The most common symptom of infection is
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.
You can buy medicine (mebendazole) for threadworms from pharmacies. This is usually a chewable tablet or liquid you swallow. Treat everyone in your household, even if they do not have symptoms.
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).
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.
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 does not wash their hands.
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.
After a few weeks, the female pinworms move to the end of the large intestine, and they come out of the body at night to lay their eggs around the anus (where poop comes out).
Symptoms may include diarrhoea, tiredness and weakness, abdominal pain and weight loss. Some worms cause anaemia.
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.
About half the world's population (over 3 billion people) are in infected with at least one of the three worms forming what Columbia University parasitologist Dickson Despommier calls the "unholy trinity"—large roundworm, hookworm and whipworm.
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.
Symptoms of pinworm infection may include: Itching of the anal or vaginal area. Insomnia, irritability, teeth grinding and restlessness. Occasional stomach pain and nausea.
The spread of worm infections
Threadworms are easily spread so the slightest contact can pass on the infection, which is why many adults end up with the same infection as their children. To halt the spread of worms, it's crucial to treat all members of the family – not just the youngsters!
Pinworm eggs become infective within a few hours after being deposited on the skin around the anus and can survive for 2 to 3 weeks on clothing, bedding, or other objects.
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.
Pinworm infections are contagious. 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.
At night, the adult worms can sometimes be seen directly around the anal area or in pajamas. The worm (one-quarter to one-half inch long) is clearly visible to the naked eye. Finding a worm confirms the diagnosis. If adult worms are not visible, conduct a tape test in the morning.
The test involves pressing the adhesive side of a piece of transparent tape to the skin around the anus of the person you suspect has pinworms as soon as the person awakens. The eggs stick to the tape. You then take the tape to your appointment so the doctor can look for pinworms or eggs under a microscope.
At night, the female adult worms deposit their eggs outside the rectum or anal area. 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.
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.
Once a year when the prevalence of soil-transmitted parasitic worms in the community is over 20% Twice a year when the prevalence of soil-transmitted parasitic worms in the community is 50%
Forty-six million people—14 percent of the US—have toxocariasis, although the CDC says true numbers are higher because people rarely connect eventual blindness with roundworms slithering undetected through the body.