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Parasite infection has been associated with an ailment that affects pre-school children, but this is a misconception. Nematodes are a group of parasites that can also be infected by adults. What are nematodes? How is the infection, can you protect yourself from it? What are the symptoms and what is the treatment like?
Nematodes are round worms. They live primarily in an aquatic environment and attack plants and animals, but unfortunately humans can also become infected very easily. How does infection occur and what are the symptoms?
Nematodes – what they are
Nematodes have an oblong body that is made up of the cuticle, epithelium and muscle layer. Their body is a hydraulic skeleton, which means they mostly consist of a fluid that fills the body cavity to support the digestive tract and muscles. When it comes to size, the nematodes are diverse in this respect and it all depends on the species, for example pinworms can reach a size of 3 mm up to 1 cm. The human roundworm can reach up to 40 cm in body length.
Nematodes – symptoms
Nematodes can enter the human body in different ways, and infection occurs depending on the species of parasite. Most often, nematodes penetrate their host as a result of lack of proper hygiene, for example, poorly washed fruits or vegetables, buying meat in various uncontrolled places or improper preparation of meat dishes. Children can get infected, for example, with pinworms in the kindergarten or in the sandbox, it is enough for the eggs to be transferred to the hands with reflex scratching, which is one of the symptoms of infection, and hence a simple way to spread the parasite on everyday objects. What symptoms do each nematode cause?
- Human pinworm – pinworms are nematodes that live in the human large intestine. This type of nematode causes a disease called pinworms. The greatest number of infections is recorded in preschool children. Oatosis is the most commonly diagnosed disease of the digestive system resulting from parasite infection. Pinworms are nematodes up to 1 cm in length, the eggs are oval-shaped, colorless, very durable, therefore they can survive and infect for up to 2/3 weeks. The infection occurs as a result of eating the parasite larvae with, for example, dirty fruit, eggs can also be found on everyday objects, games. What symptoms do these types of nematodes cause? First of all, the infection is accompanied by persistent itching of the anus and itching may increase in the evening hours. Children who become infected with pinworms may be hyperactive, have poor concentration, sleep poorly, and teeth grinding is characteristic of the infection. There are blemishes around the anus as a result of constant scratching.
- Human roundworm – roundworms are nematodes that nest in the human small intestine. Ascaris can stay in the intestine for up to 18 months. Parasites in this group are long, reaching up to 40 cm and about 0,5 cm in diameter. As from pinworms, you can get infected by eating invasive larvae. In the initial stage, the infection is asymptomatic, later haemorrhage, dry cough, high fever, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea may appear. Ascariasis also causes a vitamin deficiency
Other nematodes that can be infected by humans include:
- hookworms
- intestinal nematode
- human whipworm
- the Medina worm
- heartworms
- curly hair
Nematodes are treated with anti-parasitic drugs in most cases of infections. The treatment needs to be repeated and should apply not only to the infected person, but also to the whole family and immediate surroundings.
Prophylactically and as an auxiliary in the treatment of nematodes, you can use Wormwood herb, which you can buy at Medonet Market in the form of dried tea for the preparation of tea.
Do you want to be tested for parasitic infections? Perform a mail-order stool test for parasites, including nematodes.
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