How Do You Know You Have a Parasite?
Your Guide To Intestinal Parasites: Types, Signs, Treatment, And More
Last updated on Oct 6, 2020
Few medical diagnoses strike fear in people like hearing you have a parasite, simply information technology happens more oft than most think. Parasites are responsible for a range of different illnesses in the globe, including in the U.Due south., and they're not just of the tapeworm diverseness. Merely, while having a parasite tin can be scary, in that location are proven ways to treat near forms. Here's everything yous demand to know.
What are parasites?
At its core, a parasite is an organism that lives on or in a host organism and gets it food from or at the expense of its host. "Anyone can go a parasite simply, in the U.S., parasites are mostly neglected diseases occurring in marginalized populations," says Purnima Bhanot, Ph.D., an acquaintance professor of microbiology at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. That doesn't mean others are immune, though, she says.
While parasites similar tapeworms become a lot of attention, there is actually a wide range of these organisms that tin cause a variety of illnesses. "They're all going to cause unlike symptoms," says Amesh A. Adalja, M.D., senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Middle for Health Security. The word "parasite" is actually an umbrella term for many different organisms, but there are three main classes parasites that causes disease in humans can autumn into:
Protozoa
Protozoa are i-celled organisms that tin live on their own or be parasites. Simply a single organism can multiple in your body and cause serious infection. Protozoa can alive in your intestine, blood, tissue, or other areas of your body. More common protozoan infections include Giardia, Plasmodium, and Cryptosporidium.
Helminths
Helminths (which get their name from the Greek discussion for worms) are usually the parasites that get the about attention. These are big, multicellular organisms that you tin actually see in their adult stages. In one case they accomplish machismo, they tin can't multiply in your trunk. Tapeworms, thorny-headed worms, and roundworms are all helminths.
Ectoparasites
Ectoparasites are organisms that feed off your blood. They typically attach or burrow into the skin and stay there for weeks to months. Ticks, fleas, lice, and mites are ectoparasites.
How do you lot get parasites?
It really depends. "There are multiple ways of getting a parasite," says Andres Romero, M.D., an communicable diseases specialist at Providence Saint John's Health Eye in Santa Monica, California. Yous can get a parasite from eating raw foods (including sushi), walking barefoot over an infected surface area, or even cleaning out your cat's litter box, Romero says. And there are many other means of contracting a parasite.
Once a parasite gets into your torso, information technology can manifest in a number of dissimilar means. Some, similar cryptosporidium, tin can settle into your small intestine and cause watery diarrhea, while others, like malaria, enter your bloodstream, causing fever, chills, body aches, and an enlarged liver.
Symptoms of intestinal parasites
Intestinal parasites tend to become the almost attending, and with skilful reason: They can cause some pretty intense symptoms:
1. Digestive problems
Past nature, abdominal parasites take root in your gastrointestinal (GI) tract. "That'due south going to cause your immune system to react and you're going to get unlike symptoms based on the organism," Adalja says. Watery diarrhea, bloody diarrhea, bloating, gas, and constipation tin all be symptoms of parasites, he says.
2. Chronic fatigue, exhaustion
A parasitic infection can be hard on your body, and that tin lead to feelings of fatigue and exhaustion, Bhanot. But certain intestinal parasites, similar Giardia, tin can actually crusade chronic fatigue syndrome—causing deficiencies and malabsorption of certain nutrients like atomic number 26 and B12.
iii. Skin issues
Unexplained rashes, hives, rosacea, or eczema can exist a upshot of an intestinal parasitic infection, Romero says. The mechanism backside it is a little circuitous: Intestinal parasites tin stimulate the production of immunoglobulin E (IgE), antibodies made by your immune organisation. That tin and so produce allergic reactions in your body, including pare problems, Romero says.
4. Aching/pain in muscles & joints
Some intestinal parasites can work your manner into your muscles, causing aches and pains, Romero says. "It tin bear on the muscle considering it's actually in there," he explains. Trichinosis, which is caused by a type of roundworm, is one of them. Yous can go trichinosis by eating undercooked meat.
five. Anemia
Certain infections caused past hookworms and whipworms can cause blood loss, leading to iron-deficiency anemia. The worms really feed on your claret, causing the anemia, Adalja says.
6. Feeling unsatisfied after a meal
People always joke about how they must have an abdominal parasite if they feel hungry all the fourth dimension, only this can be a real symptom of an infection. Tapeworms, for example, hatch in the tummy and feed on what you eat, Romero says.
7. Itchiness
The release of IgE in your body afterward contracting a parasite infection can cause itching, but specific parasites like pinworms can cause localized itching, Romero says. (With pinworms, you'll probable feel itching around your anus, he says.)
8. Cough
Some abdominal parasites like the worm Ascaris can motility through your body, Romero says. That includes relocating to your chest, where it can crusade a cough.
ix. Bloating
An intestinal parasite tin cause extra gas to build up in your GI tract, leading to bloating. The parasite giardia can cause this, along with a distended stomach.
10. No symptoms at all
It'southward entirely possible to take a parasite and have no symptoms, Bhanot says. People infected with the parasitic worm Ascaris, for example, unremarkably have no symptoms.
How to examination for a parasite
If you suspect you have a parasite, it'south important to talk to your doctor. Your medical provider volition need to exam you to ostend that you exercise, in fact, have a parasite and to try to determine what it is. In that location are a few unlike ways to test for a parasite:
Comprehensive stool exam
A stool examination involves taking a sample of your stool and analyzing it for the presence of a parasite. Your doc will probably give you lot specific instructions, but the Centers for Illness Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends collecting your stool in a dry, clean, leak-proof container and giving it to your doctor. (You will likely demand to give at to the lowest degree three different stool samples, taken on different days.) Your doc will then ship the samples to a lab for testing.
Endoscopy and colonoscopy
An endoscopy is a process where a tube is inserted into your oral cavity to examine your intestine. A colonoscopy is like, only the tube is inserted into your rectum. These tests look for the presence of a parasite in your GI tract.
Blood examination
Some parasites can be detected through a blood test that looks for a specific infection. Note: There isn't a universal exam for all parasitic infections—your doctor will test for a specific ane they may suspect that you accept. Your doctor may society either a serology test to look for antibodies or parasite antigens in your blood, or a claret smear (which analyzes a drop of blood under a microscope).
How to get rid of the parasite
Once your diagnosis is confirmed, your doctor will recommend a treatment plan to aid. Every parasite is slightly different, simply anti-parasitic medications like albendazole, mebendazole, or pyrantel pamoate are often used, Adalja says.
From there, your doctor volition probable recommend that you consume foods that are loftier in fiber, which Romero says can help clear parasitic worms out of your body. It may also exist helpful to eat dried papaya seeds and honey. An older, pocket-size study published in the Journal of Medicinal Food institute that children in Nigeria with intestinal parasites who ate an elixir of stale papaya seeds and honey had their stools cleared of parasites when they were tested seven days afterward.
Probiotics can also be used to help boost your digestive tract, Romero says.
Ultimately, every parasitic infection is slightly different, and each can cause a multifariousness of symptoms. Whether you're traveling or close to home, experts recommend existence wary of uncooked or undercooked meats and washing your hands well with soap and water before handling food to lower your risk of contracting an infection. And, of class, if you suspect you may have a parasitic infection, call your md.
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