In the seventies and eighties, there was a parasite that brought great harm to mankind - roundworm.
In an era of inadequate medical care, ascariasis infection is a nightmare for every adult and child.
But now the worm has become more and more distant from us, and few people have heard the news of ascariasis.
So does ascariasis really disappear?
The Terrible Ruling Power of Ascaris lumbricoides
Ascaris lumbricoides is a kind of nematode parasite. Its shape is 10-35cm long, its whole body is columnar, and its color is white, yellow or light pink, like a small moving earthworm.
They attach to the human intestinal tract and live by absorbing nutrients from the human body.
In the life cycle of ascaris lumbricoides, adult female individuals can lay up to 240000 eggs every day!
These eggs are transmitted through human excreta, enter water sources, crops, etc. with pipelines, and then infect new hosts, so on and so on.
Because of their tenacious vitality and strong infectivity, As a result, the number of infected people in the world reached 1 billion that year!
China was once a severely affected area of ascaris lumbricoides. In the 1950s and 1960s, the national infection rate was as high as 70%.
It was mainly because the living conditions and sanitary conditions were extremely backward at that time, and the "coexistence" of people and ascaris lumbricoides became normal.
However, those bad memories are daunting: "The roundworm wriggled back and forth in the stool, which was very disgusting", "Sometimes it was only half pulled out, and it had to be pulled out by hand", "After eating the 'pagoda sugar', a worm as long as chopsticks was pulled out".
One by one disturbing picture, let us feel extremely lucky to the life that was once the enemy of ascaris lumbricoides.
How did roundworms rage?
Ascaris lumbricoides can run rampant in the human body because of its unique survival mode.
In short, the life of the roundworm is a journey to "travel around the world" in its body, The pathway includes the intestines, blood, lungs, trachea and other key organs.
Specifically, after people accidentally swallow the food with the eggs, the eggs hatch in the intestinal tract, and the larvae smoothly drill out and penetrate into the blood with the help of the intestinal wall.
They reach the lungs through circulation, complete two ecdysis development in the alveoli, then go upstream through the trachea and throat, return to the stomach and enter the small intestine, and finally grow into adults in the intestine.
It can be seen that many important organs of human body are involved in the life course of roundworm.
Once the infection is serious, it is easy to cause a series of complications such as abdominal pain, dyspepsia, pulmonary inflammation, cough and asthma, which will seriously threaten life and health.
So, how did roundworms spread all over the country?
The main reason was that the living environment and sanitary conditions were extremely backward at that time. The popularization of dry latrines in rural areas in China has caused serious pollution of human and animal feces, while the water supply and food disinfection work are far behind, creating extremely favorable conditions for the transmission of ascaris lumbricoides.
In addition, people's eating and sanitation habits were poor at that time, "Unclean, no disease after eating" is also a saying passed down by the older generation 。
Do not pay attention to washing hands before and after meals, raw food that has not been thoroughly cleaned, etc., ascariasis infection is everywhere.
The Last Struggle of Ascaris lumbricoides
In the face of roundworm, the medical community has also made a lot of efforts.
In 1949, the Nobel Prize in Physiology was awarded to two scientists who invented drugs to treat ascariasis. In the following decades, The relevant staff in China also developed the insect repelling candy "pagoda sugar" using the raw materials of the Soviet Union.
This candy contains a special drug that can paralyze worms. After taking it, patients can expel all roundworms from their intestines. It is with this "secret weapon" that hundreds of millions of adult roundworms come to an end in this land of China.
The main effective ingredient of "pagoda sugar" is a compound from plants - Shandaojian.
The main function of this natural medicine is to paralyze ascaris lumbricoides, making them unable to continue to adhere tightly to the intestinal wall.
Specifically, Yamato Nian can block the nerve conduction in ascaris lumbricoides and interfere with their normal movement and grasping ability.
The affected ascaris lumbricoides will be stiff and powerless to slide down the intestinal tract. Because they can no longer absorb human nutrition, they can only be expelled by intestinal peristalsis.
In addition to paralyzing ascaris, yamada can also promote gastrointestinal peristalsis and accelerate the process of worm discharge. At the same time, it can inhibit the reproduction of ascaris lumbricoides and prevent the hatching of new generation eggs in the body. It can be said that the year of Yamato is a "multi pronged" fight against the invasion of ascaris lumbricoides.
What changes will take place in the human body after taking "pagoda sugar"?
Generally speaking, the drug will start to work after 1-3 hours. At this time, the active adult roundworm in the body will be paralyzed first and fall off from the intestinal wall into the intestinal cavity. Then, the paralyzed ascaris lumbricoides will be expelled from the body under the constant intestinal peristalsis.
Due to the large size of female ascaris lumbricoides individuals, which are generally 20-40cm long, the discharge often appears "one end at a time" extending in the anus, which makes people feel intimidated.
However, the ascaris lumbricoides in a paralyzed state is lifeless. They will die completely soon after leaving the warm human body. The residual eggs in the body will also be completely removed in the subsequent intestinal detoxification.
Do patients of different ages need to take different doses of "pagoda sugar"?
In fact, the general adult and child patients only need to take 2-4 tablets each time. The patients who are weak or older need to reduce the dosage appropriately.
However, for infants under 2 years old, doctors usually do not recommend using "pagoda sugar" to repel insects, mainly because their viscera are not yet mature and may not be able to metabolize drugs well. In addition, when taking "pagoda sugar", pay attention to supplement nutrition to prevent collapse.
Drink more water to promote metabolism and excretion. Generally, reexamination will be carried out 1-2 weeks after taking the medicine Ensure that all roundworms have been eliminated from the body.
The invention of "pagoda sugar" can be said to be a powerful weapon against ascaris lumbricoides and an important weapon for China to eliminate this persistent disease. Although ascariasis is no longer popular, this unique way of anthelmintic still reflects the wisdom of traditional Chinese medicine.
(The picture is from the network)
The real stranglehold of ascariasis is attributed to social progress and environmental improvement. With the acceleration of urbanization, the popularization of tap water supply and harmless sanitary toilets, and the change of people's eating habits, the infection rate of ascariasis patients has declined year by year.
The country has carried out two national parasitic disease surveys in 1988-1992 and 2001-2004.
By the time of the third survey in 2018, the prevalence of ascariasis was low nationwide.
Has the roundworm disappeared?
Although the infection rate has dropped significantly, it is too early to say that ascaris lumbricoides has become "extinct".
In fact, besides ascaris lumbricoides, there are still some other common parasites in China, For example, tapeworm, hookworm, etc., and their transmission route is similar to that of roundworm, there are still some risks.
In addition, the ascaris lumbricoides itself is not specially hosted by humans, and animals may also be infected. Therefore, as long as there are factors such as stray cats and dogs, and sanitary problems in the living environment, people may encounter roundworms at any time. For example, recently, a doctor accidentally found ascaris lumbricoides during intestinal resection.
Therefore, it is still a wise choice to take precautions. We should develop good living habits, wash hands frequently and pay attention to food hygiene, especially for friends with pets at home.
In addition, if there are persistent abdominal pain, indigestion and other symptoms, you should also seek medical examination in time. Only in this way can we really draw a clear line with the "old enemy" of ascaris lumbricoides.
(The picture is from the network)
Ascaris lumbricoides has become a dispensable "supporting role" from the former "leading role", which is absolutely inseparable from the development of modern medicine and technology, environmental health and the overall improvement of living standards.
However, we should always be on guard to avoid the recurrence of disasters.
It is believed that as long as the whole society works together, it is not far away to completely shake off the shadow of roundworm.
