The doctor also might take some samples from under a child's fingernails to look for eggs. If your child has a pinworm infection, the doctor will recommend an over-the-counter or prescription antiworm medicine. This is given in one dose and repeated in 2 weeks. The doctor may decide to treat the entire family, especially if your child has had a pinworm infection before. Although medicine takes care of the worm infection, the itching may continue for about a week.
So the doctor also might give your child a cream or other medicine to help stop the itching. Regular hand washing and routine household cleaning including frequent changing of underwear, and washing everyone's pajamas, towels, and bed linens also will help prevent the spread of a pinworm infection within the family. Call the doctor if your child complains of itchy skin or always seems to be scratching the anal or vaginal area.
Also ask about whether pinworms could be to blame if your child has trouble sleeping or has begun to wet the bed. Pinworms can irritate the urethra — the channel through which pee leaves the bladder and exits the body — and lead to bedwetting. Remember that pinworms are quite common among kids and aren't harmful. By taking medicine and following some prevention tips, you'll be rid of the worms in no time.
Larger text size Large text size Regular text size. What Is a Pinworm Infection? How Do Pinworm Infections Spread? These eggs can be found on contaminated hands and surfaces, such as: bed linens towels clothing especially underwear and pajamas toilets bathroom fixtures food drinking glasses eating utensils toys kitchen counters desks or lunch tables at school sandboxes The eggs pass into the digestive system and hatch in the small intestine.
How Are Pinworm Infections Diagnosed? Pinworms are rarely spotted in stool samples. Because bathing or a bowel movement can remove the eggs, the tape test should be done as soon as the person wakes up in the morning. Treating pinworms involves either prescription or over-the-counter drugs. Consult a health care provider before treating a suspected pinworm infection. Follow these treatment steps:. If infection occurs again, consult your health care provider.
In some cases, it may be necessary to treat the patient and close family contacts more than once. Navigation menu. Who gets pinworm infection? What are the symptoms of a pinworm infection? Pinworm infection may cause: Itching around the anal area, difficulty sleeping and irritability. If it is a severe infection, symptoms may include: nervousness restlessness loss of appetite weight loss girls may experience vaginal itching and irritation vaginitis , if pinworms are near the vagina.
How does someone get pinworms? Pinworms can then be spread in the following ways: By an infected child not washing hands after using the bathroom. 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.
How is a diagnosis of pinworm infection made? Finding the female worm or the eggs confirms the diagnosis of pinworms. To find a female worm: At night, the adult worms can sometimes be seen directly around the anal area or in pajamas.
Informational Alert. Is this your child's symptom? 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. Rarely, the pinworm is seen on the surface of a stool.
0コメント