Pinworms, scientific name Enterobius Vermicularis are small worms that can be found in the faeces of children and adults .
They are white and thin, about a centimeter long . They cause anal itching and sometimes even vulvar itching, especially during the night, that is when they come out of the intestine to lay eggs. They can also be observed with the naked eye; they look like small white filaments .
Most commonly, children of preschool and school age are affected . They are little ones but parents fear them as terrible monsters.
What to do when pinworms are sighted in the faeces of their children?
Ossiuri, what is the cure?
Pinworms are cured with a vermifuge and with a lot of personal hygiene . The main remedies against pinworms are:
- Wash your hands and nails often and thoroughly, especially after going to the bathroom or trying to quell the anal itch by scratching. In fact, oxyuriasis is contracted by ingestion of the embryonated eggs that can reach the mouth through their own hands. Of course, in the case of small children, the task of being careful to wash their hands often rests with the parents.
- Change the sheets often and wash them at high temperatures . During the night the itching becomes more intense and therefore it tends to scratch, involuntarily collecting the eggs and spreading them in the surrounding environment.
- Treating intimate hygiene.
- Attention to hygiene in general. Pinworm eggs can remain alive in the environment even for two or three weeks and this, unfortunately, can cause new infestation. Eggs can "contaminate" many everyday objects, such as towels, clothing, sanitary ware ... but also toys and more. It is the same person interested in transporting them with his own hands among the objects.
- It is advisable to wash clothes, especially intimate ones, at high temperatures and, of course, change them often.
- The wormers drugs should also be taken by the relatives of the person concerned to get rid of parasites permanently.
Pinworms are dangerous?
Following proper care, they generally go away as they came. In many cases they are asymptomatic or do not cause any other symptom than anal itching .
Sometimes, however, they can be particularly annoying, causing pain in the abdomen and other gastrointestinal disorders such as nausea and vomiting . It may also happen that the nocturnal itching is so intense as to disturb sleep.
Only in very rare cases the migration of the parasite can cause salpingitis or appendicitis.
How are pinworms diagnosed?
If you want to flush them out with the naked eye, the best time to look for them in the perianal area or in the faeces is when you wake up or at night .
The method of choice for the diagnosis of oxyuriasis is the scotch test, which consists in placing a strip of adhesive paper on the anus. It is done in the morning and the aim is to analyze the eggs that remain attached to the adhesive paper under the microscope.
