It is strongly recommended that all members of the family are treated at the same time as a precaution against reinfection. If a family member is pregnant, planning to become pregnant or breastfeeding, or if there's a child under 2 years old, a threadworm tablet will not be suitable, and you should see your doctor.
Mebendazole, albendazole and tiabendazole work by preventing the worms from absorbing the sugars they need for survival. They kill the worms but not the eggs. Praziquantel and ivermectin work by paralysing the worms in the gut (intestine).
If you are self-treating for pinworms, take the medication once only. Do not repeat the dose without talking with your doctor first. Depending on the type of worm infection you have, your doctor may direct you to take the medication only once or for several days.
A pharmacist can help with threadworms
Treat everyone in your household, even if they do not have symptoms.
Wash hands and scrub nails each morning. Always wash hands before meals or snacks, before preparing food, and after going to the toilet or changing nappies. ❖ Every morning have a bath, or wash around the anus, to get rid of any eggs laid overnight. You must do this straight away after getting up from bed.
Threadworms do not go away by themselves, and people do not build up immunity to them, so they must be treated in order to eradicate them totally from the body.
Strict hygiene measures can help clear up a threadworm infection and reduce the likelihood of reinfection. The lifespan of threadworms is approximately 6 weeks, so it's important that hygiene measures are followed for at least this length of time.
Threadworms do not cause major health problems, and are usually not the cause of tummy pain. Scratching of the bottom can cause a red rash around the anus, which can sometimes become infected. In girls they can move into the vagina, causing itching and a vaginal discharge.
Yes, it is normal to see dead threadworms in the persons bowel motions. Depending on the frequency of bathroom visits this can take up to one week. Symptoms of threadworm infection usually disappear within one week of treatment.
Threadworms live for about 5-6 weeks in the gut and then die. Before they die, the female worms lay tiny eggs around the back passage (anus). This tends to occur at night when you are warm and still in bed.
Pyrantel pamoate is available without prescription. The medication does not reliably kill pinworm eggs. Therefore, the second dose is to prevent re-infection by adult worms that hatch from any eggs not killed by the first treatment.
Before taking this medicine
You should not use Pinworm Medicine if you are allergic to it, or if you have: liver disease.
Pinworm medicines are available without a prescription (such as Reese's Pinworm Medicine). There are also prescription medicines that treat pinworms.
As eggs can become infective after 3-5 days the bathing should be repeated every third day. If a problem is occurring, then daily bathing is best. If the skin is irritated a dilute mild antiseptic can help. Applying Vaseline to the skin after cleaning can help protect the skin and prevent the eggs sticking.
Chlorine dioxide gas inactivates pinworm eggs in a non-invasive and non-corrosive manner.
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.
Your doctor will give you some medicine to take right away and then again 2 weeks later to be sure the worms are gone. The doctor can also give you a cream to help stop the itching. Because it's easy to pass pinworms on to other people, the doctor may want the other people in your house to take medicine, too.
The female adult worm deposits eggs just outside the anus at night, which causes itching. Scratching results in the collection of eggs on the fingers and under the fingernails. The entire process of transfer will then be easily repeated. The eggs can be spread among family members through sharing bath towels.
Female threadworms lay an average of 11,000 tiny eggs, which are invisible to the naked eye. She lays these eggs outside the anus, or, in girls, around the vagina and urethra. Eggs are usually laid at night whilst the child sleeps.
It's also important to wash any bedding and towels to get rid of any eggs, as they can live for up to two weeks outside the body. “Worms like sugar,” says Dr Snell, “so it can also be a good idea to cut back on sugar in your child's diet, too.”
A hot water wash, or the heat of an iron, will kill the eggs. Do not shake bed linen indoors as this can spread eggs around. Shower each morning, and wash around anus.
Red flags to look out for:
Loss of appetite. Weight loss. Bedwetting (consider other diagnoses e.g. Type 1 diabetes) Skin infections around anus caused by scratching.
Threadworms are small, thin, white, thread-like worms between 2 mm and 13 mm long. They infect human guts (intestines). They are common in children, but anyone of any age can be affected. Threadworms live for about 5-6 weeks in the gut, and then die.
Launder in hot water.
Wash bedsheets, pajamas, underwear, washcloths and towels in hot water to help kill pinworm eggs.
People become infected, usually unknowingly, by swallowing (ingesting) infective pinworm eggs that are on fingers, under fingernails, or on clothing, bedding, and other contaminated objects and surfaces.