Causes of threadworms Scratching the anus or vagina, or wiping them after going to the toilet, can cause the eggs to stick to your fingertips or under your fingernails. If you don't wash your hands, the eggs can be transferred to your mouth or on to food or objects, such as toys and kitchen utensils.
A pharmacist can help with threadworms
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.
Unfortunately, repeat threadworm infection is very common. To help reduce this and to prevent the threadworms from spreading to others, you can take the following precautions: Despite the itching, encourage your child not to scratch their bottom.
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.
British researchers have identified a protein that exists in some people's gut mucus that seems to be toxic to parasitic worms. Those with the protein are able to ward off infection, while those who lack the protein are more easily infected with the parasites, researchers said.
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.
Threadworms do not cause major health problems, and are usually not the cause of tummy pain. Scratching of the bottom can cause a red rash around the anus, which can sometimes become infected. In girls they can move into the vagina, causing itching and a vaginal discharge.
Yes, you can worm a puppy or your dog too often! And it has no obvious benefit. In fact, over-worming your dog can actually backfire, and make your dog build up a tolerance – you most certainly don't want that.
A reduction in the immune response efficiency can in turn increase a host's vulnerability to parasites and pathogens: hence high levels of physiological stress can lead to higher levels of parasitic infection (prevalence and/or intensity of infection; Brown and Fuller 2006; Corlatti et al.
Worm infections are very common worldwide, although they mainly occur in areas with poor sanitation and hygiene, and are usually associated with poverty. They are spread in a variety of ways.
If you or your child have threadworms that won't go away or keep coming back, speak to a doctor. You should also see a doctor if you see slime or blood in poo, even if you don't have other symptoms of a threadworm infection.
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.
Although often asymptomatic, parasitic infections can lead to disruptions in mood, behavior and sleep – particularly in children with worms. The most common worm infection amongst Australian children is threadwork (pinworm, Enterobius vermicularis).
Threadworm treatment is fairly straightforward. Your doctor will usually prescribe a medication called mebendazole - available in liquid or tablet form - and a single dose should clear the problem.
Good hygiene will clear any eggs from the body and the home, and prevent any eggs from being swallowed. This will then break the cycle of 're-infection'. Every member of the household should do the following for two weeks after the first dose of medicine.
Parasites feed off of sugary foods (Cookies, cakes, sweeteners), and foods that convert to sugar quickly (grains, pasta, wheat, rice). Eating foods high in sugar will worsen a parasitic infection, causing it to spread quicker.
2. Take the correct dewormer. When infected with worms, it should be dewormed periodically, for adults and children over 2 years old should be dewormed 2 to 3 times a year, ie every 4 to 6 months.
Puppies should be wormed every two weeks until twelve weeks of age, then monthly until six months of age. Once they have reached six months of age, a puppy can transfer onto an 'adult' worming schedule. All adult dogs need to be wormed every three months for effective protection.
Coconut is the most effective home remedy to treat intestinal worms. Consume a tbsp of crushed coconut in your breakfast. After 3 hours, drink about one glass of lukewarm milk mixed with 2 tbsps of castor oil. Drink this for a week to get rid of all types of intestinal worms.
Red flags to look out for:
Loss of appetite. Weight loss. Bedwetting (consider other diagnoses e.g. Type 1 diabetes) Skin infections around anus caused by scratching.
Chlorine dioxide gas inactivates pinworm eggs in a non-invasive and non-corrosive manner.
A hot water wash, or the heat of an iron, will kill the eggs. Do not shake bed linen indoors as this can spread eggs around. Shower each morning, and wash around anus.