Is it true that all people are infected with parasites? Myths and truth about worms - parasites in the human body. "Cells of the Living Universe"

Summer and early autumn are the season of ripening berries, fruits, vegetables, a time of relaxation in nature - with swimming in reservoirs of sometimes questionable cleanliness, with picnics, where the main dish is barbecue, meat on coals, or even a rare steak.

Those who like to tinker around in the countryside will rarely deny themselves the pleasure of picking a cucumber or berry from the garden and immediately putting it in their mouth. Why wash it, because everything is your own, “environmentally friendly”. What about the fishermen? Who would refuse to prepare the catch for future use - salt it, dry it, smoke it? And few people think that this can be dangerous.

Meanwhile, according to the World Health Organization, up to 90% of the planet’s inhabitants are inhabited by completely unfriendly organisms. And getting such a “neighbor” is easier than it seems.

To the delight of worms

Who lives in us?

The length of the wide tapeworm can reach 10 meters. In the human body it is in a twisted form and feeds on all the useful substances that a person consumes. Infection most often occurs after eating raw fish. The main signs of the disease are exhaustion of the body, anemia, frequent abdominal pain, morning vomiting, nausea, constant fatigue, and drowsiness.

Bovine and pork tapeworms enter the human body along with raw meat or meat products that have not undergone proper processing. They live in the intestines for decades, growing from two to seven meters. The danger comes from tapeworm larvae, which can penetrate the brain or eyes.

Even the bite of an ordinary mosquito can turn into a serious problem: after contact with a sick animal, it can infect you with dirofilariasis.

First suspicions

“Each type of helminth has its own clinical manifestations, but if there is an unreasonable temperature, including low-grade fever, skin rashes that are difficult to treat, prolonged, recurrent, obstructive bronchitis, accompanied by shortness of breath in children, it is better to undergo an examination, at least a general blood test,” says Svetlana Vitalievna. “If it has an increased number of eozonophils, which are responsible for allergic reactions, then it’s worth thinking about helminthic infestations.”

It is dangerous to eat poorly processed meat and raw fish. Photo: AiF/ Svetlana Borisova

Among women: pain and inflammation of the ovaries. Fibroma, myoma, fibrocystic mastopathy, inflammation of the adrenal glands, bladder and kidneys develop.

Want to know what to do? To begin with, we recommend

Myth No. 1: Everyone has worms - some just have more, some have less.

Myth No. 3: If you don’t eat unwashed food and keep your hands clean, you can’t get worms.

Indeed, by maintaining hygiene and handling food, the risk of infection is reduced. But only 80% of worms enter the gastrointestinal tract with food and drinks. Other types of “pests” that can enter the human body through insect bites, through the air (they are so small that they are not visible to the naked eye), the mucous membranes of the genitourinary organs and even through the eyes.

Myth No. 4: Worms are not transmitted from person to person

Myth #5: Food can be dewormed by washing or freezing.

Myth No. 6: there is no grinding of teeth, the anus does not itch - that means there are no worms

We asked Alexander Ivanov, Candidate of Biological Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Zoology at the Institute of Natural Sciences of UrFU, to talk about all this.

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Myth two: hot food cannot be raw

– For example, meat contaminated with bovine tapeworms can be rendered harmless by long-term freezing (minus 12 degrees) or must be boiled for at least 2 hours. As for Trichinella, its larvae die only when meat is cooked in small pieces for 2.5 hours; other methods (long-term freezing, salting, smoking) do not ensure the neutralization of meat.

In general, if there are no eggs in the scraping, this does not mean that there are no helminths in the body at all. For example, in a bovine tapeworm, as it matures, the segments in which the eggs are located in the uterus tear off from the body; thanks to their active mobility, they crawl out of the intestine through the anus and disperse the eggs. Scraping in this case will not allow us to establish the true picture. The vital activity of a close representative - the pork tapeworm - in the body of the main host can lead to vomiting - the result of intense intestinal antiperistalsis, due to which part of the worm’s body can enter the stomach. Subsequently, from the eggs in the stomach, a mass hatching of oncosphere larvae will occur, which will spread through the bloodstream throughout the body, causing various lesions. Scraping will not help in this case either.

– It is best to pour boiling water over vegetables and fruits and, for greater confidence and self-soothing, use baking soda for processing. Soap, like soda, has an alkaline reaction, but unlike soda it does not always have a pleasant smell.

Photo: Artyom USTYUZHANIN / E1.RU
Infographics: Peter GINDIN / E1.RU

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Watch your body. Individually, the symptoms described below cannot signal the presence of uninvited guests, but if you find several of the indicated deviations in yourself, it’s time to sound the alarm.

1. Constipation

2. Diarrhea

3. Flatulence

4. Irritable stomach syndrome

5. Pain in muscles and joints

6. Anemia

7. Allergic reaction

Worms sometimes not only irritate the intestines, but even disrupt the integrity of its lining. Because of this, large enough undigested molecules enter the bloodstream, which causes a negative reaction from our immune system. It begins to actively produce eosinophils, that is, one of the types of protective cells that provoke an allergic reaction in large quantities.

8. Skin problems

9. Granulomas

Granulomas are pockets of inflammation caused by worms, which are most often found on the intestinal walls, but sometimes appear in the lungs, liver and even the abdominal cavity and uterus.

10. Emotional lability

11. Sleep problems

If you notice that you regularly wake up between two and three in the morning, you should seriously think about it. Perhaps, when you wake up, your body is trying to get rid of toxic substances that are released during the life of worms, because it is during these hours that our liver is actively working.

12. Bruxism

13. Fatigue and constant feeling of tiredness

14. Inflammation of the respiratory tract

Worms move throughout the body, including the respiratory tract. Cough, fever, sputum production, runny nose - these are the real symptoms of the presence of worms. Pneumonia can be a manifestation of ascariasis or strongyloidiasis. Asthma is often a sign of ascariasis.

Detailed stool analysis used in the medicine of functional disorders.

If you suspect the presence of a parasite in your body, you should consult a doctor so that he can prescribe a detailed stool test. After all, it all starts in the intestines, and the intestines are the path to health.

Skachko Boris

Which products are becoming dangerous?

How to make products safer.

It is necessary to divide all products into several categories.

The second is greens, vegetables, berries, fruits that are not subjected to heat treatment at all or are subjected to short-term processing. They can be made safe by treating them with ozone. Our household ozonator allows you to destroy not only the eggs of helminths and protozoa in these products, but also microorganisms and even viruses within a few minutes. And this largest and most dangerous group of products will become safe.

The third is bread, confectionery, bakery products, etc. They must be purchased in factory packaging, however, this method does not provide a 100% guarantee.

How often is anthelmintic therapy necessary?

If you haven't done this, now is the time to do it. The motivator is the presence of a chronic inflammatory process in any part of the digestive system. Those. chronic gastritis, gastroduodenitis, peptic ulcer of the stomach or duodenum, pancreatitis, enterocolitis, cholecystitis, hepatitis, etc. Timely administration will prevent the “seasonal” exacerbation of these diseases.