Symptoms Of Cysticercosis

Cysticercosis is a type of parasitic disease that arises from an infection from the young form of a tapeworm. It occurs when you consume foods that contain the eggs of the tapeworm and is found in food and water contaminated by the parasite. In most cases, you will find the parasite in the human waste of an infected person. Cysticercosis is prevalent among individuals who consume undercooked pork.

Uncooked vegetables may also bring about the parasitic infection. The disease does not display the symptoms immediately after infection and may take from one to thirty years to finally manifest in an individual. In some Asian countries, it forms small lumps that over the years become big and swollen.

Vision Changes

Sometimes the parasite may affect the eye. It a rare form of cysticercosis, but it happens to many individuals in the developing world. The vision of a patient may start changing rapidly. If the patient does not seek medical help immediately, the condition may escalate to total blindness.

When the parasites affect the eyes, they affect regions such as the eyeball, under the conjunctiva, or the extraocular muscles. Some may experience blurry vision; others disturbed vision, hemorrhage, or even vision loss. The parasite most of the time affects the ocular and the orbitary tissues that gradually alter the patient's vision. You may sometimes find the eyes swelling and in other instances detaching from the retina. When you notice such symptoms, seek medical help as fast as possible.

Seizures

Seizures are the most common symptoms of having cysticercosis and typically occur in more than seventy percent of the patients suffering from the illness. The type and frequency vary from one individual to another. The other severe and rare forms of the condition include the complex partial and status epilepticus. Epilepsy comes about as a result of the presence of the parasite in the central nervous system.

The tapeworms develop in the body of the host in different phases. Most of them mature fast within weeks. Their development suppresses the inflammatory response. The transition period where the host immune cells attack the cysts to kill and break them down brings about the seizure. When the lesions in the epileptic episodes fully resolve, a patient may only experience generalized seizures. However, when the parasites do not resolve completely and the residual remains within the brain, the patient will experience chronic epileptic episodes. It is good to seek help whenever you have such a symptom.

Headaches

Headaches are the most prevalent and most occurring symptoms patients experience. The problem comes about due to an infestation of the cysts to the central nervous system in the brain. Most of the cysts you will get on the brain grow up to a diameter of five to twenty millimeters. The large ones found in the subarachnoid space can grow up to a diameter of six centimeters. The cystic brain lesions located in the brain include the malignancy, glioma, and arachnoid.

The cysticerca found in the brain may block the flow of cerebrospinal fluid, leading to an increase in intracranial pressure. The pressure created as a result brings about a migraine, which may subside once you take painkiller medication, though migraines typically come back eventually. When you start experiencing migraines constantly, it is critical to visit a doctor. A simple MRI might help the doctor diagnose your condition and provide you with the correct medication.

Confusion

This condition is prevalent if the patient does not receive medical assistance immediately. The various symptoms combined may become the primary cause of dementia among many patients. The condition is prevalent in the developing countries where patients may ignore the signs until it is late. The condition may take from one to three years to manifest. Sometimes it even goes up to thirty years. It may come about due to various factors including the location of the lesion, as well as the number and size of the infection. Many patients with the disease have displayed symptoms of cognitive impairment such as dementia, confusion, and reversible dementia.

The cysts may attack the parenchyma and extrapenchymal tissues of the brain. Sometimes the lesions affect both of the regions depending on the stage of biological evolution. The cysts can grow and produce a mass effect that yields dementia. Dementia can come from the combination of the other symptoms such as secondary epilepsy and antiepileptic medication. The local inflammatory reaction between the body immune system fighting the lesions may also bring about confusion. The response disrupts the parietal, temporal networks that relate to overall intellectual functioning.

Nausea And Vomiting

It is critical to remember there are some types of patients who will not exhibit any symptoms of the illness. The various factors that may influence the asymptomatic condition range from the body's immune system to the location of the cysts. The number and the stage of the parasite's evolution in the host is another essential factor that determines the occurrence of the symptoms.

The accumulation of excessive cerebrospinal fluids in the hydrocephalus is dangerous, as it causes a lot of pressure in the brain. The stress leads to symptoms such as dizziness, nausea, and vomiting. Nausea also arises when an individual has an eye infection. When straining their eyes to see, they may sometimes experience nausea. The individual will experience poor coordination and muscular weakness that affects their overall balance. The episodes of epilepsy most of the times co-occur with vomiting.