Coughing and worms are events that seem poorly matched.However, the cause of a dry cough is often helminths that live and multiply in the human body.
Not all helminths are capable of this, only those that can be localized in the respiratory system.
What worms cause a cough?These are parasites that originally lived in the intestines, but as a result of rapid regeneration or the creation of better conditions for life, they ended up in the liver, and from there they reached the bronchopulmonary tissue.
Types of helminths
Roundworms, roundworms, live and multiply in the intestines.Infection with them occurs through eggs that enter the body through food or hands and objects and objects used by an infected person.Soil, fruits, vegetables, undercooked meat and fish - all these can present helminth eggs to the human body.
To prevent infection:
- avoid contact with infected animals;
- Do not use the works of people with helminth infection;
- Keep your hands clean, especially before going out and eating;
- Wash food and raw (fruits and vegetables) well;
- Prepare fish and meat dishes properly.
Need to know!Roundworms cause a dry cough.Migrating from the circulatory system, the larvae irritate the receptors in the respiratory organs - bronchi, trachea, lungs - and cause this symptom.The migration period of larvae throughout the body is two weeks.
Giardia are very small single-celled microorganisms that live in stagnant water.The disease they cause is called Giardiasis.Infection with parasites mainly occurs in the following ways.
- From an infected person or animal to a healthy one.
- When eating poorly washed food.
- When drinking raw milk or undiluted water.
Giardia, which settles in the small intestine of a person, can infect other people within 10 days.After a while, giardiasis becomes chronic.The cause of giardiasis cough is allergic reactions that occur when the body is intoxicated by waste products of parasites.For a person infected with giardia, the issue often ends in bronchial asthma.
One of the main dangers of giardiasis is the lack of declared symptoms at the initial stage, which allows for an accurate diagnosis of the disease.The release of worms from the body is episodic, so it is not always possible to detect Giardia cysts in the stool.Before you can confidently diagnose the disease, you need to take samples for analysis several times.
In addition to roundworms and lamblia, the symptom can also be provoked by Toxocara, which is called Canine roundworm because of its prevalence in dogs.After reaching the bronchi, the larvae cause allergic reactions.
Types of helminths affecting children
If a child develops a cough and a cold is excluded, there are serious reasons for infection with helminths.Since there can be a reaction to different types of worms, only laboratory tests can determine which specific helminth is responsible.
Attention!Helminthic cough is often observed in young children.
It is not surprising that parents often mistake it for a cold symptom and, due to the specificity of their actions, begin to treat it with commonly accepted drugs, which eliminate the problem.But at the same time, the cause that leads to it, that is, helminthic infestation, remains unresolved.Worms continue to multiply in the child's body and the disease progresses.
Giardiasis and Ascariasis
Are parasites causing a child's symptoms?Only those able to migrate throughout the body and reach the respiratory tract.These parasites include roundworms and giardia.Their sexual adults live in the intestines, but the larvae of the parasites enter the respiratory system with blood, irritating the receptors and causing allergic reactions.
In this case, part of the larvae is expelled, and the other is swamped, and the next life cycle of parasites begins again in the intestine.Larvae remain in some respiratory system, disrupting its activity.
Toxocara and lung fluke
The most dangerous for the respiratory system are flatworms, especially toxocara.Attaching to the lungs, they cause paragonimiasis and tococariasis - serious diseases accompanied by the destruction of lung tissue and a progressive inflammatory process.
The penetration of flatworms into the child's lungs causes him to cough.If it remains untreated, the inflammatory process goes to a stage accompanied by the formation of mucus and enters a stage.It can be a cough ball.This alarming manifestation should force parents to urgently consult an infectious disease doctor.
It is important!When infected with a fluke, discharge of pus and blood is inevitable.
Types of worms that infect adults
All patients believe that helminths and cough can be part of the same process, but this is really so.A cough caused by worms is usually dry and can be mistaken for a cold.In this case, the absence of other ARVI symptoms, which are usually accompanied by a cold, should be alarming.
What explains this situation?There are two reasons for this:
- Mechanical effects of helminth larvae in lung tissue.
- An allergy that causes the infected body to contain the waste products of worms and the decomposition of dead individuals.
There are not many worms and other parasites that affect the respiratory tract.These are:
- Roundworms;
- Giardia;
- fluke;
- Echinococcus Tapeworm.
Ascariasis
Roundworms are very common, so coughing against the background of ascariasis is a common phenomenon.Infection with roundworms occurs through traditional routes for helminthiases.These include contact with soil, eating unwashed fruits and vegetables, and dirty hands.
Ascaris Larvae cause a problem that mechanically affects the tissues of the respiratory system.This occurs during the migration phase of the parasite.This is the mechanism and sequence of the effect of roundworms on the human respiratory system.
Once in the gastrointestinal tract, roundworm eggs, under the influence of their own enzymes and digestive juices, turn into larvae and shed their shell.The latter is endowed with the ability to enter the bloodstream through the intestinal wall.After that, they are carried throughout the body by the blood - reaching the liver, heart, lungs and respiratory tract.
On the mucous membrane of the trachea, there are cilia that move the larvae upward with reflex movements.In this case, the receptors are irritated and a cough throws the helminths into the mouth, returning to the intestines or from where they are swallowed.
For your information!Cough with ascariasis is usually a short-term phenomenon.But if the infection is of a recurring nature, it can be almost permanent.
Giardiasis
Although Giardia is a microscopic creature, it causes very serious damage to the body.The natural habitat of Giardia is standing.They enter the human body by consuming dirty or poorly processed food or by drinking unpasteurized milk or water.Transmission is possible from infected people and animals.
The main site of Giardia is the intestine.Parasites, larvae need only 10 days from the moment of infection, they begin to develop from eggs.Those that penetrate the intestinal walls, enter the blood and reach the organs of the respiratory system, disrupt their work and cause coughing.
Lung fluke
Fluke lives in the body in the lungs, forming cysts in the bronchi.It occurs when the member eats crayfish and crayfish infected with the parasite.Once in the gastrointestinal tract, the lung fluke penetrates the peritoneum and reaches the lungs through the diaphragm, which causes a persistent cough in the patient.
A small helminth lung belonging to the class Trempates, "abbreviation" to parasitize specifically in the lungs.For example, it causes a more serious problem in the respiratory system than, for example, roundworms.
At the site of localization, infiltrates appear and bleeding occurs, as a result of which worms, dead parasites and lung tissues are filled with decayed metabolites.Damage from the lung fluke is exacerbated by its long liver and ability to live in the host's body for up to 20 years.
In order to overcome this dangerous parasite, it is necessary under the strict control of treatment.Only for each case should be different, can choose an effective drug.
However, the championship of "harmfulness" belongs not only to the lung fluke, but also to the larvae of alveococcus and echinococcus.These are small (up to 7 mm long) tapeworms carried by wolves, coyotes, dogs, jackals, foxes, foxes, wild and domestic cats.
Helminths of the trematode class (digenetic flukes) and Trichinella roundworms cause an allergic cough, which can be especially severe in children.
Runny nose due to helminthiasis and other parasitosis
A runny nose, the presence of helminths occurs much less often.This manifestation is not typical for helminthiasis.However, in some cases, parasites can cause a runny nose and nasal congestion.
Sometimes pinworms, in rare cases, enter the nasal passages with the so-called disordered (random, uncharacteristic) localization and cause a runny nose and nasal congestion.
If we talk about non-helminthic parasitic diseases, then as an example of an infection that causes a runny nose and impaired mucus flow, we can call Nasal Myiiasis, which is the larvae of gadflies and flies located in the nasal cavity.
Attention!Sometimes a runny nose caused by Giardia is somehow a consequence of the body's allergic reaction to Giardia waste.
As for roundworms, it does not cause either a runny nose or a stuffy nose.
Opinion
If a cough occurs due to helminthiasis, treatment should include antiparasitic therapy aimed at destroying worms.In such cases, it is said to take cold pills, not against the disease itself, but against the symptoms.