Symptoms and treatment of ascariasis in children

2023 Author: Alfred Shackley | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-21 13:14

Ascariasis in children is quite common, especially in young children. Unfortunately, modern medicine rarely examines the presence of roundworms in children, and they are detected only with the development of serious complications.

What are roundworms and how does infection occur

Roundworms are parasitic worms that predominantly live in the small intestine, however, they can occur in the liver, sinuses, stomach, trachea, and tear ducts.

The causative agent Ascaris lumbricoides looks like an earthworm, only it has a white-yellow color and a fairly large size, up to 40 cm.

When the eggs of these helminths enter the body, the child becomes infected. The source of infection is a person or animal suffering from worms. The transmission mechanism is fecal-oral.

Often, newborn babies and children under 6 years old are infected with these parasites. Their body has not yet matured and has not developed immunity against them.

Children can get infected anywhere, in kindergarten, on the street, in the yard, in the sandbox, through contact with dirty objects, toys, pets.

Infection also occurs through dirty vegetables and fruits, hands.

Infection stages

Ascaris eggs, getting inside the intestines, subsequently form larvae. The larvae enter the bloodstream, where they grow, feed on erythrocytes and plasma. Further, with the flow of blood, they enter the lungs, bronchi, nasopharynx and return to the small intestine, where they become mature individuals.

Parasites can enter the heart, veins, liver, resulting in the formation of inflammatory infiltrates, they contain a large number of eosinophils. In the intestines, females lay eggs, up to 200 eggs every day. In addition, they emit harmful toxic products of metabolic processes, and these, in turn, provoke poisoning of the body and the appearance of an allergic reaction.

Stages of development of the disease:

1. Migratory (early) - ascaris larvae migrate along the body. They penetrate the lungs and cause slight microbleeding. There are signs of bronchitis - cough, wheezing, fever. Further, they enter the upper respiratory tract and into the small intestine with saliva;
2. Intestinal (late) - ascaris worms penetrate into the intestine, its mucous membrane is destroyed and the body is poisoned with products formed as a result of metabolic processes.

Symptoms and signs of ascariasis in children

From the moment the parasites penetrate inside and until the first symptoms appear, as a rule, it takes 1-2 months. The disease in children develops in stages. The migration period is usually almost invisible. When worms enter the lungs, the child begins to cough, wheeze, as with bronchitis.

Sputum is excreted without bloody discharge. Parents begin to treat their child for a simple viral disease, unaware of the presence of parasites. Along with a cough, allergies can appear in the form of rhinitis, asthma or skin rashes. Lymph nodes, spleen and liver also increase in size.

The late stage is characterized by the following features:

• pale or yellowish skin color;
• frequent appearance of pain in the abdomen;
• weight loss;
• decreased immunity and vitamin deficiency;
• lack of appetite;
• the appearance of attacks of nausea and vomiting, belching, salivation in large quantities;
• loose stools or, conversely, its absence, bloating;
• the presence of worms in the feces;
• sleep problems, teeth grinding during sleep;
• persistent colds and intestinal infections.

If you take a blood test, it will show the presence of a large number of eosinophils and a low level of hemoglobin.

To the question of what to do if a child has roundworms, the answer is simple. If he develops most of the above symptoms and signs, do not delay the visit to the doctor. It is necessary to immediately contact a specialist, take tests and begin a course of treatment in order to remove the parasites.

Diagnostics

To identify the presence of worms, it is necessary to pass a feces analysis (scatological examination). However, the eggs of these helminths can only be found at the intestinal stage. If the stage of the disease is initial, then eggs can be found in sputum and on an x-ray of the lungs. A blood test shows the level of leukocytes and eosinophils. How can you remove roundworms from a child?

How and what to treat roundworm in children, treatment methods

Parasites are not excreted from the body on their own. You can get rid of them only by medication. Depending on the symptoms, treatment of roundworms in children is also prescribed.

The doctor prescribes anthelmintic drugs. An effective medicine for ascariasis for children is Pirantel, Vermox, Dekaris, Medamin, Kombaktrin. Enzyme agents are also prescribed - "Mezim", "Creon", a complex of multivitamins, preparations containing iron and antiallergic agents, such as "Suprastin", "Tavegil".

It is imperative to adhere to a protein diet, limit fat intake. Wash vegetables and fruits more thoroughly. Treatment with herbal preparations, infusions and teas is used as an additional course to the main intake of medications.

If the case is more severe, an antiemetic drug is prescribed. If there are complications, then surgical treatment is required.

You can do oxygen therapy, in which a tube is inserted into the stomach on an empty stomach. If, in addition to worms, pneumonia has developed, then antibiotics and immunomodulators are prescribed.

How can you remove roundworms from a child using folk remedies, effective ways. Traditional medicine can be used as an additional therapeutic technique.

Folk remedies can also remove worms in children.

1. Pumpkin seeds. Crush the seeds in a mortar, pour boiling water over, let cool slightly, add honey. Give to drink on an empty stomach in the morning. Children under two years old are given 50 g of seeds, 3-4 years old - 80 g, preschool and school age - up to 150 g. Three hours after taking the drug, they give magnesium powder, previously diluted in boiled water: 1 g of powder for a year of the baby's life.
2. Herbal decoction. Mix a spoonful of tansy, chamomile, buckthorn bark with two tablespoons of wormwood. Pour one spoonful of raw materials with a glass of boiling water. Put on fire for 20 minutes, then let cool and strain. Give 1/4 cup twice a day.
3. Infusion of tansy. Pour 200 ml of boiling water over three tablespoons of raw materials and leave for an hour. Strain and spoon 3-4 times a day. You can take 6 tablespoons of the herb, mix with honey and give a small spoon in the morning, at lunchtime and in the evening. Seize with a few cloves of garlic. The course of treatment is a week. A few days after the beginning of the course of treatment, an enema is given at night.
4. Cabbage juice. Wash the cabbage leaves, squeeze out the juice and give 1/4 cup each on an empty stomach in the morning.
5. Carrot juice. Squeeze the juice from fresh carrots, and give a few spoons twice a day.

Treatment with folk remedies has a positive effect in conjunction with medicines and dietary nutrition.

What complications can there be?

A large number of parasites in the small intestine can provoke the development of intestinal obstruction. As a result of its development, pain in the abdomen, attacks of nausea and vomiting appear. If you do not provide medical assistance in time, the intestinal wall can rupture, and this threatens with peritonitis, that is, inflammation of the abdominal cavity.

Parasites can enter the bile ducts and block them, causing the development of jaundice. If penetrated into the appendix, it will become inflamed. If you vomit, they can enter the airways and cause asthma attacks.

Prevention measures

The first thing to observe is personal hygiene. Wash hands for children after the street and always use soap. Vegetables and fruits should be washed more thoroughly.

Make sure that your baby on the street does not take hands and foreign objects in his mouth, does not bite his nails. Do not let him drink raw water.

Regularly wash the toilet, clean the playgrounds from animal feces. It is better to place playgrounds for children in sunny places, because the eggs of parasites die under the influence of ultraviolet radiation.

Ascariasis is a fairly common disease, especially in children. It is associated with the penetration of parasites into the small intestine. It gives a lot of unpleasant moments and causes discomfort.

It is revealed during examination and testing. Drug treatment in conjunction with traditional medicine gives high efficiency and gets rid of these parasites for a long time or forever.