A little curious man knows the world around him. He enthusiastically builds sandcastles, tries to get to know the yard cats closer, enjoys splashing in the river water and feasts on strawberries right from the cottage bed.
Unfortunately, favorite activities are not only fun, but also carry the risk of helminth infections. After one and a half years, the worms in children are not so rare.
What worms are in children
A great many existing parasites are divided into separate groups:
- round or nematode - roundworm, pinworms, trichinella, whipworm;
- flat or cestodes - dwarf tapeworm, pork tapeworm, tapeworm, wide tapeworm, echinococcus;
- trematodes or flukes.
Depending on the species, the worms in children can freely live both in the intestine and in other organs - the gall bladder, liver, muscles, lungs, and even in the heart and brain. To effectively deal with uninvited guests, it is worth getting to know the parasites that are most common in children.
1. Ascaris in children
Ascariasis is in second place in terms of prevalence among young children and preschool children. Adult parasites reach sizes of 25-30 centimeters, and the female is able to lay up to 200,000 eggs. They enter the environment with the faeces of infected animals and people, and the larvae that hatch from them quietly live without a permanent host for several years.
The main way of infecting babies is through dirty hands, unwashed vegetables and fruits. Eggs of Ascaris that have got into the children's organism go a long way - in the intestines the larvae emerge from them and with a current of lymph or blood enter the lungs. Here they ripen, then by broncheal get into the pharynx, are swallowed and get into the place of permanent habitat - small intestine.
Roundworms are extremely dangerous for the child, as they affect various organs of the fragile organism. In addition, these worms in children can cause severe allergies, and the large size of worms can clog the intestines and even cause asphyxiation.
2. Pinworms in children
Small white parasites, 3-6 millimeters in size, settle in the lower intestine and cause a lot of inconvenience. Fertile females crawl out at night from the anus and lay a huge number of eggs - up to 15,000 per day. Small and light, they are easily transported by air and cover the surface of bed linen, toys, carpet and clothing, which causes infection of all households. The intense itching that causes movement of the pinworms is accompanied by pain and irritation from constant scratching and inflammation in the anus. In girls, these troubles often add symptoms of vulvovaginitis - diseases of the mucous layer of the genital organs and vagina. This type of worms in children causes a constant lack of sleep and nervous system disorders.
3. Giardia in children
Microscopic worms in children under the name of Giardia, according to recent studies, infected more than 20% of babies in the world with their presence. They live in the small intestine of a child, but can be found in the gallbladder and in the duodenum. These tiny parasites disrupt the digestive process, become the culprits of the inflammatory processes of the intestinal mucosa, and can cause cholecystitis. Infection occurs from animals, especially cats, and people with giardiasis. In children's institutions, babies become infected through common toys and dishes.
Signs (symptoms) of worms in children
Not all worms in children make it possible to detect their presence by pronounced signs - some may live for years in the child’s body without manifesting themselves, and most of them mask themselves as various diseases. However, the observant mom will definitely notice some signs that indicate the presence of any kind of worms:
- the baby refuses to eat, he is visibly nauseated, or, on the contrary, eats double servings every day and at the same time loses weight;
- Frequent allergic reactions - urticaria, dermatitis, all sorts of rashes and even eczema;
- irritability, fatigue, tearfulness;
- anemia;
- there is a night gnashing of teeth;
- loss of perseverance and inability to concentrate attention;
- a toxic-allergic reaction to vaccination may occur;
- diarrhea or constipation, nausea, recurrent abdominal pain;
- decreased immunity and frequent colds;
- headache and dizziness.
In addition to the general signs of worms, a child may experience specific symptoms:
- pinworms - itching in the anus and inflammation from scratching, dry mouth, vulvovaginitis and enuresis in girls;
- roundworm - shortly after infection, dry cough and skin rashes. After 2-3 weeks - nausea, restless sleep, pain in the navel or in the right hypochondrium, signs of intoxication. Possible increase in lymph nodes, liver, spleen. Approximately three months after infection, the baby shows signs of damage to the gastrointestinal tract - flatulence, cramping abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. Often there are various neuropsychiatric disorders;
- whipworm - there are not so many symptoms, but against the background of severe intoxication, children can lag behind in mental development;
- toxocarosis - allergic cough with signs of suffocation, skin itchy rashes, puffy face, swollen lymph nodes, eye damage.
Methods of treating worms in children
If the mother has a suspicion about the presence of parasites, you should immediately contact the pediatrician. The presence of worms in children is confirmed by special tests, the main ones being scraping for enterobiosis and feces for worms eggs. Do not rush to calm down, if the first results will be negative - you need to take tests three times, with a certain interval, which will allow you to catch the moment of reproduction of uninvited guests. Not bad to confirm the diagnosis with additional studies - to check the composition of the blood and the presence or absence of dysbiosis.
A variety of modern drugs for the expulsion of parasites can reliably cope with the problem, but only a specialist should fight with worms in children. The doctor takes into account the child's age, his condition, the type of parasite, the presence of violations in the work of the internal organs, the presence of allergies - and only then prescribes the appropriate treatment. Many effective drugs successfully cope not only with adult individuals, but also affect eggs and larvae. The doctor will surely warn you whether it will be necessary to repeat the course of treatment in two weeks - in the presence of certain types of helminths this is necessary.
There are many popular methods that help to cope with worms in children, but they are best used as an auxiliary and prophylactic agent. You can also consult with the doctor about the use of herbal remedies, which also quite successfully help to cope with parasites. But the final decision for the attending physician, Mommy need to listen to his opinion. It is very important, in parallel with the course of treatment, to carry out a thorough treatment at home - to wash and iron the bedding, to wash and dry soft and plastic toys in the sun, to carry out a general cleaning in the apartment.
Prevention of worms in children
Worms in children - the problem is unpleasant and dangerous. To protect your baby from the invasion of unwanted visitors, you just need to remember about preventive measures and try to comply with them rigorously:
1. Thorough washing hands with soap - before eating, after walking and using the toilet, talking to animals. Mom will help the youngest, but to teach the child to remember this and to do it yourself should be from an early age.
2. The nails should be kept in perfect condition, trimmed in time and not be in the tomboy’s mouth. Biting nails is not only harmful, but also a dangerous habit, as well as sucking pencils, toys, fingers.
3. Vegetables, berries, fruits and herbs, even from their garden or garden, should be washed.
4. The contents of the sandbox - the perfect place for infection with worms. To protect children will help daily inspection for the presence of animal feces and loosening the sand - the worm eggs do not like the sun's rays.
5. Regular cleaning of the house, ruthless struggle with flies, cockroaches, mosquitoes.
6. Children’s underwear should not only be thoroughly washed, but also ironed with a hot iron. Panties should be changed twice a day.
7. If there are pets in the house, children’s worms are not uncommon. Dogs and cats should be treated regularly for parasites, and restrict contact between children and yard animals.
8. When preparing a delicious lunch, mother should remember that fish and meat should be heat treated for an hour.
9. Drinking water must be purified or boiled.
Worms in children - what Dr. Komarovsky says
Dr. Komarovsky believes that it is impossible to determine whether there are worms in children by popular methods. There are only two reliable ways - to see the parasite in the baby pot and, if there are certain signs, conduct the necessary tests and get a reliable result. He denies drug prevention of helminths, as well as the use of pumpkin seeds in order to protect against parasites.
Dr. Komarovsky identifies three main types of worms by the method of infection:
- those that are passed from person to person - for example, pinworms;
- biohelmints - contained in insufficiently processed meat or fish;
- geohelminths - parasite eggs fall into the ground and, with the help of dirty hands, are introduced into the body of babies.
Yevgeny Komarovsky sharply criticizes mass surveys of children in schools and kindergartens, considering the results obtained to be unreliable. Correct results are possible only with triple testing, which is often not done. The doctor believes that the analysis for worms eggs, if it is carried out three times, is the surest indicator of whether there are worms in children. The negative result of such a survey allows the mother to relax - most likely, with her child, everything is in order.
