Symptoms of parasites in the body
Today I will talk to you about the most dangerous symptoms of parasites in the body. Parasitic infections, as unpleasant as they sound, are much more common than you think. They are often blamed for the various health problems we suffer from. From digestive problems to post-traumatic stress disorder, a parasitic infection can affect your physical and mental health. A parasite is an organism that lives by feeding on another organism, often referred to as a host.
Parasites can harm a host by feeding on it or consuming some host food, resulting in a number of unpleasant symptoms and health conditions. Parasites are generally acquired by consuming contaminated food or water, but people with unbalanced intestinal flora, bowel leaksyndrome or weakened immune systems may be more sensitive. Contaminated water includes not only drinking water, but also water from swimming pools, hydromassage tubs, lakes, rivers or oceans. Some can also be transmitted by mosquito bites or sand flies, or transmitted to humans from animals such as cows and pigs that are infected with parasites like Cryptosporidium or Trichinella.
The parasite uses the resources of the person in which it lives, such as the very food that person eats, to survive. There are three main classes of parasites that can cause diseases in humans: protozoa, helminths and ectoparasites. They are organisms that can be seen with a microscope, but there are also frightening ones that are seen with the naked eye.
Parasites release toxins into your bloodstream and this can cause symptoms similar to different gastrointestinal conditions. While some parasites do not cause noticeable symptoms, some grow, multiply or attack healthy systems of functioning, making their hosts sick, resulting in a parasitic infection. Some parasites can consume your food and leave you hungry after a meal, resulting in an inability to gain weight. Others can feed on your red blood cells causing anemia or egg-laying resulting in itching, irritability and even insomnia.
What are parasites?
A parasite is an organism that lives on or in the host and receives food from or to the detriment of the host. In other words, the parasite uses the resources of the person in which it lives, such as the very food that person eats, to survive. There are three main classes of parasites that can cause the disease in humans: protozoa, helminths and ectoparasites. Examples of some serious parasitic diseases include filariasis, malaria and babesiosis.
The main parasites that cause diseases
Of the several hundred known types of parasites, only a small part can cause the disease in humans. Among them are protozoans Entamoeba histolytica, which causes amoebic dysentery and is acquired by ingesting food or water that is contaminated with the feces of a human carrier of an infectious organism, and flagellated protozoans Trypanosoma brucei gambiense and T. brucei rhodesiense, which causes sleep sickness (African trypanosomiasis) and is transmitted to humans by the bite of infected tsetse flies.
Leishmania protozoans are transmitted to humans by sand flies and infect macrophages (a type of white blood cell) that try to ingest and digest a foreign pathogen. Eventually, macrophages and immune defenses become overloaded, resulting in leishmaniasis. Leishmaniasis is an exhausting and fatal disease; outbreaks have emerged in India, China, Africa and Brazil.
Helminths include nematodes (roundworms), which are responsible for filariasis, and flatworms, such as flakes and tapeworms. Filariasis can be caused by any of several different types of helminth nematodes. The Filarium nematode Wuchereria bancrofti is transmitted to humans by arthropods and is commonly found in Africa, the Middle East, Mexico and Brazil.
Humans and mosquitoes are the only suitable hosts in which Wucheria can complete its life cycle. Once injected into the bloodstream, immature worms enter the lymphatic canal and mature into adults, which can take 6 to 12 months; Adult worms are about 7.5 to 10 cm (3 to 4 inches) long. More adult females exist in streams of clusters within the lymphatic canal, where they breed, shedding thousands of microphilias every day. Sometimes they remain in the lymphatic canal for 5 to 10 years.
The accumulation of microphilia in the lymphatic ducts blocks the flow of lymphatic fluid, causing swelling of the affected parts of the body. Microphilia eventually migrates into the bloodstream and creeps into the proboscis mosquito when it bites the host. In general, the immune system can defend itself and kill most microphilia, resulting in less disease.
Flatworms, such as tapeworms, can cause infection and disease in humans
The species of tapeworm Diphyllobothrium latum or one of several different species in the genus Taenia, in addition to several other genera, can be contagious. Tapeworms are highly specialized worms that attach to the mucous membrane of the human intestinal wall using hooks that hold them tightly in place. In other cases, they can burrow into tissues such as muscles, spinal cord or brain.
Adult tapeworms tend to stay inside their host for as long as possible, with only one adult tapeworm per host continuously growing and multiplying, shedding eggs secreted in feces. Juvenile tapeworms pose the greatest health risk to humans due to their tendency to dig through the intestinal wall, migrating to internal organs where they interfere with normal tissue function. Infection with adult tapeworms can be asymptomatic; Sometimes abdominal pain or diarrhea occurs, but it is not immediately known that it is the result of a tapeworm infection. Infection with juvenile tapeworms can cause cysticercosis, typified by the formation of cysts under the skin, inflammation, mental disorientation and seizures.
Ectoparasites include primarily fleas, lice, mites and ticks
Fleas, lice and ticks are blood-sucking organisms that bind to the skin. Mites tend to burrow into layers of skin, where they can cause itching and irritation, and sometimes live in deeper tissues, such as the nasal passages or lungs. Ectoparasites can cause disease and transmit other disease-causing organisms to humans. Such organisms include bacteria responsible for Lyme disease, plague and rabies.
How does one become infected with a parasite?
Parasites are generally acquired by consuming contaminated food or water, but people with unbalanced intestinal flora, bowel leaksyndrome, or weakened immune systems may be more sensitive. Some can also be spread by a mosquito fly bite or transmitted to humans from animals such as cows and pigs . One potential cause of parasites is the consumption of pork, especially if it is undercooked or raw. Pork can carry parasites and worms due to the poor conditions in which these animals are usually bred. Other types of undercooked meat and seafood can also transmit harmful organisms, including beef, shellfish and crustaceans.
What are the main symptoms of parasites in the body?
pain and cramps in the stomach, nausea, vomiting, dehydration, weight loss, constipation, diarrhea, gases, muscle pain, chronic fatigue, constant hunger, anxiety…
