## What Causes Ascariasis?
Ascariasis is a common infection caused by a type of roundworm called Ascaris lumbricoides. This worm is one of the largest parasites that can live inside the human body, sometimes growing as long as 12 inches. To understand what causes ascariasis, it’s important to look at how these worms get into people, how they grow and move inside the body, and why some people are more likely to get infected than others.
### How Do People Get Infected?
The main way people get ascariasis is by swallowing tiny eggs from the worm. These eggs are found in soil that has been contaminated with human feces—meaning poop from someone who already has the worms. This can happen in several ways:
– **Eating food grown in contaminated soil:** If vegetables or fruits aren’t washed well before eating, any eggs stuck to them can be swallowed.
– **Drinking water that contains eggs:** If water sources are polluted with human waste, drinking this water can lead to infection.
– **Putting dirty hands in your mouth:** Children especially might play outside where there’s contaminated soil and then eat without washing their hands.
Once these eggs are swallowed, they travel down into the intestines.
### What Happens Inside the Body?
After being swallowed, the eggs hatch inside the small intestine. The tiny larvae (baby worms) don’t stay there for long—they actually burrow through the wall of your intestine and enter your bloodstream. From there, they travel up to your lungs.
In your lungs, these larvae grow a bit more before moving up into your throat. You might cough them up and swallow them again without even realizing it! When you swallow them this time around, they go back down into your intestines where they grow into adult worms.
Adult female worms lay thousands of new eggs every day. These eggs leave your body when you poop. If proper toilets aren’t used or if waste isn’t disposed of safely, those new eggs end up back in soil or water—and so begins another cycle when someone else swallows them.
### Why Do Some People Get Infected More Than Others?
Not everyone gets ascariasis equally often or severely:
– **Poor sanitation:** In places where toilets aren’t available or waste isn’t managed properly (like open defecation), contamination spreads easily.
– **Lack of clean water:** Drinking unsafe water increases risk because it may contain worm eggs.
– **Children playing outside:** Kids often play on dirt floors or fields where contamination happens; plus kids sometimes forget handwashing before eating.
– **Repeated infections:** Without treatment for existing infections (deworming), people keep passing out more worm-filled stools which keeps spreading disease further within families/communities over time until everyone gets treated together at once!
### Can You See Signs That Someone Has Ascaris Worms?
Most mild cases show no symptoms at all—but heavy infections may cause problems like stomach pain/cramps/bloating/nausea/vomiting/diarrhea/weight loss/fatigue due partly because large numbers block parts off digestive tract making digestion harder work than usual! Sometimes adult roundworms come out alive during vomiting episodes too which confirms diagnosis instantly but usually doctors check stool samples under microscope looking specifically for characteristic oval-shaped brownish-yellowish colored parasite ova instead since most patients never see actual living specimens themselves unless very sick indeed…
Severe complications include intestinal blockage requiring emergency surgery if too many adults clump together forming tangled masses obstructing normal flow through bowels completely; other rare risks involve migration outside gut cavity causing inflammation elsewhere such as liver/lungs/bile ducts etcetera depending upon individual circumstances involved each case uniquely different from next one encountered clinically speaking overall though thankfully most folks recover fully after appropriate medical care received promptly enough regardless severity level present initially upon presentation hospital setting ideally speaking anyway…
### How Can We Stop Ascariasis From Spreading?
Preventing ascariasis
