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.
If you're using an OTC medication, your symptoms will likely subside within three days of your first dose. The infection is still considered contagious for the following three weeks. This is because any eggs that have been laid can hatch and further the spread of the infection.
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.
4. How is pinworm infection spread? - Pinworm eggs are infective within a few hours after being deposited on the skin. They can survive up to 2 weeks on clothing, bedding, or other objects. Infection occurs after accidentally ingesting (swallowing) infective pinworm eggs from contaminated surfaces or fingers.
Pinworms can then be spread in the following ways: By an infected child not washing hands after using the bathroom. If the child then touches playmates or toys, he/she may pass on the eggs. Pinworm eggs can also be transferred to the fingers from clothing or bedding, and then spread around the home.
Washing your hands with soap and warm water after using the toilet, changing diapers, and before handling food is the most successful way to prevent pinworm infection.
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.
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.
How long after exposure do symptoms begin? Two to six weeks.
Adults are rarely affected, except for parents of infected children. Infection often occurs in more than one family member. While an infected person sleeps, female pinworms crawl out of the anus and lay their eggs on the surrounding skin.
After taking the pinworm medicine, itching should stop in 5 to 7 days.
Threadworms live about 5-6 weeks in the gut, and then die. However, before they die the female worms lay tiny eggs around the anus. This tends to be at night when you are warm and still in bed.
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. Bathe carefully every day.
Children with pinworms do not need to miss any child care or school.
Reinfection can happen by touching surfaces that have already been contaminated with pinworm eggs by another person. Eggs are swallowed, usually after hand-to-mouth contact, and the pinworm infection begins again.
People of all ages can become infected with pinworms, but the infections are found most often in children. Caregivers and family members of infected children have a higher risk of infection.
The medications used for the treatment of pinworm are either mebendazole, pyrantel pamoate, or albendazole. Any of these drugs are given in one dose initially, and then another single dose of the same drug two weeks later. Pyrantel pamoate is available without prescription.
Your child may be fussy and wake often at night. If your child is infected, it may take 2 to 8 weeks for symptoms to start.
Summary. Pinworm is the most common worm infection in Australia. The major symptom is an itchy bottom, particularly at night. Treatment usually includes a single or 2-dose course of medication that should be taken by all members of the affected household.
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). The amount of time that passes from when someone swallows the eggs until the worms lay new eggs is about 1 to 2 months.
Prevention of Pinworm Infestation
Pinworm reinfestation is common because viable ova may be excreted for 1 week after therapy, and ova deposited in the environment before therapy can survive 3 weeks. Multiple infestations within the household are common, and treatment of the entire family may be necessary.
Complete die-off within the tested exposure time range was noted for 70 °C, 75 °C and 80 °C, however treatment at 60 °C and 65 °C allowed for development of a few eggs after incubation.
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 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.