Pinworms mostly reside in areas of the large intestine of humans but are sometimes found in the small intestine. The life expectancy of these worms is approximately four to eight weeks.
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.
How long does pinworms last? The life cycle of a pinworm is 4 to 6 weeks. Without treatment, infestation will continue as long as fresh eggs are being swallowed, unless a person develops immunity to pinworms, which is unusual before age 15.
If left untreated, the intense itching and scratching associated with these infections will result in secondary bacterial infections. Some of these may be difficult to treat. Untreated people can continue to infect other people.
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.
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.
To treat pinworm infection, your doctor may recommend over-the-counter pyrantel pamoate or prescribe medication to all members of your household to prevent infection and reinfection. The most common prescription anti-parasite medications for pinworms are: Mebendazole. Albendazole (Albenza)
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.
Pinworm infection may cause: Itching around the anal area, difficulty sleeping and irritability. If it is a severe infection, symptoms may include: nervousness.
If you have pinworms, you might see the worms in the toilet after you go to the bathroom. They look like tiny pieces of white thread. You also might see them on your underwear when you wake up in the morning. But the pinworm eggs are too tiny to be seen without a microscope.
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.
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.
Pinworm eggs can survive for 2-3 weeks on fingers, under fingernails, and on surfaces such as linens, clothing or toilet seats.
Change underwear and bedding daily.
This helps remove eggs.
Medications kill only the adult worms and have no effect on developing eggs and larvae. The prescription of choice is mebendazole* and the non-prescription medication of choice is pyrantel pamoate. Both mebendazole and pyrantel pamoate are given as a single dose and repeated in 2 weeks to kill any newly ingested eggs.
Pinworms do not cause abdominal pain, bloody bowel movements,fevers, or poor appetite. If the person has any of these signs or symptoms, they may have a more serious condition and should call a doctor or visit the hospital's emergency department.
Pinworm, or Enterobius vermicularis, is a small intestinal roundworm about the size of a staple. The female adult worms leave the anus in the middle of the night while the person is sleeping to deposit her eggs around the skin of the perianal region.
The eggs pass into the digestive system, where they hatch. About 1 to 2 months later, adult female pinworms lay eggs on the skin right around the anus, which makes the area itchy. Often, this happens at night.
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.
Pinworms can usually be treated completely with two doses of over-the-counter medicine called pyrantel pamoate, available in the United States under the brand names Pin-X and Reese's Pinworm Medicine. Take one dose immediately and another dose two weeks later.
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.
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.
For the itching, wash the skin around the anus with warm water. For severe itch, use 1% hydrocortisone cream (such as Cortaid) 2 times per day. Use for 1 or 2 days. No prescription is needed.
Ingestion is the most common route of infection, however, a study in the October issue of International Journal of Dermatology suggests infection may also occur, primarily among children, from inadequate hand washing, inhalation, or ingestion of airborne pinworm eggs.