Worms in children: symptoms, treatment, prevention.

Infection by helminthic invasions is a fairly common problem in all countries of the world. Almost one in three inhabitants of the planet is a carrier of worms, and worms in children are even more common. If we take into account the statistics of a single country, there have been more than two million cases of worms. But in fact, these figures are much higher, as people often do not seek help from doctors, but instead try to get rid of worms on their own.

And some of the patients are simply not aware of their condition, as the disease is almost asymptomatic. If we draw a parallel between the annual sale of anthelmintics and the population of the country, then there are about 22 million patients, and of whom almost 80% are young children.

To date, the medicine is known for more than three hundred varieties of worms. Affecting the body, worms, the symptoms of which depend on the type of parasite and the number of penetrated larvae, do not always give a vivid picture indicating the nature of the disease. To suspect a helminth infection, you need to know the signs of worms and their manifestations, which may indicate the introduction of parasites into the child's body.

Types of worms

All known worms are generally classified into three main groups, these are:

• Nematodes (roundworms). . . The class of parasites most often diagnosed in children. The group is represented by types like:
  • roundworms
  • pinworms,
  • trichinella,
  • Intestinal worms.
• Cestodes (flat ribbon parasites), are represented by types like:
  • wide ribbon
  • echinococcus (pork tapeworm),
  • had a dwarf (rat),
  • bovine tapeworm (tapeworm).
• Trematodes (sucking parasites), the main representatives of this class:
  • liver parasite,
  • Siberian fluke (cat).

According to another classification, worms are divided into intestinal and extraintestinal parasites. The first group parasitizes only in the intestinal cavity, the second prefers other organs of the human body, for example, liver, heart, lungs, muscles, brain. Extraintestinal worms have the ability to penetrate the bloodstream, gnawing on the walls of the intestines and blood vessels, and with the blood flow to reach their favorite habitat.

Factors that contribute to the infection of children with nematodes.

• Lack of the habit of constantly washing hands after using the bathroom, after walking, before eating. Even cookies and candy should not be given to a child without first asking him to wash his hands.
• Rare change of underwear. Especially in summer, it is necessary to ensure that the child has a clean change of clothes at least twice a day. It is important to teach him to do the morning bath after sleeping and at night before going to bed.
• The habit of putting everything in the mouth, sucking on fingers, licking toys, pencils and markers.
• The presence of pets in the house that go for a walk on the street. Even if the dog is taken off on a leash and strictly controlled so that nothing is put into its mouth, the worm eggs can still stick to the dog's fur.
• Vegetables and fruits poorly washed before serving.
• Low standard of living, lack of cleanliness in the house, presence of flies, bed bugs and cockroaches.

Causes and mechanism of infection of children with worms.

Of all the types of worms that can inhabit the human body, nematodes predominate. Basically, worms in children, the symptoms of which are well distinguishable, are roundworms and roundworms, whipworm is diagnosed much less often. Cases of infection by other species do not exceed 3%. This is because trematodes and tapeworms are more common in tropical climates, and the infestation occurs mainly when visiting countries located in the tropics or subtropics.

In addition, since the tape parasites can withstand quite high temperatures, they are mainly infected by lovers of raw or raw meat and fish dishes. And, of course, it is easy to get worms if sanitary regulations and personal hygiene rules are not followed.

The mechanism of infection by roundworms and pinworms is much simpler, but also more common. Ignore regular hand washing, careless handling of raw vegetables, herbs, and berries. As well as direct contact with stray animals or carriers of worms.

The pinworm species has also increased reinvasion. This means that reinfection often occurs, which is carried out in this way:

• pinworms cause severe itching in the anus,
• child, combing itchy skin,
• while pinworm eggs fall onto the patient's fingers and underwear,
• Also, when touching door handles, taps and other surfaces, the patient leaves pinworm eggs on them,
• the eggs freely penetrate the body of the people living with the carrier and again the patient himself.

The most dangerous places for infection with pinworms and pinworms are:

• day care centers,
• playgrounds,
• children's entertainment centers.

There is no escaping the fact that all children in the first years of life try to try almost everything. This is a natural process of getting to know the world around you. And when touching surfaces in crowded places, the baby will certainly put his hands in his mouth, which will cause the worms to enter the body.

Additionally, an incompletely formed infantile immune system and the weak protective barriers of an immature digestive tract contribute to infection. The only way to reduce the risk of infection is to constantly force your baby to wash their hands, as this can only become a habit in a child at the age of four, and even then not for everyone.

To a large extent, increased morbidity in children is facilitated by blurred manifestation of symptoms and complex diagnostic methods. The clinical picture of the disease may be unclear, short-term, or absent altogether. Noticing mild discomfort in a child, few of the parents will suspect worms and immediately consult a doctor. Most will decide that they know enough to independently diagnose and prescribe treatment, which ultimately leads to the widespread spread of parasites and the infection of others.

Even testing stool for worm eggs and scraping for enterobiasis does not always give a true picture of the disease. In feces, helminth eggs can be unevenly located, and to capture them, it is necessary to follow the rules for taking material for analysis, which not everyone knows. Scraping can also show a negative result, as females do not lay eggs every day, and to obtain a reliable image, scraping should be done at least three times at regular intervals.

Common symptoms and signs of all helminths.

The penetration of helminthic invasions into the body is not always accompanied by external symptoms. And in most cases, to some extent, a person does not notice the presence of parasites in the body at all. Some types of worms can live inside a person for years without having any negative effect on their well-being and activate their vital activity only under favorable conditions. This could be:

• weakening of the body from other diseases,
• a decrease in the activity of the immune system due to the negative effects of the environment,
• poor nutrition.

Not long ago, there was a scientific theory about the effect of worms on the appearance of many internal diseases. Which, however, did not find adequate support, but was not refuted either.

But today it has been reliably established that each person is a carrier of a certain number of bacteria, viruses, fungi, including helminths. And parasites are not always good to the owner. The constant release of its waste products, which are toxic to humans, gradually leads to a deterioration of the condition and the development of various diseases.

Indicators of suspected active worm activity are symptoms such as:

• Increased appetite with significant weight loss or loss of appetite and persistent bouts of nausea.
• Recurrent abdominal pain, impaired stool formation, expressed in constipation or diarrhea, episodes of nausea, ending with vomiting, headaches and dizziness, which are constant or intermittent.
• Hypersensitivity of the body to various substances and products.
• Deterioration of the condition of teeth and nails, increased hair loss due to iron deficiency anemia and chronic vitamin B deficiency₁₂. . .
• Low resistance to respiratory diseases (adenoids in children) and inflammatory processes of the genitourinary system.
• Increased irritability and crying, insomnia and restless interrupted sleep, nightmares and unfounded outbursts of anger, distracted attention and constant anxiety - all this indicates the entry into the blood of a large number of toxic substances produced by worms.
• Persistent anemia (low hemoglobin) and high eosinophil counts in a clinical blood test should alert parents and force them to examine the child for worms. One of the most dangerous negative manifestations of the disease is developmental delay.
• Increased allergic reaction to prophylactic vaccines.

Specific Symptoms of Pinworms

Small but stubborn and very fast multiplying worms, pinworms, cause the development of enterobiasis in a child. This is an unpleasant disease, the main symptom of which is severe and unbearable itching in the anus, intensifying at night.

When a child gets sick, pinworm eggs quickly spread to surrounding objects, staining toys, clothes, dishes, and everything the baby touches. Pinworms feel great outside the human body and can resist the effects of many disinfectants. You are guaranteed to destroy pinworm eggs only by boiling them and irradiating them with UV rays.

Infection with enterobiasis occurs only through the mouth, when a child puts dirty hands in his mouth or licks infected surfaces. Through the esophagus, pinworms quickly enter the intestines and settle there, growing in two weeks to become sexually mature adults.

The intense itching, characteristic of enterobiasis, occurs due to irritation caused by pinworm eggs. Their strengthening at night is explained by the fact that in a dream the anal sphincters relax a little and do not represent an insurmountable obstacle for an adult female, who lays eggs, crawling exclusively to the surface. In one outing, the roundworm can lay up to 5, 000 eggs on the skin of the anus.

Irritating to the skin, pinworms force combing of the skin, at this time penetrating under the nails, on the skin of the hands, in clothing and bedding. In addition to severe itching, when infected with pinworms, symptoms in children are as follows:

• Disturbed, restless sleep, often insomnia, nightmares.
• Stop growth and gain weight, or even lose weight.
• Increased fatigue, nervousness, overexcitement.
• Decreased attention and poor assimilation of new things, which leads to a delay in learning.
• Girls can develop enuresis with irritation of the urethra. This results in involuntary urination at night.
• In addition, pinworms are capable of penetrating the internal genital organs, colonizing the vaginal cavity (vulvovaginitis), even reaching the uterus and fallopian tubes, bringing with them infections and causing inflammation.
• The accumulation of a large colony of pinworms in the cecum cavity can lead to appendicitis.
• An unconfirmed symptom is teeth grinding at night.
• The reproduction of pinworms contributes to the development of diseases such as:
  • intestinal dysbiosis,
  • enterocolitis,
  • pains of unclear etiology in the abdomen,
  • Diarrhea,
  • constipation.
• Due to constant intoxication, the intestinal walls stop normally absorbing nutrients, vitamins and other substances, which ultimately affects the decrease in the functioning of the immune system. For this reason, children with pinworms get sick not only frequently, but also seriously.

Specific symptoms of ascaris (ascariasis)

According to recent survey statistics, the outlook for worm infection is quite alarming. The results show that more than 80% of preschool-age children have been infected with various types of worms at least once.

Unfortunately, many parents do not perceive worms as a serious disease and are extremely frivolous about it. But settled parasites not only deprive the body of essential nutrients, they are also capable of infecting many internal organs.

Representatives of such parasites are roundworms, which cause ascariasis, the symptoms of which are much more severe than those of pinworms. Even though pinworms and pinworms belong to the same class of roundworms, pinworms can penetrate and cause serious damage not only in the intestines, but also in other organs, for example:

• in the liver,
• in the pancreas,
• in the heart
• in the tissues of the brain,
• in the gallbladder,
• In the lungs.

Pinworms enter the body only from the ground, but the provoking factors remain the same as in pinworms, these are:

• non-compliance with hygiene rules,
• careless processing of vegetables, berries and herbs,
• non-compliance with safety rules when working on a personal plot,
• unsanitary living conditions.

After entering the body, roundworms adapt for a long time (3 months), mature into mobile larvae, gnaw on the walls of the small intestine and blood vessels, and only then begin their migration to the favorite organs of the human body.

This period is marked by manifestations such as:

• an increase in body temperature at night up to 37. 5 ° С;
• frequent weakness and malaise;
• dry cough, sometimes accompanied by poorly separated sputum with streaks of scarlet blood;
• The development of obstructive bronchitis, bronchial asthma, pneumonia or pleurisy is possible;
• swollen lymph nodes;
• enlargement of the pancreas and liver.

And the main symptom of primary ascariasis is a skin rash like hives, localized on the hands and feet.

The later development of the disease, in which the roundworms return to the intestines, is characterized by disorders such as:

• diarrhea or constipation
• cramping abdominal pain
• frequent bouts of nausea, sometimes causing vomiting,
• flatulence,
• irritation of the anus
• significant weight loss.

At this stage, against the background of general intoxication, stomatitis and purulent lesions of the skin and mucous membranes often occur. Long-term poisoning by ascaris processing products leads, as a result, to disorders of the nervous system and mental disorders, these are:

• insomnia,
• nightmares
• epileptic attacks,
• hypotension

As a complication of ascariasis, such serious and dangerous pathologies develop as:

• intestinal obstruction,
• acute appendicitis,
• obstructive jaundice
• peritonitis.

Specific signs of damage from other types of worms.

1. Vlasoglav (whipworm)- characterized by mild symptoms. Indicators of infection are diarrhea mixed with streaks of blood, prolonged constipation, frequent vomiting, often leading to dehydration and anemia. Children with these injuries often have a significant delay in growth and mental development.

2. Toxocariasis- in most cases, babies up to 4 years old are picked up by frequent contact with infected dogs or cats. Allergic reactions manifest as itchy skin formations, fever and chills, allergic cough (leading to suffocation), swelling of the face, lung masses, swollen lymph nodes, and eye diseases.

3. Dwarf tapeworm (rat)- causes hymenolepiasis, which is characterized by a latent course without any symptoms. With the development of helminth colonies, the child develops dyspeptic disorders, pain syndrome, increased salivation, and frequent headaches. And little by little all this is translated into diseases such as:

   • urticaria,
   • vasomotor or allergic rhinitis,
   • bronchospasm

4. Siberian fluke (cat)- opisthorchiasis, characteristic symptoms: fever, swollen lymph nodes, skin rashes, pain in the right hypochondrium and joints. Complications: dystrophic myocarditis, hepatitis, pneumonia, pancreatitis, severe gastritis.

5. Wide ribbon- diphyllobothriasis, a disease caused by infection by tapeworms, whose eggs or larvae can remain alive in raw meat or in undercooked meat. It is characterized by intestinal disorders, pain syndrome and B₁₂- deficiency anemia.

Methods for removing worms in children

The pharmaceutical industry today supplies pharmacies with a variety of anthelmintic agents of various types. These can be targeted or broad spectrum drugs. Unfortunately, most of them have a long list of negative side effects on the body. Therefore, if worms are found in a child, only a parasitologist should prescribe treatment, after a full examination and all the necessary tests.

In addition, the treatment of most diseases caused by worms requires not only the treatment of worms in children with anthelmintic drugs, but also the appointment of a course of antihistamines, vitamin therapy and probiotics.

Antihistamines are necessary to normalize the immune response. Vitamins and probiotics restore the loss of essential acids and normalize the intestinal microflora.

Of the drugs with the least toxic effect, a drug with hexahydropyrazine is isolated. Therefore, it is most often recommended when the question is how to get rid of worms in young children. The drug is produced especially not in tablets, but in the form of a suspension or syrup.

Many parents prefer traditional medicines. In fact, pumpkin seeds and garlic enemas have an anthelmintic effect and are often used, for example, to treat ascariasis. But its use does not guarantee a complete cure. Therefore, to exclude a relapse, it is better to take a drug prescribed by a doctor and correct the result with any popular anthelmintic drug, otherwise the question of how to get rid of worms will be constantly repeated.

Preventive measures against worm infection.

The inevitability of the penetration of worms into the child's body cannot be taken as an axiom. There are a number of rules for preventing worms, by following which you can easily protect your baby from this infection:

• Rinse raw vegetables, berries, herbs, and fruits well under running water, then pour boiling water over them.
• Subjecting fish and meat dishes to prolonged heat treatment.
• Do not allow flies, cockroaches, bed bugs and mosquitoes to appear in the apartment or house.
• All pets should be regularly given anthelmintic medications for prophylaxis.
• Have the child wash his hands after each contact with animals.
• Let the child play and use only treated toys and objects.
• From the very first steps, teach your child to wash their hands with soap and water after bathing, returning from a walk, after outdoor games, and before every meal.
• Never put toys or other objects in your mouth, or lick your fingers.
• Check the condition of the child's nails.
• At night, put your baby in tight nightwear to prevent the spread of pinworms.
• It is advisable not only to boil children's underwear, but also to iron it on both sides.
• Teach your baby to change underwear in the morning and at night. It is recommended that the child have a separate shelf in the closet where only her things will be stored.