Threadworm infections most commonly affect young children because they often forget to wash their hands and they share toys with other children. People who are in close contact with someone with a threadworm infection also have a high risk of infection.
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.
Contaminated clothing and bedding should be washed in hot water. Other methods of preventing infection include regularly washing hands and scrubbing finger nails. A shower with a good bum wash is also a good idea, especially in the morning.
Your children may come into contact with eggs in schools or nurseries, particularly in the toilets if they are not cleaned properly. This is why your child may have recurring threadworms, even if your home and personal hygiene are of a very high standard.
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.
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.
Experts advise deworming to be done twice a year or every six months, beginning at the age of two. Deworming is a method that uses medication to get rid of intestinal parasites and other microbes.
How Are Pinworm Infections Treated? If your child has a pinworm infection, the doctor will recommend an over-the-counter or prescription antiworm medicine. This is given in one dose, then repeated in 2 weeks. The doctor may decide to treat the entire family, especially if your child has had a pinworm infection before.
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. Eggs may be inhaled from the air or deposited onto food and swallowed.
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.
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.
It's common for children aged 5-10 years to get worms. Worm infections mostly don't cause symptoms. Sometimes children get coloured and itchy bottoms. Treat everyone in the family with worming tablets.
Kids in school get pinworms easily because they spend a lot of time with other kids, who may have pinworms. They might touch something with pinworm eggs on it when they're playing with other kids and eat the eggs without even knowing it.
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).
Complications. Typical pinworm infections don't cause serious problems. In rare circumstances, heavy infestations can cause infection of female genitals. The parasite can travel from the anal area up the vagina to the uterus, fallopian tubes and around the pelvic organs.
Although anyone can become infected with pinworms, it's most common in children younger than 10 years old. Kids that age often have their fingers in their mouths, and they aren't always great about washing their hands.
Some children may even have worms coming out of their anus while they are passing motion and in some cases they may even have excessive hunger. Excessive hunger is usually a sign that the body is craving nutrition, which is a usually due to a parasitic infection.
Infants under 1 year should not be dewormed. For children under the age of 13 to 23 months, the dosage is 200mg. (single dose)
Worms are a very common source of illness for both adults and children, so experts recommend that deworming should be done two times a year, or every six months, beginning at the age of two years. Deworming is the process of eliminating intestinal parasites, such as worms, using medication.
To remove threadworm eggs and prevent re-infection: Change and wash underwear, nightwear and, if possible bed linen and towels, every day for a few days. A hot water wash, or the heat of an iron, will kill the eggs.
If the skin is irritated a dilute mild antiseptic can help. Applying Vaseline to the skin after cleaning can help protect the skin and prevent the eggs sticking.
Female threadworms lay an average of 11,000 tiny eggs, which are invisible to the naked eye. She lays these eggs outside the anus, or, in girls, around the vagina and urethra. Eggs are usually laid at night whilst the child sleeps.
When children develop parasitic diseases they are often asymptomatic. This means that we usually don't even know the infection is in the body. But occasionally, childhood parasitic infections can lead to changes in mood, behavior and sleep.