Today, like many years ago, helminths have been and remain unwanted guests of the human body. Most often, these parasites settle in the child's body and live at the expense of it. Helminths are capable of delivering incredibly much harm to the children's body. Therefore, it is necessary to start treating the pathology as early as possible. From this article you will learn about how to treat helminths in children, as well as what are the causes of this disease, how to recognize it. Read the information provided carefully and you will be able to find answers to all your questions.
What are helminths?
Helminthiasis is one of the most common diseases worldwide. It should be borne in mind that these parasites are not only dangerous in themselves, but also lead to a number of concomitant diseases. They can exist in the human body for severalyears, and the patient will not even guess about it, unsuccessfully treating other pathologies of internal organs.
Before considering the treatment of helminths in children, you need to figure out what these parasites are. Helminths are popularly called worms. These are parasitic creatures that settle in the body of an animal or human. They settle in the intestines, liver, lungs and other organs.
This disease is considered extremely dangerous, as it impairs the activity of internal organs, weakens the immune system, leads to a state of constant weakness, and also inhibits the activity of the nervous system. In addition, parasites can reduce the effectiveness of vaccines, and also significantly increase the amount of pathogenic microflora in the human body.
Causes of infection
Treatment of helminths in children is a very responsible task. Parents of the baby should understand why these parasites enter the child's body. Most often, infection occurs through drinking water, as well as food. However, there are other methods of infection. The problem can also occur if the baby does not follow the rules of personal hygiene.
Carriers of helminths are also living organisms. It can be both animals and people. In this case, a person can be an intermediate host and pass his disease to someone else.
How does infection occur?
There are several ways that facilitate the penetration of worms into the humanorganism.
Contact transmission. In this case, parasites are transmitted from one person to another or from animal to person. Moreover, this method is considered quite common. You have probably heard about pinworms in children. So, they are transmitted by the contact method
- Eggs of parasites can enter the child's body through water or soil. Usually they get there thanks to fecal deposits - both human and animal. In this case, eggs can be carried by insects everywhere. A person can become infected by eating, for example, a fruit, or simply by petting an animal.
- Another way of infection is considered to be the consumption of poorly processed meat or fish by a person. This includes dried fish, sushi, barbecue and other products that have undergone poor heat treatment.
- In some cases, helminth eggs can enter the human body through insect bites. However, this method of transmission is considered extremely rare. But still it has a place to be.
Who is at risk?
In order to minimize the risk of infection with worms, it is very important for a child, as well as his parents, to adhere to certain rules and follow them daily. So, following what rules will help eliminate the risk of infection?
- Daily hand washing. Hands should be washed with soap and running water not only before eating, but also after contact with animals, as well as when coming home after a walk.
- It is very important to change your underwear daily. Makeit is necessary in the morning and evening after water procedures.
- It is very important to ensure that the child does not bite his nails. To do this, you need to monitor their condition and cut them in time.
- Discourage your child from putting foreign objects in their mouths.
- There should be no unsanitary conditions in the house where the baby lives. Do not forget that insects are capable of carrying helminth eggs, so it is very important to monitor their absence in the home. This is especially true of cockroaches and flies.
- If there are animals in the house, it is very important to keep them clean. After walking all the walls of the house, be sure to wash your pet's paws.
- Before eating fruits and vegetables, do not forget to wash them thoroughly under running water.
Signs of parasites
Signs of helminths in children are usually similar. As soon as the parasites settle in the child's body, they begin to suck out nutrients from it. This leads to poor functioning of the human body. In addition, worms secrete waste products and decay, which is toxic to the body and can even lead to intoxication. Therefore, it is very important to detect the presence of parasites as early as possible and start timely treatment of helminths in children. Most often, infection occurs precisely in the warm season, when the baby spends most of his time on the street, and besides, you can find a large number of already infected fruits and vegetables on store shelves.
Quite oftensymptoms of pathology are completely invisible. Therefore, a person does not even realize that he is a carrier of such dangerous parasites. So, their presence in the human body usually makes itself felt when the human immune system has failed, and also when the conditions of his life have worsened.
Parents should constantly monitor the condition of the child. After all, the very first sign of the presence of worms in the body is weakness and excessive irritability. The child has constant discomfort in the abdomen. He increasingly complains about headaches present, and also cannot sleep properly and is constantly naughty.
Also, the child has problems with appetite, it either increases rapidly, or incredibly decreases. At the same time, many babies experience vomiting and nausea, as well as problems with stools: constantly alternating constipation with diarrhea. If the disease began to actively progress, the child may have a slight increase in body temperature. In the presence of allergic reactions to the decay products of parasites, babies may develop a rash on the skin.
Because the child does not get enough sleep and insufficient nutrients enter his body, his skin becomes pale and large blue circles appear under his eyes.
How to determine the presence of pinworms?
Helminths in children can be very diverse. Most often, the children's body is attacked by parasites such as pinworms. These are small worms, up to ten millimeters long. If the baby is contagious, then he will spread a large amount around himeggs that will be stored on all things and objects that surround it. The full life cycle of one parasite is two weeks, so roundworms multiply very quickly and cause incredible harm to the he alth of the baby.
Helminths in children make themselves felt at night. When a child lies down in a warm bed, and his body relaxes as much as possible, the pinworm crawls out of the anus and lays an incredible amount of eggs in its folds. This process is accompanied by a strong burning sensation, so the child begins to scratch this area, which leads to insomnia. Thus, the eggs both remain under the baby's nails and spread to all things around him.
There are other symptoms of helminths in children. Treatment of such a pathology must begin immediately, otherwise the baby will cease to develop normally. Consider what other signs signal the presence of parasites:
- The child begins to rapidly lose weight and at the same time suffers from impaired thought processes.
- If pinworms enter the urethra, girls will suffer from enuresis. Also, the fair sex may experience such a phenomenon as vulvovaginitis. After all, pinworms can crawl into the vagina, causing irritation in it. Sometimes the situation becomes more complicated, and inflammatory processes occur in the uterus, as well as appendages.
- If a large number of pinworms accumulate in the rectum, this can lead to inflammation of the appendix.
- In some cases,the child is observed grinding teeth.
Treatment of helminths in children
Komarovsky, like no one else, knows the need to treat such a dangerous disease. After all, the presence of parasites in the body of a child can adversely affect his entire future life. Treatment of helminths in children (the symptoms of the disease were described above) depends on the variety of parasites, as well as on the degree of damage to the child's body. It is very important to prescribe the correct treatment. Doctors usually prescribe various deworming medications for children, as well as additional treatments such as laxatives and special diets.
Performing diagnostic tests
Before prescribing helminth remedies for children, it is necessary to carry out a number of diagnostic studies to confirm or, conversely, refute the disease, as well as to establish its type. As soon as you find symptoms of the presence of worms in your child or the baby complains about the deterioration of his well-being, urgently go to the doctor. He will offer you to conduct several diagnostic studies, including:
Analysis of feces for the presence of helminths. Such an analysis must be taken three times with an interval of several days
- Also, a general blood test and an analysis for the presence of giardiasis and helminths are given.
- In addition, the doctor takes a scraping to check for pinworms.
Also, if necessary, the doctor can also refer the child to an ultrasoundexamination of internal organs, tomography or X-ray.
Deworming drugs for children
It is very important to consider that helminth medicines have a toxic effect on the baby's body, so you need to take them strictly following all the rules specified in the instructions for use. Otherwise, you can cause irreparable harm to the he alth of your child. In no case do not treat at home, even if by all indications you have determined that your child has worms. Be sure to trust a qualified doctor. After all, he can not only choose the drug, but also calculate the dosage, taking into account the individual characteristics of the child's body. In some cases, doctors prescribe several medications at once, which significantly increases the effectiveness of treatment. However, it is very important to familiarize yourself with contraindications before using helminth tablets for children. Otherwise, human he alth will be at risk.
Today, in any pharmacy you can find a huge amount of medicines for helminths. One of them is the old and time-tested Piperazine. Despite the fact that this drug has a low level of toxicity, its spectrum of action is quite narrow, since the drug is able to exert its active effect only on nematodes. This medicine can only kill adults, while larvae and eggs can safely continue to exist.
Pirantel is especially popular with doctors. The drug is available in the form of suspensions forinternal application. Suitable for the smallest children.
Treatment of helminths in children with drugs is almost always successful. A good therapeutic effect is able to provide "Vermox". This medication can be used by children from the age of two. The drug is suitable for the treatment of various types of helminths. However, it should be borne in mind that this drug is quite toxic, so it can lead to a large number of side effects.
Is it possible to carry out treatment with folk remedies?
Doctors recommend giving preference to proven medications, however, due to their high toxicity, mothers of babies are still wondering if it is possible to get rid of worms using traditional medicine methods. In truth, such methods by themselves do not have such an effective therapeutic effect, but in combination with traditional medicine, they can give good results.
Consider the most effective folk methods of dealing with worms:
- Take two teaspoons of wormwood and pour one liter of boiled water over them. Let the prepared infusion cool, then cool it. Take the remedy 30 minutes before meals, three times a day. A single dosage should be two dessert spoons.
- Boiled pomegranate peel also has a good healing effect. Take the skin from one pomegranate, grind it well and pour half a liter of purified water. Put this mixture on low heat and cook for half an hour. You need to take the remedy one teaspoonevery 30 minutes. You need to do this three times, then wait a couple of hours and take a laxative.
- Showed itself well in the treatment of helminths and infusion of tansy. Pour three tablespoons of a dry plant with a glass of boiling water and let it brew for one hour. You need to take the medicine one small spoonful three times a day.
Importance of preventive measures
Prevention of helminths in children is a very important component of the overall he alth of the baby. It is very easy to take preventive measures. The main thing is to do it regularly. Teach your child to wash their hands with soap as often as possible, cut their nails, and also make sure that the baby does not put various objects in his mouth, especially outside the walls of the house. Wash your hands thoroughly with antibacterial soap and hot water after contact with animals.
It is very important to clean your home regularly, wash your food thoroughly, and change your linen regularly.
Conclusions
If a child has helminth eggs, you should not panic. Be sure to go to the hospital, where the doctor will be able to determine the presence of a particular disease with the help of tests. Worms are a problem faced by a huge number of children and adults in all corners of the world. The elimination of such parasites with medications is, of course, very effective, but not always safe. Therefore, do not forget to follow personal hygiene. After all, any disease is much easier to prevent than to treat. Stay he althy and take care of yourself and your baby!
