The adult worms live in the lower intestine, coming out of the anus at night to lay their eggs. Children with threadworms can get the eggs under their fingernails when scratching their itchy bottoms at night. The eggs can then be spread via bed linen, bathroom fittings and other items, even food.
❖ Change and wash underwear, nightwear (and bed linen if possible) each day. Avoid shaking clothes and linen as any eggs on them may be wafted into the air and be swallowed. ❖ Also, each day for the same 14 days it is advisable to: Vacuum and dust all household carpets, particularly those where children play.
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.
Worms are mainly spread in small bits of poo from people with a worm infection. Some are caught from food. You can get infected by: touching objects or surfaces with worm eggs on them – if someone with worms doesn't wash their hands.
For most people, treatment will involve taking a single dose of a medication called mebendazole to kill the worms. If necessary, another dose can be taken after 2 weeks. During treatment and for a few weeks afterwards, it's also important to follow strict hygiene measures to avoid spreading the threadworm eggs.
Other intestinal worm infections are also treated with medicines that kill the parasite without harming the person, such as albendazole, mebendazole, ivermectin and praziquantel. Your doctor or a gastroenterologist will advise on the appropriate medicine and the dose. The worms are then usually passed out of the body.
Parasites on the skin are usually small insects or worms that burrow into the skin to live there or lay their eggs.
It takes about five months for larvae to become adult worms inside the human body. Larvae can become adults only inside the human body. The adult worms live between layers of connective tissue (e.g., ligaments, tendons) under the skin and between the thin layers of tissue that cover muscles (fascia).
Pinworms can survive up to two weeks on clothing, bedding or other objects, if kept at room temperature.
Launder in hot water. Wash bedsheets, pajamas, underwear, washcloths and towels in hot water to help kill pinworm eggs. Dry on high heat. Don't scratch.
Wash your hands frequently and scrub under your fingernails after going to the toilet and before eating food. Make sure your child does this too. Keep your child's and your own fingernails short. Change bed linen, towels and underwear daily for several days after treatment.
Clean the home post-treatment
Wash all the bedsheets and linen that family members have been sleeping on with hot water, to kill any remaining eggs. Don't forget the favourite teddy or security blanket, and take care not to shake linen when removing bedclothes - you could be spreading infectious eggs into the air.
But sometimes, even the most diligent housekeepers can end up with mattress worms. You'll find these tiny, white, brown, clear, and yellow larvae in a bedroom with lots of clutter. Dirty bedding will give the bed worms more things to feed on.
It moves. If it doesn't wiggle, it's probably lint or a thread. The worm may be seen around the anus or on the child's bottom. It is especially active at night or early morning.
The eggs pass into the digestive system, where they hatch. About 1 to 2 months later, adult female pinworms lay eggs on the skin right around the anus, which makes the area itchy. Often, this happens at night.
Most people don't experience serious complications from pinworm infections, but in rare cases the following complications can occur: Urinary tract infections (UTIs). UTIs can develop if you do not treat the pinworm infection. Vaginitis and endometritis.
According to a case study in this month's New England Journal of Medicine, doctors in Moscow discovered Dirofilaria repens, a “zoonotic filarial nematode,” a type of worm, moving its way around the woman's face, under her skin. She needed surgery to remove it, and the woman has since recovered.
It's rare in the United States but may occur in the rural Southeast. Infection occurs from contaminated food or water. Adult worms can grow more than a foot long. Usually, they don't cause symptoms.
There are two medications that can be used to treat the infection and manage the symptoms. The treatment of choice is diethylcarbamazine (DEC), which kills the microfilariae and adult worms. Albendazole is sometimes used in patients who are not cured with multiple DEC treatments.
Any worms in your gut will eventually pass out in your poo. You may not notice this. To avoid becoming infected again or infecting others, it's very important during the weeks after starting treatment to wash your hands: after going to the toilet.
Eat more raw garlic, pumpkin seeds, pomegranates, beets, and carrots, all of which have been used traditionally to kill parasites. In one study, researchers found that a mixture of honey and papaya seeds cleared stools of parasites in 23 out of 30 subjects. Drink a lot of water to help flush out your system.
For most, it's a short stay, with the immune system evicting the worms in days or weeks and leaving no trace that the parasites were ever there. In a small percentage of people and other animals, though, the worms gain a permanent mouth-hold and can stick around the intestines for years.