Threadworms (pinworms) are tiny worms in your poo. They're common in children and spread easily. You can treat them without seeing a GP.
Strict hygiene measures can help clear up a threadworm infection and reduce the likelihood of reinfection. The lifespan of threadworms is approximately 6 weeks, so it's important that hygiene measures are followed for at least this length of time. Everyone in the household must follow the advice outlined below.
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.
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.
Are threadworms harmful? Not usually. The worst thing about them is the itch and discomfort around the anus. This sometimes wakes children from sleep.
Threadworms usually produce no symptoms except an itchy bottom. In fact, people may harbour them for years without realising it. Distaste aside, threadworms do no harm - except, as my GP wryly observed, to the sufferer's self-esteem. The worms are white and about a centimetre long by 0.5mm in diameter.
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.
This is why you may need to take another dose 2 weeks later to help prevent reinfection. How long does it take to work? The medicine should start to work straight away but it may take several days to kill all the worms. It's important to take the medicine as a pharmacist or doctor tells you.
How long do dog worming tablets take to work? Most treatments get to work rapidly, killing intestinal worms starting from around 2 to 6 hours after administering the de-wormer.
Any worms in your gut will eventually pass out in your poo. You may not notice this. To avoid becoming infected again or infecting others, it's very important during the weeks after starting treatment to wash your hands: after going to the toilet.
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.
Most of the time worms don't cause any major problems, but in rare cases they can be infectious to the vagina and uterus, increasing the risk of infertility.
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.
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.
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.
The tiny (microscopic) eggs can be carried to your mouth by contaminated food, drink or your fingers. Once swallowed, the eggs hatch in the intestines and mature into adult worms within a few weeks. Female pinworms move to the anal area to lay their eggs, which often results in anal itching.
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.
It can take as little as two hours for the worms to start dying off. However, in most cases, the process starts about 12 hours after administering the dewormer. You may continue to see worms in your pup's poop for about a week. If they had a serious infestation, you may see worms for up to two weeks.
The Deworming Process after a Few Days
You may be surprised to still see live worms in your dog's feces after deworming them, but this is normal. While this can be an unpleasant image, it's actually a good thing — it means the worms are no longer living inside your dog!
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.
This medicine will kill threadworms. However, it may not destroy their eggs which can cause reinfection and also infect other people. In cases of reinfection, a second tablet may be given or taken after 2 weeks.
If you have threadworms (also called pinworms) you'll usually take a single dose. If you live with anyone else, they will need to be treated at the same time because threadworms can spread easily. A doctor or pharmacist may suggest you repeat the dose after 2 weeks to stop you from getting threadworms again.
Any eggs that you swallow then hatch and grow into adult worms in the gut. So a cycle of threadworm infection can go on and on. Are threadworms harmful? Not usually.
This infection occurs after a person swallows tapeworm eggs. The larvae get into tissues such as muscle and brain, and form cysts there (these are called cysticerci).
You or your child can get threadworms by accidently swallowing worm eggs found on contaminated surfaces. This can happen by scratching the anal region and then touching your mouth or food.