WORMS; WHERE DO THEY FALL IN OUR SYSTEM?

In my early years on earth, growing up, the issue of worms and deworming was a common thing. Virtually every child in the neighbourhood had his/her own issue to deal with. We were almost all affected.

But after my first and second year in Med school, in all my basic anatomy and physiology classes, it was just as if the word 'worms' was missing in every lecturer's dictionary, nobody mentioned it, not even once.

I began to wonder; then where do those worms belong? Where have they come from? These questions are what have led to putting down this write-up.

First of all, especially for parents, it is pertinent to know that worms are NOT an integral part of the human system. This fact needs to be established before we proceed. Your child having worms IS NOT a normal thing, as most parents have been made to believe.

WHAT ARE THESE WORMS AND WHERE DO THEY COME FROM?

Those worms belong to a group of parasites known as Helminths. These parasites include tapeworms, flukes, and roundworms. The most common of them are roundworms. They often live in the gastrointestinal tract of their hosts, but may also burrow into other organs, where they induce physiological damage.

The condition of been infected with worms, in medical terminology, is known as HELMINTHIASIS, or HELMINTH INFECTION.

HOW ARE HELMINTHS TRANSMITTED?

Helminths are transmitted to the final host (humans) in several ways:

#1: The most common is through ingestion of contaminated vegetables, drinking water and raw or undercooked meat and fish.

• Contaminated food may contain eggs of these worms. These eggs get into the human system and complete their life cycle.

• Raw or undercooked meats are the major sources of these infections.

#2: Some of these worms e.g Hookworms can directly penetrate the skin.

#3: Some are transmitted by mosquitoes and flies.

#4: In the developing world contaminated water is the major risk factor of infection.

#5: Infection can also take place by mistake when people eat soil on purpose - a practice called geophagy which is common in some parts of Africa. The soil is eaten for example by pregnant women to counteract a real or perceived deficiency of minerals in the diet.

As I would love to really keep this write-up short to avoid long reading, I'd be stopping here. But this is not all. If you'd love to find out more, then read here: THE HEALTH IMPACTS OF WORMS ON YOUR SYSTEM

#STAYHEALTHY #STAYSAFE

Medicalmattaz say so.