Cough and worms are phenomena that seem poorly compatible.However, the cause of dry cough is often helminths that have settled and multiplied in the human body.
Not all helminths are capable of this, but only those that can be located in the respiratory system.
What worms cause coughing?These are parasites that originally lived in the intestine, but due to rapid reproduction or the search for better living conditions, ended up in the liver and from there, through the general blood flow, reached the bronchopulmonary tissue.
Types of helminths
Roundworms, roundworms, live and reproduce in the intestine.Infection from them occurs through eggs that enter the body with food or from the hands and objects used by an infected person.Earth, fruits, vegetables, undercooked meat and fish - all this can introduce helminth eggs into the human body.
To avoid infection you need:
- avoid contact with infected animals;
- do not use the things of people with helminth infections;
- keep your hands clean, especially when returning from the street and before eating;
- wash foods eaten raw well (fruit and vegetables);
- prepare fish and meat dishes appropriately.
It's worth knowing!Roundworms cause a dry cough.Migrating through the circulatory system, their larvae enter the respiratory organs - bronchi, trachea, lungs - irritating the receptors and causing this symptom.The migration period of the larvae throughout the body is one to two weeks.
Giardia are very small single-celled microorganisms that live in stagnant water.The disease caused by them is called giardiasis.Parasitic infection occurs mainly in the following ways.
- From an infected person or animal to a healthy one.
- When eating poorly washed foods.
- When drinking raw milk or unboiled water.
After settling in a person's small intestine, Giardia becomes capable of infecting other people within 10 days.After some time, 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 matter often ends in bronchial asthma.
One of the main dangers of giardiasis is the absence in the initial stage of pronounced symptoms that allow 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 feces.It is necessary to take samples for analysis several times before the disease can be confidently diagnosed.
In addition to roundworms and lamblia, the symptom can also be caused by toxocara, also called canine roundworm due to its spread 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 to assume that he may be infected with helminths.Since it can be a reaction to different types of worms, only laboratory tests can determine which particular helminth is responsible.
Attention!Most often, helminthic cough is observed in young children.
It is not surprising that parents often mistake it for a symptom of a cold and begin to treat it with generally accepted drugs that, due to the specificity of their action, actually eliminate the problem.But at the same time, the reason that caused it, namely helminth infestation, remains unresolved.The worms continue to multiply in the child's body and the disease progresses.
Giardiasis and ascariasis
What parasites cause symptoms in a child?Only those that are able to migrate throughout the body and reach the respiratory tract.These parasites include roundworms and lamblia.Their sexually mature individuals live in the intestines, but the larvae of parasites have the ability to penetrate along with the blood into the respiratory system, irritating the receptors and causing allergic reactions.
In this case, some larvae are expelled, the other is swallowed and enters the intestine again, where the next life cycle of the parasites begins.Some larvae remain in the respiratory system, disrupting its functioning.
Toxocara and lung fluke
The most dangerous for the respiratory system are flatworms, in particular trematodes and toxocara.Being attached to the lungs, they cause paragonimiasis and toxocariasis - serious diseases accompanied by the destruction of lung tissue and a progressive inflammatory process.
The penetration of flatworms into the child's lungs makes him cough.If left untreated, the inflammatory process progresses and enters a phase accompanied by the formation of mucus.Coughed sputum may contain blood.This alarming manifestation should force parents to urgently consult an infectious disease doctor.
Important!When a fluke becomes infected, sputum with pus and blood is inevitable.
Types of worms that infect adults
Not all patients believe that helminths and cough can be part of the same process, but this is indeed the case.Coughs caused by worms are usually dry and can easily be confused with a cold.In this case, the absence of other ARVI symptoms that usually accompany colds should be alarming.
What explains this condition?There are two reasons for this:
- Mechanical effects of helminth larvae on lung tissue.
- Allergies with which the infected body responds to the presence of waste products of worms and the decomposition of dead individuals.
There are not so many worms and other parasites that affect the respiratory tract.These are:
- nematodes;
- Giardia;
- stroke of luck;
- Echinococcus tapeworm.
Ascariasis
Roundworms are widespread, so coughing against the background of ascariasis is a typical phenomenon.Infection with nematodes occurs through traditional helminthiasis routes.These include contact with soil, eating unwashed fruits and vegetables, and dirty hands.
Ascaris larvae cause the problem by mechanically affecting the tissues of the respiratory system.This occurs during the migration phase of the parasite.The mechanism and sequence of the impact of nematodes on the human respiratory system are as follows.
Once in the gastrointestinal tract, roundworm eggs, under the influence of their own enzymes and digestive juice, lose their shell, turning into larvae.The latter have the ability to penetrate through the intestinal wall into the bloodstream.They are then transported by the blood throughout the body, reaching the liver, heart, lungs and respiratory tract.
On the mucosa of the trachea there are cilia, which with their reflex movements transport the larva upwards.In this case, the receptors are irritated and a cough occurs, throwing the helminths into the mouth, from where they are spat out or swallowed, returning to the intestine.
For your information!Cough with ascariasis is usually a short-term phenomenon.But if the infestation is recurring, it can become almost permanent.
Giardiasis
Although Giardia is a microscopic creature, it causes very serious damage to the body.Giardia's natural habitat is standing water.They enter the human body by consuming dirty or poorly processed food, or by drinking unboiled milk or water.Transmission from infected people and animals is possible.
The main site of Giardia is the intestine.It takes parasites only 10 days from the time of infection for the larvae to begin emerging from the eggs.Penetrating through the intestinal walls, they enter the blood and with it reach the organs of the respiratory system, interrupting their functioning and causing coughing.
Pulmonary fluke
Fluke lives in the lungs in pairs, forming cysts in the bronchi.Infestation occurs when crabs and shrimp infected with the parasite are eaten.Once in the gastrointestinal tract, the lung fluke penetrates the peritoneum and reaches the lungs through the diaphragm, causing a persistent cough in the patient.
The small helminthic lung fluke, belonging to the trematode class, is "specialized" in specifically parasitizing the lungs.It causes much more serious respiratory system problems than, for example, roundworms.
At the site of its localization infiltrates appear and hemorrhages develop, as a result of which the cavities appear filled with decaying metabolites of worms, dead parasites and lung tissue.The damage resulting from the lung fluke is further compounded by the fact that it is long-liver and can live in the host's body for up to 20 years.
To cope with this dangerous parasite, treatment under the strict supervision of a doctor is necessary.Only he can choose an effective medicine, which should be different for each case.
However, the championship of "harmfulness" does not belong to the lung fluke, but to the larvae of alveococcus and echinococcus.These are small tapeworms (up to 7 mm long), which are carried by wolves, coyotes, dogs, jackals, foxes, wild and domestic cats without much harm to themselves.
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 parasites
Runny nose is caused by the presence of helminths much less frequently.This manifestation is not at all typical of helminthiasis.However, in some cases, parasites can cause a runny nose and nasal congestion.
Sometimes pinworms, in rare cases, with the so-called perverse (random, non-characteristic) localization, enter the nasal passages and cause a runny nose and nasal congestion.
If we talk about non-helminthic parasitic diseases, then as an example of an infestation that causes a runny nose and abundant discharge of mucus from the nose, we can name nasal myiasis, which are the larvae of horseflies and flies that have settled in the nasal cavity.
Attention!Runny nose, sometimes caused by Giardia, is a consequence of the body's response in the form of an allergic reaction to Giardia waste.
As for roundworms, they cause neither runny nose nor nasal congestion.
Conclusion
If cough occurs due to helminthiasis, treatment should include antiparasitic therapy aimed at destroying worms.Taking pills for colds in such cases means directing treatment not against the disease itself, but against its symptoms.