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.
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.
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.
When someone scratches the itchy area, tiny pinworm eggs get on their fingers. Contaminated fingers can then carry pinworm eggs to the mouth, where they go back into the body, or onto touched surfaces, where they can live for 2 to 3 weeks.
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.
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.
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.
If a person with a pinworm infection touches their underwear, bedsheets, or their anus, they can pick up eggs on their fingers. If they touch another surface, they can leave the eggs there. Anyone who touches that surface and then touches their mouth is at risk of infection.
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.
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.
Severe or persistent threadworm infections can cause: loss of appetite. weight loss. skin infection around the anus if bacteria enter any scratches caused by itching – wearing cotton gloves while sleeping may help prevent this.
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.
Washing your hands with soap and warm water after using the toilet, changing diapers, and before handling food is the most successful way to prevent pinworm infection.
Adults are rarely affected, except for parents of infected children. Infection often occurs in more than one family member. While an infected person sleeps, female pinworms crawl out of the anus and lay their eggs on the surrounding skin.
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.
The pinworm lives in the lower part of the small intestine, and the upper part of the colon. It is found worldwide and causes the common infection enterobiasis in humans. Unlike many other intestinal parasites, the pinworm does not usually enter the bloodstream or any other organs besides the intestines.
Pinworm, or Enterobius vermicularis, is a small intestinal roundworm about the size of a staple. 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.
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.
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.
Are threadworms harmful? Not usually. The worst thing about them is the itch and discomfort around the anus. This sometimes wakes children from sleep.
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).
Threadworms are common but are not usually serious. Threadworms infect the gut and lay eggs around your anus, which causes itch. Treatment usually includes medication plus hygiene measures. Medication kills the worms but not their eggs, which can survive for two weeks.
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.
Call Your Doctor If:
Pinworm is seen. Skin around the anus gets red or tender. Anal itching lasts more than 1 week.