Human Intestinal Parasites – Taking it Toll in its Host’s Digestive Tract

Our digestive tract is an important element in order for our bodies to function well. But if it is attacked by harmful organism, it would be detrimental to our health. And because here is where we digest the food we eat, the digestive tract is the perfect ground to harbor parasites.

Human intestinal parasites may not be as deadly as the other parasites that can infect the human body, but it still has a harmful effect to our bodies. It’s like killing its host slowly, taking away the nutrients from it bit by bit. Here are some of them.

Often referred to as threadworms or seatworms, pinworms are one of the most prevalent parasites in the world, infecting mostly children. Measuring at half an inch, they infect the human host the moment they accidentally ingest its eggs. Symptoms like irritation in the anus and vagina start to appear between two and four weeks after ingestion, just about the time when female pinworms lay close to 15,000 eggs in just a single day.

Coccida, on the other hand, are parasites that have only a single cell and mainly cause diarrhea. Only a few strain of this organism are actually infectious to people. Signs of infection usually appear only after seven days, although most people do not experience any symptom from the infection. Vomiting, nausea, abdominal pain, weight loss and watery diarrhea are just some of its symptoms. There are no known treat for this parasitic infection but patients are advised to drink lots of water to prevent the onset of dehydration.

A unique type of worm, strongyloides stercoralis have to distinctive life cycles. One is the free-living, which reproduce in the soil and can survive without a host. The other is the parasitic, which infects human through direct contact with the soil containing the worm’s larvae. These larvae can penetrate the skin and can find its way to the small intestine where it will wreak havoc. Most people who are infected display no symptoms at all, unless the case is already severe. Blood tests and stool examination are used to diagnose the infection.