Cough and worms are phenomena that seem to be poorly compatible.However, the cause of a 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 coughing?These are the parasites that originally lived in the intestines, but as a result of rapid reproduction or in search of better conditions for life, they ended up in the liver, and from there, through the general blood flow, they reached the bronchopulmonary tissue.
Types of helminths
Roundworms, roundworms, live and reproduce in the intestines.Infection with them occurs through eggs that enter the body with food or from hands and objects used by an infected person.Soil, fruits, vegetables, poorly cooked meat and fish - all this can introduce helminth eggs into the human body.
To avoid infection you need to:
- avoid contact with infected animals;
- do not use the things of people with helminth infections;
- keep your hands clean, especially after returning from the street and before eating;
- wash foods eaten raw (fruits and vegetables) well;
- properly prepare fish and meat dishes.
Worth knowing!Roundworms provoke 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 period of migration of 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.Infection with parasites 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.
Having settled in the small intestine of a person, Giardia within 10 days becomes capable of infecting other people.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 at the initial stage of pronounced symptoms 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 have to take samples for analysis several times before you can confidently diagnose the disease.
In addition to roundworms and lamblia, the symptom can also be provoked by toxocara, which is also called canine roundworm due to its widespread occurrence in dogs.Having reached the bronchi, the larvae cause allergic reactions.
Types of helminths that affect 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 it can be a reaction to different types of worms, only laboratory tests can determine which particular helminth is responsible for it.
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 medications, 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.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 the 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 of the larvae are thrown out, the other is swallowed and enters the intestine again, where the next life cycle of the parasites begins.Some of the larvae remain in the respiratory system, disrupting its functioning.
Toxocara and pulmonary fluke
The most dangerous to the respiratory system are flatworms, in particular flukes and toxocaras.Having 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 causes him to cough.If left untreated, the inflammatory process progresses and enters a stage 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 infected with a 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 this is indeed the case.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 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.This:
- roundworms;
- Giardia;
- fluke;
- Echinococcus tapeworm.
Ascariasis
Roundworms are very widespread, so coughing against the background of ascariasis is a typical 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 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 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 which they are carried by the blood throughout the body - reaching the liver, heart, lungs, and respiratory tract.
On the mucous membrane of the trachea there are cilia, which transport the larva upward with their reflex movements.In this case, the receptors are irritated and a cough occurs, throwing helminths into the mouth, from where they are either spat out or swallowed, returning to the intestines.
For your information!Cough with ascariasis is usually a short-term phenomenon.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 harm 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 location of Giardia is the intestine.Parasites only need 10 days from the moment of infection for the larvae to begin to emerge from the eggs.Penetrating through the intestinal walls, they enter the blood and reach the organs of the respiratory system with it, disrupting their functioning and causing coughing.
Pulmonary fluke
The fluke lives in the lungs in pairs, forming cysts in the bronchi.Infestation occurs when eating crabs and crayfish infected with the parasite.Once in the gastrointestinal tract, the pulmonary fluke penetrates the peritoneum and reaches the lungs through the diaphragm, causing a persistent cough in the patient.
The small helminth pulmonary fluke, belonging to the class of trematodes, “specializes” in parasitizing specifically in the lungs.It causes much more serious problems in the respiratory system than roundworms, for example.
At the site of its localization, infiltrates appear and hemorrhages develop, as a result of which cavities appear filled with decaying metabolites of worms, dead parasites and lung tissue.The harm from the pulmonary fluke is further aggravated by the fact that it is a long-liver and can live in the host’s body for up to 20 years.
To cope with this dangerous parasite, treatment is necessary under the strict supervision of a doctor.Only he can choose an effective medicine, which should be different for each case.
However, the championship in “harmfulness” belongs not to the pulmonary fluke, but to the larvae of alveococcus and echinococcus.These are small (up to 7 mm long) tapeworms, 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 parasitoses
A runny nose is caused by the presence of helminths much less frequently.This manifestation is not typical for helminthiasis at all.Nevertheless, in some cases, parasites can cause a runny nose and nasal congestion.
Sometimes pinworms, in rare cases, with the so-called perverted (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 copious discharge of mucus from the nose, we can name nasal myiasis, which is the larvae of gadflies and flies that have settled in the nasal cavity.
Attention!A runny nose, sometimes caused by Giardia, is a consequence of the body's response in the form of an allergenic reaction to Giardia waste.
As for roundworms, they do not cause either a runny nose or nasal congestion.
Conclusion
If a cough occurs due to helminthiasis, treatment should include antiparasitic therapy aimed at destroying worms.Taking cold pills in such cases means directing treatment not against the disease itself, but against its symptoms.