The behavior of worms or parasites in the human body is very secretive.The immune response symptoms of parasitic infections can easily be confused with those of influenza, food poisoning, allergies, chronic fatigue syndrome, etc.And you may not be aware that you are infected with the pork tapeworm, which can grow up to 3 meters long and has a total lifespan of 2-3 years.Today we're going to talk about helminthiasis and deworming pills and why you shouldn't take them "just for prevention."
So, first let's introduce it.Most of the worms common in our area live in the intestines.However, certain types of parasites can also colonize body tissues—muscles, lungs, brain, eyeball tissue, etc.
All worms that inhabit the human body are divided into three categories:
- Roundworms - Nematodes:Roundworms, pinworms, trichinella spiralis, hookworms, etc.Nematodes are the most “popular” parasitic disease.According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 1 billion people worldwide are infected with them at the same time (more than 2 billion people in total are infected with various worms).
- Flukes are flukes.They affect the liver, bile and urinary tracts, pancreas, intestines, lungs and blood.The most common trematodes are opiates, schistosomiasis, clonorchiasis, fascioliasis, etc. Some of these trematodes can cause cancer - the development of tumors.
- Tapeworms are tapeworms.There are currently 3,500 known species of them, each of which can parasitize the human body.Which tapeworm your body chooses depends on which country you live in.One of the main sources of infection with these parasites is fish that has not been adequately heat treated.Tapeworm diseases such as echinococcosis, heartrofilariasis, taeniasis, and taeniasis not only affect humans but also pets.
Worms suppress the immune response, causing the body's defenses to be compromised even in serious infections.They can cause allergies, digestive disorders, and disrupt the function of internal organs.The body is poisoned by metabolites and helminthic decay, suffers mechanical damage and suppression of the immune and nervous systems.
In addition, the presence of parasites:
- Reduce the effectiveness of vaccination;
- complicates the course of various concomitant diseases;
- Negative effects on children's growth and development and adults' ability to work;
- Causes changes in the intestinal biome and activation of the growth of "bad" microbiota (pathogenic and opportunistic microorganisms, such as fungi of the genus Candida, which cause candidiasis).
Overall, there is a real need to treat helminthiasis.But you need to do so wisely.
Treatment of helminthiasis.Medications to Treat Worms
Once upon a time, herbs were mainly used to fight worms - bracken, mugwort, pigweed, etc.Today, synthetic substances are used for these purposes.Therefore, some obsolete medicines (the above-mentioned herbs, but also hexylresorcin, carbon tetrachloride, etc.) were excluded from the medicinal anthelmintic nomenclature, and some remained, but with very limited use (wormwood and tansy flowers, thymol, sulfur, pumpkin seeds, etc.).
Modern anthelmintics are divided into several categories according to their main action against different classes of helminths (taenia, nematodes, flukes).There are medications that can treat several different types of worms.But it’s important to remember that there is no “best way to treat worms” – it all depends on the type of parasite you have.
Today, most anthelmintics are produced based on six main active ingredients: albendazole, mebendazole, praziquantel, pyrantel, piperazine adipate, and levamisole.Let's consider their properties in more detail.
albendazole
Albendazole preparations are effective against a variety of parasites - including intestinal parasites and parasites in other organs.In addition, the effects of this substance depend on the time of administration:
- On an empty stomach, albendazole is not absorbed but simply passes through the digestive tract, eliminating intestinal parasites;
- Albendazole is absorbed with fatty foods and destroys extraintestinal parasites (muscles, liver, lungs, brain, other organs).
Therefore, the use of albendazole drugs should be based on diagnosis and preliminary examination results with explicit consent from a doctor.
Mebendazole
Compared with albendazole, mebendazole is poorly absorbed and its effects are mainly manifested in the gastrointestinal tract.Nonetheless, mebendazole can also be used against worms in tissues - for example, in the case of hydatid disease, when the hydatid bladder is in a position where it cannot be immediately cleared.
According to the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO), albendazole and mebendazole should be used to treat helminthiasis caused by so-called soil worms (roundworms, whipworms, hookworms).The two substances belong to the same group and have a similar effect - disrupting glucose absorption in the worms.If there is a lack of glucose, the parasite will starve and die.
Two drugs, albendazole and mebendazole, are not "budget," but they are valuable because they may cause relatively few side effects.
praziquantel
Effective against flukes (cat flukes, lung flukes, schistosomiasis).It is used to treat clonorchiasis, paragonimiasis, opiodiasis, intestinal tapeworms (taeniasis, taeniasis), etc.Under the action of praziquantel, the parasite disrupts glucose uptake by cells in the body, paralyzing and killing the worm.
Pirantel
Pyrantel is not actually absorbed by the body, so it only targets those worms that colonize the intestines.It immobilizes worms to which it is susceptible and in this immobilized state removes them from the body.
The Pyrantel formulation is approved for use by children 6 months and older - they can take the drug in suspension form because it is easier to dose (tablet form of the drug is only approved for use from 3 years of age onwards).In general, pyrantel is well tolerated and is primarily taken with or immediately after food.
Piperazine adipate
This substance affects the muscles and nerve cells of nematodes and roundworms, causing the parasites to become paralyzed and naturally leave the intestines (along with the feces).
For ascariasis, a two-day course of piperazine is usually given, while for pinworms (pinworms), 1-3 five-day courses are taken, with a week's rest in between.Pinworms do not respond as quickly to piperazine as roundworms, making them more resistant.Between sessions, it is necessary to perform enemas to gradually expel swarms of dead pinworms from the intestines.
Levamisole
Levamisole paralyzes the muscles of roundworms and hookworms.Important!It is strictly forbidden to drink alcohol within 24 hours after taking levamisole.Otherwise, dizziness, rapid heartbeat, general weakness and other unpleasant consequences may occur.All of these are "disulfiram-like reactions"; they underlie the effects of drugs used to treat alcoholism and cause aversion to alcohol.
In general, levamisole differs from other anthelmintics in the most common side effects, even if it is not mixed with alcohol.These symptoms include headaches, seizures, peripheral polyneuropathy, tremors, sleep disturbances, and confusion.
Another typical side effect of levamisole is phantom smells.Many people who take levamisole complain that for a few days after taking levamisole, everything around them seems to smell like bleach, smoke, "chemicals," etc.Of course, not all of these side effects will occur in all cases and depend on many personal factors, but our job is to warn you that it is very possible.
Why you shouldn’t take anti-helminth drugs “just to be safe”
Taking antiparasitic medications "just for prevention" is strictly not recommended, even if you have animals at home that are going out for walks.The role of pets in parasite infection in humans has been greatly exaggerated.Yes, there is a "common" parasite in humans and dogs - Toxocara, but in most cases people get it from street dirt, which contains dog waste particles and therefore Toxocara larvae.Additionally, dogs and farm animals can be carriers of the Echinococcus tapeworm parasite, which is also dangerous to humans.However, you still can’t take deworming medicine casually.
In fact, different drugs in this group not only act on different worms, but also have different contraindications for use as well as different side effects.Some of these side effects can be very serious, as many anthelmintics are toxic - because otherwise you can't get rid of the worms: they are very hardy, just like any other parasite.Sometimes, it may even be necessary to admit the patient to the hospital after taking certain anthelmintics, such as Dekaris, and when treating post-orchidosis.
It is only worth subjecting your body to a "toxic attack" if the invasion is laboratory confirmed (tested for helminthiasis and received a positive result).
Therefore, you should not follow in the footsteps of parasitophobia, which is constantly fueled by aggressive advertising for various "miracle drugs" and internet horror stories.Do not forget that the sanitary conditions in our country are at least far from those in Africa, where large-scale preventive deworming is completely reasonable.The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified a list of countries where ongoing helminth control is recommended.
Prevent helminthiasis
Of course, prevention of parasitic infections must be done.But what we are talking about here is not drug prevention.To minimize the risk of encountering "uninvited guests", just try to follow two main rules:
- handwashing.The most common nematode infections in our region (toxocariasis, ascariasis, pinworms) and hydatid disease are not without reason called dirty hand diseases.So, no matter how trivial it sounds, wash your hands frequently and thoroughly.And, now, in the context of the coronavirus pandemic, this basic hygiene rule takes on even greater significance.
- Maintain food hygiene.Parasitic eggs can enter the body through unwashed fruits, vegetables and herbs - so rinse them off under running water.Meat and fish that have not been adequately heat treated also pose a greater danger.The larvae of the parasite are particularly common in carp and may also lie in wait in home-cured caviar, especially in pike, where the larvae of the broad tapeworm like to take up residence.Raw mince meat and rare steaks may contain bovine or pork tapeworm larvae.
In addition to normal heat treatment, there is another reliable way to sterilize meat and fish - freezing.A domestic refrigerator with a temperature of –20°C is suitable for this operation.Leave the fish or meat there for at least two days - you can rest assured: the larvae of most parasites cannot withstand such a "cold test".
As you can see, complete prevention of helminthiasis is primarily a matter of lifestyle rather than the regular use of toxic medications.Therefore, do not take medications without special reasons, pay attention to diet and personal hygiene, and have regular check-ups.