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What worms do humans have?

The cause of many diseases and poor health is infection with helminths.Various worms can penetrate the human body.Their sizes vary from the smallest millimeters to 16–18 meters.Parasitizing all organs and tissues, they cause enormous harm to health.To protect yourself from invasion (infection), it is advisable to know what types of worms there are and understand how you can become infected with each type of parasite.

parasite from the human body

Types of worms - what parasites live in the human body

Depending on the location of parasitism in the body and the characteristics of infection, parasites are divided into several classes.

Classification of worms depending on their location in the human body:

  1. Intestinalare worms that live in the gastrointestinal tract, mainly in the small intestine.Sometimes they penetrate other organs.This group includes tapeworms and roundworms.
  2. Extraintestinal– develop, live and reproduce in various organs outside the intestine.They can be localized in the lungs, eyes, brain, and liver.This group includes flatworms.
worm from the human body

Classification of worms depending on the method of entry into the human body:

  1. Contagious– are transmitted to a healthy person from an infected person during contact.Another source of infection is household items: towels, toys.Representatives of this species are dwarf tapeworms and pinworms.
  2. Biohelminthoses– transmitted through contact with an animal, as a result of eating contaminated meat that has not undergone sufficient heat treatment.To become potentially dangerous to humans, these parasites must live for a certain period in the body of an animal that is an intermediate host.This species includes bovine and pork tapeworms.
  3. Geohelminthiasis– part of the life cycle is spent in the human body, and part in the soil.This is a necessary condition for their development.You can become infected through improperly washed vegetables and fruits.This group includes roundworms and trichinae.

Depending on their biological characteristics, helminths are divided into three types - roundworms, tapeworms, and flukes.

tapeworm from the human body

Roundworms (nematodes)

Roundworms are called so because their body is round in cross section.These parasites are most often found in the body of a child.This type includes:

  1. Pinworms– parasitize in the large and also small intestines.Their body length does not exceed 1 cm. Most often, helminthic infestation with pinworms affects children.These parasites live for 1–2 months.If you strictly observe personal hygiene, you can be cured even without taking medications.If it is not followed, repeated self-infection is possible.
  2. Roundworms– worms up to 45 cm long, which parasitize the small intestine.They can move freely within the intestines.Their lifespan is 14 months.During this period, they release toxins into the blood, systematically poisoning the body.
  3. Whipworm- worms, whose body length is 3–4 cm. They parasitize in the colon and cecum, digging into their mucous membrane to suck blood.Very toxic.They live up to 5 years.
  4. Trichinella– a parasite with a length of 3–4 mm, which can be infected through meat that has undergone insufficient heat treatment.Helminths live in different organs, settling in the muscles of the eyes, heart, and lungs.Life expectancy is up to 2 years.
  5. Hookworm and necator– have the same biological characteristics, development cycle and method of parasitism, therefore they are combined under the same name “hookworms”.These helminths, 10–15 mm long, are localized in the duodenum.They enter the human body through the skin upon contact with contaminated soil.They feed on blood by biting through blood vessels, which leads to iron deficiency anemia.This parasite is difficult to identify.
trichinella from the human body

Tapeworms (cestodes)

The tapeworm has a flat body that is divided into segments.As the worm grows, segments separate from the body and are excreted in the feces.These ribbon-shaped individuals can be up to 20 m in length.They parasitize the intestines, where they attach to its walls using suckers.

To infect a person, tapeworms must go through one of the stages of development in the body of an animal.

These parasites live in the body for years.Representatives of this group:

  1. Wide tapeworm– reaches a length of up to 20 m. It parasitizes the small intestine, causing severe dysfunction of the digestive tract.You can become infected by eating meat from freshwater fish and crayfish that have not been heat-treated.
  2. Bull tapeworm- a helminth 6–12 m long. Lives in the small intestine, attached with suction cups to its mucous membrane.The source of infection is beef meat that has not undergone proper heat treatment.
  3. Pork tapeworm– a parasite up to 2 m long, which enters the body through raw or poorly processed pork.Attaches to the walls of the small intestine.
  4. Echinococcus– a parasite that can be infected from cats and dogs.A person is an intermediate host for this helminth, therefore, when they enter the body, the larvae penetrate the tissues, any organs and form echinococcal cysts.They can only be removed surgically.
  5. Alveococcus- a type of echinococcus.Very dangerous helminths that can live in any organs, but primarily parasitize the liver.They actively grow and develop according to the principle of cancer metastases, gradually infecting the entire body.Worms can be removed surgically.
pork tapeworm from humans

Flukes (trematodes)

Flukes are a type of worm that parasitizes any organs and tissues.They feed on epithelial cells.They reach a length of 1.5 m. The body is shaped like a leaf.The route of infection is consumption of fish and seafood raw or after insufficient heat treatment.This type includes:

  1. Liver fluke– a worm 7–20 mm long.Parasitizes the liver and bile ducts.Provokes the development of serious diseases and functional disorders.
  2. Fluke– a worm 4–13 mm long, localized in the gallbladder.
fluke in the gallbladder

Symptoms - signs of worms in humans

How exactly helminthiasis manifests itself depends on the type of worms that have infected the body and their number.The main symptoms of helminthic infestation:

  • diarrhea or constipation;
  • bloating, flatulence;
  • pain in muscles and joints;
  • anemia;
  • allergic reactions;
  • dermatitis;
  • weight problems - weight loss or obesity;
  • sleep disturbance;
  • nervousness, irritability, depressed state;
  • apathy, fatigue;
  • cough, inflammation of the respiratory tract;
  • weakened immunity.
insomnia as a symptom of worms in the body

How to determine if there are worms

If symptoms appear that may indicate the presence of worms, it is worth getting diagnosed.The following tests will help identify parasites:

  1. Stool examination.
  2. Blood test.
  3. Study of duodenal secretions.
  4. Analysis of perianal and rectal mucus.
  5. Ultrasound, tomography, endoscopy.

You can be confident in the diagnostic result if you take the test 3-4 times with an interval of several days.One analysis is not enough to confirm the absence of helminthic infestation.

The human body can be affected by one type of worm or several at once.All of them, regardless of size, provoke serious health problems and are the causative agents of complex chronic diseases that cannot be cured for years.To eliminate the risk of infection, it is necessary to periodically carry out diagnostics and preventive treatment.This is especially true for pet owners.