Most of the time worms don't cause any major problems, but in rare cases they can be infectious to the vagina and uterus, increasing the risk of infertility.
The fact that people can live without even noticing that they are infected with a parasite is testament to the immune system's ability to adapt to a foreign body living inside it. It was known that parasites can weaken their human host, making it less likely for an infected woman to conceive.
Quick read. Having threadworms in pregnancy does not harm the baby. Threadworms in pregnancy can be treated using hygiene measures, or with a medicine called mebendazole. Hygiene measures may be preferred in early pregnancy while the baby is developing.
Infestation of female genital tract is unusual (7) and most often presents as accidental finding of ova on cervical smears or as vulvovaginitis, salpingitis, pelvic pain, pelvic masses, irregular menstrual cycles, postmenopausal bleeding (2, 4, 5). Other extraintestinal manifestations of enterobiasis are also rare.
If left untreated, the intense itching and scratching associated with these infections will result in secondary bacterial infections. Some of these may be difficult to treat. Untreated people can continue to infect other people.
Complications. Typical pinworm infections don't cause serious problems. In rare circumstances, heavy infestations can cause infection of female genitals. The parasite can travel from the anal area up the vagina to the uterus, fallopian tubes and around the pelvic organs.
How long does pinworms last? The life cycle of a pinworm is 4 to 6 weeks. Without treatment, infestation will continue as long as fresh eggs are being swallowed, unless a person develops immunity to pinworms, which is unusual before age 15.
The worms can spread to the spinal cord, causing myelopathy. This results in pain, urinary retention, and weakness of the regions below the level of infection. Permanent paralysis can result.
Deworming before pregnancy is a must for women preparing to become mothers. However, you should only get pregnant after deworming for at least 1-3 months.
When women had hookworm infections, they went longer between pregnancies. But women with roundworms got pregnant sooner and more often, researchers report this week in Science. The difference might have to do with how parasites alter their hosts' immune systems.
There's no evidence to suggest that taking mebendazole reduces fertility in either men or women.
Toxoplasma gondii is one of the major causes of abortion in pregnant women.
The greatest impacts in a worm infestation are reduced feed efficiency and egg quality. In severe infestations, death may occur.
Trichomonas vaginalis is a protozoan parasite recognized as sexually transmissible among humans (2). Similar to that which occurs with viruses, parasites could reach seminal fluid by passing from the bloodstream to the male genital tract or by directly infecting reproductive organs.
Around 4 weeks after ingestion, the adult female moves down the gut and exits the body via the anus to lay a batch of eggs on the surrounding skin, often at night. The worm then dies, her reproductive mission complete.
Strict hygiene measures can clear up pinworm infection without medication, and reduce the risk of reinfection. The worm has a lifespan of about six weeks, therefore the strict hygiene needs to last that long.
Chlorine dioxide gas inactivates pinworm eggs in a non-invasive and non-corrosive manner.
Pinworm infection is spread by the fecal-oral route, that is by the transfer of infective pinworm eggs from the anus to someone's mouth, either directly by hand or indirectly through contaminated clothing, bedding, food, or other articles.
Although often asymptomatic, parasitic infections can lead to disruptions in mood, behavior and sleep – particularly in children with worms. The most common worm infection amongst Australian children is threadwork (pinworm, Enterobius vermicularis).
They noted that not deworming children as specified by the World Health Organisation can lead to malnutrition, low blood count, intestinal perforation and death.