In common parlance, we call helminths worms. According to the World Health Organization, the so-called “helminthic infestations” in the damage caused to the health of the population firmly occupy a leading position, second only to various diarrhea, tuberculosis and coronary heart disease.
Helminths cause the most varied damage to human health. They “steal” nutrients, disrupt digestion, reduce the absorption of vital microelements and vitamins, which causes various anemias, better known as anemia. They cause allergies and reduce immunity.
In infectious diseases, the presence of helminths complicates their course and lengthens the duration of treatment. In some cases, uninvited guests can cause female infertility, cause mental and physical developmental delays in children, lead to disability and even cause death.
Statistics say that patients with helminthic invasion are registered annually almost two and a half times more than all infections, excluding influenza and acute respiratory infections, and ten times more than acute intestinal infections.
The main “helminthic diseases” – helminthiases – are ascariasis, trichocephalosis and enterobiasis. In addition to them, in our area, a dozen more diseases are regularly recorded in the form of individual cases and family-group outbreaks, and almost the same number of nosoforms is rare or diagnosed in visitors from afar.
In addition to favorable climatic conditions and disadvantages of communal improvement, the reasons for its widespread prevalence can confidently be called a low level of hygienic knowledge and skills. Polls show that only half of the population has minimal knowledge on the prevention of helminthiasis, and only one third of the population constantly adheres to hygiene requirements.
Meanwhile, doctors do not get tired of repeating that, observing the rules of personal hygiene and demanding the same from the immediate environment, the likelihood of “picking up” uninvited “fellow travelers” can be practically reduced to zero.
Basic preventive measures
- The first, most commonplace and most important thing is to keep your hands clean, wash them thoroughly with soap and water before every meal. Do not fertilize vegetable gardens and summer cottages with non-disinfected feces and do not eat unwashed vegetables, fruits and berries
- Keep living areas and toilets clean. Store food out of the reach of flies and cockroaches. If necessary, carry out pest control and vermin control in a timely manner.
- Do not eat raw, undercooked, undercooked, undersalted meat and fish. Don’t buy them in random places. Do not eat meat from farm animals and hunting trophies without a veterinary examination.
- Examine and carry out preventive treatment of your pets – cats and dogs annually, do not let them come into contact with stray animals.
- Wean children from bad habits of keeping fingers in their mouths and biting their nails.