Symptoms and treatment of worms in the eyes

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

Helminthiasis is a fairly common phenomenon, but worms are quite rare in the eyes. Their appearance in the organs of vision is a dangerous condition that requires a very serious approach to the problem.

Can there be worms outside the intestines, including colonization in the eyes?

As a rule, worms (helminths), when ingested, settle in the intestines, but in search of favorable conditions, they can move through other organs and tissues. Cases of parasite damage to the lungs, liver, blood and brain have been recorded.

Female helminths lay on average up to 20 thousand eggs per day. Accordingly, their population is growing, which makes them leave their usual place of localization and look for food in other organs / tissues. There are many capillaries in the eyes, and from the blood the worms receive the nutrition they need. In addition, they can almost freely get to the organs of vision.

Can the eggs of worms or adults be seen with the naked eye?

If helminths are localized inside the body, even in the organs of vision, then they cannot be seen. If the eyelids are damaged, having familiarized themselves with the symptoms of helminthic invasion, one can suspect the presence of a parasite if it moves directly under the skin.

Some helminths, which will be discussed further, cannot be seen until they are removed from the body through an operation.

Why are worms dangerous in the human body outside the intestines?

Parasites of this kind:

1. violate metabolism;
2. suppress the immune system;
3. contributing to the allergization of the body;
4. damage tissues at the site of their penetration.

As a result, inflammation occurs.

Worms that develop rapidly (echinococcus and cysticercus) form cysts that compress the surrounding tissue. Such neoplasms disrupt the function of the affected organ - liver, brain, eye.

For example, symptoms can manifest itself in decreased vision, liver failure, etc. Parasites can mimic tumor damage to an organ. This situation makes it difficult to make a correct diagnosis.

Symptoms and treatment of worms in the eyes: opisthorchiasis

The disease is provoked by a parasite called opisthorchis - a worm of the fluke family, which most often settles in the biliary tract, liver and pancreas. However, it can migrate to certain parts of the visual organs, affecting the optic nerve.

• The main symptom of the lesion is hemorrhage: the worm damages the choroid with suction cups. Hemorrhages can progress to hemophthalmos - complete filling of the eyeball with blood.
• This disease is highly prevalent in areas located at river mouths. It is related to the fishing industry. For several years, eating contaminated fish, the indigenous people are chronic carriers of the helminth.

In this case, the pathology is of a sluggish nature. Symptoms include:

1. regular inflammation of the iris, eyelids, surrounding tissues;
2. the formation of adhesions;
3. loss of vision later.

A feature of opisthorchiasis is bilateral lesion.

• Treatment of worms of this type in human eyes involves the use of chloxil (up to 10 g of the drug for 2-3 days).
• Also used are choleretic agents (eg holosas, allochol), enzyme agents if the liver is affected, as well as antihistamines.
• Inflammation of the eyelids and membranes of the eye is treated symptomatically. The therapy is selected by an ophthalmologist.

Echinococcal worms in the eyes

This parasite sticks to the mucous membranes with the help of hook suction cups. Its primary habitat is the intestines, but with blood flow, it can migrate to the eyes, liver, lungs, muscles and bones. Parasites can settle in one or more organs at the same time. In the future, echinococcus forms a cyst around itself, in which it lives and reproduces.

The defeat of the eye with this helminth is practically no different from a neoplasm. The growth of the cyst provokes a displacement of the eyeball: the organ protrudes outward (bulging).

1. With gross violations, there is discomfort when closing the eyelids, blinking.
2. The eyelids become thin, distended, and swollen.
3. The mucous membrane becomes dry, which provokes secondary infections, as a result of which there is a high risk of developing conjunctivitis, corneal manifestations.
4. A person senses a foreign object in the eye, double vision occurs.

With the localization of the echinococcal cyst in the lacrimal

gland there is constant lacrimation.

If the parasite settles in the liver, then even an adult is difficult to identify until a certain point.

When the cyst reaches a fairly large size, you can see the first symptoms - changes in the biochemical blood test, as well as:

• Pain at the site of the liver;
• Irritability, nervousness;
• Constant hunger, impaired taste, bad breath;
• Acne, other rashes;
• Disturbances in the work of other organs (stomach, pancreas, lungs).

When the cyst reaches an impressive size, the doctor can easily palpate it. It is worth noting that cyst suppuration is possible. In this case, the symptoms of intoxication are the first to appear: the temperature rises, aches, weakness, headaches, an increase in nearby lymph nodes, a decrease in body weight (over time), sleep disturbances.

How to remove echinococcal worms from the eye?

It is worth noting that it is possible to diagnose an echinococcal cyst only by ultrasound and only if its size is more than 0.5 cm in diameter.

1. Treatment consists in the use of anthelmintic drugs, they also help stop the development of young individuals.
2. Chemotherapy drugs are injected directly into a cyst in the eye or liver. For this, special long and thin needles are used.
3. You can radically cure worms through an operation. Surgical intervention is also used when several organs are damaged at once.

Previously, open operations were performed, which were accompanied by a high risk of suture divergence, suppuration and infection, but now they use more innovative technologies. Operations, as a rule, are performed under the control of an ultrasound machine, and all manipulations are performed through one puncture.

Dirofilariasis in the human body

Helminthic invasion, which is accompanied by the migration of the parasite after penetration under the skin, is called dirofilariasis. As a rule, infection is accompanied by the settlement of only one individual. Infection is associated with mosquito bites.

• The larva of the parasite enters the skin after an insect bite and remains in this state for about 4 weeks.
• After activation, it begins to move at a speed of 10-15 cm in 24 hours.
• Symptoms of intoxication occur only when the parasite dies, suppuration. Chills, nausea, and fever usually appear. The first manifestation of invasion is the movement of the larva. At first, it is visible to the naked eye as a small pimple that mysteriously moves to different parts of the body.
• Quite often, they settle in the area of the visual organs. In the latter case, a painful nodule appears on the eyelid or mucous membrane. If the helminth penetrates deep into the eyeball, then a person may be left without an eye at all.
• Of course, crawling under the skin, the presence of a foreign body is felt. Such parasites can mimic diseases such as lipomas, fibromas, and atheromas.

• The final diagnosis can be made only after the operation, more precisely, directly during it, when the helminth was

  pulled out of the eye.

Ophthalmomyasis: how to identify and remove parasites

This term is understood as a whole group of diseases caused by the fly larva.

1. When the area near the eye is affected, external myiasis can be assumed.
2. If the parasite enters the mucous membrane, where a specific focus of inflammation is formed, they speak of an internal myiasis.

The fly larva looks like a worm. When she moves, there is a sensation of sand in the eyes, vision is noticeably reduced. The larva destroys tissues, contributing to their necrosis. With the progression of the disease, ophthalmomyasis leads to loss of vision.

Treatment of helminthiasis of this kind involves surgical intervention. In addition, it is necessary to take antiparasitic drugs to prevent relapse. Antibiotics, hormonal and anti-inflammatory drugs may be involved.

To completely protect yourself and your loved ones, you need to adhere to some rules: observe hygiene (general, personal), destroy insects (they carry parasite eggs) and use barrier creams and ointments.