The adult female worm crawls out of the infected person's anus at night and lays her eggs in the surrounding skin. This causes itching and scratching. The worms can also move to the vagina of a female child and cause itching.
After a few weeks, the female pinworms move to the end of the large intestine, and they come out of the body at night to lay their eggs around the anus (where poop comes out). The amount of time that passes from when someone swallows the eggs until the worms lay new eggs is about 1 to 2 months.
The worm may be seen around the anus or on the child's bottom. It is especially active at night or early morning. Rarely, the pinworm is seen on the surface of a stool. The pinworm's secretions are a strong skin irritant and cause the itching.
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 become infectious within a couple of hours after being deposited and can survive for about 2 weeks outside the host.
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.
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 best time to do this is in the morning before bathing, because pinworms lay their eggs at night. Steps for the test are: Firmly press the sticky side of a 1-inch (2.5 centimeters) strip of cellophane tape over the anal area for a few seconds. The eggs stick to the tape.
Pinworms are about the length of a staple. While an infected person sleeps, female pinworms leave the intestine through the anus and deposit their eggs on the surrounding skin.
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.
Your child may be fussy and wake often at night. If your child is infected, it may take 2 to 8 weeks for symptoms to start.
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. Pinworms can survive up to two weeks on clothing, bedding or other objects, if kept at room temperature.
Two to six weeks.
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.
You can spot worms in your poo. They look like pieces of white thread. You might also see them around your child's bottom (anus). The worms usually come out at night while your child is sleeping.
While serious complications are rare, pinworms can lead to: Bacterial infections: When the infected person scratches the anal area, the skin can bleed and become infected. Urinary tract infections (UTIs): In females, the worms can travel to the vagina and cause infections.
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.
Pinworm infection is very contagious. If you don't take precautions, it's easy to become reinfected. If anyone in your home has pinworms, take these steps to get rid of the pinworm eggs. Doing so will minimize your chances of reinfection.
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).
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.
Since pinworm eggs are so small, it is possible to ingest them while breathing. Once someone has ingested pinworm eggs, there is an incubation period of 1 to 2 months or longer for the adult gravid female to mature in the small intestine.
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)
Life cycle of a pinworm
A grown pinworm is yellowish white, slender and about one centimetre long. Around 4 weeks after ingestion, the adult female moves down the gut and exits the body via the anus to lay a batch of eggs on the surrounding skin, often at night. The worm then dies, her reproductive mission complete.
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.
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.