Ascaridosis: Symptoms and Treatment

Perhaps the most popular parasitic disease among the population of our planet is ascariasis. Young and mature ascarids lead an active life in the small intestine, and larvae attack the liver, lymph nodes and lungs. As a result of their vital activity, the person starts allergic reactions in the form of eosinophilic infiltrates in the lungs, bronchopneumonia, pleurisy, respiratory distress. The most susceptible to this disease are children. Adults, as a rule, are parasitic carriers and are ill with ascariasis very much.

Ascaris lumbricoides (ascaris human) belongs to the class of nematodes, on the head of which are localized three suckers. In nematodes, sexual dimorphism is well expressed (females are much larger than males): females up to 40 cm long, males up to 25 cm. Females lay brown eggs that are covered with a thick tuberous outer membrane.

If they say: "Describe the development of the roundworm," then it is quite easy to do so. Ascaris develops without the participation of an intermediate host, that is, a cycle of development of these parasites straight. Parasitizing in the small intestine, mature females of Ascaris lumbricoides lay eggs (about 250,000 eggs per day), which, together with the feces, enter the external environment. Under favorable conditions (temperature about 30 ° C and humidity 70-90%) within two or three weeks, invasive larvae develop inside the egg. In the process of ingestion of such eggs, people become infected with ascariasis. In the intestine, larvae hatch from the eggs, which are transported through the veins with blood flow to the liver. Further, larvae with blood flow into the lungs, where they develop and then penetrate into the alveoli of the lungs, migrate to the bronchi and then into the trachea. From there, the larvae cough, get into the mouth and swallow. Approximately 1.5 to 2.5 months in the small intestine, they develop to mature helminths.

Adult roundworms with the help of the head and tail ends are fixed in the intestine. These helminths feed on intestinal contents. They live about 10 months, after which spontaneously leave the intestine. Conditions unfavorable for nematodes (to them include infectious diseases, hyperthermia, certain food products) shorten the duration of ascaris in the host's body.

The signs of ascariasis depend on the location of the helminths and the intensity of the invasion. The onset of the disease (migratory stage) is characterized by the development of ascariasis pneumonia, which is manifested by an increase in body temperature (sometimes up to 38 ° C), rapid breathing, dry cough. Sputum sometimes contains impurities of mucus, pus, and less often of blood.

In patients diagnosed with Ascaridosis, symptoms of auscultation appear as dry, wet wheezing. Using physical methods of research, unfortunately, it is not always possible to listen to changes in the lungs. If the diagnosis of "Askaridoz" is diagnosed, its symptoms sometimes appear in the form of dry pleurisy (inflammation of the peritoneum). This stage is characterized by the formation of specific vesicles with a clear content of redness on the skin. X-ray examination of the lungs makes it possible to determine the presence of polygonal infiltrates in this organ.

In the disease "Askaridoz" symptoms of the late (intestinal) stage most often occur in subclinical form (without visible clinical signs). In this case, patients often complain of worsening of general health, note increased fatigue, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, dysfunction of the digestive system (diarrhea, constipation). Often when the disease "Askaridoz" symptoms are complicated by the presence of infectious diseases.

For the treatment of ascaridosis, doctors prescribe anthelmintic drugs (levamisole, mebendazole, piperazine adipate, pyrantel pamoate, ditrazine, thiabendazole), antiallergic, antitoxic and oxygen therapy.