Parasites(from Greek parasitos - parasite, parasite) - lower plant and animal organisms that live outside or inside another organism (host) and feed at its expense.
Parasitesarose in the process of historical development of organisms from free-living forms.
Their adaptation to certain living conditions resulted in a simplification of their organization, the development of special fixation organs, increased development of the genital organs and anoxybiotic respiration, which allows them to exist in an oxygen-free environment.
Many parasites include:
- helminths;
- mushrooms;
- virus;
- protozoa;
- worms;
- crustaceans;
- arachnids;
- insects.
Hosts of parasites can be:
- bacteria;
- protozoa;
- plant;
- animals;
- Human.
Parasites go through a complex development cycle: sometimes they require a change of 2-3 hosts, the organism of which is intermediate (the helminth goes through larval stages) or final (the helminth becomes sexually mature, invasive).
Classification of parasites
Based on their distribution, parasites are divided into:
- Ubiquitous- found everywhere.
- Tropical- common in tropical climate areas.
Based on their biological and epidemiological characteristics, parasites are divided into:
- Geohelminthiasis- a disease in which parasites (helminths) develop first in the human body and then on a non-living substrate, often in the soil.
- Biohelmintosisis a disease in which the biological development cycle of a parasite (helminth) necessarily occurs in the body of living beings other than humans.There are final hosts, in whose bodies the helminths develop to the sexually mature stage, and intermediate hosts, where the parasite is in the larval stage or reproduces in a non-sexual way.Humans are often the final host, less often the intermediate host.
- Contact helminthiasis- a disease in which parasites are released from the human body mature or almost mature, as a result of which it is possible to infect another person or re-infect him (self-infestation, reinvasion).
Depending on the location of the parasite in the human body:
- Luminal parasites- live in the intestinal cavity and other cavities of the human body (for example roundworms, tapeworms).
- Fabric parasites- live in the tissues of the human body (schistomatosis, echinococcosis).
According to the place of residence of the owner (person):
- External parasites(mosquitoes, horseflies, leeches, lice).
- Internal parasites(helminthiasis):
- roundworms (roundworms - roundworms, heartworms, whipworms, pinworms, strongyloides, hookworms, trichinella);
- flatworms:
- trematodes (flukes - cat flukes (opisthorchid), clonorchid, fluke, schistosome);
- tapeworms (tapeworms - bovine and porcine tapeworms, dwarf tapeworm, broad tapeworm, echinococcus).
- Bacteriosis(leptospira, staphylococcus, streptococcus, shigella).
- Protozoa or protozoa(amoeba, lamblia, trichomonas, often hosts of chlamydia and the AIDS virus).
- Mycosis(fungal diseases) - candida, cryptococci, penicillium.
How parasites enter the human body
You can contract parasitosis not only through dirty hands.Animal fur carries worm eggs (ascaris and toxocara), Giardia.
Pinworm eggs that fall from the wool remain viable for up to 6 months and enter the alimentary tract through dust, toys, carpets, underwear, bedding and hands.
Dogthrough moist breath, it disperses eggs over a distance of up to 5 meters (a cat - up to 3 meters).
Fleasdogs also carry worm eggs.Ascaris eggs enter the human body through poorly washed vegetables, fruits, berries, herbs, dirty hands, and are also spread by flies.
And improperly prepared kebab or homemade lard is a route of infection with trichinosis;lightly salted fish, caviar or “stroganina” - opisthorchiasis and tapeworm.
So, there are several ways parasites enter the human body:
- nutritional(through contaminated food, water, dirty hands);
- family-contact(through household objects, infected family members, pets);
- transmission(via blood-sucking insects);
- percutaneous,or active (in which the larva penetrates the skin or mucous membranes of the human body during contact with contaminated soil, when swimming in open water).
Adaptive properties of parasites:
- long life expectancy (helminths live in the human body for years and sometimes as long as the owner of the parasite lives);
- the ability to suppress or modify the immune response of the host organism (a state of immunodeficiency occurs, conditions are created for the penetration of pathogens from the outside, as well as for the “disinhibition” of internal foci of infection);
- Many types of helminths, when entering the digestive tract, secrete antienzymes, which save them from death;the digestive process is interrupted, toxic allergic reactions of varying severity appear: urticaria, bronchial asthma, atopic dermatitis;
- developmental stages (egg, larva, host change);
- the ability of eggs to survive for years in the external environment;
- sexual reproduction, during which the exchange of genetic information occurs, and this is the highest stage of development, which leads to an increase in the heterogeneous population, that is, parasites become less vulnerable;
- lack of immunoprophylactic methods, since the immune response is weak and unstable;
- wide distribution of helminths, many habitats (water, soil, air, plants and animals).
Epidemiology of parasites
Due to increased migration processes, the diversity of helminths parasitizing the human body increases significantly.Currently, 70 species of parasites are common out of over 260 existing ones.There is a tendency to increase infection with enterobiasis, giardiasis, toxocariasis, opisthorchiasis, diphyllobothriasis, tenidosis and echinococcosis.In countries in Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America, schistosomiasis and filariasis are common.
"Healthy" people...Many people who lead a healthy lifestyle experience health problems due to the presence of parasites in the body.Improving the health of the body (proper nutrition, exercise, hardening procedures) without ridding the body of parasites does not give a pronounced positive effect.
They are everywhere...According to the World Health Organization (WHO), helminths and other types of parasites are localized not only in the gastrointestinal tract, but also in vital organs: brain, heart, lungs, liver, kidneys.
Cause of many diseases
Throughout their lives, helminths secrete special substances - toxoids, which are strong poisons and allergens.Parasites (protozoa, fungi and helminths) cause many chronic diseases:
- cholecystitis;
- cholelithiasis;
- pancreatitis;
- colitis;
- diabetes mellitus;
- bronchial asthma;
- atopic dermatitis.
Chronic fatigue, irritability and anxiety, hyperactivity in children, anemia, brittle nails and hair, problem skin, headaches, appetite disorders, decreased immunity - these may be signs of the current parasitosis.
If left untreated...When parasites remain in the human body for a long time, the immune system suffers greatly.In the process of constant struggle with foreign antibodies, exhaustion comes, that is, the development of secondary immunodeficiency.
Parasitosis leads to:
- to hypovitaminosis and depletion of trace elements: potassium, copper, manganese, selenium, zinc, magnesium, silicon;
- to hematopoietic disorders;
- hormonal imbalance;
- vascular permeability is compromised;
- The body's anti-tumor defenses are affected.
How did you get saved first?For thousands of years, people, eating mainly plant foods, have received with them natural antimicrobial, antiparasitic and antiviral active substances.Reducing the consumption of wild plants, fruits, berries, replacing them with cultivated fruits and vegetables, thermal and industrial processing have led to a decrease in the consumption of phytoncides and natural antibiotics.As a result, humans have become easy prey for many microorganisms.The intense development of the pharmaceutical industry that produces antibiotics has led to a decrease in antiparasitic immunity.
Traditional medicine to eliminate parasites in the human body
Medicinal synthetic anthelmintic drugs have their pros and cons.There are three main negative factors:
- they often affect only the gastrointestinal forms of the parasites;
- very toxic to the human body;
- cause many adverse reactions.
Science doesn't stop!Intense scientific research is being conducted around the world on the antibiotic properties of plants.In terms of effectiveness, they are not inferior to synthetic antibiotics, but do not cause the side effects characteristic of synthesized drugs.The healing components of plants are complex natural phytoncides that can rid the human body of many parasites at various stages of their development.
Nature!This is what will help us!Preparations of plant origin are much less toxic;if necessary, they can be prescribed in long courses;they activate antiparasitic immunity and effectively suppress the vital activity and reproduction of parasites in the human body.
Parasitoses are widespread diseases with toxic and harmful effects on the human organism.Since treatment with chemical drugs has a negative effect on the body, the optimal solution to the problem of combating parasitosis is herbal products.