Various scientific studies have confirmed the connection between many pathological conditions in people with parasitic diseases. Often worms in humans do not give any characteristic symptoms of the disease, so they can exist in the body for many years, causing dangerous complications and pathologies. Sometimes the only symptoms of parasitic disease can be black spots in the feces or brightly colored helminth eggs and worms in the feces. To find out if there are worms in the human body, a diagnosis needs to be made. First of all, they are conducting a study of feces, so it is so important to know what worms look like in human feces, as well as to understand the types of parasites in humans. In addition to the types of parasites, our article will describe the symptoms of worms in humans and methods for diagnosing parasitic diseases.
Symptoms of worms in humans
From the photo, it is easy to understand what the eggs of worms in the feces and the worms themselves look like. The different worms in the person in the photo can differ significantly. The size of some egg worms or adults is very small, other parasites in the feces and their eggs can be seen without a microscope. Therefore, when answering the question of whether eggs can be seen with the naked eye, it is necessary to take into account which worms live in humans.
Eggs in the feces do not always appear, sometimes the only symptoms of helminthiasis may be the following conditions:
- weight loss;
- general weakness;
- rapid fatigue often occurs;
- the skin becomes pale;
- itching in the anal region.
However, some of the symptoms of the disease, which are caused by worm larvae or adults, the patient does not even associate with worms. These symptoms include the following:
- bloating, diarrhea and constipation;
- nausea and vomiting;
- pain in the navel and right hypochondrium.
When such symptoms occur, a fecal mass study should be performed first. In this case, the smallest worm eggs can be detected in the feces. Since the self-identification of worm eggs is difficult, it is better to send the feces to the laboratory for analysis. Only an expert knows what worm eggs look like.
Sometimes there are no parasites in the feces, but the patient has signs of general intoxication. When parasite toxins affect the human nervous system, the following symptoms of the disease appear:
- dizziness;
- fatigue;
- headache;
- increased irritability;
- drowsiness;
- depression;
- convulsions;
- temperature rise.
If worms and their eggs are found in a child's feces, then the symptoms of the disease are often supplemented by various allergic manifestations:
- urticaria, dermatitis;
- skin rash;
- itchy skin, redness.
Worms in the feces of an adult or child can be detected only at a certain stage of the disease, and even then not always. That is why it is not so important to know what the larvae of the parasite look like, as it is necessary to understand the symptoms of a certain parasitic disease:
- Pinworms that cause enterobium usually cause severe itching in the anal area, which worsens at night. This is due to the fact that these nematodes (roundworms) lay eggs on the perianal folds, crawling out of the anus.
- The characteristic symptoms of hookworm disease, difilobotriosis and trichuria will be anemia and beriberi.
- The symptomatology of ascariasis depends on the degree of development of the helminth. In the migratory stage, the clinical picture is expressed by a complex of symptoms from the respiratory system (difficulty breathing, cough, bronchitis, pneumonia). In the intestinal phase, symptoms characteristic of gastrointestinal pathologies appear. In this case, black spots may appear in the stool.
- With trichinosis, fever, swelling of the face and muscle pain occur.
- If the trematodes have settled in the liver, then pancreatitis develops, yellowing of the sclera and skin appears, and the spleen increases. In this form of the disease, black threads and spots in the fecal mass may be absent.
- Schistosomiasis causes bleeding in the genitourinary system, so urine may be mixed with blood. Often the parasite causes indigestion.
Types of worms
In photography, worms in a person can vary dramatically depending on their affiliation to a particular species. Thus, tapeworms and roundworms parasitize in the human body. In the photo, helminths of the same variety may also differ. So, pinworms, nematodes, trichinella, roundworms, hookworms are roundworms. There are two classes of flatworms:
- cestodes (this is swine and bovine tapeworm, echinococcus, broad tapeworm, alveococcus);
- trematodes (this includes schistosomes, opisthorchiasis, paragonim).
You can find out what this or that helminth looks like from the photo. We will describe the characteristics of the existence of the main parasites of the human body:
- Pinworms cause enterobium, the symptoms of which appear on the third day after infection. Eggs enter the body with unwashed hands, fruits and herbs.
- Hair loss causes a condition called trichuria. Its first symptoms can be seen 21-35 days after the invasion. Infection occurs when cooking in unhygienic conditions. Usually the patient suffers from diarrhea, loss of appetite, abdominal pain. There may be appendicitis.
- The culprit of difilobotriosis is broad tapeworm. The disease manifests itself 2-5 weeks from the moment of infection. The parasite enters the body with infected lightly fried fish. This helminth can live in the human body for decades, causing anemia, beriberi, intestinal obstruction, allergies and intoxication.
- Roundworms are the culprits of ascariasis. When infected with these worms, blackheads can appear in the feces of an adult and a child. Up to three months pass from the moment of invasion to the appearance of the clinical picture. The parasite enters the intestines with plant foods.
- Okliji worm - hookworm provokes hookworm. Infection can occur when working in the ground, walking barefoot on the ground. The disease manifests itself 5-8 days after infection. First there is itching and swelling at the site of penetration of the parasite, then cough with copious sputum, dizziness, weakness.
- Giant liver fluke causes fasciolia. The parasite enters the body with contaminated water and plant foods. The first signs of the disease can be seen after 0, 5-1 month from the beginning of the invasion. The disease is manifested by dry cough, fever, abdominal pain and loss of appetite.
- A worm called Trichinella is the culprit for trichinosis in humans. Helminths can enter the human body with poorly processed meat and fats. The first symptoms appear two days after the infection. Usually the patient suffers from diarrhea, heartburn and nausea.
Diagnosis of helminthiasis
When diagnosing many helminthiasis, a stool study is performed first. If you find black spots in the feces or white worms in the feces, then this analysis should be done as soon as possible.
However, it is not only the excrement with black dots that is an indication for the co-program. Often, even invisible eggs can be easily identified under a microscope. A more accurate diagnosis of fecal masses for the detection of helminth DNA particles is performed by PCR technique.
If a person has a lot of black spots in the feces, then among other diagnostic methods it is worth mentioning the following:
- Scraping from the area near the anus;
- Blood test by ELISA, PCR, RNGA and other methods;
- Be sure to do blood chemistry and KLA;
- In some cases, ultrasound, MRI, and CT are performed to identify sites of parasite localization;
- An X-ray examination is indicated to diagnose the migratory stage of helminths.
In certain forms of helminthiasis, sputum, rectal mucus, urine, and gallbladder contents may be examined. Also, endoscopic examination is sometimes used in diagnosis.