Various scientific studies have confirmed the connection of many human pathological conditions with parasitic diseases. Often, worms in humans do not show any characteristic symptoms of the disease, so they can exist in the body for many years, causing complications and dangerous pathologies. Sometimes the only symptom of a parasitic disease may be black dots in the stool or light-colored helminth eggs and worms in the stool. To find out if there are worms in the human body, it is necessary to conduct a diagnosis. First of all, they conduct a study of feces, so it is very important to know what worms look like in human feces, and also 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 the methods of diagnosing a parasitic disease.
Symptoms of worms in humans.
It is easy to understand what the eggs of worms look like in feces, and the worms themselves, from the photo. Different worms on one person in the photo can vary significantly. The size of some egg or adult worms is very small, other parasites in feces and their eggs can be seen without a microscope. That is why, answering the question whether the eggs can be seen with the naked eye, it is necessary to take into account which worms live in a person.
Eggs in feces do not always appear, sometimes the only symptoms of helminthiasis may be the following conditions:
- weightloss;
- General weakness;
- there is often rapid fatigue;
- the skin turns pale;
- Itching in the anal region.
However, some of the symptoms of the disease, which are caused by worm larvae or adults, the patient is not even associated with worms. These symptoms include the following:
- flatulence, diarrhea and constipation;
- nausea and vomiting;
- pain in the navel and right hypochondrium.
When such symptoms appear, first of all it is necessary to conduct a study of fecal masses. In this case, the smallest worm eggs can be detected in the feces. Since self-identification of worm eggs is difficult, it is best to send the feces to the laboratory for analysis. Only a specialist knows what worm eggs look like.
Sometimes there are no parasites in the stool, but the patient has signs of general intoxication. When the toxins of the parasite affect the human nervous system, the following symptoms of the disease appear:
- dizziness;
- fatigue;
- headache;
- increased irritability;
- drowsiness;
- depression;
- seizures;
- temperature increase.
If worms and their eggs are found in the feces of a child, then often the symptoms of the disease are supplemented by various allergic manifestations:
- hives, 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, since it is necessary to understand the symptoms of a particular parasitic disease:
- The pinworms that cause enterobiasis usually cause intense itching in the anal area, which is worse at night. This is due to the fact that these nematodes (roundworms) lay their eggs in the perianal folds, coming out of the anus.
- A characteristic symptom of hookworm, diphyllobothriasis, and trichuriasis will be anemia and beriberi.
- The symptomatology of ascariasis depends on the stage of development of the helminth. In the migratory stage, the clinical picture is expressed by a complex of symptoms of the respiratory system (shortness of breath, cough, bronchitis, pneumonia). In the intestinal stage, characteristic symptoms of gastrointestinal pathologies appear. In this case, black spots may appear in the stool.
- Trichinosis presents with fever, swelling of the face, and muscle pain.
- If the flukes have settled in the liver, pancreatitis develops, yellowing of the sclera and skin appears, and the spleen is enlarged. With this form of the disease, black threads and dots in fecal masses may be absent.
- Schistosomiasis causes bleeding in the genitourinary system, so there may be urine mixed with blood. Often the parasite causes digestive disorders.
types of worms
In the photo, the worms in a person can differ dramatically depending on their belonging to a particular species. So, tapeworms and roundworms parasitize the human body. In the photo, helminths of the same variety may also differ. So, pinworms, nematodes, trichinella, roundworms and hookworms belong to the order of roundworms. There are two classes of flatworms:
- cestodes (ie porcine and bovine tapeworm, echinococcus, broad tapeworm, alveococcus);
- trematodes (these include schistosomes, opisthorchis, paragonim).
What this or that helminth looks like, you can find out from the photo. We will describe the features of the existence of the main parasites of the human body:
- Pinworms cause enterobiasis, the symptoms of which appear on the third day after infection. Eggs enter the body with dirty hands, fruits and herbs.
- Vlasoglav causes a disease called trichuriasis. The first symptoms of it can be seen 21-35 days after the invasion. Infection occurs when cooking in unsanitary conditions. Usually the patient is tormented by diarrhea, loss of appetite, abdominal pain. It could be an inflammation of the appendix.
- The culprit of diphyllobothriasis is a wide tapeworm. The disease manifests itself in 2-5 weeks from the moment of infection. The parasite enters the body with infected poorly fried fish. This helminth can live in the human body for decades, causing anemia, beriberi, intestinal obstruction, allergies and poisoning.
- Roundworms are the culprits in ascariasis. It is when infected with these worms that black dots can appear in the feces of an adult and a child. From the moment of invasion to the appearance of the clinical picture, up to three months pass. The parasite enters the intestines with plant food.
- Roundworm: hookworm causes hookworm. Infection can occur when working on 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 abundant sputum, dizziness, weakness.
- The giant liver fluke causes fascioliasis. The parasite enters the body with contaminated water and plant food. The first signs of the disease can be seen after 0. 5-1 month from the start of the invasion. The disease is manifested by dry cough, fever, abdominal pain and loss of appetite.
- A worm called trichinella is to blame for trichinosis in humans. The helminth can enter the human body with poorly processed meat and fat. The first symptoms appear two days after infection. Usually the patient is tormented by diarrhea, heartburn and nausea.
Diagnosis of helminthiasis
When many helminthiases are diagnosed, a stool study is first performed. If you find black dots in the stool or white worms in the stool, this analysis should be done as soon as possible.
However, it is not only stool with black dots that is an indication of a coprogram. Often even eggs invisible to the naked eye can be easily identified under a microscope. A more accurate diagnosis of fecal masses for the detection of DNA particles of helminths is carried out using the PCR technique.
If a person has a lot of black dots in the stool, then among other diagnostic methods it is worth mentioning the following:
- scraping of the area near the anus;
- Blood tests by ELISA, PCR, RNGA and other methods;
- Be sure to do blood biochemistry and KLA;
- In some cases, ultrasound, MRI, and CT scans are performed to identify the sites of parasite localization;
- To diagnose the migratory stage of helminths, an X-ray examination is indicated.
In certain forms of helminthiasis, the contents of sputum, rectal mucus, urine and gallbladder can be examined. Also, endoscopic examination is sometimes used in diagnosis.