The fitness app that helps you stay healthy! Check it out on our website.
Frequent awakenings in the middle of the night, unexplained crying, tossing and turning. Complaints of "it hurts," "it itches," "I feel uncomfortable." Often, when there seems to be no apparent reason for sudden awakenings, the culprits are tiny worms causing unbearable itching in the anal area.
Pinworms, also known as threadworms or seatworms, are common worldwide, affecting all ages and social groups. They are particularly prevalent among children.
Pinworms exclusively infest humans. The eggs of pinworms are usually found beneath fingernails, on clothing, and in household dust. They are ingested with food, enter the intestine, and hatch there. The larvae migrate to the beginning of the large intestine (the beginning of the last third of the intestines), where they mature into adult worms.
The adult worm is easily identifiable in the anal area - it is white, about one centimeter long. At night, the worm wriggles crawls along the entire colon, emerges from the anus, and deposits copious amounts of eggs. Within six hours of egg laying, the developing larva inside the egg can already be identified. The lifespan of the worm is about 20 days.
Various symptoms occur at different stages of pinworm development, but the main suffering comes from the laying of eggs in the anal area. Common symptoms resulting from egg laying include itching, restlessness, and sleep disturbances. The infection is not dangerous but may lead to social and behavioral problems and disrupt the child's normal lifestyle. Pinworms in the intestines are not related to bedwetting, weight loss, nighttime teeth grinding, or candy consumption.
Immediate relief from irritation in the anal area is achieved by sitting the child in a bath of lukewarm soapy water before bedtime or at the onset of irritation. Then, the affected area around the anus should be washed, and zinc ointment applied. This can help reduce egg laying and the irritation caused by the worms.
Among traditional remedies, inserting garlic into the anus is suggested. This treatment causes the child severe and unnecessary pain and burning, and this method should not be adopted!
Pinworms inhabit the depths of the intestines, so all medications must be administered orally. There are also natural treatments for pinworms, but they are very bitter, and children find them very difficult to tolerate. The convenient way is to treat with Vermox and combantrin suppositories, according to a doctor's instructions. Once, take 5 ml of Vermox (for example), and another dose after two weeks. The dosage is the same for all ages except for infants under two years old, for whom the drug is not approved for use at all.
Pinworms spread quickly from child to child, so in addition to treating the sick child, measures should be taken to prevent the infection of other household members:
