Parasitic Worms - some symptoms and how people get them.
There are many different ways that worms can be transmitted to humans.
Parasitic worms live on the host’s food and tissues. They also
excrete their own waste products into their hosts, which can create
a number of health issues, some mild and some strong.
Here are some of the more usual ways that we can catch worms:
In the air we breathe
Sometimes, worm eggs are so small that they can only be seen using
a microscope. Some of these very small eggs can get carried in the
air by the wind, for example pin or thread worm eggs can be airborne.
Fleas, Flies and Mosquitoes can carry Parasites
Parasites have devised very clever survival techniques. For example,
did you know that some parasites are so small that they can be carried
to their hosts through flies, mosquitoes and fleas?
Some of the smallest known animals in the Animal Kingdom are called
protozoa. Some protozoa are parasites. As is the case with African
Sleeping Sickness which is transmitted through the biting Tsetse fly.
This fly lives off from the blood from vertebrates and bites animals
and humans. If the Tsetse fly is infected with the Sleeping Sickness
parasite which has a long name called Trypanosoma, then the person
or animal that is bitten will become infected.
Plasmodium is another micrsocopic parasite that infects humans through
certain types of Mosquitoes and this causes Malaria. Malaria today
is still responsible for many hundreds of thousands of lives per year
and is caused by the smallest of parasites.
It is always wise to take precautions before travelling to places
where Malaria infection is likely or high.
Pets often Carry Parasites
The pets we keep need to be wormed regularly as they are in regular
contact with the earth and grass which may have parasitic eggs. Pets
are also in regular contact with other pets who themselves may be
infected with parasites. It is advisable to get your pets checked
thoroughly with the vet as worms may harm the health of your pets.
Pets can become infected with worms by walking in infected faeces.
The eggs or worms then enter their bodies when the animal licks its
paws to clean themselves.
Pets can also get worms when they eat soil that is infected with
worm eggs.
Kittens and puppies can often get infected when they are suckling
from a contaminated mother. It is best to keep pets off food surfaces
and for them to have their own sleeping areas so you can minimise
possible infection from them.
Pets also can become infected by eating a mouse or bird that is
infected with worms. It is possible for pets and animals to be carriers
of more than one type of worm, so it is best to have them checked
for the different worms by the vet.
Wash Fruit and Vegetables thoroughly
Fruit and vegetables can be grown near or in contaminated soil.
They can also be picked by people who have contaminated soil on their
hands. It is always best to wash fruit and vegetables thoroughly.
Wash Your Hands & Nails before preparing Food
Always wash your hands and nails thoroughly before preparing food,
especially if you work outside or get soil under your nails. Insist
that people who prepare your food also follow a sensible guide to
clean hands, clean nails before preparing food.
The food we eat can often be a source of parasites, such as uncooked
beef, pork, poultry and fish. Fruit and vegetables can also harbour
parasites.
Water supplies can transit parasites. Parasites are also known to
occur in mud pools, streams, rivers and other standing pools of water,
which can penetrate the skin.
Pets and Animals are Carriers of Worm Eggs
There are several types of worms that can be transmitted from pets
to humans and these are most commonly called roundworms, ringworms
or tapeworms.
How we can Catch Tapeworm Parasites
Tapeworm parasites are often carried to humans through undercooked
and contaminated meat - mainly beef, pork and fish – or through
eating contaminated soil or water. Fish, pigs and cattle can often
drink water that is contaminated with tapeworm eggs and if we eat
the flesh of a contaminated animal, then we can get tapeworms.
Tapeworms have a complex life cycle, their eggs turn into cysts
when they are consumed by an intermediate host such as cows, pigs
or fish. A cyst is the tough, protective capsule enclosing the larva
of a parasitic worm. These cysts remain dormant in the intermediate
host until they are consumed by a human when they will then become
adults.
If we eat raw or incompletely cooked meat containing these cysts,
the larvae become active within the human host. Once inside the intestine
of the new host, they latch onto the intestinal wall and grow into
adult worms.
Fruit and vegetables we eat can be grown or have contaminated soil
near them from animal feces. This is why it is so important to thoroughly
wash all fruit and vegetables before eating them. It is also possible
that tapeworms embed their eggs in human host organs such as the liver,
lungs, heart, and also the brain.
Parasites have extraordinary survival skills and can live within
their hosts up to several years. There have even been recorded cases
of tapeworms well over 20 years old, living inside people.
More Info on Pinworms
Pinworm eggs can easily become airborne and this most often happens
when we shake the clothes or bedding of someone who has pinworms,
then the eggs can be lifted into the air and carried along.
Pinworm eggs can not only be inhaled from the air but can also land
on food that we eat or on clothes or from bedding.
Pinworms are small, thin, white worms up to up to half a centimetre
long, sometimes longer. They are easily passed from person to person,
even though their life cycle only usually lasts 2 weeks. While pinworms
are not a dangerous worm in terms of health, they can be irritating;
cause skin conditions and can be tricky to get rid of.
Pinworms live in the human intestine and lay their eggs on the skin
around the rectum. Pinworms are more usually found in children but
also occur in adults.
At room temperature, pinworm eggs have been known to survive outside
the intestine for up to 2 weeks. Pinworm eggs hatch where the eggs
are laid, then they move into the lower intestine where they grow
to adult size.
Pinworms grow to adult size between 2-6 weeks. Pinworm infection
can be spread by the worms or through the eggs.
Worms transmitted by Contact
How we can Catch Pinworms
Pinworms can be transmitted by contact and here is how. When pinworms
lay their eggs, the skin in this area becomes itchy. By scratching,
the small pinworm eggs can gather under fingernails or on fingers
and then scratching can pass on the eggs on to others through touch
and contact.
Most parasitic infections come from our food and water sources but
can also be transmitted by human or animal contact.
Simply petting and grooming our pets can increase the chances of
infection, the parasites' eggs passing from their fur to our hands,
nose and mouth. Quite a number of parasites common to cats and dogs
can also survive quite happily inside a human body.
Pinworms are also sometimes called threadworms. Pinworm eggs end
up on most surfaces that people who have them touch. This means that
pinworms can often end up on the following:
- Bed linen
- Clothing
- Toilets
- Drinking glasses
- Eating utensils
Pinworms are not very long, mostly about the size of a staple and
we become infected by them by digesting their eggs. Pinworms only
come from other humans, not from pets. Their eggs hatch in the small
intestine and then move on to the large intestine where they grow
into adults.
Pinworm eggs are too small to be seen without a microscope but the
actual worms can often be seen and look like pieces of white thread
or string. The female pinworms move out of the large intestine at
night and lay their eggs around the anus, hence the itching that is
symptomatic of pinworms.
Some Symptoms of Parasite and Worm Infections
- Itching around the anus.
- Sleeplessness due to itching.
- Increased irritability due to sleeplessness.
- In extreme cases, loss of appetite.
How to reduce the chances of getting Pinworms
- Regular handwashing and scrubbing under the nails.
- Try to minimise scratching an infected area.
- Regularly change sheets and pillow cases and bedding if there
if anyone has pinworms in the house.
- Regular showering to wash away eggs and keep body clean.
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