The worms will die after 6 weeks so provided you do not swallow any new eggs then no new worms will grow to replace them. Strict attention to hygiene should be sufficient.
Medicine kills the threadworms, but it does not kill the eggs. Eggs can live for up to 2 weeks outside the body.
The lifespan of threadworms is approximately 6 weeks, so it's important that hygiene measures are followed for at least this length of time. Everyone in the household must follow the advice outlined below.
The worms die after about six weeks. Provided that you do not swallow any new eggs, no new worms will grow to replace them. So, if you continue the hygiene measures described above for six weeks, this should break the cycle of re-infection, and clear your gut of threadworms.
If you or your child has worms, regularly wash clothes and bed linen in hot soapy water every day for several days after treatment. Clean toilet seats and potties regularly. Encourage your child to take a shower or bath regularly (morning is better to help with removing eggs).
In order to stop the spread of pinworm and possible re-infection, people who are infected should shower every morning to help remove a large amount of the eggs on the skin. Showering is a better method than taking a bath, because showering avoids potentially contaminating the bath water with pinworm eggs.
Call your child's school or childcare center so that they can take extra steps to prevent the spread to others. Your child can return to school or childcare 24 hours after treatment.
These can survive for up to 2 weeks outside the body on underwear, bedding etc. Good hygiene will clear any eggs from the body and the home, and prevent any eggs from being swallowed.
Encourage children to avoid scratching their bare anal areas. Pinworm eggs continue to be present (excreted) in the feces of an infected person for up to a week after the treatment, so precautions should be taken to prevent reinfection by washing hands thoroughly, especially under the nails.
It can take as little as two hours for the worms to start dying off. However, in most cases, the process starts about 12 hours after administering the dewormer. You may continue to see worms in your pup's poop for about a week. If they had a serious infestation, you may see worms for up to two weeks.
Pay attention to kids' hygiene
Wash your hands regularly to avoid picking up the infection yourself, and encourage children to do the same, especially after using the toilet or playing outside. It also helps if fingernails are kept short and clean – longer nails can provide a great hiding place for the infection.
"Changing and washing bedding can help to remove threadworm eggs within the linen," agrees Dr Luke Powles, clinical director at Bupa UK. "However, be careful when removing the sheets as shaking bedding around may cause the eggs to land on other surfaces and spread infection."
Incubation period is usually 1–2 months, but successive reinfections may be needed before symptoms appear. The most common symptom is an itchy anal region, which can disturb sleep; irritability and secondary infection of irritated skin can also occur.
Also, threadworm eggs can survive for up to two weeks outside the body. They fall off the skin around the anus and can fall on to bedding, clothes, etc. They can then get wafted in the air as you change clothes, bedding, etc, and become part of the dust in a home.
Threadworms usually produce no symptoms except an itchy bottom. In fact, people may harbour them for years without realising it. Distaste aside, threadworms do no harm - except, as my GP wryly observed, to the sufferer's self-esteem. The worms are white and about a centimetre long by 0.5mm in diameter.
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.
Reinfection does happen with pinworm
Eggs are swallowed, usually after hand-to-mouth contact, and the pinworm infection begins again. Pinworm eggs may spread to shared surfaces, such as bedding, curtains, toilets, doorknobs, towels, utensils, and furniture. These areas should be kept clean to avoid reinfection.
Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach/abdominal cramps, headache, drowsiness, dizziness, trouble sleeping, or loss of appetite may occur. If any of these effects last or get worse, tell your doctor or pharmacist promptly.
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.
A person is infected with pinworms by ingesting pinworm eggs either directly or indirectly. These eggs are deposited around the anus by the worm and can be carried to common surfaces such as hands, toys, bedding, clothing, and toilet seats.
This infection occurs after a person swallows tapeworm eggs. The larvae get into tissues such as muscle and brain, and form cysts there (these are called cysticerci).
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.
Yes. A pinworm infection can also be spread through: Bed sheets and undergarments: Eggs can spread through contact with contaminated sheets, towels or underwear of infected people. Inhalation: Because the eggs are so tiny, they can travel through the air and inhaled.
The first dose of medication is taken immediately and the second dose is taken two weeks later. Kids can still go to school while they're being treated. In the two weeks between treatments, you'll have to be diligent about hygiene.
Do not scratch. Itching around the anus caused by a pinworm infection usually happens at night. Try wearing gloves, pyjamas, and close-fitting clothing to help prevent scratching.