Parasitic diseases are a large group of diseases caused by helminths, some arthropods and protozoa.
Despite all the achievements of modern medicine and developed hygiene, according to statistics, about 90% of people around the world at least once in their life face these pathologies. You can learn from this article how to suspect a disease and what tests for parasites to do.
Types of parasites
Parasites are organisms that survive due to the vital activity of living beings. Installing in the human body, in the process of its growth and reproduction, lead to a deficiency of trace elements, vitamins, proteins and other nutrients. Both can lead to relapses and exacerbations of chronic pathologies and cause damage to internal organs on their own.
There are the following types of parasites that can cause disease in humans:
- protozoa (amoeba, lamblia);
- pathogenic microorganisms (chlamydia, mycoplasma and others);
- helminths (roundworms, moths, bovine and swine tapeworms and so on);
- parasitic arthropods (scabies mite, demodex).
The main characteristic of the pathologies they cause is an asymptomatic course of long term or with few symptoms. The parasites deftly hide their existence, trying to "squeeze everything out of the host's body" until their reserves are depleted and the organ or tissue is seriously damaged.
Symptoms of parasitic diseases
Parasitic pathologies usually mean helminthiasis - diseases caused by the presence of worms in the body. In most cases, they are found in children, however, they can also develop in adults if hygiene rules are neglected. For a long time after infection, they do not manifest at all, or are accompanied by subtle symptoms that are often overlooked.
Each disease is characterized by certain characteristics, but there are also common symptoms:
- Headache, dizziness, increased weakness and fatigue. These manifestations are the result of intoxication due to poisoning by parasite waste products.
- Exacerbation of bronchial asthma and allergic rhinitis, dermatitis, urticaria. They arise as a result of hypersensitivity to helminth cells and their excretion products.
- Disturbance of the digestive system (abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, heartburn, constipation and diarrhea). Helminths parasitizing in the intestinal lumen lead to inflammation, intestinal obstruction due to the blockage of the intestinal lumen.
- Anemia, vitamin deficiency, weight loss. It occurs due to a deficiency of proteins, vitamins and minerals, decreased production of hormones.
- Sleep disorders, chronic fatigue, irritability, nervousness, muscle and joint pain.
Detection of most types of helminths requires analysis of feces or blood donation for the presence of specific antibodies. You can do a study at the clinic of your place of residence, on admission to the hospital, as well as in any of the private laboratories. Some medical centers offer an extensive examination, during which it is possible to diagnose the presence or absence of several types of parasites in the body at the same time.
Parasite tests
What tests should be done if a parasitic disease is suspected, the attending physician will inform you based on complaints, anamnesis and clinical manifestations of the disease.
The diagnosis begins with a complete blood count. The most typical changes in helminthiasis will be:
- Decrease in hemoglobin levels and decrease in the number of red blood cells (results from a deficiency of proteins and iron).
- Increase in the number of leukocytes, acceleration of ESR (are signs of inflammation of Organs internal organs, in particular the gastrointestinal tract).
- An increase in eosinophils (a characteristic allergy symptom that occurs in response to the irritating effect of helminth waste products).
For more accurate diagnosis, stool analysis for helminth eggs and scraping is used. When examining feces, it is possible to detect the agents that cause enterobiasis, ascariasis, himenolipedose, and also to detect the presence of protozoan microorganisms (lamblia).
It is important to remember that with a single study, the probability of detecting worm eggs in feces is 30%. Therefore, to clarify the diagnosis with the first negative result, the study is performed twice more with an interval of 2 to 4 days.
To improve the accuracy of the study, it is important to prepare carefully for the delivery of feces for analysis. Collect biological material only in a special sterile container, which can be purchased at the pharmacy. A few days before the analysis, you should stop eating dyes (beets, berries, exotic fruits, sweets and drinks with dyes), do not use laxatives, as well as rectal suppositories.
Immunoassay
With the help of ELISA analysis in adults and children, it is possible to detect antibodies produced by the human body in response to the presence of foreign objects in it. For this, the blood is taken from a vein, in which, under laboratory conditions, specific IgG antibodies for lamblia, trichomonas, swine and bovine tapeworm, trichinella, echinococcus, toxocaras, roundworms and moths can be detected. With the help of this study, you can detect the presence of almost all parasites in the human body.
Preparing for research is not difficult. It is necessary to perform the analysis in the morning, on an empty stomach, after 8 to 10 hours of fasting. On the eve of the study, it is advisable not to take antibacterials and antihistamines, and also not to eat allergenic foods (honey, seafood, exotic fruits and berries, nuts). Just before donating blood, experts recommend relaxing in the laboratory's waiting room for 10-15 minutes.
The search results are known after 1 to 2 days. These studies are performed both as a primary diagnosis and as a control of ongoing treatment.
The timely detection and modern and effective treatment of parasitic diseases helps to avoid dangerous health complications.