Types and symptoms of subcutaneous parasites in humans

There are several parasites that can inhabit human skin. For the first time such worms were found in India, but now they can be found in other latitudes. Parasites under the skin cause a lot of discomfort in a person and require treatment. They are not as dangerous as worms in other organs, but if the disease continues for a long time, they can lead to serious complications. In our article we will list all types of subcutaneous parasites, the symptoms of the diseases that cause them.

Types of subcutaneous parasites and methods of infection

If you want to know who crawls under the skin, the following subcutaneous parasites can be found in humans:

1. Dirofilariasis. This disease provokes the larval stage of the nematode. Infection occurs when a mosquito (louse, flea, or tick) bites that is a carrier of the disease. A sexually mature individual reaches a length of 30 cm, and the larva of this parasite is microscopic in size. After infection, it develops under a person's skin for 3 months. Domestic cats and dogs can also transmit the infection.
2. When listing which parasites live under the skin, it is imperative to mention the filariae. The infection is caused by certain types of nematodes. In this case, various diseases appear: onchocerciasis, dipetalonematosis, loiasis and mansonellosis. Worms and their intermediate hosts are transmitted by insects (mosquitoes, mosquitoes, horseflies, etc. ). They infect human filariae with larvae, as a result of which worms appear in the skin.
3. Another skin parasite in humans are cysticercus larvae. They provoke cysticercosis. Invasion occurs through the intestines, where worms enter with dirty hands, water, or food. Cysticercus is an oval vesicle that contains the parasite's scolex. Subcutaneous worms can go from round to spindle-shaped. Man acts as an intermediate master.
4. Schistosomiasis is a disease caused by worms in a person from the order of the trematodes. These are up to 2 cm long flukes. The larvae of this parasite swimming in the water are cercariae. They can enter the human body directly through the skin. This infection can live in any organ, including under the skin.
5. Rishta is another worm under the skin. These white worms cause dracunculiasis and are classified as large nematodes. Their intermediate hosts are copepods living in the water. First, the parasite penetrates the human stomach, and then it penetrates the skin from the retroperitoneal space. Males reach a length of 10 cm, and females - 120 cm.

Symptoms of dirofilariasis

The larvae of this parasite can spread throughout the body in the bloodstream and colonize the eyes, pulmonary artery, heart, serous cavities, perirenal adipose tissue and under the skin. When invaded by a species of worm called Dirofilaria repens, the conjunctiva or subcutaneous fat is affected.

The signs and symptoms of this disease are as follows:

• painful seals appear in the place of the insect bite;
• within a few days, a third of the patients have a displacement of the seal by 20-30 cm from the bite site;
• a person may feel bloating, burning and itching at the site of the bite;
• there is a sensation of crawling and wobbling under the skin;
• episodes of exacerbation follow phases of remission;
• the subcutaneous worm provokes the appearance of abscesses and boils (a worm lives in them in the connecting capsule);
• sometimes the abscesses break open on their own and the white parasites creep out of the skin.

If the conjunctiva is damaged, the following symptoms are present:

• Swelling, itching, and watery eyes;
• a feeling that a foreign object is in the eye or eyelid;
• a person cannot fully open the eyelid;
• eyesight deteriorates;
• a worm can be seen under the conjunctiva;
• a nodule is visible under the skin of the eyelid;
• the person has a tingling sensation under the skin or in the eye;
• If the parasite penetrates the eyeball, double vision and bulging of the eye appear.

Important! Dirofilariasis is accompanied by neuroses, fears, and insomnia. In addition, the patient develops irritability, headache, general weakness, and other signs.

Symptoms of filariasis

After the invasion, filariasis can develop over several years. Depending on the form of the disease, different symptoms and signs can appear. Common to these parasitic diseases are the appearance of ulcers and rashes, damage to the eyes and lymph nodes, fever, the development of elephantiasis of the scrotum and limbs, since they are muscle parasites.

Onchocerciasis

With onchocerciasis, parasites manifest in human muscles with the following symptoms:

• itchy skin;
• febrile state;
• Weakness;
• Dryness and peeling of the skin;
• cutaneous hyperpigmentation (genitals, legs, armpit and inguinal folds);
• papular rash;
• Erysipelas;
• Papules can form long-lasting ulcers;
• under the skin, worms cause atrophy of hair follicles, sweat glands and epidermis;
• painful fibrous lumps form under the skin;
• with damage to the eyes, glaucoma, iridocyclitis, conjunctivitis, corneal cyst, keratitis and other eye diseases develop.

Dipetalonematosis

These subcutaneous worms provoke the following symptoms in humans:

• enlarged lymph nodes;
• erythematous or maculopapular rash;
• Dizziness;
• Fever;
• Swelling of the lower extremities, face, and genitals;
• Joint pain;
• Pain in the heart;
• Symptoms of meningoencephalitis.

Loiasis

Parasites with loiasis living under the human skin contribute to the occurrence of the following clinical picture:

• Rashes;
• febrile state;
• Parasites in human muscles can cause muscle abscesses;
• Pain in the limbs;
• Swelling of the skin in limited areas that does not go away for long;
• if parasites get into the eyes, blepharitis or conjunctivitis develops;
• Urinary disorder with localization of the infection in the urethra.

Important! These subcutaneous parasites in humans can lead to complications in the form of meningitis, heart failure, encephalitis.

Mansonellosis

With this form of the disease, worms under the human skin can provoke the following complex of symptoms:

• itchy rashes;
• Joint pain;
• febrile state;
• Swelling of the skin;
• Dropsy of the testicle;
• Numbness of limbs;
• an increase in inguinal lymph nodes.

Symptoms of cysticercosis

These parasites on human skin can easily enter the digestive tract with food, where the embryo membrane dissolves and the larva emerges. They enter the bloodstream and are carried around the body. After settling in certain organs, the larvae turn into cysticercuses and cause the following symptoms:

• under the skin, multiple or single, tumor-like, painless, oval formations appear (usually they are localized on the inside of the shoulders, on the top of the chest and on the palms of the hands);
• You can feel the cavity in the seals;
• in time these seals grow;
• new formations appear;
• when performing a histology of education, a cysticercus can be found inside;
• Hives;
• the nodes rarely fester, but more often they do not change for many years and occasionally resolve on their own.

Symptoms of schistosomiasis

Schistosome larvae can penetrate human skin directly from the aquatic environment. They can be in the bloodstream within a few hours. Symptoms of skin invasion include:

• Hives;
• severe itching;
• blotchy rashes appear every other day.

This is followed by a period of several weeks of rest. In the circulatory system, schistosomes reach the stage of sexually mature individuals and migrate into the vascular system of the urogenital system. After a few months, the patient develops the following symptoms:

• dry cough;
• febrile state;
• Hives;
• profuse sweating at night;
• Enlargement of the liver;
• vaginal bleeding;
• Blood in the urine;
• pathology of the prostate, kidneys and bladder;
• Lumps on the genitals;
• Infertility.

Important! In childhood, schistosomiasis contributes to a decrease in the ability to learn, anemia, developmental delays and memory disorders.

Symptoms of Dracunculosis

When a person drinks water with infected copepods, helminth larvae are released in the patient's digestive system after they die. They penetrate the retroperitoneal space and migrate through the lymphatic system to the soft tissues. Only after 3 months can the female of this parasite penetrate the skin or connective tissue for further development. As the female grows, the patient develops the characteristic symptoms of the disease:

• an allergic reaction to infection occurs only after 10-14 months in the form of urticaria, fainting, nausea, diarrhea, vomiting and suffocation;
• a year later, a rishtosis bubble appears on the skin (its diameter reaches 2-7 cm, but there are no signs of inflammation);
• You can see a helminth in the bladder;
• after a few days the bladder itself opens and the necrotic masses are shed;
• At the autopsy, the patient feels a burning sensation and severe pain.

Worth knowing! Usually, rishtose blisters are on the skin of the legs, but sometimes they can be on the stomach, arms, and other parts of the body. The female can also settle in the connective tissue of the joints. In this case, its immobility, contracture and inflammation of the bag appear.

A secondary infection can lead to phlegmon, abscesses, sepsis and gangrene. If a patient falls into a reservoir with an open bladder, thousands of Cyclopean crab larvae are swallowed again, causing the infection to spread further.