Avoid these habits and wash your hands before eating to prevent parasites
Guangzhou Daily News (Tai Mengyun, correspondent of all media reporter Liang Chaoyi) A few days ago, an eight-year-old boy went to Zhongshan Ophthalmology Center of Sun Yat-sen University for treatment due to the symptoms of "white pupil" in his right eye. I have a dog at home, and I like to play with the dog for a long time, and I have never dewormed the dog.
In order to further confirm the diagnosis, the team also conducted a fecal examination on the pet dog in the boy's house, and found that the dog had severe Toxocaria canis infection, thus confirming that the boy had ocular toxocariasis.
Professor Ding Xiaoyan, director of the Department of Pediatric Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmology Center, Sun Yat-sen University, pointed out that ocular toxocariasis is highly insidious, mostly in school-age children, and the treatment is long, often several years.
Experts remind that to prevent this kind of eye disease, you must pay attention to daily hygiene habits. Wash your hands after touching pets before eating. The sandy ground in parks is also a "hardest-hit area" that is prone to infection. Children must pay attention to cleaning their hands after playing.
8 year old boy
Right eye white pupil, retinal detachment
8-year-old Lele (pseudonym) was unable to see clearly in her right eye, and her eyes were white for more than two months.
The eye examination revealed that the right eye could only see the hand shaking in front of the eyes, and the left eye had normal vision; the slit lamp examination of the right eye revealed local adhesions behind the iris, and the lens was completely white and cloudy.
Further ocular B-ultrasound examination revealed that Lele's right eye had vitreous proliferation and retinal detachment.
The parents were asked to learn that the children liked to play with their own pet dogs, and that the pet dogs had not received any deworming treatment.
Based on the clinical manifestations and medical history of the child, Ding Xiaoyan highly suspected that it was an ocular Toxocara canis infection. With the consent of the child's parents, the child was sampled for serum and aqueous humor, and laboratory immunological tests found that: The serum and intraocular fluid of the children were positive for Toxocara canis-specific IgG antibody, and the titer was high, thus confirming the diagnosis of ocular Toxocara canis infection.
In order to further find evidence of infection, the team visited the boy's home and collected fresh feces from pet dogs for parasite testing.
Severe Toxocara canis infection was confirmed in the pet dog based on fecal examination and parasite morphological identification.
Coincidentally, a 25-year-old girl went to the doctor a few days ago because of the symptoms of floaters in front of her eyes, and was finally diagnosed with ocular toxocariasis. "We will receive dozens of such patients in a year." Ding Xiaoyan said.
The disease is insidious
difficult to treat
Ding Xiaoyan introduced that ocular toxocariasis has a strong insidious nature, and the affected eye is neither red nor painful, and there will be no obvious vision loss in the early stage.
This eye disease is common in school-age children, but also in adults, and the symptoms of floaters are mostly manifested in adults.
"The treatment time for this kind of eye disease is very long." Ding Xiaoyan said that ocular toxocariasis is very insidious. Many patients have symptoms caused by insects entering the eyes. They only come to see a doctor when it is more serious. During the treatment process, it is necessary to wait for the metabolites of the insects. It only takes 5-8 years to clear all of them.
If you can find out the early bugs when they first enter your eyes and treat them in time, the effect will be much better.
Prevention is important
Wash hands before eating
Toxocara canis is a world-recognized zoonotic parasite.
This parasite has a complex life history involving multiple animals, including humans, as its successive hosts.
In humans, Toxocara canis larvae can invade various tissues and cause visceral larval migrans, ocular larval migrans, toxocariasis-related neurological disorders (including eosinophilic meningitis), or occult toxocariasis.
In addition, some clinical and experimental studies have also shown an association between Toxocara canis infection and some allergic diseases such as asthma, chronic pruritus, and urticaria.
"The organs that Toxocariae likes to go to after entering the human body are the liver, eyes and brain." Ding Xiaoyan said, "Because the eyes are very delicate, once they enter the eyes, the damage to the eyes is relatively large, so we must take precautions." If the pet cats and dogs have not been dewormed regularly, their fur or feces may contain Toxocara eggs. After the child touches or hugs the pet and grabs things without washing their hands in time, the eggs will enter the body with the food.
In addition, the sand pool area of the park is also prone to the existence of Toxocara eggs. After children play, they should pay attention to cleaning their hands before eating.
However, parents do not need to be overly concerned about avoiding pets. "I also have pets such as cats and dogs in my own home. As long as I deworm and teach children to develop good hygiene habits, it is enough to take precautions." Experts said.