Several 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 dangerous complications and pathologies. Sometimes the only symptom of a parasitic disease can 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 carry out a diagnosis. Firstly, they carry out a study of feces, which is why it is so 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 methods for diagnosing a parasitic disease.
Symptoms of worms in humans
It is easy to understand what the eggs of the worms in the feces and the worms themselves look like, from the photo. Different worms in a person in the photo can vary significantly. The size of some worms or adults is very small, other parasites in the feces and their eggs can be seen without a microscope. That is why, when answering the question of whether eggs can be seen with the naked eye, it is necessary to take into account which worms live in a person.
Eggs in stool do not always appear, sometimes the only symptoms of helminthiasis can be the following conditions:
- weight loss;
- 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 larvae or adults of the worm, the patient does not even associate with the worms. These symptoms include the following:
- flatulence, diarrhea and constipation;
- nausea and vomiting;
- pain in the navel and right hypochondrium.
When such symptoms appear, it is necessary first of all to carry out a study of the fecal masses. In this case, the smallest worm eggs in the stool can be detected. As self-identification of worm eggs is difficult, it is best to send the feces to the laboratory for analysis. Only an expert knows what worm eggs look like.
Sometimes there are no parasites in the stool, but the patient shows signs of general intoxication. When parasite toxins affect the human nervous system, the following symptoms of the disease appear:
- dizziness;
- fatigue;
- headache;
- increased irritability;
- somnolence;
- depression;
- convulsions;
- temperature increase.
If worms and their eggs are found in the stool of a child, then often the symptoms of the disease are complemented by various allergic manifestations:
- urticaria, dermatitis;
- skin rashes;
- itchy skin, redness.
Worms in the stool 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, as it is necessary to understand the symptoms of a certain parasitic disease:
- The worms 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, crawling out of the anus.
- A characteristic symptom of ankylostomiasis, diphyllobothriasis and trichuriasis will be anemia and beriberi.
- The symptomatology of ascariasis depends on the stage of development of the helminth. In the migratory phase, the clinical picture is expressed by a complex of symptoms of the respiratory system (shortness of breath, cough, bronchitis, pneumonia). In the intestinal phase, symptoms characteristic of gastrointestinal pathologies appear. In this case, black spots may appear in the stool.
- Fever, swelling of the face, and muscle pain occur with trichinosis.
- If flukes settle in the liver, pancreatitis develops, yellowing of the sclera and skin appears, and the spleen enlarges. With this form of the disease, the black threads and dots in the fecal masses may be absent.
- Schistosomiasis causes bleeding in the genitourinary system, and urine may be mixed with blood. Often the parasite causes digestive disorders.
types of worms
In the photo, the worms in a person can differ drastically depending on their belonging to a specific species. Thus, tapeworms and roundworms parasitize the human body. In the photo, helminths of the same variety can also differ. Thus, pinworms, nematodes, trichinella, roundworms, hookworms belong to the order of roundworms. There are two classes of flatworms:
- cestodes (it is pork and bovine tapeworm, echinococcus, broad tapeworm, alveococcus);
- trematodes (these include schistosomes, opisthorchis, paragonim).
What this or that helminth looks like, you can find out in the photo. We will describe the features of the existence of the main parasites of the human body:
- Pinworms cause enterobiasis, symptoms of which appear on the third day after infection. Eggs enter the body with unwashed hands, fruits and herbs.
- Vlasoglav causes a disease called trichuriasis. Its first symptoms can be seen 21-35 days after the invasion. Infection occurs when cooking in unsanitary conditions. Usually the patient is plagued by diarrhea, loss of appetite, abdominal pain. It could be an inflammation of the appendix.
- The culprit of diphyllobothriasis is a large tapeworm. The disease manifests itself in 2-5 weeks from the moment of infection. The parasite enters the body with infected under-fried fish. This helminth can live in the human body for decades, causing anemia, beriberi, intestinal obstruction, allergies and poisoning.
- Roundworms are the culprits of ascariasis. It is when infected with these worms that black dots can appear in the stool of both an adult and a child. From the moment of invasion to the appearance of the clinical picture, it takes up to three months. The parasite enters the intestine with plant foods.
- Roundworm - hookworm causes hookworm. Infection can occur when working in 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 coughing with copious sputum, dizziness, weakness.
- The giant liver fluke causes fascioliasis. The parasite enters the body with contaminated water and plant foods. The first signs of the disease can be seen after 0. 5-1 month from the beginning of the invasion. The disease is manifested by dry cough, fever, abdominal pain and loss of appetite.
- A worm called trichinella is the culprit of trichinosis in humans. Helminths can enter the human body with poorly processed meat and fat. The first symptoms appear two days after infection. Usually the patient is plagued by diarrhea, heartburn and nausea.
Diagnosis of helminthiases
When diagnosing many helminthiases, 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, not only stools with black dots are an indication for a co-program. 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 helminthic DNA particles is made by the PCR technique.
If a person has a lot of black spots in the stool, among other diagnostic methods, the following is worth mentioning:
- Scraping the area close to the anus;
- Blood test by ELISA, PCR, RNGA and other methods;
- Be sure to do blood chemistry and KLA;
- In some cases, ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging, and computed tomography are performed to identify the locations of the parasites;
- To diagnose the migratory stage of helminths, an X-ray examination is indicated.
In certain forms of helminthiasis, sputum, rectal mucus, urine, and gallbladder contents can be examined. In addition, endoscopic examination is sometimes used in the diagnosis.