Parasites in children and adults. How to deal with parasites? What tests should be performed?

Despite improved hygiene and increased food control, parasites still occur in children and adults. Parasitic diseases are usually attributed to young children. During the summer, children most often spend time in sandboxes or on beaches, places where animals also frequent. While dogs usually accompany their owners and can be expected to be regularly dewormed, feral cats pose a greater problem, as they treat sandboxes as convenient litter boxes. From there, it's only a short step to parasitic infections in children, and later, in adults. Parasitic diseases initially show no symptoms and can go unnoticed for a long time, but this problem should not be overlooked.

Pinworms – the most common parasite in children

Adult pinworms live in the final section of the small intestine and the large intestine. Depending on the severity of the infection, pinworms can cause symptoms such as loss of appetite and abdominal pain, nausea, irritability, sleep disturbances, itching around the anus, and inflammation of the vulva and vagina if eggs are laid in these areas.

To detect pinworms, a stool test is performed. The recommended method is a stool swab, which is a sample collected from the anus onto a cellophane-coated slide.

Giardiasis – symptoms

Giardiasis is caused by protozoa of the species Lamblia intestinalis /Giardia lamblia/. Giardia reside in the small intestine, as well as in the bile ducts, pancreatic duct, and gallbladder. Giardiasis can cause abdominal pain, nausea, flatulence, recurrent diarrhea, headaches, fatigue, insomnia, and low-grade fever.

Giardia causes digestive disorders, resulting in vitamin deficiencies and protein loss. This leads to malnutrition and impaired physical development in the child.

How to recognize roundworm infection?

Similar symptoms can be observed in the case of ascariasis. Roundworm is a parasite that inhabits the small intestine. Its secretions have a toxic and allergenic effect on humans. Large numbers of roundworms can even lead to intestinal obstruction. The parasites can also penetrate the bile ducts and appendix, causing inflammation. They travel through the bloodstream to the lungs, passing through the liver and heart along the way. They can perforate the walls of the lung alveoli and reach the trachea and throat.

Ascariasis infection can manifest as abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or constipation, rash, itchy skin, headache, and even swelling of the face or hands. This may be accompanied by fever and cough, as the larvae irritate the bronchial epithelium. Such widespread symptoms mean that ascariasis is often diagnosed relatively late, and the resulting changes are so severe that outpatient treatment is insufficient.

Testing for the presence of parasite eggs is performed three times from stool samples collected at intervals of several days.

Toxocariasis is difficult to diagnose

The cause is the atypical symptoms of toxocariasis. Animals, primarily dogs and cats, are carriers of the parasites. Infection occurs after ingesting eggs found in their feces. In humans, Toxocara species cause a disease called larva migrans syndrome. The larvae hatch in the small intestine, penetrate its wall, and spread throughout the body through the bloodstream. They most commonly infect the liver, central nervous system, and eyes.

If you suspect you may be infected with Toxocara nematodes, you should immediately contact your doctor who will refer you for appropriate tests using serological blood tests.

How to avoid parasitic infection

Proper hygiene and preventative measures are essential. Washing your hands thoroughly before eating, after using the restroom, after playing with your dog or cat, and after playing in the sandbox are basic hygiene rules. You should also avoid sharing towels, change underwear and bedding frequently, and keep bathrooms, restrooms, kitchens, and other areas used for food preparation clean. Remember to thoroughly wash fruits and vegetables, especially those eaten raw. If you have dogs and cats, they should be dewormed regularly.

Don't wait for your child to develop symptoms, but try to regularly check for parasites. Especially after the summer, such tests should be absolutely essential. If the test result is positive, everyone in the household should undergo deworming treatment. If you cure your child but don't undergo treatment yourself, everything will return to normal within a few weeks.

Remember, however, that you shouldn't take antiparasitic medications "just in case." The decision to treat your child and other household members should be left to your doctor, who, after reviewing the results of appropriate diagnostic tests, will select the appropriate treatment.

Medical consultation
with doctor Barbara Rusinek,
specialist in family medicine