Roundworm disease: Causes, symptoms, and ways to prevent it

The article is professionally consulted by MSc.BSCKII Phan Thi Minh Huong - Gastroenterologist, Vinmec International Hospital Da Nang.

In a tropical country like Vietnam, the living environment and eating habits are extremely diverse, the problem of infection with parasites is unavoidable. In particular, roundworm infections are quite common, especially in young children. Symptoms of roundworm disease are diverse, easy to confuse with other diseases. So understanding about this issue is extremely necessary to protect the health of yourself and your family.

Ascaris lumbricoides scientific name is Ascaris lumbricoides. Unlike other parasites, this is a fairly large worm, as an adult female worm is from 20 to 25 cm in length, male worm is from 15 to 17 cm. Worms are white or pink in color, with a round body, and a tapered head and tail. The parasitic site of roundworms is in the small intestine of humans.
When the female roundworm lays eggs, if it falls into the soil, after about two weeks, the eggs will develop into worm larvae. Normal ambient temperature is extremely favorable for worm larvae to continue the cycle. Worm eggs are destroyed with temperatures above 60 degrees Celsius. It is the habit of going barefoot, contacting the outside environment without tools, protective means, not cleaning hands... that are the main causes. the causative agent of roundworm disease.
In addition, children are often more susceptible to worm infections than adults, children in rural areas also have a higher rate of worm infections than children in urban areas. Because young children often do not have a sense of personal hygiene, or walk barefoot, put their hands in their mouth, raised in a nursery environment... so this is an easily transmitted condition.
In rural areas, despite many recommendations, the practice of eating raw vegetables and using fresh manure to fertilize vegetables still exists. Worm eggs passed in the faeces cannot be eliminated even after washing the vegetables thoroughly many times. The route of infection forms a vicious circle.

Manifestations of roundworm infection are not specific, easily confused with other diseases.
In children, symptoms can be long-term digestive disorders, malnutrition, stunting, weight retardation.
If there are too many worms in the intestine, the child will show signs of intestinal obstruction. Specifically, the child has intermittent abdominal pain with abdominal distension, constipation. If worms from the small intestine pass through the bile duct, it will cause biliary obstruction, cholangitis, gallstones, worms down the appendix causing acute appendicitis.
If the worms go to the lungs, the patient may come to the doctor because of wheezing, chronic shortness of breath or acute manifestations such as severe chest pain, dry cough, high fever.
Some rare cases are seeing live worms coming out of the stool when a child has a bowel movement or catching worms coming out of the mouth and nose when the child sleeps or coughs or chokes.

For the prevention of roundworm infections, as with other parasites in general, there is no more effective measure than practicing good hygiene.
Sanitize hands before eating and after going to the toilet, clean the house, items, and toys of children often with antiseptic water. Always eat cooked food, cooled boiled water. Limit eating raw vegetables; If necessary, wash vegetables thoroughly many times with specialized vegetable washing water. Do not go barefoot; If gardening, cleaning up trash and plants, you need to wear boots, a mask, and gloves. Do not use fresh manure to fertilize vegetables and plants. For toilets and drains, it is necessary to regularly clean and handle environmentally friendly disinfectants. At the same time, it is necessary to have a habit of taking deworming medicine every six months for the whole family. The drug works not only on roundworms but also helps to kill other helminths. Although today's living conditions have improved, the risk of infection with worms has not been completely eliminated. Keeping clean, eating cooked and drinking boiling water is the simplest thing to prevent worm infection and protect your health.