You may be able to see threadworm if you examine your child at night. Take a torch, separate your child's buttocks and look carefully around the anus (and the opening to the vagina in girls). You might see tiny white threads that may be moving.
Sometimes worms are visible in the anal area, on underwear, or in the toilet. In stool, they look like small pieces of white cotton thread.
If you or your child has threadworms, everyone in your household will need to be treated as there's a high risk of the infection spreading. This includes those who don't have any symptoms of an infection. For most people, treatment will involve taking a single dose of a medication called mebendazole to kill the worms.
The worms get into the body when people swallow the tiny pinworm eggs. The eggs can be on contaminated hands, under fingernails, and on things people touch a lot, such as: clothing, bed linens, and towels. bathroom surfaces.
One way to detect pinworms is to shine a flashlight on the anal area. The worms are tiny, white, and threadlike. If none are seen, check for 2 or 3 additional nights.
The symptoms that indicate the presence of the worms are poor appetite, unintentional weight loss, rashes on the buttocks, stomach pain, constipation or diarrhoea, frequent urination and fatigue.
A child can go through deworming on a regular basis to get the intestinal worms removed. If the worms are not removed, they can multiply and lay eggs in the intestine, leading to major damage to the body. Some of these intestinal parasites can even be fatal and hence should not be ignored.
Although often asymptomatic, parasitic infections can lead to disruptions in mood, behavior and sleep – particularly in children with worms.
Give to children 1 year up to 5 years (12-59 months) of age. It is safe and effective to give deworming in combination with vitamin A every 4-6 months.
The amount of time that passes from when someone swallows the eggs until the worms lay new eggs is about 1 to 2 months. Pinworm eggs can end up on anything touched by someone who has pinworms: on a counter in the kitchen, in a bed, or on a desk at school.
Itching during the night in a child's perianal area strongly suggests pinworm infection. Diagnosis is made by identifying the worm or its eggs. Worms can sometimes be seen on the skin near the anus or on underclothing, pajamas, or sheets about 2 to 3 hours after falling asleep.
Having worms can make you feel extreme hunger just after eating, or extreme fullness when you haven't eaten anything. This is because the worms feed on the food that you have eaten, leaving you hungry, but can also cause you to feel nauseous or gaseous, which can make you feel full.
The main sign of threadworms is an itchy bottom. Sometimes children feel 'out of sorts' and do not want to eat much. 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.
Large numbers of threadworms may possibly cause mild abdominal (tummy) pains, and make a child irritable. Very rarely, threadworms can cause other problems. What precautions must I take? Medicine will kill the worms in the gut, but not the eggs that have been laid around the anus.
To kill parasitic worms, children receive a deworming tablet, like albendazole, twice a year. Children expel worms via stools - often as early as the next day. Once children are free of parasitic worms, their bodies can better absorb vitamin A and other available nutrients.
Tulsi leaf juice with honey or peach juice and honey is also helpful. Food like ajwain (caraway), black pepper (kaali mirch), asafoetida (hing), black salt (kala namak), dry ginger, garlic, turmeric are good for deworming. Take ajwain mixed with a pinch of salt on empty stomach for a week to eliminate worms.
In girls, threadworms can wander forwards and lay their eggs in the vagina or urethra (the tube that passes urine). A doctor may check for threadworms in young girls with a vaginal discharge, bedwetting, or problems with passing urine. Rarely, threadworms can cause Threadworms are common but are not usually serious.
Infants, toddlers, and very young children in day care settings are at risk for the parasitic disease called giardiasis that causes diarrhea and is spread through contaminated feces. Pinworm infection (enterobiasis) also occurs among preschool and young school-age children.