Tasiemczyca

Proven content

Tapeworm disease is a disease caused by the presence of a parasite in the human body with a characteristic, mostly flat body structure, which makes them look similar to a tape. The development of tapeworms is not complicated, but requires an intermediate host. In its course, the egg, the oncosphere, the larval form and the mature parasite are distinguished.

Tasiemczyca – definition

Tapiemczyca is a disease caused by the presence of a parasite in the human body with a flat body structure, which is typical for most varieties, which makes it look similar to a tape. Tapeworms are the most common helminths in Poland. A characteristic feature of tapeworms is that parasites usually locate in the membrane where they mature without usually showing any external symptoms.

What is a tapeworm?

A tapeworm is a parasite that lives in the human digestive tract. There are several types of tapeworm most common in humans:

1. armed tapeworm (causing cysticercosis) is the greatest threat to humans, because it can live outside the intestine, e.g. in muscles or other organs,
2. unarmed tapeworm,
3. broad tapeworm,
4. dwarf tapeworm
5. echinococcal tapeworm (which causes echinococcosis).

Both the unarmed and the armed tapeworm consists of: head, neck and several hundred members (strobe), among which there are immature, mature and uterine members. The length of the entire parasite in the case of an unarmed tapeworm is up to 5 meters, and an armed tapeworm – up to 3 meters.

You can get the necessary referral for tapeworm tests during your visit to your GP. The contract visit today via the halodoctor.pl portal.

The causes of the formation and the occurrence of tapeworms

The most common intermediate hosts of the tapeworm are mammals such as pigs, dogs and cows, and even humans.

In humans, infection with tapeworm eggs occurs as a result of “dirty hands” and eating raw or undercooked meat that is infected with blackheads (larvae). The larvae that live in raw meat are about the size of a cucumber stone.

1. Tapeworms caused by armed tapeworms and unarmed tapeworms are caused by the consumption of raw or insufficiently heat-treated meat containing blackworms – the larval forms of these tapeworms. The larvae lose their viability after five-minute heating to 56 ° C. After infection, tapeworms mature about 3 months, after which the uterine members detach and are excreted in the faeces.
2. The broad moth (Diphyllobotrium latum) has a complex life cycle that is confined to two intermediate hosts: small freshwater crustaceans and fish. In humans, infection occurs when eating raw or semi-raw fish.
3. The dwarf tapeworm (Hymenolepis nana) is the only tapeworm that does not need an intermediate host to complete its life cycle. It occurs mainly in children, most often it spreads in communities such as boarding schools or nursing homes. You may become infected because of the food expelled by another person. The final host may also be rodents, and indirect hosts, e.g. beetles and cockroaches – accidental ingestion of such an insect leads to tapeworms.

Tapeworm infections associated with the unarmed tapeworm are found all over the world, and the greatest endemicity is observed in the countries of South and Central America, Central Asia, Africa and the Middle East, they are also quite common in South Asia, Europe, Japan and in Philippines.

Armed tapeworm is found almost everywhere in Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, India and China. Infestations with broad knotworm can be observed most often in the northern hemisphere, in the zone of cool and temperate climate.

Tapiemczyca – pathogenesis

In the case of armed and unarmed tapeworm usually one individual of this species is parasitic in the intestine of the host. After digesting the shell of the blackhead, scolex, the head of the tapeworm, begins to be released and then attaches to the wall of the small intestine. This situation causes a slight inflammation in the intestine. In addition, sometimes the products of tapeworm metabolism absorbed from the intestine cause a systemic allergic reaction.

Contagion armed tapeworm it also poses the risk of autoinvasion with the eggs of this parasite, which causes the development of larval forms of the tapeworm in the host tissues, i.e. cysticercosis.

In the case of dwarf tapeworm the infection is usually multiple. Oncospheres hatch from eggs, which are most often transferred to food via dirty hands, in the intestine, which then penetrate the intestinal villi mucosa, there they mature and return to the intestinal lumen, attaching to the mucosa.

Tapeworm disease – symptoms

Tapeworm disease at the initial stage of its development does not give any symptoms. However, in most patients, specific symptoms can be listed in the form of:

1. nausea,
2. abdominal pain,
3. lack of appetite
4. vomiting
5. dehydration,
6. constipation
7. weight loss,
8. weakening of the body due to malnutrition,
9. problems with bowel movements.

Throat tightness, anemia or skin lesions are much less common. In patients infected with armed tapeworm, cysticercosis may also develop, then the symptoms depend on the number and location of the larvae. The most dangerous is cysticercosis of the central nervous system, which is characterized by convulsions, headaches, mental disorders, drowsiness and vomiting. In patients with blackheads affecting the eyeball, it may lead to complete loss of vision.

Do you suspect the presence of a parasite in your body? Buy now Against parasites – Panaseus dietary supplement.

Tasiemczyca – diagnosis

Tapeworm symptoms are not very specific, so they should be differentiated from other ailments of the gastrointestinal tract. There are situations in which asymptomatic tapeworm disease coexists with another disease. e.g.:

1. peptic ulcer disease,
2. pinworm,
3. chronic pancreatitis,
4. ascariasis,
5. non-infectious enteritis,
6. giardiasis,
7. whipworm.

In order to obtain a final diagnosis, it is necessary to perform appropriate tests, including testing of the faeces for the presence of tapeworms. You can buy a stool test for parasites now at medonetmarket.pl. We also recommend a mail-order examination of the intestinal microflora and intestinal markers, thanks to which you can not only check whether there are parasites in the body, but also assess the condition of the intestinal microbiota responsible for resistance to pathogens.

How to treat tapeworm disease?

Patients diagnosed with a tapeworm are usually referred to hospital for treatment. If the tapeworm lives outside the gut, surgery is necessary.

Actually, the only preparation used in the treatment of tapeworms is praziquantel. It is administered in a single dose of 5-10 mg / kg bw – in the case of armed tapeworm, unarmed tapeworm, broad tapeworm, and in a single dose of 25 mg / kg bw – in the case of dwarf tapeworm.

Another, although hardly available, drug is niclosamidewhich should be administered to the patient in a single dose of 2 g (50 mg / kg in children).

How to prevent tapeworms?

In prophylaxis, it is important to:

1. avoiding eating raw or undercooked and undercooked meat dishes,
2. compliance with the rules of personal hygiene,
3. to eradicate tapeworm intermediate hosts (fleas) as they are the source of the infestation.
4. taking care of the cleanliness of animal hair as well as their lairs and rooms,
5. regular deworming of animals.

Supporting in the prevention of parasitic infections, it is worth drinking Worms – a mixture of herbs with wormwood, tansy and clove.

The content of the medTvoiLokony website is intended to improve, not replace, the contact between the Website User and their doctor. The website is intended for informational and educational purposes only. Before following the specialist knowledge, in particular medical advice, contained on our Website, you must consult a doctor. The Administrator does not bear any consequences resulting from the use of information contained on the Website.