Cough and worms are phenomena that seem to be 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 localized in the respiratory system.
What worms cause cough?These are parasites that originally lived in the intestines, but as a result of rapid reproduction or in search of better living conditions, they ended up in the liver, and from there they reached the bronchopulmonary tissue through the general blood flow.
Types of helminths
Roundworms, roundworms, live and reproduce in the intestines.Infection with them occurs through eggs that enter the body through food or from the hands and objects used by an infected person.Soil, fruits, vegetables, poorly cooked meat and fish - all of these can introduce helminth eggs into the human body.
To avoid infection it is necessary to:
- avoid contact with infected animals;
- do not use things of people who are infected with helminths;
- keep your hands clean, especially after returning from the street and before eating;
- wash food that is eaten raw (fruits and vegetables) well;
- properly prepare fish and meat dishes.
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 larval migration period on the body is one to two weeks.
Giardia are very small single-celled microorganisms that live in stagnant water.The disease they cause is called giardiasis.Parasite infection occurs mainly in the following ways.
- From an infected person or animal to a healthy one.
- When you eat poorly washed food.
- When you drink raw milk or unboiled water.
Having settled in the small intestine of a person, Giardia becomes capable of infecting other people within 10 days.After some time, giardiasis becomes chronic.The cause of giardia cough is allergic reactions that occur when the body is intoxicated with waste products of the parasite.For a person infected with Giardia, the matter often ends with bronchial asthma.
One of the main dangers of giardia is the absence of pronounced symptoms in the initial phase that would allow 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.You need to take samples for analysis several times before you can reliably diagnose the disease.
In addition to roundworms and lamblia, the symptom can also be caused by toxocariasis, which is also called canine worms due to its prevalence in dogs.Having reached the bronchi, the larvae cause allergic reactions.
Types of helminths affecting children
If a child develops a cough, and a cold is ruled out, there are serious reasons to assume that he may be infected with helminths.Since there can be a reaction to different types of worms, only laboratory tests can determine which helminth is responsible.
Attention!Most often, helminthic cough is observed in young children.
It is not surprising that parents often confuse it with a symptom of a cold, and start treating it with generally accepted drugs, which, due to the specificity of their action, actually eliminate the problem.But at the same time, the reason that caused it, namely, helminthic infestation, remains unresolved.The worms continue to multiply in the child's body, and the disease progresses.
Giardiasis and ascariasis
Which 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 parasite larvae have the ability to penetrate the respiratory system together with the blood, irritating the receptors and causing allergic reactions.
In this case, some of the larvae are expelled, others are swallowed and re-enter the intestine, where the next life cycle of the parasite begins.Some of the larvae remain in the respiratory system, interfering with its functioning.
Toxocariasis and lung fluke
The most dangerous for the respiratory system are flatworms, especially flukes and tapeworms.Attaching to the lungs, they cause paragonymia and toxocarosis - serious diseases accompanied by the destruction of lung tissue and a progressive inflammatory process.
The penetration of flatworms into the child's lungs causes a cough.If left untreated, the inflammatory process progresses and enters a phase accompanied by mucus production.Sputum coughed up may contain blood.This alarming manifestation should force parents to urgently consult a doctor of an infectious disease.
Important!When infected with fluke, 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 it really is.A cough caused by worms is usually dry and can easily be mistaken for a cold.In this case, the absence of other ARVI symptoms that usually accompany a cold should be alarming.
What explains this condition?There are two reasons for this:
- Mechanical effects of helminth larvae on lung tissue.
- Allergies by which the infected organism reacts to the presence of waste products of earthworms and the decomposition of dead individuals.
There are not so many worms and other parasites that affect the respiratory tract.these are:
- round worms;
- Giardia;
- flukes;
- Echinococcus tapeworm.
Ascariasis
Roundworms are very widespread, so coughing on the background of ascariasis is a typical phenomenon.Infection with roundworms occurs through traditional routes for helminthiasis.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 happens during the migration phase of the parasite.The mechanism and order of action of roundworms on the human respiratory system is as follows.
Once in the gastrointestinal tract, roundworm eggs, under the influence of their own enzymes and digestive juice, shed their shell, turning into larvae.The latter are endowed with the ability to penetrate through the intestinal wall into the bloodstream.After that, they are carried by blood throughout the body – to the liver, heart, lungs and respiratory tract.
On the mucous membrane of the trachea there are cilia that transport the larva upwards with their reflex movements.In this case, the receptors are irritated and a cough occurs, which throws the helminths into the mouth, from where they are either spat out or swallowed, returning to the intestines.
FYI!Cough with ascariasis is usually short-lived.But if the infestation is of a recurring nature, it can become almost permanent.
Giardiasis
Despite the fact that Giardia is a microscopic creature, it causes very serious damage to the body.The natural habitat of Giardia is stagnant water.They enter the human body by eating dirty or poorly processed food, or by drinking unboiled milk or water.Transmission is possible from infected people and animals.
The main location of Giardia is the intestine.The parasites only need 10 days from the moment of infection for the larvae to start emerging from the eggs.Penetrating through the intestinal walls, they enter the blood and with it reach the organs of the respiratory system, disturb their work and cause coughing.
Lung fluke
The fluke lives in the lungs in pairs, creating cysts in the bronchi.Infestation occurs when crabs and crabs infected with the parasite are eaten.Once in the gastrointestinal tract, the fluke penetrates the peritoneum and reaches the lungs through the diaphragm, causing a persistent cough in the patient.
The small helminth lung fluke, which belongs to the trematode class, is "specialized" for parasitizing especially in the lungs.It causes much more serious problems in the respiratory system than, for example, roundworms.
At the site of its localization, infiltrates and bleeding occur, resulting in cavities filled with decomposing worm metabolites, dead parasites and lung tissue.The damage from the lung fluke is further compounded by the fact that it is a long-lived liver and can live in the host's body for up to 20 years.
To deal with this dangerous parasite, treatment under the strict supervision of a doctor is necessary.Only he can choose an effective remedy, which should be different for each case.
However, the priority in "harmfulness" does not belong to the lung fluke, but to the larvae of alveococcus and echinococcus.These are small (up to 7 mm long) tapeworms, which are transmitted by wolves, coyotes, dogs, jackals, foxes, wild and domestic cats without much harm to themselves.
Helminths from the trematode class (digenetic flukes) and trichinella roundworms cause allergic cough, which can be especially severe in children.
Runny nose due to helminthiasis and other parasitosis
Runny nose is caused by the presence of helminths much less often.This manifestation is not at all typical of helminthosis.However, in some cases, parasites can cause a runny nose and nasal congestion.
Sometimes pinworms, in rare cases, with so-called perverted (random, uncharacteristic) localization, enter the nasal passages and cause 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 copious discharge of mucus from the nose, we can cite nasal myiasis, which is the larvae of gadflies and flies that have settled in the nasal cavity.
Attention!A runny nose, which is sometimes caused by Giardia, is the result of the body's reaction in the form of an allergic reaction to Giardia waste.
As for roundworms, they do not cause a runny nose or nasal congestion.
Conclusion
If the cough appears due to helminthosis, treatment should include antiparasitic therapy aimed at destroying the worms.Taking cold pills in such cases means directing the treatment not against the disease itself, but against its symptoms.