“Diseases of civilization” are well known to every modern person: these are difficult-to-treat allergies, frequent ARVI, runny nose and bronchitis, chronic fatigue and asthenia, stomach and intestinal problems, abdominal pain.Obsessive symptoms that force you to change your lifestyle and cause a lot of inconvenience, which often become the reason for numerous visits to doctors.Treatment ends, but symptoms remain.
What might such violations indicate?
Poor health, increased symptoms, inexplicable manifestations of various body systems - respiratory, immune, nervous, digestive and others - are usually "attributed" to the frenetic pace of modern life, constant emotional and physical overload, which causes general fatigue and decreased immunity.The reasons for this condition, in fact, can be multiple and very often the discomfort is caused by a single negative factor, for example helminth infestation.To accurately determine the cause of the malaise and also find out whether there is a parasitic infection, you need to visit a doctor: a therapist, a gastroenterologist or an immunologist-allergist.
If the cause of the disease is suspected to be the presence of parasites, the doctor prescribes tests for the presence of parasites.There are several tests available to determine helminthiasis.Treatment for the most part is quite simple: specific anthelmintic drugs (anthelmintics) are selected.If you ignore the problem, the presence of parasites in the body can lead to serious diseases and sad consequences.
Symptoms of parasitic infection in adults
Most adults associate helminth infection with children, and this established opinion has an explanation: helminth infestations are indeed widespread in childhood, because young children may not follow hygiene rules, find themselves in large groups of children, and so on.However, helminthiases also occur in adults!Furthermore, parasites in the body can cause symptoms that a person unrelated to medicine would never associate with helminth infestation.
For example, parasites can contribute to the development of allergies, since they themselves (and their metabolic products) are allergens and also disrupt the functioning of immune defense mechanisms, resulting in decreased immunity.Various allergic reactions (runny nose, watery eyes, rash, swelling, diarrhea) develop to familiar foods, pollen, house dust and rapidly intensify.Against the background of changes in the immune system, frequent acute respiratory viral infections are observed, and general health worsens.
On the part of the digestive system, when infected with parasites, there are
- pain in the upper abdomen, near the navel,
- swelling often occurs
- diarrhea,
- painful cramps in the lower abdomen,
- constipation,
- itching
Such symptoms may indicate an infection with roundworms, which live mainly in the small intestine, which is why the listed unpleasant sensations develop.Painful cramps in the lower abdomen, constipation and itching in the anus are more typical when infected with pinworms, since they are localized in the large intestine.With all helminth infestations, the appetite is impaired and can not only disappear, but also intensify.
Some helminth infestations, for example, echinococcosis, opisthorchiasis, are asymptomatic.
Complications of helminthiasis that develop without treatment include the following (some of them are listed):
- anemia occurs due to reduced absorption of nutrients from the intestine, absorption of vitamins and proteins;studies show that even a mild degree of helminth infestation can cause such disorders;
- intestinal obstruction - mechanical blockage of the intestine, occurs most often in children under 10 years of age, but adult patients also appear in world statistics;intestinal obstruction can cause death;
- blockage of the bronchi (with ascariasis) and corresponding manifestations of the respiratory system;
- jaundice (with ascariasis) due to blockage of the bile ducts.
Important!An adult can become infected with parasites by consuming non-heat-treated food (fish, meat) or insufficiently washed vegetables.Dangerous helminths can enter the human body from pets: dogs, cats, turtles, etc.That is why even adults need to undergo periodic testing to detect helminth infestation, especially if persistent symptoms of the digestive system are observed.
Diagnosis of helminthiasis
Some helminth infestations are extremely difficult to detect in feces due to the peculiarities of the life cycle of parasites, for example, with ascariasis, in such cases it is necessary to determine antibodies against helminths in the blood.When identifying pinworms, the analysis is informative (accurate).
Blood test to determine antibodies against helminths
These studies are prescribed to determine the presence of pathogens such as roundworms, toxocara and others in the body.The tests are accurate and help determine the presence of a parasitic infection.
Important!At the end of the treatment it is necessary to verify its effectiveness (elimination of parasites) by carrying out repeated studies.
Frequently performed tests - specific tests for helminth infestations, as well as general and biochemical blood tests - help identify more dangerous health problems that require immediate treatment and can be fatal.For example, along with tests for helminth infections, tests are prescribed to identify hidden viral infections that cause serious damage to the body and weaken the immune system - for the Epstein-Bar virus, cytomegalovirus and others.Therefore, any examination prescribed by the doctor can provide him with important information about the reasons for the patient's poor health and allow him to timely start targeted treatment.
Treatment of helminthiasis in the clinic
Despite the unpleasant situation, most helminthiasis are treated using special drugs.Modern anthelmintic drugs are well tolerated, do not give serious side effects, and if you follow the treatment regimen, they are selected individually by the doctor, taking into account the condition of the body.Strict compliance with the rules for taking drugs guarantees the complete elimination of parasites from the body.
However, the treatment does not end there.It is necessary to eliminate the consequences caused by helminth infestation in the body, so the doctor can prescribe drugs that improve digestion (enterosorbents, probiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs), antiallergic drugs, expectorants, antianemic drugs (iron supplements), vitamin-mineral complexes and others.I would like to especially emphasize that therapy is always strictly individual and depends on the characteristics of each individual patient's body, so it is better to carry out treatment under the supervision of a doctor.
The clinic offers patients a unique opportunity to further improve their body's health with herbal medicines.A gastroenterologist, also certified as a herbalist, will individually select a herbal mixture of medicinal herbs with anti-inflammatory, anthelmintic and anti-allergic effects.Herbal medicine courses help to normalize digestion and eliminate discomfort: heartburn and belching, bloating and stool disorders, restoration and support of the body are as comfortable as possible for the patient.The clinic also uses homeopathic treatment as a supportive treatment, since these drugs have a mild and complex effect on various systems of the body.