Parasites(from the Greek parasitos - parasite, parasite) - lower plant organisms and animals that live outside or inside another organism (host) and feed at its expense.
Parasitesarose during the process of historical development of organisms from free forms.
Their adaptation to certain living conditions led to a simplification of their organization, the development of special attachment organs, increased development of genitals and anoxybiotic respiration, which allows existing in an oxygen-free environment.
Many parasites include:
- helminths;
- mushrooms;
- viruses;
- protozoa;
- worms;
- shellfish;
- arachnids;
- insects.
Hosts of parasites can be:
- bacteria;
- protozoa;
- plants;
- animals;
- Human.
Parasites go through a complex development cycle: they sometimes 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
According to their distribution, parasites are divided into:
- Omnipresent- found everywhere.
- Tropical- common in tropical climatic zones.
According to biological and epidemiological characteristics, parasitoses 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.
- Biohelminthsis a disease in which the cycle of biological development of a parasite (helminths) necessarily takes place in the body of living beings other than humans.There are final hosts, in whose body the helminths develop to the stage of sexual maturity, as well as intermediate hosts, in which the parasite is in the larval stage or reproduces non-sexually.Humans are often the final host, less often the intermediate host.
- Contact helminthiasis- a disease in which mature or almost mature parasites are released from the human body, as a result of which it is possible to infect another person or re-infect him (autoinfestation, re-infestation).
Depending on the location of the parasite in the human body:
- Luminal parasites- living in the intestinal cavity and other cavities of the human body (for example, roundworms, tapeworms).
- Tissue parasites- living in the tissues of the human body (schistomatosis, echinococcosis).
Depending on the place of residence of the owner (person):
- External parasites(mosquitoes, horseflies, leeches, lice).
- Internal parasites(helminthiasis):
- roundworms (nematodes - roundworms, wireworms, whipworms, pinworms, strongyloides, hookworms, trichinella);
- flatworms:
- trematodes (cat fluke (opisthorchid), clonorchid, fasciola, schistosome);
- cestodes (tapeworms - bovine and porcine tapeworms, dwarf tapeworm, large tapeworm, echinococcus).
- Bacteriosis(leptospira, staphylococcus, streptococcus, shigella).
- Protozoa or protozoa(amoeba, lamblia, trichomonas, often hosts of chlamydia and the AIDS virus).
- Mycoses(fungal diseases) - candida, cryptococcus, penicillium.
How parasites enter the human body
You can become infected with parasitosis not only from dirty hands.Animal fur carries eggs of worms (roundworms and toxocara), Giardia.
Pinworm eggs falling from wool remain viable for up to 6 months and enter the food pipe through dust, toys, carpets, underwear, bedding and hands.
Dogwith wet breath it disperses eggs over a distance of up to 5 meters (a cat - up to 3 meters).
Bulletsdogs also carry worm eggs.Ascaris eggs enter the human body through poorly washed vegetables, fruits, berries, herbs, through dirty hands and are also spread by flies.
And poorly prepared homemade kebab or lard is a route to infection with trichinosis;poorly salted fish, caviar or “stroganina” - opisthorchiasis and tapeworm.
So, parasites enter the human body in several ways:
- nutritional(by contaminated food, water, dirty hands);
- household contact(through household items, infected family members, pets);
- gearbox(via bloodsucking insects);
- percutaneous,or active (in which the larva enters 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 change the immune response of the host organism (a state of immunodeficiency appears, conditions are created for the penetration of pathogens from the outside, as well as for “disinhibition” of internal foci of infection);
- Many types of helminths, when entering the digestive tract, secrete antienzymes, which saves them from death;the digestive process is disrupted, 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, leading to an increase in the heterogeneous population, that is, parasites become less vulnerable;
- lack of immunoprophylaxis methods, because the immune response is weak and unstable;
- wide distribution of helminths, numerous habitats (water, soil, air, plants and animals).
Epidemiology of parasitoses
Due to increasing migration processes, the diversity of helminths parasitizing the human body increases significantly.Currently, 70 species of parasites are common out of more than 260 existing.There is a tendency to increase infections with enterobiasis, giardiasis, toxocariasis, opisthorchiasis, diphyllobothriasis, tenidosis and echinococcosis.In countries of Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America, schistosomiasis and filariasis are common.
“Healthy” people…Many people leading healthy lifestyles experience health problems due to the presence of parasites in the body.Improving the health of the body (proper nutrition, physical 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: the brain, heart, lungs, liver, kidneys.
Cause of many diseases
During their life, helminths secrete special substances - toxoids, which are powerful poisons and allergens.Parasitoses (protozoa, fungi and helminths) are the cause of 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, skin problems, headaches, appetite disturbances, decreased immunity - these may be signs of current parasitosis.
If left untreated...When parasites stay in the human body for a long time, the immune system suffers greatly.In the process of constant struggle against foreign antibodies, we end up with exhaustion, that is, with the development of secondary immunodeficiency.
Parasitosis causes:
- hypovitaminosis and depletion of trace elements: potassium, copper, manganese, selenium, zinc, magnesium, silicon;
- to hematopoietic disorders;
- hormonal imbalance;
- vascular permeability is impaired;
- The body’s anti-cancer defenses suffer.
How were you saved before?For thousands of years, humans, consuming 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 vegetables and fruits, thermal and industrial processing have led to a reduction in the consumption of phytoncides and natural antibiotics.As a result, humans have become easy prey for many microorganisms.The intensive development of the pharmaceutical industry producing antibiotics has led to a decrease in antiparasitic immunity.
Traditional medicine to eliminate parasites from the human body
Synthetic anthelmintic drugs have their advantages and disadvantages.There are three main negative factors:
- often they only affect the gastrointestinal forms of the parasites;
- very toxic to the human body;
- cause many undesirable reactions.
Science does not stand still!Intensive scientific research into the antibiotic properties of plants is being carried out all over the world.In terms of effectiveness, they are not inferior to synthetic antibiotics, but do not cause side effects characteristic of synthesized drugs.The healing components of plants are complex natural phytoncidal complexes that can rid the human body of many parasites at different 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 body.Since treatment with chemical drugs has a negative effect on the body, herbal products are the optimal solution to the problem of combating parasitosis.