What are intestinal worms?
Worms are parasites that attack the human body, have the ability to live and absorb nutrients from their hosts, usually in the intestinal tract. Most cases of helminth infection occur in humid tropics or developing countries because food and water sources are easily contaminated. In Vietnam, some of the common intestinal worms are roundworms, whipworms, hookworms and pinworms.
Common symptoms of intestinal worms include:
– Stomach ache
– Diarrhea
– Nausea or vomiting
– Stomach bloating and bloating
– Tired
– Lose weight for no apparent reason
– Dysentery
However, there are also many people who have been infected with worms for years without showing any symptoms.
Illustration.
Causes of worms:
– Eat undercooked food from worm-infected animals
– Use of contaminated water
– Living in polluted land
– Exposure to contaminated feces
– The toilet is not clean.
Worm risk factors:
Children are especially susceptible to intestinal worm infections because they often play in environments with contaminated soil, such as litter boxes and school playgrounds. Older adults are also at higher risk of developing the disease because of a weakened immune system.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), an estimated 24% of the world’s population is infected with earthworms. Infection is most common in tropical and subtropical regions, particularly sub-Saharan Africa, the Americas, China and East Asia.
Possible complications of intestinal worm infection:
Worms increase the risk of anemia and intestinal obstruction, as well as malnutrition. Complications are more common in older adults and people with weakened immune systems, such as people with HIV/AIDS.
Intestinal infections may pose a higher risk for pregnant women. If you are pregnant and it is known that you have intestinal worm infection, your doctor will determine which antiparasitic therapy is safe to use and will monitor you closely during your treatment.
How to prevent intestinal worm infection:
– Wash your hands often with soap or hand sanitizer, especially before eating, before preparing food and after using the toilet.
– Avoid eating raw food, raw food of unknown origin.
– Cook meat to at least 63 degrees C for whole cuts and at least 71 degrees C for ground beef or poultry, allowing meat to cook for 3 minutes before serving.
– Wash, peel fruit, cook vegetables before eating.
– When going to areas with high risk of contamination, avoid eating raw food, always eat cooked food and boiled water.
How to treat intestinal worm infection
Most worms cause only mild symptoms and are not life-threatening. As long as it is detected early, the treatment of intestinal worms is easy and simple by taking several drugs. However, you should see your doctor if you notice any of the following symptoms:
– There is blood or pus in the stool
– frequent vomiting
– High body temperature, fever
– Extreme fatigue and dehydration
– Nausea, diarrhea and abdominal pain for more than 2 weeks
– Losing a lot of weight for no apparent reason
A red, itchy rash on the skin that looks like a worm.
Worms can be removed by taking deworming medicine. Illustration.
What kind of worm medicine?
Dewormers or dewormers include drugs that contain active ingredients that kill parasitic worms and worms in the intestinal tract. The mechanism of action of these drugs usually prevents the worms from using a nutrient source that kills or incapacitates them. For example:
– Mebendazole, albendazole, thiabendazole: Prevents worms from absorbing sugars necessary for survival and development. However, this drug only kills the adult worms, not the eggs.
– Praziquantel, pyratel, ivermectin: Paralyzes worms in the intestinal tract, so the body easily expels these parasites from the intestine through feces.
According to the guidelines for the treatment of worms in the community, the Ministry of Health, there are 2 types of worm medicine used, namely Albendazole or Mebendazole. Accordingly, the target audience is 12 months and over and is contraindicated for:
– People suffering from acute illness with fever above 38ºC.
– People with some chronic diseases such as kidney failure, heart failure, liver failure, bronchial asthma.
– People with a history of allergies to medicinal ingredients.
– Pregnant women in the first 3 months, lactating women and children under 12 months.
Reasonable frequency of deworming:
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends deworming as an important preventive measure, especially in high-risk subjects, in addition to environmental sanitation, food safety and fish hygiene measures.
Children:
– Deworming is recommended once/year or twice/year for all children aged 12-23 months; pre-school children 1-4 years old; school children aged 5-12 years (perhaps up to 14 years) in areas where the prevalence of helminthiasis in children is more than 20%.
– Frequency of 2 times / year is recommended for areas where the prevalence of worm infection in children is more than 50%.
– The dose for children under 24 months is Albendazole 200mg/time.
– The recommended dose for other subjects is Albendazole (Zentel) 400mg/time and Mebendazole (Fugacar) 500mg/time.
Non-pregnant women and women of childbearing age:
– Deworming is recommended once/year or twice/year for all young women who are not pregnant and women of childbearing age in areas where the prevalence of helminthiasis in this group is greater than 20%. .
– Frequency of 2 times/year is recommended for areas where the prevalence of helminthiasis in young women who are not pregnant and women of childbearing age is more than 50%.
– The recommended dose is Albendazole 400mg/time and Mebendazole 500mg/time.
Pregnant women:
– Giving a single dose of deworming medicine is recommended for pregnant women after the first trimester of pregnancy in areas with a prevalence of helminthiasis or T. trichiura (hair worms) greater than 20% or in areas with a prevalence of anemia in women, pregnancies of more than 20%.
– The recommended dose is Albendazole 400mg and Mebedazole 500mg single dose.
Other objects:
– It is recommended to deworm every year or every 2 years.
The recommended dose is a single dose of Albendazole 400mg and Mebendazole 500mg.
When to take deworming medicine?
Deworming today does not need to be taken after fasting or used as an enema (laxative) as it used to be. You can take the drug at any time of the day after eating, it is best to take it 2 hours after dinner.
For small children, you should crush the tablet and mix it with water for the child to drink. To increase effectiveness, you should also chew the tablet before taking it with water. After taking the medicine, you can still eat and drink as usual.
How long does deworming take to work?
Once taken, the medicine will begin to be absorbed and work immediately, but it may take a few days to kill all the worms. If you are prescribed deworming by a doctor, use the correct dose and time as directed.
Albendazole and Mebendazole do not kill eggs, so there is still a risk of you being re-infected or passing them on to others. Therefore, to ensure effective deworming and prevent recurrence, you should take additional doses of the drug after 2 weeks.
Can taking deworming medicine get rid of worms?
Usually, after taking the medicine for a few hours or a few days, you will feel the urge to pass stool to expel the worms in the stool. Deworming beforehand removes dead or whole worms, so you can see worms in the stool. But now, the new drugs all work to make the worms dissolve in the stool, so you won’t have worms again after taking deworming.
at Blogtuan.info – Source: Eva.vn – Read the original article here
