Opisthorchiasis in children — Symptoms and treatment of opisthorchiasis in children

Opisthorchiasis is a parasitic disease caused by flatworms of the class Trematoda. They enter the body through food or sometimes after contact with an infected, and affect the liver and pancreas. Parasites affect the overall health of the person, the Central nervous system, mood and endurance. The disease can cause a number of dangerous complications. But it is particularly serious in children whose immune system has not been enough to fight the disease. Upon detection of the child's symptoms should immediately consult the doctor to begin immediate treatment.

Causes opisthorchiasis

Opisthorchiasis, or another disease Vinogradova, easy to cause in adults. Enough to eat raw, thermally or otherwise sight fish carp – chief peddler of the disease. As for children, they, in connection with problems with hygiene, even easier to catch. Here is a list of all hazardous action that can lead the child to opisthorchiasis:

• Bathing in fresh water
• Neglect of personal hygiene, particularly washing your hands
• Contact with an infected
• Consumption of raw or insufficiently cooked food
• When injected into other products particles contaminated fish, they also become sources of threats
• Using the scales of infected fish

It turns out that to protect the child from disease is very difficult. The reservoirs are threatened by the fact that in them the parasite lives for a very long time, getting there with the feces of the last owner. Here he is waiting for a new owner, which could be and baby, if you accidentally get water in my mouth. Opisthorchis larvae (the parasite that causes the disease) may be at the hands of someone from the environment or the sick who will then take your fingers in their mouth or touch their food. Track also getting into particle products of fish almost impossible when it comes to children. Help him to avoid problems can only careful supervision.

Fortunately, the threat of Contracting opistorchis the child in the womb, no. The disease is not transmitted in utero by. But it can lead to pregnancy complications and problems of the fetus: hypoxia as another during pregnancy and childbirth. Opisthorchiasis weakens labor that slows it down and for a time deprives the child of oxygen.

The symptoms of opisthorchiasis in children

But what if the baby is infected? And how to identify the disease? If opisthorchiasis in children, needs urgent treatment. To determine the disease the symptoms are often similar to other diseases, but coupled for diagnosing opisthorchiasis. Often they are shown not at once: if the child was infected in childhood, being in a highly endemic area of the disease, opisthorchiasis will manifest itself in a sharp jump in the immune system or stress. Sometimes the disease manifests only in old age, but it is a process that is chronic opisthorchiasis. The acute form is much more pronounced signs, partly coinciding with the chronic, but by virtue of repeatedly large.

Allocate a number of signs:

• Catarrh of the upper respiratory tract
• Intoxication, accompanied by symptoms such as: vomiting, nausea, problems with the chair
• Changes in the blood picture – the growth of alpha-globulin per unit of blood, increased erythrocyte sedimentation rate,
• Skin rash
• The increase in size of the liver
• Swollen lymph nodes that accompanies many diseases, but in opisthorchiasis expressed especially brightly
• The children of secondary school age – fever, pneumonia
• Allergic hepatitis
• Pain in joints and muscles
• General weakness the child is easily tired, unable to perform complex physical actions, more than usual and wants to sleep.
• Pain in the areas of settlement of parasites: the upper part of the stomach, rarely back in the left hypochondrium. Most often, pain is present in the right upper quadrant and has a blunt, expander character.
• Anemia – a sharp decline in hemoglobin in the blood
• Temperature often is not part of the fever, and always accompanies the disease. An increase of one degree.
• The violation of the rhythms of sleep, irritability and moodiness

Separately noticed in the study of x-rays in children disruption of the gallbladder. Liver function slightly impaired, and the bladder enlarged and tense. Increase causes not only problems with the system, but also the deterioration of health of the child.

The symptoms of opisthorchiasis in young children, visible mainly due to the deterioration of the mood of the child is responsive to pain stronger than an adult. We must not forget that the main symptom of the disease is a positive test results.

In General the symptoms are divided into four types: tipofday, cholangitis, hepatocholecystitis, bronchopulmonary. Everyone has a different range of manifestations of the disease and may indicate acute orchronic phase in children.

Complications of opisthorchiasis

Treatment of opisthorchiasis in children should be carried out immediately due to the severity of the complications that appear when the pulling rate of the medication. Here is a partial list of them:

• Pancreatitis
• Cirrhosis and liver abscess
• Ulcers

Full list of involves complications of the disease with the same signs: liver and biliary tract.

Diagnosis of opisthorchiasis in a child

For a clear definition of the disease going epidemiological analysis, while it will indicate the reasons for which appeared opisthorchiasis in children. You need to not only tell you what I had a child recently, but to mention the level of personal hygiene, to remember whether he had contact with someone with similar symptoms. Diagnosis is faster in the presence of typical specifically for opisthorchiasis symptoms: pronounced fever, pneumonia, low-grade fever. There are also a collection of analyses of feces for eggs of the parasite. Another important symptom is jaundice. In addition to collecting feces, the analysis of the blood that helps to see changes in the blood picture and identify that they are associated with opisthorchiasis or yet another disease.

One of the unpleasant but effective types of diagnosis – palpation reveals a painful reaction in the study of skin left where there is giperstesia. Decreases the content of the enzymes responsible for the pancreas. Gastric secretions with reduced acidity, in which parasites even easier to develop. Specific child symptom of opisthorchiasis in children is cholangitis.

Treatment of opisthorchiasis in young children

After detections of all signs of the disease raises the question: how to treat opisthorchiasis?

The treatment cycle consists of four, often three steps:

• A special diet is prescribed. It helps to cope with the side symptoms and prepare the body for drug use.
• Taking medications aimed at the conclusion of worms and parasites from the body.
• Then a course of antibacterial antibiotics, mainly, as well as probiotics
• After intensive treatment is necessary to restore the microflora, so it is taking digestive enzymes.

The course of treatment always begins immediately with pest control, and first with smoothing the symptoms. It is necessary to remove allergic reactions, disorders of the Central nervous system, the chair and the work of the bronchi. First and foremost are measures to reduce intoxication. Showing antihistamines, but so far in small doses, especially given that the case concerns a child who may be still nursing. The latter group of children treatment and prevention of opisthorchiasis complicated due to the narrow spectrum of acceptable drugs.

In the second phase, carefully selected doses of medication, be sure appointed and agreed with the doctor. In addition to antihistamines, which just kill malicious organisms that are used and choleretic. Latest bring the dead microorganisms from the body, thus reducing the risk of relapse of the disease. If the disease is in a particularly acute form, apply injections, and sometimes specialized pills-glucorticoid. Because the circulatory system of children is easily destroyed, especially such parasites and with the intensive treatment, they must simultaneously take heart medications.

The third stage is rehabilitation, when the restored microflora, and the child is under constant supervision of doctors. It is important that infected his parents were, because mental health will also help to recover faster. Child need special care during both of the treatment and at the end.

In any case it is impossible to breed parasites the popular ways, because it not only fails, but also lead to serious complications. In General, cure opisthorchiasis in a child can be even faster than that of an adult, we just need time to see a doctor.

Prevention

Do not forget about measures aimed at reducing the risk of disease, especially re. During the course of treatment should be seen by a doctor, as for those who are not yet infected, system measures simple:

• Necessary basic personal hygiene. Explain to your child that hands should be washed after the streets, the food, which in any case can not bite your nails or to take the fingers in my mouth right while walking, when the larvae of the parasite can be on hand. Help him learn to wash the area between your fingers, don't let miss tubercle of the thumb, which is where most parasites remain.
• Always quite a treat and the food you give your child, ensure that she was sterile. If the child has the habit of eating unwashed fruit, you must break him, show the right actions.
• Keep the child away from cooking one, even if he is supervised. Children are easily confused cutting boards, not to finish roasting the fish, and should ensure that they not only picked up parasites, but not burned, for example.
• Should swim only in pools whose waters are under the supervision of local management, and best – in chlorinated pool water.
• While in areas with risk of infection, carefully follow the hygiene of the child and what he eats.
• Make sure that the water was sterile or if it is not spared from the corrupting organisms, boil it.Only 10 minutes of the boil to be sure of the safety of water.