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)
Additionally, young pinworms may be resistant to drugs. Successful eradication of pinworm infection, also called enterobiasis, requires two doses of medication - an initial dose followed by a subsequent dose 2 weeks later. All family members or classmates who are infected must be treated simultaneously.
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.
If you have tried a threadworm treatment for your child and their symptoms have not improved, take them to your GP. The doctor will examine your child and may want to do blood or faeces (poo) tests. Also take your child to the GP if: your child passes a large worm.
How is pinworm infection treated? - With either prescription or over-the- counter drugs. Consult a health care provider before treating a suspected case of pinworm. Treatment involves a two-dose course. The second dose should be given 2 weeks after the first.
What to Expect: After taking the pinworm medicine, itching should stop in 5 to 7 days.
The medicine usually takes approximately 72 hours to fully rid the system of pinworms. For several days after treatment, clean the bedroom floor by vacuuming or damp mopping. After treatment, wash bed linens and night clothes (don't shake them).
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. Bathe daily. Change and wash clothing and bedding frequently.
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.
Although medicine takes care of the worm infection, the itching may continue for about a week. So the doctor also might give your child a cream or other medicine to help stop the itching.
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)
Because it is common for everyone in a household to have pinworms at the same time, the doctor may recommend that everyone be treated at the same time. The doctor may also recommend tap water enemas to help flush out the pinworms and reduce symptoms.
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.
Children can get threadworms again after they've been treated for them if they get the eggs in their mouth. This is why it's important to encourage children to wash their hands regularly.
Hand hygiene is the most effective method of prevention. Trimming and scrubbing the fingernails and bathing after treatment is important to help prevent reinfection and spread of pinworms.
Re-Treatment
COMBANTRIN® is only effective against adult worms, which means any eggs or immature worms inside the body might still linger after the initial treatment. In order to minimise the risk of reinfestation, a follow-up treatment two to four weeks later is strongly recommended if symptoms are still present.
Some intestinal worms, like hookworms and whipworms, are so small that you won't see any worms in your dog's stool at all. You may be surprised to still see live worms in your dog's feces after deworming them, but this is normal.
For common roundworms, hookworms, and whipworms: Adults and children 2 years of age and older—100 milligrams (mg) two times a day, morning and evening, for 3 consecutive days. Treatment may need to be repeated in 3 weeks. Children younger than 2 years of age—Use and dose must be determined by your doctor.
Call Your Doctor If:
Pinworm is seen. Skin around the anus gets red or tender. Anal itching lasts more than 1 week. You think your child needs to be seen.
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.
Bathe carefully every day. Be sure to clean the skin around the anus. This will remove pinworm eggs. Showers may be better than baths because you have less chance of getting water that has pinworm eggs into your mouth.
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.
spiralis larvae are resistant to mebendazole treatment.
Successive doses of the same wormer, or wormers from the same drug class, can lead to an established resistant population.
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.