From the author: The article is based on many years of personal practice, was already published in a magazine and posted on the Internet, and had a certain resonance. Despite the fact that it is not purely psychological, I hope it will be interesting, because mental and somatic health are inseparable from each other. The topic of parasitosis is traditionally not the most pleasant to discuss: it’s scary to think about yourself, and it’s somehow indecent to talk to strangers about it. So protective myths arise, which seem to free the human brain from unpleasant information. But still, it’s always better to know than not to know. Let’s look at the most common myths. MYTH 1. This doesn’t concern me and my children, we always wash our hands before eating. If you are a neat person, and even teach your children the rules of personal hygiene practically from the cradle, honor praise to you. But if only everything were so simple and regular hand washing before eating could completely protect against parasites! Unfortunately, the statistics are disappointing: every third inhabitant of the planet is infected with one or another parasitosis, and often a combination of two or more types of worms or protozoa. And due to insufficient diagnosis of parasitoses, official statistics often differ significantly from actual figures towards a clear preponderance of the latter. There are a great many options for contracting helminthiases. For example, you can buy parsley or dill from your grandmother at the market (you won’t be able to thoroughly wash each leaf, and even with a special brush, and then rinse it with boiled water), or you can drink freshly squeezed expensive orange juice bought in the supermarket (oranges are far from being washed perfectly before squeezing ). You can have a snack in an inexpensive eatery, where flies are not such a rarity (they can carry hundreds and thousands of helminth eggs on their small legs), or you can visit an expensive elite restaurant, where the new cook accidentally mixed up the cutting boards for fish, meat and bread. You can accidentally drink water contaminated with helminth eggs or protozoan cysts either in a city river or in an expensive water park (commercial interests often dictate the possibility of not requiring a certificate from a helminthologist for visitors to such entertainment and “health” establishments), or you can, without swallowing the water, “earn” parasitosis by swimming in a pond, through contact (and this happens). Various options for infection with parasitosis can be listed for a very long time, this is not the main thing, the main thing is that, unfortunately, no one can be sure that this will not affect him . And yet, washing your hands before eating is necessary, since observing basic hygiene rules greatly increases your level of protection not only from parasitosis, but also from many intestinal infections transmitted by the fecal-oral route. So “Long live scented soap and tooth powder! "Conclusion: no one can be 100% insured against infection with one or another type of parasitosis. MYTH 2. If you take the so-called worm test at a clinic (kindergarten, school) every year and get a negative result, this is an accurate confirmation that "no there are no worms” This is incorrect, in this way 2-3 types of helminthiasis can be diagnosed. For information, there are more than 150 species of helminths in the world, approximately 15-20 species are common in our country, but due to population migration and the opportunity to travel to different countries, this picture is changing towards increasing. Moreover, the reliability of the tests performed is low (for example, stool should be examined warm). Finding the specific titer of antibodies in the blood can be considered more accurate, but this test is also unrealistic to do for all known helminthiases (and such tests are done only according to indications; they are not cheap, at least You can’t do them 1-2 times a year “just to see”, there won’t be enough blood or reagents). There are relative signs of helminthiases. These are signs of chronic intoxication (pallor of the skin, fatigue, irritability, swollen lymph nodes, frequentARVI), and any chronic diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, and complaints of abdominal pain (especially cramping), and complaints of nausea and irregular bowel movements, any allergic manifestations and diseases, as well as skin manifestations, and eosinophilia in the blood. All these signs are not absolute, but should alert both the doctor and the patient himself. Conclusion: the presence of one or two negative tests cannot be a guarantee that a person does not have parasites in his body. MYTH 3. You need to start a health program by taking vitamins and microelements This is not true. First, you need to cleanse your body of parasites, and therefore eliminate vitamin deficiencies and dysmicroelementoses, which appeared not without the direct participation of those same parasites. Otherwise, there is a risk that you are feeding vitamins and microelements not only to yourself, but also to your parasites. Conclusion: it is advisable to start a health program with a well-chosen anthelmintic cleansing. MYTH 4. A person with parasitosis is always thin and pale. This happens often, but not always. This depends on the constitution, the level of immunity, the characteristics of a person’s metabolism, the duration of the disease, the degree of invasion, the type of parasitosis and many other factors. A person affected by parasitosis may well be rosy-cheeked and have 10-20-30 extra kilograms. Conclusion: by appearance one can assume the presence of parasitosis, but cannot be rejected. MYTH 5. If the stomach does not hurt, there are no helminths This is not true. Firstly, protozoa and helminths can parasitize in almost all environments of the body, and not just in the intestines. Secondly, parasitosis often manifests itself as nonspecific signs of general intoxication, because parasites live, sometimes die, secrete toxins, constantly poisoning the body. Of the nonspecific signs of parasitosis, we note the most common: headaches and pain in the joints, a tendency to frequent colds, swollen lymph nodes, increased irritability, fatigue, skin rashes. And finally, thirdly, parasitosis is often hidden under the guise of other diseases, thus introducing thus, misleading both the doctor and the patient. A patient with parasitosis can go for a long time from specialist to specialist, “enriching” his card with new diagnoses of gastritis, duodenitis, cholecystitis and other “itis”, to allergic and neurological diseases. And the diagnoses will most often be correct, but not every specialist will think about the fact that they may be a consequence of parasitosis. Conclusion: firstly, abdominal pain is far from the only sign of parasitosis, and secondly, the stomach with helminthiasis can generally don’t get sick. MYTH 6. Grinding your teeth at night is the surest sign of helminthiasis. (If a person grinds his teeth, it means he is suffering from worms - a popular expression) Grinding of teeth at night is a sign of increased excitability of the central nervous system. The waste products of parasites can have a neurotoxic effect, which explains increased fatigue, irritability and other signs of increased excitability of the central nervous system, including teeth grinding. In addition, there is an opinion that teeth grinding at night is a rudimentary symptom (like animals that sharpen their teeth). Conclusion: teeth grinding can accompany parasitosis, but is not an absolute confirmation of this diagnosis. MYTH 7. Helminthiasis is an exclusively children's problem Yes, children really get sick parasitosis more often than adults. There are many reasons for this, for example, the physiological need of babies to put everything in their mouth. It would seem that this can be dealt with through a ban, but not everything is so simple, and if a child is not allowed to experience the world with the help of tactile and taste sensations, this can cause inhibition of the development of his nervous system. systems. So all that remains is to make sure that the child puts only his thoroughly washed toys in his mouth. And some things would be worth reconsidering: for example, the love of many mothers to “walk” their children in sandboxes (yesterday the cat went to the toilet in the sandbox, and today the baby happily sprinkles himself and his friends with thissand that gets into the mouth, nose, eyes, etc.). In some countries, this issue is resolved simply - there are no sandboxes at all. Love for domestic and even yard animals, manifested by the latter’s kisses, can also lead to infection of children. Also, children are more likely than adults to become infected in ponds and water parks, since they are just learning to swim and swallow water while doing so. A great risk of infection for young children appears when they go to kindergarten (shared toys), for older children - on trips, trips, hikes. This picture from life cannot be criticized: a mother gives her child a banana she just bought on the street, and the child begins to tear off its skin and teeth (in this case, not only “our own, home-grown” worms, but also “foreign, overseas” ones can enter the child’s body). Or another thing: the same person in the school canteen takes money and immediately with the same hands gives a bun to a child (it’s hard to overestimate how much money money can carry!). Conclusion: Parasites more often infect children, but age is not a hindrance for them. A person can become infected at any age, or he can become infected in childhood and then be sick for decades. MYTH 8. Vegetables and fruits from your garden are “clean” One of the most ridiculous but persistent myths. Why do amateur gardeners stubbornly forget that water for watering with a hose comes directly from the nearest river or other public body of water? That not only cats and dogs run between the beds, but also games? Why does a kind mother or grandmother give the child the first apple or pear right in the garden, without even thinking about washing it? Why do people at the market generously offer to try strawberries and are perplexed if the buyer refuses? Most likely, this is explained by a simple misunderstanding. Conclusion: before eating, vegetables and fruits must be thoroughly washed, regardless of whether they were collected on collective farm fields or in your garden. MYTH 9 Domestic cats and dogs are “clean”; you cannot get infected from them. Domestic dogs and cats are carriers of many parasitoses. On the one hand, they can purely mechanically carry helminth eggs on their paws, on the other hand, dogs and cats themselves can get sick and be a source of infection (fecal-oral transmission). But for some reason, many parents find it funny and cute that a 2-3 year old child eats dog food straight out of a bowl and is delighted when their child kisses the dog, and the dog licks him in return. Such stories are even shown on TV in humorous programs, and they take first place in the ratings. There is nothing wrong with loving cats, dogs, as well as birds and other pets, you just need to take precautions and also periodically carry out anthelmintic therapy. Conclusion: love to pets must have limits, including hygienic ones. MYTH 10. Boiled water is dead, and unboiled water (from a tap or well) is alive. Of course, people who talk about living water - raw water, mean folk tales about revivals and healing. and other miracles, naively believing that they too would become rejuvenated and live forever by consuming raw water. But often raw water can really be called “living”, but not in a fairy-tale sense, but in a completely everyday sense - there may be eggs and cysts of parasites. And not always filtering and chlorination of water can protect a person from infection. Conclusion: drinking water must be boiled! By the way, in many European countries it is not customary to use water as a source of microelements, and microelements, like vitamins, are consumed separately, in the form of vitamin-mineral complexes. MYTH 11. Hot food cannot be raw. It goes without saying that undercooked kebab is heavier and therefore more profitable to sell. Naturally, it is much easier to think that the fish should be fried or boiled for 5-10 minutes until its “eyes turn white.” Of course, for some, eating rare meat is a sign of sophistication and high temperament, and ordering a dish of raw meat or fish in a restaurant is simply a sign of belonging, if not to high society, then at least somewhere around that. But it's not worth it.