Symptoms may include diarrhoea, tiredness and weakness, abdominal pain and weight loss. Some worms cause anaemia.
Sometimes worms are visible in the anal area, on underwear, or in the toilet. In stool, they look like small pieces of white cotton thread.
It moves. If it doesn't wiggle, it's probably lint or a thread. The worm may be seen around the anus or on the child's bottom. It is especially active at night or early morning.
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.
If you have pinworms, you might see the worms in the toilet after you go to the bathroom. They look like tiny pieces of white thread. You also might see them on your underwear when you wake up in the morning. But the pinworm eggs are too tiny to be seen without a microscope.
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.
About half the world's population (over 3 billion people) are in infected with at least one of the three worms forming what Columbia University parasitologist Dickson Despommier calls the "unholy trinity"—large roundworm, hookworm and whipworm.
Some people may have intestinal worms for years without experiencing any symptoms.
If left untreated, the intense itching and scratching associated with these infections will result in secondary bacterial infections. Some of these may be difficult to treat. Untreated people can continue to infect other people.
Once in the body, the worms find their way to the small intestine and lay eggs. Those eggs hatch before they are pooped out and the worms may infect someone else. Often there aren't any symptoms, but the worms can cause: Belly pain.
A person with intestinal worms may not have any symptoms, but threadworms (Enterobius vermicularis), the most common worm infection in Australia, often do cause symptoms. A person with threadworms (also known as pinworms) may have an itchy bottom or redness and scratch marks around the bottom.
For most people, treatment will involve taking a single dose of a medication called mebendazole to kill the worms. If necessary, another dose can be taken after 2 weeks.
The spread of worm infections
Threadworms are easily spread so the slightest contact can pass on the infection, which is why many adults end up with the same infection as their children. To halt the spread of worms, it's crucial to treat all members of the family – not just the youngsters!
Eat more raw garlic, pumpkin seeds, pomegranates, beets, and carrots, all of which have been used traditionally to kill parasites. In one study, researchers found that a mixture of honey and papaya seeds cleared stools of parasites in 23 out of 30 subjects.
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.
Apple cider vinegar has numerous health benefits and is known to be effective in treating worms in dogs. Unlike other vinegar, apple cider vinegar increases the alkaline levels in the intestines of the dog. As a result, it creates an inhospitable environment for worms and other parasites.
Threadworms live about 5-6 weeks in the gut, and then die. However, before they die the female worms lay tiny eggs around the anus. This tends to be at night when you are warm and still in bed. The eggs are too small to see, but cause an itch around the anus.
Adult worms may live up to 17 years in the human body and can continue to make new microfilariae for much of this time. Most people with loiasis do not have any symptoms.
If you have worms, your GP will prescribe medicine to kill them. You take this for 1 to 3 days. The people you live with may also need to be treated. Any worms in your gut will eventually pass out in your poo.
Strict observance of good hand hygiene is the most effective means of preventing pinworm infection. This includes washing hands with soap and warm water after using the toilet, changing diapers, and before handling food.
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.
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.