Children's bodies are quite easily attacked by parasites, since children have a lower immunity. In addition, a child's body cannot produce a special digestive enzyme that can destroy worm larvae; a person acquires this ability with age.
It is impossible to visually observe worm eggs; their size is tiny, but they are almost everywhere. The risk of infection appears during the period when the child begins to understand the world by feeling various objects. In addition, the baby tries not only to touch objects, but sometimes to taste them. A big danger is the sandpits in the yards, which are often used by street animals as a toilet. If we take into account the weak natural defenses of the baby's body against helminth attacks, then it is not difficult to realize how great the chances are for parasites to affect the child's intestines. Here are the main ways worms enter a child's body:
- through unwashed hands.
- after contact with animals;
- through undercooked meat and fish.
- Insects are also a frequent source of helminth infestation, as they carry worm eggs on their legs.
- unwashed vegetables and fruits.
- through dirty water accidentally swallowed while swimming in an open body of water.
An important factor is the ability of worms to be a source of re-infection of the child, despite all the efforts of the parents. The fact is that helminths periodically crawl into the child's anus, laying eggs in close proximity to it, which causes severe itching in the baby. The child itches and the small worm eggs, in turn, end up under his fingernails, from where they easily enter the mouth and then travel down the gastrointestinal tract, ending up back in the intestines. After two weeks, the larvae grow into adults, which are also capable of laying eggs.
Worm infestation in children, symptoms
There are about 300 types of parasites that can infect the human body, however, worms and roundworms are most often diagnosed in children. Both types of worms affect the small intestine; the symptoms of damage to both types of parasites are quite similar:
- Loss of appetite, pale facial skin, dark circles under the eyes.
- Restless sleep; sometimes the child may grind his teeth in his sleep.
- Headaches, dizziness, lethargy and weakness appear.
- Sometimes worms are present in a child's stool and can be seen with the naked eye.
- The baby experiences itching in the genital area and anus.
- There is a disturbance in the digestive system, constipation can be replaced by diarrhea, abdominal pain and nausea are observed.
- General blood indicators may change, that is, a decrease in hemoglobin and an increase in the level of eosinophils and ESR.
- The vital activity of worms becomes the cause of general poisoning of the body, manifested by the appearance of allergic reactions, urticaria and atopic dermatitis.
- Increased body temperature for no good reason.
- Constant itching can cause inflammation of the genital mucosa.
- Worms not only poison the child's body with the products of their vital activity, but also actively consume vitamins and minerals, nutrients that the child's body needs so much, which often leads to vitamin deficiency and a decrease in the level of hemoglobin in theblood.
Folk remedies against worms
Admittedly, folk remedies are the most suitable for the treatment of helminthic infestations in children; the symptoms subside quite quickly. However, before using them, you should definitely consult a doctor, because the child's body is very vulnerable not only to the action of parasites, but also to the improper use of drugs, even folk ones. Here are the most popular folk anthelmintic drugs:
- Garlic enema. Garlic is an antiseptic given to man by nature, it is also applicable against worms. A glass of cow's milk is mixed with a head of chopped garlic, the mixture is boiled, then cooled and filtered through a double layer of gauze. At night, the child is given an enema from the milk received, one-third of the medicine taken is taken for this, and the child is treated in this way for at least a week.
- Chamomile decoction. Another natural antiseptic used to treat a wide variety of ailments. To prepare the decoction, take a tablespoon of dry chamomile herb and pour boiling water over it, let it cool and give the child to drink throughout the day instead of water or tea. The duration of treatment is 5 days.
- Onion treatment. Chop a small onion, add milk and boil the resulting mixture, then cool and filter. The resulting product is given to the baby for three consecutive days, 100 ml.
Simple folk recipes that will help treat a child from worms, see the video:
Causes of helminthiasis
Almost 400 species of helminths can parasitize the human body, 70 of them are the most common in our country. As a rule, these are roundworms and tapes. Diseases caused by the penetration of felines (feline or liver pustules) are often detected.
The disease develops when parasite eggs or larvae enter the stomach. During the period of development from egg to sexually mature individual, the tapeworm can change several hosts. You can also become infected by eating meat (beef, pork, game), unfiltered water, dirty vegetables and fruits.
Helminths parasitize the organisms of mammals, fish, molluscs and amphibians. To avoid contamination, you should avoid eating them raw and do not buy smoked or salted fish of unknown origin.
Symptoms of worms
Various types of worms can infest the digestive tract, respiratory organs, lymph nodes, bone and muscle tissues. Their vital activity affects the host's body in different ways. They can produce toxins, cause the development of inflammatory processes, allergic reactions, anemia, metabolic disorders and have a traumatic effect on organs and tissues.
You should contact the clinic to identify or rule out helminthiasis if you have the following symptoms in an adult:
- Temperature rise. It may rise sharply to 38°C and decrease briefly after taking anti-inflammatory and antipyretic drugs. Sometimes the temperature remains high for 2-3 months.
- Dull or cutting pain in the stomach, frequent bowel movements (diarrhea or constipation), nausea.
- Itching in the region of the anus, worse at night.
- Frequent colds or respiratory diseases - when infected with helminths, immunity decreases.
- Loss or increase in appetite, sudden weight loss.
- Bronchospasm, cough, shortness of breath, other breathing disorders, pallor of the skin and mucous membranes.
- Itchy rash.
- Insomnia, frequent headaches, anxiety, irritability, depression.
- Joint and muscle pain.
- Inflammation, enlarged lymph nodes.
- Edema.
In the absence of proper treatment, helminths can cause the development of chronic pancreatitis, hepatitis, cholecystocholangitis, cause irreversible tissue changes and even lead to death.
Diagnostics
Infection with certain types of helminths gives a characteristic clinical picture. When a patient first contacts a doctor, they can guess the diagnosis. Eggs and other traces of the vital activity of roundworms, worms and other ascarids that parasitize the intestines are detected during the examination of feces. Sometimes the worms are visible on ultrasound. But some small pests are very difficult to identify. Diagnosis is made based on a combination of symptoms and results of organ and laboratory tests.
If helminthiasis is suspected in adults and children, the following should be taken:
- Stool analysis. It allows you to accurately detect the presence of common parasites in the body. However, some of them only lay eggs at certain stages of their life cycle, so it is recommended to survey several times at 3-4 day intervals.
- General clinical blood test. It does not indicate the presence of larvae, eggs, adults, but provides a lot of information about the intensity of the inflammatory process, the number of leukocytes, etc.
- Biochemical analysis. It provides detailed information on protein metabolism, detects abnormal loss or increased protein synthesis, and allows one to rule out or suspect infection with certain helminths.
- Analysis for indicators of liver function (bilirubin, pancreatic alpha-amylase, alkaline phosphatase, AST, ALT). Diagnosis of liver and pancreas indicates helminth infection.
- Urinalysis, blood test with glomerular filtration. They give the doctor information about the condition of the kidneys and the possibility of them being damaged by parasites.
Studies of the content of bile, sputum and duodenum may also be prescribed.
To clarify the location of the parasites and assess the extent of the damage, ultrasound diagnostics may be prescribed. If helminths are suspected in the brain or eyes, a CT scan is performed. To diagnose helminths in the lungs, x-rays are taken and in the stomach and intestines - endoscopy.
A comprehensive examination makes it possible to quickly and accurately determine the causes of the disease and prescribe the appropriate treatment. Do not refuse the examination. The more precisely the doctor determines the cause of ill health, the faster he can help.
Which doctors should I contact?
If you suspect a helminth infection, you should contact a therapist who will conduct an initial examination and prescribe laboratory and organic tests. After the examination, the therapist will prescribe treatment or refer you to a specialist doctor.
Treatment
With early diagnosis, helminthiasis can be easily eliminated with anthelmintic drugs. The doctor determines the dosage according to the patient's age, weight, degree of pest damage, type and location. To get rid of most worms, it is enough to take the medicine 1-3 times. Along with anthelmintic drugs, vitamin and mineral complexes are often prescribed to strengthen the immune system.
In case of severe poisoning, allergic reactions, infection in the context of serious chronic diseases, hospitalization may be required. Doctors will not only rid the human body of parasites, but also carry out detoxification treatment and vitamin therapy.
Surgical treatment is required for helminth damage to organs and tissues. A large number of roundworms sometimes leads to blockage of the intestines and bile ducts. Their accumulation is surgically removed. The decision on the need for surgical treatment is made by the doctor after a comprehensive examination. The complexity and duration of the operation depend on the location of the parasites, their size and quantity.
Complications
Heartworm infections caused by common types of parasites can be treated with medications prescribed by your doctor. But if you do not pay attention to alarming symptoms, deterioration of health, weakness, unnecessary fatigue, reduced immunity, the disease can lead to serious complications.
If the parasites enter the lungs and the patient does not consult a doctor with complaints of cough, shortness of breath, chest pain, difficulty breathing, pneumonia or even bronchial asthma may develop.
Parasites found in the organs of the digestive system can cause cirrhosis, liver abscess, hepatitis, bowel cancer, gastrointestinal bleeding, accumulation of fluid in the abdominal cavity (ascites) and peritonitis. They also often cause the development of chronic kidney diseases, meningoencephalitis and vision loss. Some tapeworms grow more than 1 meter in length and the small roundworms can form dense balls. This disrupts the normal functioning of the body, leading to severe poisoning and severe allergic reactions. Without immediate medical attention, death is likely.
Classification of pests
Different types of worms affect the body differently and have their own characteristics both in their growth cycle and in appearance and the damage they cause. There are three most common groups of worms: nematodes, castes, and foraminifera.
The first group is the protoventricular worms. They live in soil and water, so they can easily become infected in the sand theater and in general during a walk. It is this group that includes the more common pinworms and roundworms, and also includes hookworms, trichinella and Indian type worms. Depending on which parasite caused the infection, ascariasis, enterobiasis, trichuria, etc. are distinguished.
Cestoids are tapeworms that can live both in the intestines (tapeworms are the most common variant) and in organs (tapeworm larvae, echinococci and alveoli usually live there). According to which of these types of worms is found in children, echinococcosis, taeniasis, hymenolepiasis, etc. are distinguished.
And the last of the three popular groups are tremors caused by tremors. These are different types of flatworms - schistosoma, cat/liver fluke, leucochlorid. They cause opisthorchiasis (transmitted by fish of the carp family) and denervation (suffer the liver and biliary system, infection through plants or water).
Symptoms
There are many symptoms and individual manifestations depend on which helminth eggs have entered the body. Next, we will talk about the general symptoms for all parasitic infections and then enterobiasis, ascariasis and 5 other types of infections.
- increased irritability, restless sleep, reduced persistence and attention, frequent tantrums and anger.
- increased appetite associated with active weight loss.
- symptoms from the digestive system - diarrhea, constipation, nausea, pain in the right hypochondrium.
- dizziness and headache;
- food allergies?
- nasal discharge;
- diseases and infections of the reproductive system.
- brittle nails/hair;
Enterobiasis is a helminthiasis in which the body is infected by pinworms. Larvae hatch from eggs within 4-6 hours; in 2-4 weeks they become adults - grayish or white roundworms 5-10 mm long. They settle in the cecum and appendix and lay eggs outside the anus - at night, female pinworms come out into the air for this purpose. This breeding mechanism leads to severe itching at night - hence restless sleep, tossing and turning and screaming.
Additional specific symptoms:
- nocturnal urination;
- Grinding of teeth;
Ascariasis is a helminthiasis in which the body is colonized by roundworms. These worms are already larger - the average length of an adult is 25-30 cm. Larvae and eggs enter the body with insufficiently disinfected fresh fruits and vegetables. The growth period takes place in the intestines, after which they pass into the lymphatic and blood vessels and with the flow of blood and lymph are distributed throughout the body - to the liver, heart, lungs. They then enter the oral cavity and are swallowed again. From this moment, adult roundworms begin to develop. This takes about 3 months.
How to suspect the presence of worms in children:
- the liver, spleen, lymph nodes are enlarged.
- the temperature rises, sometimes up to 38 degrees.
- malaise and weakness appear.
- respiratory pathologies develop - pneumonia, bronchitis and bronchial asthma.
- pressure drops;
- Gastrointestinal symptoms appear - constipation, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting, pain in the form of contractions.
- fear of light;
- nightmares at night;
- dry cough - sputum with an orange tint and bloody spots.
It is more difficult to reproduce roundworms than pinworms, as the female lays almost 250 thousand eggs every day. In no case should you rely on traditional methods or buy the first drug you come across in the pharmacy - be sure to contact a specialist.
Infants may develop symptoms after only a few weeks of life if they have received the eggs and larvae of the worms from their mother, for example during childbirth. As a rule, the symptoms are manifested in the form of lack of weight gain, excessive salivation, rash, pallor, blue under the eyes, constipation. The child worries constantly, screams, sleeps and eats poorly. The screaming can be unbearable and the baby will turn blue in the process.
Worms are often the cause of the development of pulmonary pathologies and are diagnosed using ultrasound or X-rays. Parasites, especially Echinococcus tapeworm, can damage not only the respiratory system, but also move further into the brain and heart. In areas where helminths develop in the lungs, scarring and adhesions appear and the shape of the lungs begins to change. Such changes cause a wide range of diseases - asthma, fibrosis, bronchitis, pleurisy, emphysema, etc. When a film enters the lungs, an echinococcus is formed, when the parasite develops in the form of a cyst.
The symptoms will largely depend on which helminth has entered the body, but the anxiety of the child and the presence of the above general symptoms should alert parents. If signs of worms appear, make an appointment with a pediatrician or gastroenterologist for timely examinations.
Diagnostics
The diagnosis of worms in children is carried out in different ways - depending on the worms with which the child is infected, the habitat, the location of the eggs and the toxins found in the body will differ.
For diagnosis, the following may be prescribed:
- blood test - shows levels of anemia, hemoglobin and eosinophils.
- analysis for parasites - in 99% of cases helps to detect helminthiasis and in most cases helps to accurately determine the type (biological material for research - blood from a vein).
- stool examination - there may be no eggs in the stool, even if there is an infection, to ensure the presence of worms, this diagnosis must be carried out 3 times, which takes time.
- smear - especially effective in case of hookworm infection, as their eggs are located right outside the anus.
- stool analysis for dysbacteriosis.
- if there is a suspicion of infection of internal organs, and not only the gastrointestinal tract - CT, X-ray, ultrasound.
Diagnostics allow you to accurately determine the type of parasite and prescribe specific treatment. The doctor prescribes medicines, diet, additional supportive procedures and gives recommendations for care and hygiene.
In some cases, parents pay increased attention to helminthiasis and constantly worry about the infection of their child. This leads to regular "preventive" courses of serious anthelmintic drugs, which do not bring any benefit to the baby's body. If your child is not losing weight, feels well, eats well, has healthy skin and does not have itching in the anal area, it is likely that he is healthy. If you want to make sure of this, it is better to take a test than to take an unnecessary lesson.
Treatment
The course of treatment for worms in children includes several stages - preparation, treatment and cleaning. During the entire treatment, it is necessary to take general preventive measures and carefully observe hygiene rules to avoid re-infection or infection of one of the family members. Some types of worms, such as tapeworms and echinococci, can only be removed surgically.
The preparatory stage includes taking various sorbents that absorb toxins and cleanse the body. They are followed by antihistamines, relieve general itching and prevent the development of allergic reactions to drugs.
The treatment of helminthiasis in children in the main stage is the immediate reception of anthelmintic drugs in the form of tablets, suppositories or suspensions. Medicines are selected depending on the type of helminth, individual indications and contraindications. Some anthelmintics work in 2 doses:
- the first course kills already developed individuals.
- the second course helps to deal with larvae and eggs (prescribed 2 weeks after the first).
Cleansing is designed to rid the body of the remains of dead parasites; at this stage, sorbents, enemas and choleretic drugs are used. You can help your baby by adding raw carrots, dairy products, wholemeal bread, fruits, vegetables, fish oil, nuts, especially walnuts and peanuts to the diet.
In addition, to restore the body in case of severe damage, vitamin complexes, iron, minerals and a special diet can be used, which will increase hemoglobin, restore liver function and strengthen the body as a whole. The doctor describes the treatment plan in detail, avoiding side effects. Control tests are required. Self-medication and deviation from the program is not allowed.
Consequences of untreated parasitic infestations
Helminthiasis is a serious risk; without treatment, it can lead to death or serious health problems. An infected child is a danger to the whole family and the environment as it spreads the disease.
Complications of worms in children:
- inflammatory exacerbation of appendicitis.
- epileptic seizures;
- visual impairments of various types.
- allergic reactions with abundant nasal discharge.
- developmental delay in relation to peers.
- sexually transmitted infections, the most common in girls is vulvovaginitis.
- various types of pulmonary manifestations, including bronchial asthma;
- in difficult cases - damage to the brain and heart.
Prevention
To ensure that the treatment of worms in children is not required at all, it is necessary to actively participate in prevention, which includes daily precautions and hygiene procedures, as well as taking medication.
How to protect your baby from parasitic infection:
- Maintain hygiene – wash your child's hands and bathe regularly.
- regular care of toys - washing and cleaning (after diagnosis, all toys must be disinfected);
- cut your nails as often as possible, clean them every day.
- Iron the clothes after washing.
- get rid of bad habits - sucking fingers, pens, nail biting.
- give only boiled water to drink and explain the reasons.
- Avoid swimming in natural bodies of water.
- use repellents (insects often carry worm eggs), destroy all insects that enter the house.
- check pets regularly for parasites.
- Wash fruits and vegetables well, perform adequate heat treatment of meat and fish.
Some types of helminths are difficult to treat, so we recommend preventive measures to avoid infection. When contacting the clinic, parents will receive full advice on how to properly do prevention to avoid problems in the future.