Many people have eaten a brightly colored and colorful candy that looks like a "pyramid" when they are young, which can be called the common memory of generations.
Most people just remember that the school would organize free distribution, and the teacher would make sure that everyone ate it. This candy is actually a drug to prevent "dragon slugs" from growing freely in the human body.
Cockroaches are roundworms
Cockroach is actually another name for roundworms, and the main reason for mentioning this nickname is to introduce its origin for everyone. As we all know, the mainland is the only ancient civilization in which the civilization has not broken, and "Traditional Chinese Medicine" can be regarded as the only one in the world. Our ancestors not only knew astronomy and geography, but also knew many diseases of the human body, and in order to help future generations, they also made detailed accounts.
The word jiaoli is derived from the earliest surviving Chinese medicine work "Lingshu", which is jointly known as the "Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic" together with the "SuWen", which is of great significance to Chinese medicine, especially acupuncture. In the Spirit Hub, roundworms are described as follows: "Heartache, pain, swelling, going up and down, pain resting, abdominal heat, thirst, salivation, is also a cockroach." In the Ming and Qing dynasties, the famous medical scientist Zhang Zhicong wrote the "Commentary on the Collection of Lingshu", which gave a modern interpretation of the word jiao, saying, "The person who is a clam, the roundworm is also".
It can be seen that as early as thousands of years ago, the ancient Chinese knew about the existence of roundworms, and named it "jiaoli" according to the symptoms. It was not until later generations continued to evolve that the name was replaced by roundworm, after all, the word "dragon" looked similar to "dragon", and it was indeed inappropriate to make the name of a worm similar to that of a mighty dragon.
Roundworms are invertebrates and are parasitic nematodes. Its agglomeration is often located in the small intestine of the human body, and the color of the adult body from the picture is light pink or light yellow, with obvious horizontal stripes on the surface of the body, which is somewhat similar to the shape of the earthworm. There is no significant difference between males and females, although the tails of males often appear curled.
Roundworms are found all over the world and are the most common type of parasite in humans. Not only that, but the infection rate of roundworms is also very high, reaching more than 70%. If you look at the geographical differences in infection, the infection rate in rural areas is higher than in cities, and according to individuals, the infection rate of children is significantly higher than that of adults, which is probably why most people have "pagoda sugar" in their childhood memories!
It is worth mentioning that in medicine, roundworms infected by humans are called "human roundworms". Because in addition to humans, there are many organisms that are also infected with roundworms, and the varieties of these roundworms are not the same, so it is necessary to make a distinction. Roundworm infection is usually due to accidental ingestion of food or water containing roundworm eggs, and roundworm eggs will follow them into the human body. The eggs usually hatch in the duodenum, after which the larvae burrow into the small intestine.
People infected with roundworms will have some obvious symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and epigastric cramps, etc., and children will have obvious loss of appetite, and there will be convulsions and teeth grinding at night. In general, roundworms are still very harmful to the human body, often causing complications, such as appendicitis, intestinal obstruction and intestinal perforation.
A few decades ago, almost all mainland men, women and children had roundworms in their bodies, and people at that time were deeply troubled by roundworm infections, especially when children were seriously infected, growth and development disorders occurred. However, after entering the 21st century, this phenomenon has changed significantly, and even now it is rarely heard of such a thing as "infecting roundworms", but it still exists in some economically backward mountainous areas or rural areas.
Why ascariasis suddenly decreases
From the clams recorded in the Lingshu to the widespread spread of ascariasis in the last century, it can be seen that this parasite has existed on the mainland for a long time and has plagued many generations. However, it is rarely heard of now, why is this?
According to the report of the National Surveillance System for Key Infectious Diseases and Vector Organisms, the population roundworm infection rate of 22 soil-derived nematode disease surveillance points nationwide was 0.76% in 2013.
It turns out that it is not everyone's delusion, and it can be seen from the data report that the number of people infected with roundworms in the mainland is indeed very small. The emergence of this phenomenon of substantial improvement is related to many factors, and it can be said that it is the joint efforts of the people of the whole country that have made the roundworm infection rate "break through the new low".
First of all, from a macro point of view, the improvement of people's living standards has a huge impact on ascariasis. Because from the regional differences in roundworm infection above, it can be seen that the infection rate is higher in rural areas with relatively backward economies and environments. In the past, some rural areas were not very good in terms of diet and drinking water, and people often drank "raw water", and roundworm eggs would enter the human body with raw water.
Now it is different, the modern rural environment has undergone earth-shaking changes, people not only built beautiful houses in their own homesteads, but also eat and drink more clean and hygienic than before. Therefore, at present, few rural people are plagued by ascariasis, and the infection rate has naturally declined.
Second, it is the efforts of "everyone". From the etiological investigation, it can be seen that decades ago, everyone did not have the good habit of washing hands before eating and after going to the toilet, and often rushed to eat melons, fruits and vegetables before they were washed. Now this situation has changed significantly, frequent hand washing has become a tacit matter, and people have shown more patience for the cleaning of fruits and vegetables. Therefore, it is the improvement of everyone's personal hygiene awareness that makes the infection rate of roundworms continue to decrease.
Finally, there is the "deworming treatment" of the national remedy. Whether it is the pagoda sugar in everyone's childhood memories or now, the mainland has never taken the investigation and prevention of infected areas lightly.
And there are different treatment methods for different infected areas, such as the implementation of national deworming for people in highly infected areas. In short, the positive response of the state has also improved the awareness of disease prevention among the masses, so the decline in the rate of roundworm infection in China is the result of the joint efforts of many parties.
Childhood memories: Pagoda sugar
Although the taste of pagoda candy is not as sweet as many candies now, it is the sweet memory of countless people, why do you say so? Because the time of the emergence of pagoda sugar was in the 70s and 80s of the last century, because China's economy at that time was not as developed as it is now, the living conditions of the people were still very different from now.
Therefore, children born in that era could not "eat sugar at any time" like modern children, for them, eating sugar is a very luxurious thing, and candy can only be eaten during the New Year's Festival. Pagoda candy, made from artemisia annua, has become the most anticipated "extra candy", because even before the New Year, you can eat pagoda candy.
It is worth mentioning that pagoda sugar was not originally what we remember and the color, but ordinary pills. Children have always been very resistant to taking medicine, so the pharmacists cater to the children's preferences, processing it together with a certain proportion of edible syrup, and then dyeing the finished product, so that it becomes a colorful cone "candy".
Sure enough, this shape is deeply loved by children, and everyone no longer resists deworming, after all, this "candy" tastes sweet and nourishing, which can be described as "killing two birds with one stone".
Mr. Ma, a citizen of Hefei born in 1970, recalled to reporters with a smile: When we were young, there were basically no snacks to eat, and there was a kind of 'cow candy' that could only be eaten at the New Year, and pagoda sugar was eaten every spring.
It can be seen that pagoda candy is a sweet memory in the hearts of many people. And in order to prevent everyone's roundworm disease. At that time, the base for planting the raw material of pagoda sugar, Artemisia annua, was even expanded to 8640 acres, and in such a situation, not only children could eat pagoda sugar, but also the whole people could take it to treat and prevent roundworms.
However, as the infection rate of ascariasis continues to decline, the once "essential" pagoda sugar has gradually disappeared. But in any case, it symbolizes the memory of a generation, and to this day, the scene of eating sugar and the sweetness of that year are still in our memory forever.
Other parasitic diseases
Few people have heard of the slugs these days, but other parasites still exist, so we shouldn't take it lightly. In the face of new problems and challenges, we still need to be vigilant, and then we will introduce several parasitic diseases that are now more common, after all, "knowing oneself and knowing the other can never be lost."
According to relevant medical workers, the currently prominent parasitic diseases belong to foodborne parasites. Most of this disease is also "disease from the mouth", which is closely related to our daily eating habits. Experts pointed out that Hua mycanthus is currently the most popular foodborne parasitic disease, and the infection rate of people in severe areas even exceeds 23%.
Foodborne parasites mainly refer to diseases infected by eating raw or half-raw foods, such as sashimi, raw pickled crabs, iced snails, etc., which are all sources of infection. It can be seen that the change of eating habits has made us face new problems, and experts believe that this development will threaten the health of most people and is also very unfavorable to food safety in the mainland.
Hepatic fluke disease is the most prevalent foodborne parasitic disease, mainly caused by Trebuschia sinensis infection. According to the results of the survey on the current situation of the third national key parasitic diseases launched in 2015, the infection rate of Chinese myotchidism in rural areas of China was 0.23% (weighted rate), and the number of infected people was estimated to be as high as 1517080 people.
The regions with the highest infection rates are concentrated in Guangdong, Guangxi and Heilongjiang, mainly due to the eating habits of people in these areas. Therefore, experts pointed out that although raw food is indeed very "refreshing and elastic", it is still eaten in moderation.
Scientists who love to "eat sugar" for Chinese children
If pagoda sugar is the childhood memory of past generations, then there is such a "sugar pill" that modern children still eat. This milky white sugar pill looks like a "milk ball", and it is actually for the prevention and treatment of polio.
Polio, also known as polio, is a condition that often occurs in groups of children under 7 years of age. Children with polio can become disabled for life and, more severely, die of suffocation. Therefore, a scientist named Gu Fangzhou was ordered to start the research of "medicine".
Gu Fangzhou in the experiment not only risked himself as a test product, but also drank the vaccine solution in the phase I clinical trial stage. He also had his son take the vaccine to prove the safety of the vaccine. The spirit of "giving up the small family for everyone" is really admirable, so he is also known as "Sugar Pill Grandpa" by many people. With his unremitting efforts and promotion, the situation of polio in China is getting better and better.
"Sugar Pill Grandpa" Gu Fangzhou
In 2000, the Chinese State and the World Health Organization's Polio Eradication Confirmation Committee in the Western Pacific Region confirmed that the spread of the indigenous "polio" wild virus in China had been interrupted and China had become a polio-free country.
These are the "loveliest" scientists on the mainland, who not only dedicated their lives to the people, but also put themselves in the shoes of the descendants of the motherland. Therefore, even if he has never met countless Chinese children, he has become the eternal "sugar pill grandfather" in everyone's heart.