Symptoms of parasite infection in babies

It is very common for babies to have parasites in life. Once parasitic infection occurs, it will have a great impact on the baby's health. There are many types of parasites, such as roundworms, pinworms, hookworms, etc. Generally speaking, they will cause the child to become thin and malnourished, and their physical fitness will decline. If they enter the tissues and organs, they will cause greater harm. Let's take a look at the symptoms of parasitic infection in babies.

Symptoms of parasite infection in babies

1. Ascariasis

(1) Symptoms caused by larval migration: Ascaris eggs migrate to the lungs, causing bronchiolar epithelial cells to fall off and lung bleeding, resulting in pulmonary ascariasis, which is manifested by cough, chest tightness, blood-streaked sputum, and increased eosinophilia in the blood. Pulmonary signs are not obvious, but X-rays may show punctate, flaky, or flocculent shadows in the lungs. The lesions are prone to change or disappear quickly. This is called ascariasis larvae pneumonia or ascariasis eosinophilic pneumonia, or LOEFFLER syndrome. Symptoms disappear in 1-2 weeks. In severe cases, the larvae can invade the brain, liver, spleen, kidneys, thyroid gland and eyes, causing corresponding clinical manifestations such as epilepsy, hepatomegaly, abdominal pain, etc.

(2) Symptoms caused by adult worms: Adult worms live in the jejunum and feed on semi-digested food in the intestinal cavity. The clinical manifestations include loss of appetite or eating more and getting hungry easily, pica; frequent abdominal pain located around the navel, which is relieved by massage but not severe; some patients are irritable, easily startled or listless, and grind their teeth; the foreign proteins in the worm can cause allergic symptoms such as urticaria. Severe infection can cause malnutrition and affect growth and development.

(3) Complications: Ascaris has the habit of drilling holes. When the human body is unwell (fever, gastrointestinal lesions, etc.) or when a large amount of spicy food is ingested or the dosage of anthelmintics is inappropriate, the ascaris will drill into various ducts opening in the intestinal wall. This can not only cause biliary ascariasis and ascariasis ileus, but also block the trachea and bronchi, causing death from suffocation. It may also drill into the appendix or pancreatic duct, causing inflammation.

2. Enterobiasis

Pinworm infection can cause local and systemic symptoms. The most common symptoms are anal itching and eye restlessness, because the egg-laying activities of female worms cause intense itching of the anal and perineal skin, affecting sleep. Local skin may develop dermatitis and secondary infection due to pruritus. Systemic symptoms include gastrointestinal irritation, such as nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, loss of appetite, as well as restlessness, night terrors, irritability and other mental symptoms. An increase in eosinophils was seen in peripheral blood.

3. Hookworm disease

(1) Hook larvae dermatitis: Hook larvae invade the skin in thin areas between toes or fingers and other exposed skin. Red palladium dot-like papules or small blisters may reappear, with a burning, tingling, and itchy sensation that disappears within a few days. Scratching often leads to secondary infection, forming pustules, and can cause fever and lymphadenitis.

(2) Respiratory symptoms: In acute hookworm infection, the larvae migrate to the lungs, penetrate the microvessels, and cause inflammatory cell infiltration and bleeding. Clinically, symptoms include cough, bloody sputum, fever, shortness of breath, and asthma. The sputum may contain blood and even severe hemoptysis. Chest X-ray examination showed transient infiltrative lesions in the lungs and increased blood phagocytosis. The course of the disease may be days or weeks.

(3) Anemia: Anemia is the main symptom of hemorrhagic anemia. It manifests as varying degrees of anemia, pale skin and mucous membranes, fatigue, and dizziness, which affect the physical and intellectual development of children. In severe cases, anemic heart disease may occur.

(4) Gastrointestinal symptoms: Initial symptoms include bulimia, eating more and becoming hungry easily, but also weight loss. In the later stage, there will be decreased appetite, gastrointestinal dysfunction, abdominal distension, pica, malnutrition, etc. In severe cases, bloody stools may occur.

Regardless of the type of parasitic disease, we should focus on prevention, mainly by cultivating good hygiene habits in children, washing hands before meals and after defecation, correcting the habit of sucking fingers, cutting nails frequently, wearing full-crotch pants for infants and young children as early as possible, and washing and disinfecting toys, utensils, and bedding regularly. Children under two years old should be prevented from picking up dirty objects and putting them in their mouths. Then, it is best for children over three years old to have a parasite check every year for better prevention and treatment.