Children can get threadworms when they accidentally get worm eggs on their hands and swallow them. This might happen if they put their hands in their mouths or bite their nails after coming into contact with people with worms or with worm-infected dust, toys or bed linen.
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.
Keep your child's fingernails clean and trimmed. Try to stop your child from biting their nails or sucking their thumb. Have your child wash their hands and under their nails thoroughly after going to the toilet. Wash your child's bedding, towels and toys in hot water.
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 doesn't wash their hands.
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. Unfortunately, even with the finest hygienic practices, worm infections can still occur, especially in children.
Clean the home post-treatment
Worm eggs can survive for several days on external surfaces, but you can play your part in preventing a reinfestation by doing the following: Wash all the bedsheets and linen that family members have been sleeping on with hot water, to kill any remaining eggs.
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.
Threadworms are very common and easily spread, so it's hard to completely avoid them. Having threadworms doesn't mean you have poor hygiene. Here are some steps you can take to stop the infection: Wash hands often and scrub underneath fingernails, especially after using the toilet and before eating.
The most common type of human worm infection in Australia is pinworm. Other names for this parasite include threadworm and Enterobius vermicularis, or the common term 'worms'. Children are more likely to pick up an infection than an adult, probably because of children's tendency to put their fingers in their mouths.
Common signs include a cough, breathlessness or breathing difficulties but can include weight loss, lethargy, reduced appetite, anaemia and abnormal bleeding.
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.
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.
Treatment consists of a medicine to kill the worms AND good hygiene to break the cycle of infection described above. You can buy the following medicines from pharmacies. You can also get them on prescription. Mebendazole is the usual treatment for people aged over 2 years.
Be careful not to handle earth worms very much if at all — they don't like to be touched. Earthworms breathe through their skin they need humidity to survive. If over handled they can die. I made sure my daughter was very careful with the few worms she was allowed to touch.
If pinworm infection occurs again, the infected person should be retreated with the same two-dose treatment. The infected person's household contacts and caretakers also should be treated. If pinworm infection continues to occur, the source of the infection should be sought and treated.
Eggs can pass to other people when they touch these surfaces and then touch their mouth. They take around 2 weeks to hatch. 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Worms hate: meat or fish, cheese, butter, greasy food, animal waste, spicy and salty foods, citrus.” The food-to-worm ratio is not precise, nor is the amount of castings they will produce. The rule of thumb is that a pound of worms will eat one to two pounds of food in a week.
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.
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.