The effects of pinworms for humans

Among all the worm infestations occurring in countries with a temperate climate, eterobiosis is considered the most common disease. If personal hygiene rules are not followed, the likelihood of infection is high.It is necessary to know what the pinworms are dangerous for, how the disease manifests itself in people of different ages and what will happen if it is not treated.

Symptoms of the disease

When infected with pinworms symptoms of infection do not occur immediately. The incubation period leaves up to 1-1,5 months. At this time, the larvae hatch from the eggs. Then they migrate through the digestive tract, grow into adults and reproduce in the large intestine. Females lay eggs in the anus of a human and die.

Not all patients reveal signs of the disease; in half of the people, enterobiasis is asymptomatic.

Manifestations of helminthiasis are as follows:

1. The strongest tooth in the anus at night.
2. Stomach ache.
3. Violations of the chair (alternating diarrhea and constipation).
4. The growth of weakness, fatigue.
5. Decreased appetite, weight loss.
6. Sleep disturbance with irritability.
7. Enuresis.
8. The development of allergic reactions.
9. Inflammation of the vulva in girls and women.

On a note!

A person can detect pinworms in himself or a child in underwear, toilet paper. If you suspect helminthic invasion should consult a doctor.

Are pinworms dangerous to humans?

Persons who know about their infection and contact with sick people are looking for information about the danger of the parasite. They calm down when they learn that pinworms do not penetrate into internal organs and do not lead to death. Careless attitude to the helminthic invasion as a simple and mild intestinal infection leads to the fact that people refuse to take drugs, seek to cure the disease with dubious folk remedies, do not pay enough strength and attention to hygiene.

The danger of worms for humans

As a result, an infected person is a danger to others, spreading enterobiosis among the close environment. Pregnant women, children, persons with impaired immunity who are in contact with the sick person are at risk for more severe course and development of complications.

Harm to the body from infection with worms

It is necessary to understand what the pinworms are dangerous to humans.

Enterobiasis can lead to the following diseases and complications:

1. Intestinal dysbiosis. Parasites feed on the body’s normal flora. Disruption of the normal functioning of the gastrointestinal tract in humans leads to a violation of the absorption of vitamins and nutrients.
2. Chronic intoxication.Pinworms excrete the products of their vital activity into the human intestinal lumen, causing chronic poisoning with impaired performance and fatigue.
3. Reproduction of a large number of parasites with the release and laying of eggs causes severe itching in the anus, perineum. This symptom can disturb the patient not only at night, depriving him of sleep, but also during the daytime hours. The situation is aggravated by the development of a secondary infection. Chronic discomfort in the delicate area leads to irritability, emotional instability.
4. The negative impact of pinworms on the female genital area is associated with their penetration into the vagina with the development of vulvovaginitis. The disease is accompanied by severe discomfort, copious secretions. There is also the possibility of "settling" the worm in the bladder with the development of cystitis.

Important!

The harm done to the body by worms directly depends on their number. The more parasites "stays" in the intestines of the host, the higher the likelihood of serious intoxication. The patient will suffer from increasing headaches, weakness, impaired performance.The disease will also affect the appearance: pale skin will appear, the condition of hair and nails will worsen.

Diseases caused by enterobioza

If a person begins antihelminthic therapy, then the parasites begin to die in large quantities. This leads to the appearance or increase of symptoms of intoxication.

Do die from pinworms

Pinworms cause sensitization and the development of allergic reactions. The most common phenomenon is eosinophilic enterocolitis. The most common site of lesion in children and adults is the cecum. Allergic inflammation causes swelling of the mucosa, actively breeding parasites clog the lumen of the appendix with its inflammation. Appendicitis as a complication is an indication for surgical treatment. In the absence of timely medical care, a perforation of the intestinal wall will occur with the contents in the abdominal cavity. In this case, the patient can actually die from pinworms, namely from peritonitis.

A long-existing worm infestation leads to a weakening of the body:

• the person easily gets tired, copes with normal loads worse;
• immunity is deteriorating, the patient is susceptible to various infections;
• there are foci of purulent inflammation in the perianal region.

Danger of illness for women

Infection with pinworms of pregnant women does not pose an immediate threat to the life of the baby. However, drug treatment of enterobiosis in such a state is not always allowed due to the toxicity of the drugs. So in the first trimester, the future mother is allowed to fight parasites only by observing the rules of hygiene. Careful monitoring of hand cleanliness, wet cleaning, regular change of bed and underwear will help to avoid reinfection and stop the development of the disease.

The damage of pinworms for a woman lies also in the fact that:

1. Against the background of inflammation in the genital tract, problems with conception may occur.
2. Poisoning of the body with waste products worsens toxicosis.
3. The lack of normal functioning of the digestive system in violation of the absorption of nutrients and vitamins leads to a shortage of the necessary substances for mother and child.
4. The weakening of the body against the background of the physiological hypoimmune state during pregnancy leads to easier infection with other viral and bacterial diseases.

Effects of Inerobiosis

When detecting enterobiasis in the later periods, the prescription of drug treatment is in the competence of the infectiologist. It should pick up the drug that does not adversely affect the fetus.

Important!

If pinworm infection is found in a woman while breastfeeding, the main method of combating invasion will also be hygiene. The doctor will not be able to offer effective medical treatment to the young mother, since enterobiosis drugs are prohibited during lactation.

How enterobiasis affects young children

Identify pinworms in a child can not so often, despite the fact that it is at this age accounts for the majority of cases.

Some scientists report that even newborns have helminth infections.

Important!

In infants up to the year, enterobiasis develops as a result of a violation of the hygiene rules of caregivers and the increased interest of infants in various subjects. On shoes, toys that the child pulls into his mouth, there may be eggs worm. Since children at this age are still not talking, pinworm detection becomes a problem.

It can be difficult for parents to understand what causes a change in behavior, moodiness and correctly assess the nature of dermatitis in the perianal area.Such a child can begin to be treated for allergies, diaper rash, losing precious time.

The danger of infection of children of this age is as follows:

1. At an early age, deficiency of vitamins and nutrients leads to a delay in physical development.
2. Against the background of diarrhea, dehydration with various neurological disorders is rapidly increasing in children.
3. It is difficult to choose a therapy: a significant part of drugs for the treatment of pinworms at this age is prohibited.

Enetherobiosis in children

If a child under one year old has helminth infection due to living conditions and care, then preschoolers are more likely to “pick up” worms in crowded groups. At this age, pinworms are dangerous in the development of dysbacteriosis, delayed physical and mental development, the occurrence of enuresis in children already using the pot.

No features of the course of the disease in children of school age have been identified.

Pinworms in adults and elderly patients

Enterobiasis in working-age adults is fraught with a decrease in efficiency, the appearance of weakness, decreased mood, exacerbation of intestinal diseases and allergic manifestations.

Elderly people suffer from helminthic invasions: they are more difficult to cope with the defeat of the intestines, weakened patients hardly restore the water and electrolyte balance in diarrhea. Against the background of enterobiosis, other chronic diseases can worsen. The consequences of which can be more fatal than helminthic infection (decompensation of diabetes, hypertension).

What happens if untreated pinworms

It is not necessary to hope that the worms will leave the body on their own and do not have time to do harm. The colonization of the intestines with helminths is harmful even in the absence of serious complications (appendicitis, peritonitis). The consequences of pinworms include the decline in the quality of life, invasion can be a provoking factor in the development of neurosis, depression. When stool disorders, appetite, dysbacteriosis, digestion is disturbed, nutrient deficiencies are gradually forming, mental and physical performance suffers.

Therefore, in cases of suspected pinworms in children or adults, you should immediately seek medical help in order to promptly identify the disease and complete a full course of treatment.With the development of dangerous complications, a person may even die from helminthic invasion.