The Largest Organisms That Can Enter the Body to Cause Infection Are
Your Guide To Intestinal Parasites: Types, Signs, Treatment, And More
Concluding updated on October vi, 2020
Few medical diagnoses strike fear in people like hearing you lot have a parasite, only information technology happens more often than most think. Parasites are responsible for a range of different illnesses in the world, including in the U.S., and they're not just of the tapeworm diverseness. But, while having a parasite can be scary, there are proven ways to care for well-nigh forms. Here's everything you demand to know.
What are parasites?
At its core, a parasite is an organism that lives on or in a host organism and gets it food from or at the expense of its host. "Anyone can get a parasite but, in the U.S., parasites are mostly neglected diseases occurring in marginalized populations," says Purnima Bhanot, Ph.D., an acquaintance professor of microbiology at Rutgers New Jersey Medical Schoolhouse. That doesn't mean others are immune, though, she says.
While parasites similar tapeworms get a lot of attention, there is actually a broad range of these organisms that tin can cause a variety of illnesses. "They're all going to crusade different symptoms," says Amesh A. Adalja, M.D., senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Middle for Wellness Security. The word "parasite" is really an umbrella term for many dissimilar organisms, but in that location are three main classes parasites that causes disease in humans can autumn into:
Protozoa
Protozoa are one-celled organisms that can live on their own or exist parasites. Just a single organism can multiple in your body and cause serious infection. Protozoa can live in your intestine, blood, tissue, or other areas of your body. More common protozoan infections include Giardia, Plasmodium, and Cryptosporidium.
Helminths
Helminths (which get their name from the Greek give-and-take for worms) are usually the parasites that go the nigh attention. These are big, multicellular organisms that you can actually see in their adult stages. In one case they reach adulthood, they can't multiply in your trunk. Tapeworms, thorny-headed worms, and roundworms are all helminths.
Ectoparasites
Ectoparasites are organisms that feed off your blood. They typically attach or burrow into the skin and stay there for weeks to months. Ticks, fleas, lice, and mites are ectoparasites.
How exercise you become parasites?
It really depends. "In that location are multiple ways of getting a parasite," says Andres Romero, M.D., an infectious affliction specialist at Providence Saint John'southward Health Centre in Santa Monica, California. You can get a parasite from eating raw foods (including sushi), walking barefoot over an infected area, or even cleaning out your cat'south litter box, Romero says. And there are many other ways of contracting a parasite.
Once a parasite gets into your body, it can manifest in a number of dissimilar means. Some, like cryptosporidium, can settle into your pocket-sized intestine and cause watery diarrhea, while others, like malaria, enter your bloodstream, causing fever, chills, trunk aches, and an enlarged liver.
Symptoms of intestinal parasites
Abdominal parasites tend to get the most attending, and with skilful reason: They can crusade some pretty intense symptoms:
1. Digestive issues
By nature, abdominal parasites take root in your gastrointestinal (GI) tract. "That's going to cause your immune system to react and yous're going to get different symptoms based on the organism," Adalja says. Watery diarrhea, bloody diarrhea, bloating, gas, and constipation tin all be symptoms of parasites, he says.
two. Chronic fatigue, burnout
A parasitic infection can be hard on your torso, and that can lead to feelings of fatigue and exhaustion, Bhanot. Only certain intestinal parasites, like Giardia, can actually cause chronic fatigue syndrome—causing deficiencies and malabsorption of certain nutrients like iron and B12.
3. Peel issues
Unexplained rashes, hives, rosacea, or eczema can be a result of an abdominal parasitic infection, Romero says. The machinery backside it is a little complex: Abdominal parasites can stimulate the production of immunoglobulin E (IgE), antibodies made by your immune system. That can and then produce allergic reactions in your body, including skin problems, Romero says.
4. Aching/hurting in muscles & joints
Some intestinal parasites tin can piece of work your way into your muscles, causing aches and pains, Romero says. "Information technology can affect the musculus because it'southward actually in there," he explains. Trichinosis, which is caused past a type of roundworm, is one of them. You can go trichinosis past eating undercooked meat.
5. Anemia
Sure infections caused by hookworms and whipworms can crusade blood loss, leading to iron-deficiency anemia. The worms really feed on your blood, causing the anemia, Adalja says.
half dozen. Feeling unsatisfied later on a repast
People always joke about how they must accept an intestinal parasite if they feel hungry all the time, but this tin can be a real symptom of an infection. Tapeworms, for case, hatch in the stomach and feed on what you eat, Romero says.
7. Itchiness
The release of IgE in your body after contracting a parasite infection can cause itching, but specific parasites like pinworms tin can crusade localized itching, Romero says. (With pinworms, you'll probable experience itching around your anus, he says.)
viii. Cough
Some intestinal parasites similar the worm Ascaris can move through your body, Romero says. That includes relocating to your chest, where it tin cause a cough.
9. Bloating
An intestinal parasite can crusade extra gas to build up in your GI tract, leading to bloating. The parasite giardia can cause this, forth with a distended stomach.
10. No symptoms at all
It'southward entirely possible to have a parasite and have no symptoms, Bhanot says. People infected with the parasitic worm Ascaris, for example, usually have no symptoms.
How to examination for a parasite
If you lot suspect y'all have a parasite, it's important to talk to your doctor. Your medical provider will need to test yous to confirm that yous do, in fact, take a parasite and to effort to make up one's mind what it is. There are a few different means to test for a parasite:
Comprehensive stool test
A stool test involves taking a sample of your stool and analyzing it for the presence of a parasite. Your doctor will probably give you specific instructions, but the Centers for Affliction Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends collecting your stool in a dry, clean, leak-proof container and giving it to your doc. (You will likely need to requite at to the lowest degree three different stool samples, taken on dissimilar days.) Your doctor will then transport the samples to a lab for testing.
Endoscopy and colonoscopy
An endoscopy is a procedure where a tube is inserted into your mouth to examine your intestine. A colonoscopy is similar, but the tube is inserted into your rectum. These tests look for the presence of a parasite in your GI tract.
Claret test
Some parasites can be detected through a blood test that looks for a specific infection. Note: There isn't a universal test for all parasitic infections—your physician will test for a specific one they may suspect that yous have. Your doctor may order either a serology test to await for antibodies or parasite antigens in your claret, or a blood smear (which analyzes a drop of blood nether a microscope).
How to get rid of the parasite
Once your diagnosis is confirmed, your medico will recommend a handling plan to assistance. Every parasite is slightly unlike, only anti-parasitic medications like albendazole, mebendazole, or pyrantel pamoate are frequently used, Adalja says.
From at that place, your doctor volition likely recommend that you consume foods that are loftier in fiber, which Romero says can help clear parasitic worms out of your body. Information technology may also be helpful to eat stale papaya seeds and dear. An older, small study published in the Journal of Medicinal Nutrient institute that children in Nigeria with intestinal parasites who ate an elixir of dried papaya seeds and honey had their stools cleared of parasites when they were tested seven days later.
Probiotics tin also be used to help heave your digestive tract, Romero says.
Ultimately, every parasitic infection is slightly different, and each can cause a variety of symptoms. Whether you're traveling or shut to abode, experts recommend being wary of uncooked or undercooked meats and washing your hands well with soap and h2o before handling food to lower your risk of contracting an infection. And, of class, if you suspect you may have a parasitic infection, call your doctor.
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