No one is safe from worms: according to doctors, most of the world's population lives with parasites. But worms cause an even greater problem to small, fragile organisms, that is, children. Of course, the danger for the baby begins from the moment it is in the womb, because an adult can have worms that can easily be passed on to the child. That is why many are interested in the question of how to rid your body of parasites during pregnancy?
Naturally, a pregnant woman should not delay treatment and should begin a course of getting rid of parasites as early as possible. It is necessary to start treatment only after consulting a doctor. During pregnancy, the expectant mother needs to be careful and follow all the specialist’s prescriptions for taking medications, as they can often do more harm than good.
Causes of worms
Almost every person has a parasitic infestation. If the number of worms is minimal, they do not cause any problems, but a sharp increase in the colony is fraught with disturbances in metabolic processes. A strong increase in the number of worms leads to a lack of nutrients and toxic poisoning of the expectant mother’s body.
In pregnant women, worms appear for the following reasons:
- contact with a human host;
- communication with an infected animal;
- eating poorly washed fruits and vegetables;
- addiction to raw river fish, meat dishes without heat treatment;
- swimming in open reservoirs with contaminated water;
- lack of personal hygiene.
It should be understood that it is much more difficult to remove worms from a pregnant woman, so it is better to minimize dishes made from meat and fish without processing. And, of course, you should not eat berries and fruits from the garden or counter.
Pinworms during pregnancy
Pinworms during pregnancy cannot harm either the mother or the child. They cannot cross the placental barrier and do not pose a threat to the fetus. However, a pregnant woman may suffer from intoxication, which develops as a result of the release of parasite waste products.
The danger of pinworms is as follows:
- pinworms during pregnancy can move into the vagina and cause inflammatory diseases of the genital organs;
- unbearable itching can cause damage to the integrity of the skin, which can lead to the penetration of pathogenic bacteria into the body;
- lack of nutrients, vitamins and microelements occurs due to the fault of helminths, which absorb everything that should go to the body of a pregnant woman;
- discomfort during night sleep can lead to chronic fatigue, irritability, restlessness, loss of strength, which negatively affects the general condition of the fetus;
- Having learned that she has a parasitic infection, a pregnant woman experiences permanent anxiety and worry about the health of her unborn child, which leads to nervousness and psycho-emotional stress;
- chronic enterobiasis can become a source of infection for a child during breastfeeding and caring for him.
Symptoms and signs
Every patient who had worms during pregnancy or had a history of the disease in the family knows about the symptoms of infestation. The lack of expression of symptoms dictates its own rules: you should pay attention to the totality of signs. However, even one factor will be enough to see a doctor. Symptoms of infestation:
- upset stomach and loss of appetite for no apparent reason;
- increased strength of toxicosis;
- general malaise, as if poisoned;
- dizziness, severe weakness;
- itching in the anal area.
The most characteristic sign is considered to be redness of the anus, but everyone who had worms during pregnancy knows that the symptom can also indicate a lot of other pathologies. But if, in addition to redness, rashes appear on the skin, other signs are added - this is helminthiasis.
Important! In particularly severe cases, worms during pregnancy can cause sudden changes in body temperature, severe pain in the lower abdomen, and constipation.
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Diagnosis of the disease
Having established the fact of infection with parasites and their type, the doctor will refer the pregnant patient for examination. A stool test and scraping for worm eggs are taken. Hemoglobin and bilirubin levels in the blood provide information about the possibility of invasion.
If infection with roundworms occurs, amniotic fluid is collected for analysis. To assess the negative impact of parasites on the fetus, it is recommended to do an ultrasound examination.
Having received the results of the examinations, the specialist will determine which treatment tactics suitable for pregnant women to choose.
How to treat helminthiasis in pregnant women?
Children's medications for enterobiasis
Doctors disagree about when and how to treat infestations in pregnant women. The first and second trimesters are the most important period in the life of the unborn baby. The brain, organs, and circulatory system are formed. Therefore, many experts suggest delaying the start of deworming as much as possible. However, there is another opinion, not so categorical. It all depends on the patient’s condition: if worms during pregnancy cause a high degree of discomfort, treatment begins immediately after diagnosis.
Here are the reasons why emergency treatment of worms in pregnant women is necessary:
- complicated forms of invasions: ascariasis, enterobiasis, echinococcosis;
- severe course of the disease: severe vomiting, nausea, migraines;
- threat to the mother's life.
In any case, if worms are detected, the doctor himself decides on prescribing a treatment regimen and selects certain medications.
Medications
In the early stages of pregnancy, recommended remedies:
- Piperazine. The drug paralyzes the muscular system of helminths, and they are eliminated naturally. Indicated for ascariasis, enterobiasis, mixed helminthiases.
- Pirantel. A toxic drug prescribed only when the potential risk to the baby’s health is exceeded and other medications are ineffective.
Important! The doctor's prescriptions regarding dosage cannot be changed. This is extremely dangerous for the health of the mother and the unborn baby. When eradicating worms during pregnancy with drugs, the patient should inform the doctor about any changes in well-being. You should also notify the specialist about taking antiparasitic drugs before pregnancy - many medications can only be taken once a year.
If the pregnancy has entered the 3rd trimester, the baby’s organs are formed, the doctor may prescribe stronger drugs. But only if there is a threat of irreversible pathological changes in the fetus. These may be medications such as:
- Nemocid;
- Helminthox;
- Combatrin.
The instructions for medications state: “not during pregnancy.” But if the doctor has prescribed it, you should drink it, strictly observing the dosage. The specialist is obliged to first take samples, assess the type of helminths that caused the disease and prescribe the drug that pregnant women can use against the identified type of worms.
Folk remedies for worms during pregnancy
What causes worms to appear in a person?
If your doctor allows it, you can try alternative treatment options for worms during pregnancy. When thinking about how to get rid of worms during pregnancy, you should remember the individual characteristics of the body and the considerable exaggeration of the effectiveness of some folk recipes.
Important! Any and all methods of treating infestations in pregnant women should be discussed with a doctor.
Recipes on how to get rid of worms during pregnancy:
- Gruel from raw, unpeeled pumpkin seeds in the amount of 2 tbsp. l. every day.
- 0.5 tbsp. freshly squeezed beet juice on an empty stomach for a week. Before drinking, the juice should be left for 1-2 hours in the refrigerator.
- Pomegranate juice 200-300 ml once a day for 14 days.
- Watermelon pulp is recommended for helminthic infestations, but the method is not the best. A large load on the kidneys can lead to negative effects, but if there are no problems, you should eat watermelons in sufficient quantities to “wash” the infestations from the body.
- Lingonberry tea with valerian: prepare the drink from a pharmacy collection of dry herbs according to the instructions.
- Onions, garlic - these foods are natural antiparasitic agents and should be eaten every day.
- Radish is a dangerous product, but it helps to quickly get rid of any type of worms.
- A collection of chamomile and lavender is an excellent tea against parasites.
Important! All recipes should be tried only if there are no allergic reactions. In case of any ailments, stop treatment and consult a doctor.
Traditional medicine
How to treat helminthiasis if a pregnant woman does not want to use any types of pharmaceuticals. In this case, traditional medicine can help, as well as food products that have an anthelmintic effect.
Parasites are afraid of the following types of foods:
There are several ways to treat worms with pumpkin seeds. The simplest one is to eat a handful of raw plant products every morning.
The recipe with honey is prepared in the following way:
A glass of peeled seeds is ground using a coffee grinder. Boiled water is added to the resulting powder to obtain the consistency of liquid sour cream. Add a tablespoon of honey to the resulting mixture and eat it within a couple of hours. After this, after another few hours, you can give an enema.
What is the danger of helminthiases for expectant mothers?
Are worms dangerous during pregnancy? Undoubtedly. Weakened immunity, not receiving enough nutrients, can provoke the development of various pathologies. What are the dangers of worms and worms in pregnant women:
- Increased toxicosis reduces the absorption of nutrients.
- Pinworms irritate the mucous membranes. These worms should be especially wary, since the worms are localized in the small and large intestines and can crawl into the genitals. Severe itching is annoying and interferes with sleep.
- Round parasites can cause necatoriasis and hookworm. Feeding on blood, worms settle in the duodenum and can damage the intestinal walls. Bleeding provokes iron deficiency anemia, which is fraught with pathologies not only for the expectant mother, but also for the baby.
Toxoplasma and roundworms are a huge threat to fetal health. The larvae penetrate the brain, lungs of the unborn baby, and affect the nervous system. Consequences of helminthiasis for mother and her unborn child:
- Risk of premature and difficult birth;
- Pulmonary and bronchial pathologies in the baby;
- Fetal death;
- Epilepsy, schizophrenia in the unborn baby.
It is necessary to get rid of worms during pregnancy! But the attending physician will tell you how to remove worms from a pregnant woman.
Features of treatment of enterobiasis rectally
Although the treatment of enterobiasis does not cause any difficulties, one should remember the toxicity (even for adults) of absolutely all chemical anthelmintic drugs.
And since the majority of pinworm carriers are children, the harm from treatment can be significantly reduced by using a much safer form of anthelmintics - rectal suppositories.
Suppository treatment is safe, well tolerated, but not 100% effective. This method of combating worms gives a positive result in relation to those worms that live in the large intestine - pinworms and roundworms.
Pinworms are the cause of enterobiasis
Some suppositories are used to treat trichuriasis and giardiasis. When treating other helminthiases, this therapy is powerless.
After the diagnosis of enterobiasis is confirmed, the doctor prescribes treatment. It is best to use suppositories for pinworms, as they are not toxic, unlike tablets. In addition, suppositories act faster because they are administered directly into the large intestine.
It is recommended to re-treat after 2 weeks, since by this time larvae will appear from pinworm eggs, and enterobiasis may begin again. Repeated treatment will prevent this.
Prevention of worms in pregnant women
To avoid the question: worms during pregnancy, what to do, it is better to take preventive measures in time. It is not difficult:
- Wash your hands before eating, after walking, visiting public places, playing with pets;
- Subject meat and fish to heat treatment;
- Wash all fruits, vegetables, herbs;
- Eliminate insects in the house, especially flies - they are the main carriers of helminth eggs;
- Do not forget about washing and ironing bed linen, table linen, and other things;
- Maintain personal hygiene;
- Do not bite your nails - a lot of germs collect under them.
Precautionary measures should be observed by the entire family - infection of one person will lead to infection in all family members. If helminthiasis is detected in the expectant mother, everyone will also have to be treated.
