You may host a parasite now. Here is how you say

There are more parasites than any other living being on the face of the earth – which is one of the reasons that Emite Jolie finds common creatures, but they are wonderful. “This is the most successful forms of life,” says Jolie, a professor of biology at Kis Western University. People often assume that honor will go to insects, but “the truth is that every insect you find is floating with something.”

Sometimes, humans also. Almost 850 species From parasites is known to be injured people. Some, such as the deadly plastic parasite that causes malaria, is known. Others fly more under the radar.

We asked Jolly and other experts about how to transfer parasites, what it seems infected, and what you can do to protect yourself.

How people get parasites?

Parasites really rise to their name. “They take something from the host but they are not returning anything,” says Bobby Brett, professor of laboratory and pathology and head of the Mayo Clinic clinical microbiology department. While some cause a serious disease that is likely to threaten life, others are not harmful, and people do not always realize that they are infected. Take the flat tapeworm that resembles the tape, which absorbs your nutrients in an infiltrated manner: “You may not even know that you have a young worm until part of it comes out [in your stool]”Of course, this is usually painful and very frightening, but even this point, he is just a passenger inside, and you may not know that he is.”

The parasites are the most common in tropical and semi -tropical parts of the world, such as sub -Saharan Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. Brett says, it flourishes in areas with weak and clean sewage, and people can develop in a variety of ways, including through insect bites, drinking unclean water or eating uncooked meat or vegetables, by sexual contact, and walking barefoot on the sand or polluted soil.

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Parasites are less common in the United States than developing countries. “This is due to interventions over the years such as safe water, urban toilets and clean toilets, and the fact that we do not necessarily walk barefoot in areas where snails and worms can be,” says Dr. Alfredo Mina Laura, head of the medicine department at St. Anthony Hospital in Chicago and an infectious disease expert. “Climate, Health – All of these things help reduce parasitic infections in the United States”, however, still there Millions of new infections In the United States of the year.

Many of these infections can be easily treated with anti -submarine medications. However, some suffer from hidden symptoms that they are often not diagnosed, says Mina Laura.

A closer look at parasites

Here is what to know about a few parasitic experts see human population.

Toxoplasma

If you have a cat, you may have heard that pregnant women should not clean garbage boxes. This is due to the risk of infection with Xoplasm, an infection caused Toxoplasma GundiWhich is transmitted through cat stools. “This may be one of the most reproductive parasites in terms of its ability to infect many different things,” says Jolie. Most parasites only affect a small group of species, however Tokabsma Gondi Cats, humans, birds, livestock, rodents and other mammals can strike.

Research indicates 30 % to 50 % of people around the world have had this parasite. Most people do not suffer from any noticeable symptoms, but for those who suffer from weakening of the immune system as well as pregnant women, it is a different story: infection a reason The fetus has complications such as blindness, epilepsy, anemia, damaged brain tissue.

In addition, some small studies indicate that the toxi disease can affect the human personality, and make people More vulnerable to Intermittent explosive disorder and increased aggression, probably To get car accidents, and More sexually.

Tapeworms

Brunette infections have decreased dramatically in the United States, but they still occur, mainly when people eat raw or unprofitable meat Taenia Sipinata (beef worm) or Taenia Solium (Pigromatic meat tapeworm). Once the larvae enter your intestine, they turn into large worms with many small parts that expand and grow in your stomach. “When you eat, they eat,” says Jolie.

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People often do not realize that they have beef worm, although they may suffer from some moderate abdominal symptoms or lose weight. But the tapeworm pork can lead to bladder disease, which occurs when the larvae migrate outside the intestine, which affects the brain and eyes. This can lead to episodes, headache, confusion, and other neurological issues, which are usually treated either anti -submarine medications or even surgery for the abscesses related to the worms in the eyes.

Giardia

Years ago, before the parasite expert he was today, Jolie made a mistake for amateurs: he remembers that he tends forward to drink some crystal mountain water that rains in front of him from a waterfall in the Yosemite National Park. “I was thinking,” Look at what extent – this may be the perfect drinking water, “he says.

Julie’s height certainly would have taken an unpleasant turn. The Giardia – often explains “beaver fever” because it can spread through rodent stools – severe diarrhea, stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting, bloating, dryness, and irritation. When the parasites invade the intestine, they can rapidly multiply, add, cover the lining of the entire stomach wall.

Spinal worms

Formative worms are ancient parasites that still appear in the United States, especially in the south. People are often injured when they walk barefoot and step on animal or human stools full of larvae that dug in their skin. (There is another reason to always wear shoes). “What is happening is that the soft worm is waiting for a host in the sand,” says Jolie. “Once they are exposed to the skin, they pass directly to the circulatory system, until they find the way to the intestine, where they enter and put their heads and produce offspring.”

This does not mean, however, that you end up with more linear worms: Usworm eggs usually pass through your stool. “If you have seven worms, you have seven tie worms,” says Jolie. “It will not end 17,000, unlike many of these single organisms, such as Giardia.” Unless you have a large group of linear worms – which lives for six to 10 years – there is a good opportunity because you will never know that you are infected, as mild infections are without symptoms. In more severe cases, worms can cause stomach problems, anemia and fatigue.

Dabus worm

These parasitic white worms come out directly from a nightmare: they come to life while the person who hit them asleep, and comes out of the intestinal canal to lay eggs on the skin around the anus before crawling again. “You will see these young children, and they will just curse their heels on the ground” – a sign of infection.

Jolie says that the worms are very infectious, and often, when one person in the family has a parasite, it usually becomes a “family relationship”. As you may imagine, those who suffer from injury are often suffering from psychological distress. He says: “You are here every night, and these things crawl inside and exit from the anus.” “You are worried and you are tired, you cannot go to sleep, and start waking up – people become worried, a lot.”

Although anti -diver medications can be killed from the pinworms, it is also important to completely clean all linens, such as bed leaf and towels, if they are injured, since eggs can live on surfaces for up to three weeks.

How to protect yourself from parasites

You can take certain steps to reduce your chances of becoming an unintended host for one of these bad guys. The basic hygiene is the key, says Mina Laura. Wash your hands with soap regularly, use an insect repellent, always wear shoes outside, and make sure to cook your food well.