Helminths or parasitic worms behave very secretively in the human body.Symptoms of an immune reaction to infection by parasites can easily be confused with the flu, food poisoning, allergies, chronic fatigue syndrome, etc. And you may not be aware of infection with a pork tapeworm, a tapeworm reaching 3 meters in length, for its entire lifespan - 2-3 years.Today we will talk about helminthiasis, as well as about anthelmintic drugs and why you should not take them “just for prevention.”
So, first let's give an introduction.Most helminths common in our area inhabit the intestines.However, some types of parasites can also settle in body tissues - muscle, lung, 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, bile 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.Which cestode your body chooses depends on what country you live in.One of the main sources of infection with these parasites is fish that has not undergone full heat treatment.Echinococcosis, dirofilariasis, 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 to severe infections.They provoke allergies, digestive disorders, and disrupt the functions of internal organs.The body is poisoned by the metabolic products and decay of helminths, suffers from mechanical damage and suppression of the immune and nervous systems.
In addition, the presence of parasites:
- reduces the effectiveness of vaccinations;
- complicates the course of various concomitant diseases;
- negatively affects the growth and development of children and the ability to work of adults;
- provokes a change in the 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 helminthiases.But you need to do this wisely.
Treatment of helminthiasis.Medicines for worms
Once upon a time, mainly herbal remedies were used to combat worms - male fern, cypress wormwood, chenopodia oil, etc. Nowadays, synthetic substances are used for these purposes.Therefore, some obsolete drugs (the above-mentioned herbal drugs, as well as hexylresorcinol, carbon tetrachloride, etc.) are excluded from the medicinal anthelmintic nomenclature, and some remain, but are used very limitedly (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 cure 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 levamisole.Let's consider their properties in more detail.
Albendazole
Albendazole preparations are effective against various parasites – both intestinal and those living in other organs.Moreover, the effect of this substance depends on the time at which it was taken:
- on an empty stomach, albendazole is not absorbed, but 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 drugs should be clearly agreed with the doctor based on the diagnosis and the results of preliminary tests.
Mebendazole
Compared to albendazole, mebendazole is absorbed less intensively, and its effect is mainly manifested in the gastrointestinal tract.Despite this, mebendazole can also be prescribed to combat helminths living in tissues - for example, in case of echinococcosis, when the echinococcal bladder is in such a place that it cannot be removed promptly.
According to the recommendation of the World Health Organization (WHO), albendazole and mebendazole should be used for helminthiases caused by so-called soil helminths: roundworms, whipworms, hookworms.Both substances belong to the same group and have a similar effect - disruption of the absorption of glucose in the body of the helminth.If there is a deficiency of glucose, the parasite dies from starvation.
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 lung flukes, schistosomes).It is used to treat clonorchiasis, paragonimiasis, opisthorchiasis, intestinal cestodiasis (taeniasis, teniarinchiasis), etc. Under the influence of praziquantel, parasites disrupt the uptake of glucose by the cells of the body, which paralyzes and kills helminths.
Pirantel
Pyrantel is practically not absorbed in the human body, and therefore has a targeted effect only on those helminths that have settled in the intestines.It immobilizes worms that are sensitive to it, and in this immobilized state they are eliminated from the body.
Pyrantel preparations are approved for use by children aged 6 months and older - they can be given the medicine in the form of a suspension, since it is easier to dose (in tablet form, the drug is approved for use only from 3 years).In general, pyrantel is well tolerated, the main thing is to take it with food or immediately after it.
Piperazine adipate
This substance affects the muscle and nerve cells of nematodes and roundworms, as a result of which the parasites are paralyzed and leave the intestines naturally (along with the feces).
For ascariasis, a two-day course of taking Piperazine is usually prescribed, and for enterobiasis (pinworms) - 1-3 five-day courses with week breaks between them.Pinworms do not respond to piperazine as quickly as roundworms - they are more resistant.In between courses, it is necessary to do enemas in order to gradually flush out battalions of dead pinworms from the intestines.
Levamisole
Levamisole paralyzes the muscles of roundworms and hookworms.IMPORTANT!Drinking alcohol is strictly prohibited within 24 hours after taking Levamisole.Otherwise, expect dizziness, rapid heartbeat, general weakness and other unpleasant consequences.All of these are “disulfiram-like reactions”; they are the basis for the action of drugs used in the treatment of alcoholism and causing aversion to alcohol.
In general, Levamisole differs from other anthelmintics in the most frequently developing side effects, 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 of bleach, smoke, “chemicals,” etc. Of course, all these side effects do not occur in every case and depend on many individual factors, but our job is to warn you that such situations are quite possible.
Why you shouldn’t take anti-worm medication “just to be on the safe side”
It is strictly not recommended to take antiparasitic drugs “just for prevention,” even if you have animals at home that are walked outside.The role of pets in infecting humans with parasites 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, accordingly, Toxocara larvae.In addition, dogs and farm animals can be carriers of the Echinococcus parasite, which is also dangerous to humans.However, you still can’t take anthelmintics at random.
The fact is that different drugs from this group not only act on different helminths, but also have different contraindications for use, as well as different side effects.Some of these side effects can be extremely severe, because many anthelmintic drugs are toxic - because otherwise you cannot neutralize worms: they are very tenacious, like any other parasitic organisms.Sometimes, after taking certain anthelmintics, for example Dekaris, as well as when treating 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 laboratory confirmed (tested for helminthiasis and received a positive result).
Therefore, you should not follow the lead of parasitophobia, even though it is constantly fueled by aggressive advertising of various “miracle drugs” and Internet horror stories.Do not forget that the hygienic conditions in our country are, at a minimum, far from the same in Africa, where mass preventive deworming is fully justified.The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified a list of countries in which ongoing helminth control is recommended.
Prevention of helminthiases
Of course, prevention of helminth infection must be carried out.But what is meant here is not drug prevention.To minimize the risk of catching “uninvited guests”, just try to adhere to two main rules:
- Wash your hands.The most common nematode infections in our area (toxocariasis, ascariasis, enterobiasis) and echinococcosis are not without reason called diseases of dirty hands.Therefore, no matter how trivial it may sound, wash your hands often and thoroughly.Moreover, now, against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic, this basic rule of hygiene has acquired even greater meaning.
- 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.The larvae of parasites are especially common in fish of carp species, and can also lie in wait for you in home-salted caviar, especially in pike, where the larvae of the broad tapeworm like to settle.Raw minced meat and rare steaks may contain bovine or pork tapeworm larvae.
In addition to normal heat treatment, there is another reliable way to disinfect meat and fish - freezing them.A household 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 cannot withstand such a “cold test”.
As you can see, complete prevention of helminthiasis is mostly a way of life, and not at all the regular use of toxic drugs.So don’t get carried away with medications without special reasons, watch your food and personal hygiene and get tested periodically.