Helminths or parasitic worms behave very secretly in the human body.Symptoms of an immune reaction to parasite infection can easily be confused with flu, food poisoning, allergies, chronic fatigue syndrome, etc.And you may not be aware of infection with a pork tapeworm, a tapeworm that reaches 3 meters in length, throughout your life - 2-3 years.Today we will talk about helminthiasis, as well as anthelmintic drugs and why you should not take them “just for prevention”.
So, first let's do an introduction.Most of the helminths common in our region inhabit the intestines.However, some types of parasites can also settle in body tissues - muscles, lungs, brain, eyeball tissue, etc.
All helminths that parasitize the human body are divided into three categories:
- Roundworms - nematodes:roundworms, pinworms, trichinella, hookworms, etc.Nematodes are the most “popular” parasitic diseases.According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than a billion people in the world are simultaneously infected with them (in total, more than two billion people are infected with various helminths).
- Fluke worms are trematodes.They affect the liver, biliary and urinary tracts, pancreas, intestines, lungs and blood.The most common trematodes are opisthorchiasis, schistosomiasis, clonorchiasis, fascioliasis, etc., and some of them can provoke carcinogenesis - the development of tumors.
- Tapeworms are cestodes.There are currently 3,500 known species of them, and each of them can parasitize the human body.The cestoid your body chooses depends on the country you live in.One of the main sources of infection by these parasites is fish that have not undergone complete heat treatment.Echinococcosis, heartworm disease, taeniasis, teniarinchiasis are cestodiases that affect not only humans, but also pets.
Helminths suppress immune reactions, as a result of which the body's defense suffers even with serious infections.They provoke allergies, digestive disorders and disrupt the functions of internal organs.The body is poisoned by metabolic products and decomposition of helminths, suffers mechanical damage and suppression of the immune and nervous systems.
Additionally, the presence of parasites:
- reduces the effectiveness of vaccines;
- complicates the course of several concomitant diseases;
- negatively affects the growth and development of children and the working capacity of adults;
- causes changes in intestinal biocenosis and activation of the growth of “bad” microflora (pathogenic and opportunistic - for example, fungi of the genus Candida, which cause candidiasis).
In general, it is really necessary to treat helminthiasis.But you need to do it wisely.
Treatment of helminthiasis.Medicines for worms
In the past, to combat worms, mainly herbal remedies were used - male fern, cypress wormwood, chenopodium oil, etc.Therefore, some obsolete medicines (the herbal medicines mentioned above, as well as hexylresorcinol, carbon tetrachloride, etc.) are excluded from the medicinal anthelmintic nomenclature, and some remain, but are used in a very limited way (wormwood and tansy flowers, thymol, sulfur, pumpkin seeds, etc.).
Modern anthelmintics are divided into groups depending on their main effect on helminths of different classes (cestodes, nematodes, trematodes).Some medications can treat several different classes of helminths.But it is important to remember that there is no concept of “the best medicine for worms” - it all depends on what kind of parasite has occupied your body.
Today, most anthelmintic drugs are produced on the basis of six main active ingredients - albendazole, mebendazole, praziquantel, pyrantel, piperazine adipate and levadamisole.Let's consider its properties in more detail.
Albendazole
Albendazole preparations are effective against various parasites – both intestinal and those living in other organs.Furthermore, the effect of this substance depends on the moment it was taken:
- on an empty stomach, albendazole is not absorbed, it simply passes through the digestive tract, destroying intestinal parasites;
- Together with fatty foods, albendazole is absorbed and destroys parasites outside the intestines (muscles, liver, lungs, brain, other organs).
Therefore, the use of albendazole medications must be clearly agreed with the doctor based on the diagnosis and results of preliminary examinations.
Mebendazole
Compared to albendazole, mebendazole is absorbed less intensively and its effect is manifested mainly in the gastrointestinal tract.Despite this, mebendazole may also be prescribed to combat helminths that live in tissues - for example, in the case of echinococcosis, when the echinococcal bladder is in a location that cannot be readily removed.
According to the recommendation of the World Health Organization (WHO), albendazole and mebendazole should be used for helminthiasis caused by so-called soil helminths: roundworms, whipworms, hookworms.Both substances belong to the same group and have a similar effect - stopping the absorption of glucose in the helminth's body.If there is a glucose deficiency, the parasite starves to death.
The drugs albendazole and mebendazole are not “budget”, but they are valuable because they have relatively few possible side effects.
Praziquantel
Effective against trematodes (feline and lungworms, schistosomes).It is used in the treatment of clonorchiasis, paragonimiasis, opisthorchiasis, intestinal cestodiasis (taeniasis, teniarhinchiasis), etc.Under the influence of praziquantel, parasites stop the uptake of glucose by the body's cells, which paralyzes and kills the helminths.
Pirantel
Pyrantel is practically not absorbed by the human body and therefore has a targeted effect only on helminths that have settled in the intestine.It immobilizes worms sensitive to it and, in this immobilized state, they are eliminated from the body.
Pirantel preparations are approved for use in children from 6 months of age - they can receive the medicine in the form of a suspension, as it is easier to dose (in tablet form, the medicine is approved for use only from 3 years of age).In general, pyrantel is well tolerated, the main thing is to take it with meals or immediately after.
Piperazine adipate
This substance affects the muscle and nerve cells of nematodes and roundworms, causing the parasites to become paralyzed and leave the intestine naturally (along with the feces).
For ascariasis, a two-day course of piperazine is usually prescribed, and for enterobiasis (pinworms) - 1-3 five-day courses with one-week breaks between them.Pinworms don't respond to piperazine as quickly as roundworms do - they are more resistant.Between courses, it is necessary to do enemas to gradually eliminate battalions of dead worms from the intestines.
Levamisole
Levamisole paralyzes the muscles of roundworms and hookworms.IMPORTANT!Drinking alcohol is strictly prohibited within 24 hours of taking Levamisole.Otherwise, expect dizziness, tachycardia, general weakness and other unpleasant consequences.These are all “disulfiram-like reactions”;They are the basis of the action of drugs used to treat alcoholism and that cause aversion to alcohol.
In general, Levamisole differs from other anthelmintics in that side effects develop more frequently, even if it is not mixed with alcohol.These include headaches, seizures, peripheral polyneuropathy, tremors, sleep disturbances and confusion.
Another characteristic side effect of Levamisole is olfactory hallucinations.Many people who took Levamisole complained that for several days after taking it, it seemed to them that everything around them smelled like bleach, smoke, “chemicals”, etc.Of course, all these side effects do not occur in all cases and depend on many individual factors, but our job is to warn that such situations are quite possible.
Why You Shouldn't Take Deworming Medication “Just to Be Safe”
It is strictly not recommended to take antiparasitic medications “just for prevention”, even if you have animals at home that are outdoors.The role of pets in parasite infection in humans has been greatly exaggerated.Yes, humans and dogs have a “common” parasite - Toxocara, but in most cases people become infected with Toxocara through street dirt, which contains particles of dog excrement and, consequently, Toxocara larvae.Additionally, dogs and farm animals can carry the Echinococcus parasite, which is also dangerous to humans.However, you still cannot randomly take anthelmintics.
The fact is that different drugs in this group not only act on different helminths, but also have different contraindications for use, as well as various side effects.Some of these side effects can be extremely serious, because many anthelmintic medications are toxic - because otherwise it is not possible to neutralize the worms: they are very tenacious, like any other parasitic organism.Sometimes, after taking certain anthelmintics, for example Dekaris, as well as in the treatment of opisthorchiasis, it may even be necessary to admit the patient to a hospital.
It is worth exposing your body to “toxic attacks” only when the invasion is confirmed in the laboratory (tested for helminthiasis and a positive result is obtained).
Therefore, you should not follow the example of parasitophobia, even if it is constantly fueled by aggressive advertising of various “miracle drugs” and horror stories on the Internet.Let us not forget that hygiene conditions in our country are, at the very least, far from the same as those in Africa, where mass preventive deworming is fully justified.The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified a list of countries in which continuous helminth control is recommended.
Prevention of helminthiasis
Obviously, prevention of helminth infection must be carried out.But the aim here is not drug prevention.To minimize the risk of catching “uninvited guests”, try to follow two main rules:
- Wash your hands.The most common nematode infections in our region (toxocariasis, ascariasis, enterobiasis) and echinococcosis are not without reason called dirty hand diseases.So, as trivial as it may seem, wash your hands frequently and thoroughly.Furthermore, now, in the context of the coronavirus pandemic, this basic hygiene rule has taken on even greater significance.
- Maintain food hygiene.Parasite eggs can enter the body from unwashed fruits, vegetables and herbs - so rinse them well under running water.Meat and fish that have not undergone sufficient heat treatment also pose an increased danger.Parasite larvae are especially common in fish of carp species and can also be waiting for you in homemade salted caviar, especially in pike, where broad tapeworm larvae like to settle.Raw minced meat and rare steaks may contain beef or pork tapeworm larvae.
In addition to normal heat treatment, there is another reliable way to disinfect meat and fish - freezing them.A domestic freezer with a temperature of –20°C is suitable for this.Keep fish or meat there for at least two days - and you can rest assured: the larvae of most parasites do not withstand this “cold test”.
As you can see, complete prevention of helminthiasis is primarily a way of life, and not the regular use of toxic drugs.Therefore, do not let yourself be carried away by medication without special reasons, pay attention to your diet and personal hygiene and take exams periodically.