Toxocara — a Manifestation of toxocariasis in adults: symptoms and treatment

The whole history of mankind is the history of coexistence of people of worms. For a long time people did not know about this neighborhood and I carried the discomfort associated with an extraneous activity within, to the ailments of a different nature.

Parasites, taking advantage of the ignorance of man and believing him to be nothing but habitat continued a hidden life, until one day their secret activities are not left out.

A German doctor named Werner discovered that inside one of his patients live worms. Cured or if the patient has left to live so history is unknown. But it is known that the German discoverer of parasitic worms gave them a sonorous name of “Toxocara”.

Do these individuals like the names or not, the controversy for scholars. Care of doctors in subsequent years was the classification of such animals, and methods of prevention, methods of disposal and other problems associated with it.

The types of parasitic worms and their dangers

What is worms, how many, how dangerous they are – these questions have long troubled people. Nowadays there are tens of thousands of species that can live inside humans and animals.

They are divided into three main groups of worms:

• flat – cause serious complications and disease,
• band can reach 10 meters in length,
• round – worms, Toxocara, pinworms.

The last group is the most common that affects both animals and people. But if the worms are able to exist in the human body for a long time, multiplying and adapting, Toxocara can't do that, because our internal environment is not suited as a habitat. This species reaches adulthood.

It would seem well and good. No infection, no problems. But not so simple. The worms themselves can cause such harm, which the infected person may not recover at all. In the blood, the larvae are carried to all organs and, settling in them, destroy the structure of tissues.

As soon as there is suspicion of the existence of worms Toxocara in adults or children, you should immediately determine the symptoms and prescribe treatment.

Mobility of parasitic types leads to the fact that diagnosis of the disease difficult. This happens due to the fact that the symptoms of the disease are manifested in different ways. The exact answer, infected or not, gives only a full blood panel and a thorough examination.

Human infection

Parasite pale Toxocara belongs to the family of roundworms. Externally, individuals belonging to this group are very similar. They have the same structure, the same development method of migration in animals or in humans. They differ in only a finite habitat.

Toxocara can not develop in man until the adult stage, remaining in it in the form of larvae.

The most favourable environment for their habitat are animals: foxes, dogs, cats. This circumstance associated for and methods of human infection: it is infected from animals. Eggs can be on the dog hair, and close contact with animals they get into the lungs along with the breath.

Individual helminth life cycle has significant differences, but the General scheme for the parasitic individuals of the same

Also eggs are in the soil, where they come from the food selection of animals. Accordingly, you can become infected if you do not observe the rules of hygiene: unwashed food, through dirty hands in contact with the ground, where he had access to dogs or cats.

From all the above it follows that the risk group includes children from families that lack sufficient observed measures of personal hygiene, mentally ill people capable to eat the earth and unwashed fruits and vegetables.

Symptom of disease

When there is suspicion of the presence of individuals Toxocara need to identify the symptoms and prescribe treatment. Human infection Toxocara called toxocariasis.

The disease can manifest itself in different ways:

• acute – when symptoms are clearly,
• medium form – the signs of the disease is negligible,
• a latent – disease nomanifests.

The degree of illness depends on the age of the patient. In children under 12 years the disease occurs in severe and moderate phase. Toxocariasis in adults is not accompanied by distinct symptoms, often it generally does not manifest itself.

When the infection of individuals lasts up to three months, the disease is called acute. Over this period, the chronic stage. The chronic form is characterized by alternating calm with the acute stage, when the larvae start to become active while in the blood travel around the body.

In its impact on humans and the degree of development of the disease is divided into four forms:

• with the defeat of the internal organs,
• with eye disease,
• with the defeat of the skin,
• with the defeat of the nervous system.

It would not manifest itself the disease, the body responds to the increased immune activity, which is accompanied by different allergic reactions: skin rash, swelling in the neck region, bronchial spasms.

The visceral form

Visceral is the type of the disease, occurring with lesions of vital organs. The symptoms caused by the abnormal functionality of a system.

Embryos and worms are transferred with the blood and affect those organs, which are characterized by a developed network of blood vessels and slow blood flow. Such organs include liver, lungs, brain.

Embryos and worms are transferred with the blood and affect those organs, which are characterized by a developed network of blood vessels

Penetrating the liver, Toxocara fall into the biliary channels, the channels of the pancreas, 12-duodenum, the small intestine. A blockage of the bile channels disrupts the flow of bile, pancreatic enzymes and disrupt metabolic processes.

Ailments caused by the activity of the larvae, characterized by the following symptoms:

1. pain in right side,
2. nausea,
3. the formation of gas,
4. abdominal pain,
5. unpleasant taste in the mouth,
6. alternation of diarrhea with constipation.

Settling of germ in the lungs accompanied by difficulty breathing, cough, shortness of breath, bronchial symptoms. The activity of the parasite could lead to the development of pneumonia, asthma and other serious ailments. Worms can Deposit on the heart valves, causing heart spasms and heart failure.

Lose eye region

In addition to internal organs of the larvae can penetrate the eye area. There is less than internal lesions and occurs mainly in children age pre. They accumulate in the upper eyelid, in the tissues of the eyeball, the muscles responsible for normal eye.

The symptoms caused by worms, are the following:

• visual impairment,
• teak reduction of age,
• increased tearfulness,
• swelling of the tissues of the ocular region,
• eye pain.

The activity of the worms in the eye tissues may result in partial or complete loss of vision, loss of visual plots of the picture, squinting.

Problems with the skin and neuroscience

Human skin is permeated with blood vessels, the migration of them larvae of the worms can cause itching, burning of separate areas of the skin. Sometimes there is a feeling stirring beneath the skin, redness, extensive areas of the skin. Broken its structure, there are ulcers, scabies and pain.

A more severe form of the disease occurs when germs penetrate the brain, affecting the nervous system.

The consequences of such activity are the following:

1. severe migraine headaches, accompanied with nausea and profuse vomiting,
2. violation of movement coordination and motor functions,
3. numbness in the extremities, followed by paralysis of the muscles,
4. drawing sensations in the muscles of the back,
5. unstable equilibrium,
6. convulsion,
7. hypersensitivity to external stimuli: light, sound, touch,
8. mental disorder, manifested by excessive anxiety and inadequate response to the reality.

Diagnostics

Diagnosis of toxocariasis is often complicated. This is due to the fact that the symptoms of the disease are very diverse, and to determine the presence of parasites in the human body immediately is not easy. So the diagnosis of toxocariasis requires a comprehensive approach. The research conducted by different specialists depending on what the patient complains.

If you suspect the presence ofthe human body of parasites, you should first make an overall analysis of the blood. If there is a high content of substances responsible for anti-parasitic organisms, one can assume the presence of worms. The same conclusion can be reached, if in the venous blood will show elevated levels of substances that increase the immune level of a person.

If you have similar tests, the patient is sent to doctor-infectious disease. If during the examination the patient is found allergic reactions, disruption of internal systems, this gives grounds to assume the existence of parasites in the body. Accurate confirmation of the disease gives a direct finding of worms in tissues and organs.

An indirect confirmation of infection is from the patient him suburban area, Pets, failure to comply with hygiene standards.

A study on the presence of parasites is carried out stepwise and integrated manner. The first is the General analysis of blood to identify the high content antiparasitics substances and determining the quantity of blood is Then conducted telephone point blood analysis for high content of proteins. At the same time a survey of respiratory couple of the chest region and the abdominal cavity.

Necessary to carry out inspection at the ophthalmologist: disturbance of visual function of one eye with normal functionality of another may indicate the presence in the body the larvae Toxocara.

Treatment

As soon as the person revealed toxocariasis should immediately begin treatment. In the treatment of toxocariasis is used for two main groups of drugs. The first to act on the biological level. The drug is based on the fact that it paralyzes the muscle fibers of the helminth, not allowing it to gain a foothold in the intestine. Helpless parasite are excreted along with the stool outwards.

Another effect of antiparasitic funds is to ensure that substances included in the composition of the drug affect the digestive system of parasites, destroying it. The result of this impact becomes a slowdown of worms followed by its death. To drugs in this group include drugs such as Vermoxum, Ditrazin, Medamin and their analogues.

To take medication orally immediately after meals, drinking plenty of clean water. How to treat, what medication to use is decided by the doctor as use of individual drugs may be accompanied by side effects: nausea, vomiting, weakness, dizziness.

The next group of drugs used in the defeat Toxocara, are drugs whose effect is to reduce allergic reactions. Such drugs include the following means: Tavegil, claritin, Zyrtec.