What Parasites Cause Cough - Causes, Treatment And Prevention

Table of contents:

What Parasites Cause Cough - Causes, Treatment And Prevention
What Parasites Cause Cough - Causes, Treatment And Prevention

Video: What Parasites Cause Cough - Causes, Treatment And Prevention

Video: What Parasites Cause Cough - Causes, Treatment And Prevention
Video: Chronic coughing: Possible causes and treatment 2024, March
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How to diagnose and treat parasites that cause cough

Content

  • 1 Types of parasites that can cause cough

    • 1.1 Who are flukes and how they enter the body
    • 1.2 Giardia and symptoms
    • 1.3 How roundworms can affect the work of the respiratory organs
    • 1.4 Toxocars - how they act on the body
  • 2 How the action of parasites is manifested
  • 3 How the disease is diagnosed
  • 4 How to treat such diseases

A cough is most often perceived as a sign of a cold. But not everyone knows that parasites living inside can provoke it. As a rule, they do not manifest themselves openly, therefore, to find them, you need to contact a specialist.

Types of parasites that can cause cough

The types of parasites that can provoke a cough in humans are as follows:

  1. Ascaris;
  2. Giardia;
  3. Toxocars;
  4. Pulmonary flukes.

Basically, helminths choose the intestines as their place of residence. There they multiply rapidly and constantly migrate, gradually populating the entire body. They move with the help of the bloodstream, enter the liver, and then settle in the organs. Through the vessels, along with the blood, they can penetrate both the bronchi and the lungs.

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Helminths living in the human body feed on blood, as well as the tissues of the organs where they are located. In the process of life, toxic products are released, which seriously poison human organs. The result is the development of inflammatory processes, the body's ability to resist harmful infections decreases, and more serious diseases often begin.

Acarida and lamblia willingly live in any of the organs of the human body. If they penetrate the respiratory system, this means that the larvae are simply looking for a new location. Flukes and toxocars try to choose the bronchi, lungs, trachea as a habitat. These are the most common parasites that can cause coughing.

A small part of them, living in the respiratory organs, leave the body along with secretions - with a wet cough, runny nose. Then some come back - with the parasites going from the intestines to the respiratory system.

Who are flukes and how they enter the body

If lung flukes appear in the body, the signs of this may be as follows:

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  • At the very beginning, when flukes are just beginning to occupy the lungs, there is a high humidity cough;
  • If helminths have lived in the body for a long time, traces of pus and blood are noticeable in the coughing up sputum.

This type of parasite is referred to as flukes - having entered the respiratory system, they begin to quickly destroy organ tissues. In this case, inflammation begins in the patient's body. Gradually, such a disorder leads to sclerosis, atrophic changes begin in the tissues. In this case, the inflammation becomes more and more permanent, the patient's well-being gradually becomes more and more unstable.

Basically, the penetration of flukes into human organisms occurs during their stay in open water bodies. Frequent carriers are fish and other inhabitants of such reservoirs, and for them infection is carried out through water, that is, the common habitat. If you eat fish, which is a source of infection, which has not received sufficient heat treatment, harmful creatures enter the human body and begin vigorous activity.

Giardia and symptoms

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Giardia, unlike other types of worms, are almost invisible at the very beginning of infection. At first, their presence does not appear at all. Then a cough may begin. It is from this moment that it is already necessary to urgently start treatment - then the symptoms will only get worse. If you neglect the treatment, giardiasis will quickly turn into a chronic stage.

Gradually the disease progresses, inflammation begins in the tissues of the lungs, allergies and intoxication may occur. Often there is bronchial asthma, which acts as a complication due to the active life of lamblia. All people can be equally infected - the main sources that provoke the entry of harmful microorganisms are milk, poorly washed fruits and vegetables, contaminated water bodies, especially with stagnant water.

How roundworms can affect the work of the respiratory organs

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More often than other parasites, roundworms cause cough. After the ascaris larvae penetrate the body, their active life begins. Usually the parasites are located in the trachea - on their inner surface there are cilia that help the larvae move from one end to the other.

During coughing, ascaris larvae often enter the oral cavity. Some of them leave the body along with the phlegm that comes out during a cough, but in some cases they find the opportunity to come back. Some more larvae penetrate from the mouth into the stomach, then into the intestines - in the process of swallowing saliva.

The activity of the parasite provokes a dry, unobtrusive cough, which gradually becomes wet. If roundworms have been in the patient's body for quite a long time, with a severe attack of coughing, blood often flows.

In addition to the fact that a cough appears with parasites, the patient may note other signs of the presence of ascaris:

  • Breathing is difficult, gradually turns into respiratory failure;
  • An inflammatory process that can form in different areas of the lungs;
  • The patient's lips turn blue.

The main reasons why roundworms enter the human body are insufficiently washed fruits and vegetables or insufficient cleanliness after close contact with animals. While staying in any part of the body, roundworms can grow up to 15 cm long.

Toxocars - how they act on the body

It is believed that the greatest danger to humans is represented by toxocars. Their presence is manifested by a number of different symptoms:

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  • Coughing fits;
  • Temperature increase;
  • Complicated breathing, accompanied by wheezing, shortness of breath;
  • Vision problems;
  • Allergies, rashes on the body;
  • Cough in fits.

The symptoms listed above often act as a sign of toxocariasis, which is caused by helminths of this type. Often they are also called "dog roundworm". The main source of penetration of parasites into the human body is dogs, especially stray ones. After contact with them, the risk of infection is high.

Helminths can grow inside the human body to a length of 20 cm. They most often inhabit the trachea, bronchi, and lungs.

How the action of parasites is manifested

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How the action of parasites is manifested

When the first symptoms of infection appear in the form of coughing fits, it is necessary to diagnose the presence of infections in the body, and especially helminthic invasions. When the presence of parasites is confirmed, treatment should be started immediately.

In these cases, the remedies whose task is to help get rid of the cough, do not bring much effect, since it is caused by the wrong reasons for which the drug is aimed. As a result, people who receive the wrong treatment can develop serious complications. For example, lung problems may begin. Also, helminths can cause cancer of the respiratory organs in various forms, and in some cases, bronchial asthma develops.

All systems of the human body are interconnected. As the disease progresses, other organs are affected. Damage to the optic nerve may occur, and visual function may be impaired.

The skin also suffers, and quite seriously - a rash appears on them. This phenomenon is considered typical for toxocariasis. There is a metabolic disorder. The patient begins to progress dysbiosis, against its background vomiting and severe diarrhea opens. The subsequent reproduction of parasites provokes problems with air exchange. In such situations, asthma attacks are not uncommon - they can be fatal to the patient.

How is the disease diagnosed?

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During the diagnosis, it is possible to find out with greater certainty which parasites live in the respiratory organs. When the first signs of a disease in the form of a cough appear, the doctor will most likely send on studies that will establish the presence of a certain infection in the body. If the analyzes have not confirmed this, information will be collected about the location of the worms in the trachea, lungs and bronchi.

The following tests may be prescribed:

  • Examination of urine, blood;
  • Analysis of feces for the presence of worms in the body.

It is possible to examine feces only in the first few hours after sampling - later, biological material can give false results. In the process of blood testing, the main attention is paid to the rate at which erythrocytes settle, to the indicators of eosinophils, which are a special type of leukocytes that work as blood purifiers from foreign organisms. If the norm is exceeded, this raises suspicion of the presence of parasites in the body.

In patients with helminthiasis, a blood test reveals a low level of hemoglobin. In such cases, it is necessary to carry out several analyzes - this is necessary because the worms have a certain cycle of reproduction and development.

Usually, parasites, which can cause coughing, are not easy to identify with conventional diagnostic methods. Often because of this, it becomes necessary to perform the examination again. Subsequent treatment is determined depending on the type of parasite identified in the disease.

How to treat such diseases

In diseases that provoke parasites in the respiratory organs, therapy is carried out in a complex manner. They are based on medicines with an antihelminthic effect, for example, Vermox, Vormil, Pirantel.

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Vermox
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Nourished
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Pirantel

These drugs are prescribed in a dosage that depends on the severity of the disease, the patient's weight and age. Medicines are used that soften the spasms in the bronchi.

To avoid the appearance of parasites in the respiratory organs, the following preventive measures are proposed:

  • It is necessary to monitor the health of domestic animals, to carry out their timely deworming. This will help prevent the worm larvae from entering the human body.
  • After contact with animals, birds, including pets, you must thoroughly wash your hands using disinfectant gels. The same is true after walking in crowded places, visiting toilets.
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    Parents of young children should be especially careful about hygiene - they are more susceptible to helminthic invasions, including those with lesions of the respiratory system.

  • Before use, vegetables and fruits should be washed well under running water. If necessary, scald their surface with boiling water.
  • Try to avoid contact with stagnant water, especially in bodies of water, the contents of which have not been checked by sanitary and epidemiological stations.

Having become familiar with what parasites can cause coughing and how dangerous the consequences are, it is worth paying more attention to preventing the onset of the disease. Parasites can provoke not only coughing attacks, but also other symptoms that can cause many inconveniences and health problems. To avoid this, you must first of all be careful about personal hygiene. At the slightest sign of the development of an ailment, you should consult a doctor to assess the condition.

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