Paragonimiasis: Worm infection with abdominal lung symptoms
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Paragonimiasis is a parasitic infection caused by flatworms. Patients contract this disease after eating contaminated raw or undercooked shellfish. The patient mainly has problems with the lungs and pleura. Abdominal pain, cough, and shortness of breath are some of the common symptoms of the infectious disease. The disease is treatable with worm-killing drugs, although it sometimes takes quite some time before doctors can correctly diagnose the parasitic infection. If left untreated, paragonimiasis leads to chronic problems or else serious complications in the brain or abdomen may arise. Finally, it is preventively recommended not to eat raw shellfish in the (tropical) countries where these worms occur.
Causes: By flatworms
Belly, lung (and brain) symptoms
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Not every patient with paragonimiasis has to deal with clinical features of the infectious disease. In symptomatic patients, the complaints usually manifest themselves two to fifteen days after infection. Usually, a symptomatic patient first develops abdominal pain and diarrhea. Several days later, several complaints arise such as (chronic) cough, a dry cough, brown sputum (mucus), coughing up blood with periods, fever, malaise (a general ill feeling), itching, hives (skin disease with itchy bumps), pain chest, shortness of breath and fatigue
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11 minMain dishpeanut oil, tofu stir-fry cubes finely seasoned, stir fry sauce sweet and sour, thick noodles, carrot julienne, beetroot julienne, yellow bell pepper, watercress,rainbow salad with tofu -
45 minMain dishRed cabbage, mild olive oil, quinoa plus, forest outing, lemon, sesame oil, soy sauce less salt, Bio Today tahini white in pot, tap water,grilled red cabbage with quinoa salad -
30 minDessertBrie, Roquefort, port salut, gruyere, Camembert, walnut, garlic, thyme, honey, grape, baguette, Red onion, red grape, raisins, Red wine, Red wine vinegar, Brown sugar,generous cheese plate with onion marmalade -
30 minDessertFull Milk, whipped cream, macaroon, custard powder, vanilla sugar, sugar, protein, amaretto, almond liqueur, basic recipe cooking pears,macaroon pastry with casserole
Diagnosis and investigations
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Physical examination This infection is often difficult to diagnose because the symptoms are often mild and the disease overlaps with more common conditions with a similar clinical picture. First, the doctor questions the patient about the consumption of raw shellfish. He then performs a physical examination showing abnormal breath sounds and / or a tender stomach
Treatment of infectious disease
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The doctor puts a combination with two anthelminthics
Paragonimiasis complications
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Because the doctor often makes a late diagnosis or makes an incorrect diagnosis, the risk of complications is increased. When the parasitic infection spreads into the abdomen, the patient experiences pleural effusion (accumulation of fluid between pleura and pleura), pneumothorax (collapsed lung) and / or an abdominal tumor. If the parasite migrates to the brain, it causes symptoms of meningitis (inflammation of the lining of the brain and spinal cord) such as vomiting, epilepsy, double vision (diplopia) and / or impaired vision, headache
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5 minDrink without alcoholbananas, cool fresh apple-pear raspberry juice, Soy drink vanilla,soy fruit shake -
20 minMain dishsauerkraut, sticking potato, liquid baking product, half-to-half minced, Spice meatballs, pineapple, olive oil, liquid baking product,gratin sauerkraut dish with minced meat -
40 minMain dishlemongrass, fresh ginger, Red peppers, onions, tomato cubes, fresh cod fillet, coriander, oil, ground turmeric (koenjit), coconut milk, salt,fish in creamy coconut sauce -
15 minSide dishsweet potato, soft goat cheese, egg, spring / forest onion,stuffed sweet potato with egg
Prevention worm infection
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It is important to cook shellfish well before eating them. In addition, good sanitation is necessary to prevent contamination.