladder and bowel problems.

Flukes – infection with liver flukes

The liver flukes are liver fluke, fluke, cat fluke and Chinese fluke. Hepatic mite is the most serious infection of all flukes. At the very beginning, the infection is asymptomatic. The first symptoms can be noticed after 2 weeks. In infected tissues, mechanical damage occurs, and even kills them as a consequence of the movement of flukes. This means liver necrosis and abscesses where the flukes are located.

The harmful products of metabolic changes in flukes can be a catalyst for various allergic reactions. Additionally, the effects of infection with the liver fluke include hyperplasia of the bile ducts, lumens and inflammation in the bile lumen, and urolithiasis.

Other liver flukes, such as cat flukes, flukes and so-called Chinese flukes are smaller than the hepatic fluke, but infection also leads to hepatic symptoms. The most common are colic or gallstones of the gallbladder. They can also, in certain cases, lead to the development of cancer of the bile ducts. The most risky situation is the simultaneous infection with flukes and viral hepatitis.

Check it out: How to get rid of parasites from the body?

Fluke – infection with blood flukes

Blood flukes cause schistosomiasis. This infection occurs quite often. Mature blood flukes develop in veins in the pelvis or bladder. In turn, the mansoni and japonicum flukes live in the mesenteric veins. Some of the eggs laid by adults go to the bladder and are excreted from there along with the urine. Flukes’ eggs can also pass from blood vessels to the large intestine and be excreted along with the faeces.

Eggs that cannot get anywhere remain in the tissues and lead to many pathological changes. The changes caused by the flukes may be haemorrhagic, inflammatory, and may lead to papillomas and growths in the walls of the bladder or pelvic organs. Over time, they can lead to calcification and scarring of the bladder, and papillomas turn into neoplastic changes.

The presence of mansoni and japonicum flukes leads to the appearance of hemorrhagic and ulcerative lesions of the small intestine, as well as polyps of the small and large intestine. Schistosomal flukes may be associated with the development of Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Colitis Ulcerosa. Moreover, the metabolic products of the flukes can cause allergic reactions in any case.

Fluke – infection with intestinal flukes

Fasciolosis is a disease caused by one of the intestinal flukes. Infections with intestinal flukes are usually quite mild and asymptomatic, and the only thing that can be noticed by an infected person is abdominal pain. Acute infections with intestinal flukes lead to poisoning with toxins, diarrhea, edema, malabsorption disorders, intestinal ulcers or ascites.

The metabolites of intestinal flukes may also cause allergic reactions, and some scientific publications indicate a relationship between intestinal flukes and the development of cancer, or a greater risk of transition from HIV infection to AIDS. Infections with intestinal flukes can be very dangerous and in extreme cases lead to the destruction of the human body.

Flukes – infection with pancreatic flukes

Pancreatic fluke is a type that is very little known to science, although infection of the pancreas and bile ducts with flukes is quite common. They can be found in the pancreatic ducts and the small intestine of, for example, pigs or horses, but also in humans. Their presence causes a condition called euretremiasis. The disease is usually mild and symptomatic. When a fluke infection is severe, the most common symptoms are digestive system disorders, such as flatulence, diarrhea, constipation and vomiting.

This parasite is most commonly diagnosed in people with type II diabetes and can be found in virtually all patients. This indicates an almost unambiguous relationship between the parasite and the development of type II diabetes. Other symptoms of infection with pancreatic flukes include poisoning with toxins and exhaustion of the body. Pancreatic flukes may also influence the development of pancreatitis, pancreatic tumors, or pancreatic duct obstruction.

Further part below the video.

Fluke – treatment

The most common method of treating flukes is by administering anti-parasite medications. Importantly, treatment does not require hospitalization, unless the stage of the disease indicates it. If, for example, we are dealing with an infection with the liver fluke, it may be associated with liver damage or enlargement of the spleen. This means the need to implement supportive treatment, which is associated with a visit to the hospital.

Herbs are an important part of treating a fluke infection. They not only help the body to regenerate, but also have no negative impact on other organs. When treating flatworm infections, it is worth reaching for myrrh balsam resin, which has analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties. It is worth combining it with musk quinoa, which effectively fights all parasites and allows you to remove all flukes in the human body. Nopal, which has strong detoxifying properties, can also help.

Przywra – prophylaxis

Prevention of fluke infections is very simple. To avoid contamination, it is sufficient not to drink water directly from the tap or the source. It is best to always drink bottled water when traveling, as flukes can be found even in apparently clear water bodies. Since flukes develop in a wet environment, in which they take as many as 5 developmental forms, bathing in forbidden places should also be avoided.

Fruit and vegetables should also be washed thoroughly, even if the label suggests that the product has been washed. Only then can we be sure of the quality and purity of the water in which we wash our food products.