Pinworms: symptoms and treatment in children

When pinworms appear in children, the symptoms and treatment almost do not differ from the methods of getting rid of in adults, urgent measures are required to eliminate them.

Parasites are common in young children. Pathology is otherwise called enterobiasis, which is sometimes capable of proceeding without pronounced symptoms. The main sign of pinworms is itching in the anus, which often occurs at night. Enterobiasis is not dangerous, but it is accompanied by discomfort. Therefore, it will be useful for parents to learn about pinworms, the signs of their appearance, and the therapeutic course.

Causes of the disease

Often, helminths appear in a child in kindergarten, school. When parasites enter the oral cavity in the form of eggs, they quickly spread through the gastrointestinal tract.

The factors for the development of the disease depend on the methods of infection. The main ones are:

• domestic,
• oral,
• contact.

The household route of infection with worms takes place if you do not follow the rules of hygiene (dirty hands, vegetables, fruits, toys). The child becomes a carrier of the disease, passing it on to the people around him.

Oral infection involves the entry of parasites through the mouth. When you brush the itchy area with your hands, pinworm eggs are transferred to your hands, under your nails. From dirty hands, helminths get onto food, and then into the mouth.

To avoid this type of infection, you should wash your hands well, follow the rules of personal hygiene.

Contact infection is characterized by the transmission of pinworms from an infected person or animal to healthy people. Worms can be present on the fur of animals, therefore, after physical contact, hands should be thoroughly washed. Contact infection with pinworms is characterized by their penetration into the intestinal region, and after 2 weeks, eggs are laid, which leads to the development of the disease.

Attention! Pinworms can infect babies inside the womb if the mother becomes infected with helminthiasis in late pregnancy. Parasites penetrate the placenta or get to the baby during childbirth.

Helminth eggs develop in the body of an infant and after close contact with an adult with enterobiasis.

Signs of enterobiasis in children

The severity of the symptoms of the disease will depend on the individual reaction of the body, the degree of development of helminthiasis, the amount of repeated infection. The development of pathology is also influenced by the age of the patient.

The initial symptoms of the disease appear 2 days after infection. They note frequent visits to the bathroom, up to 4 times a day, pain in the right side. The duration of the acute phase is 5-7 days. Further enterobiasis becomes chronic.

The duration of the stage is 35-70 days. During this time, the helminth reaches puberty, mates. When the female goes outside, carrying fertilized eggs in her body, the cycle of the 1st generation of parasites is completed. During this period, the patient has itching in the perianal area at night. The discomfort persists for 3 days, and then the discomfort disappears. At this time, the patient has an increase in stool frequency.

Signs of enterobiasis appear after 4 weeks. This indicates the presence of mature 2nd generation helminths. When the skin is irritated, dermatitis is formed around the anus. The inflammatory process in difficult situations affects the sphincter, rectum.

Important! The severe course of the disease is manifested by itching not only at night, but also in the daytime, accompanied by a decrease in hemoglobin and a change in complexion.

When a complication of the disease occurs, the patient is tortured:

• severe abdominal pain;
• bloating;
• constipation or frequent stools (with an advanced stage, the stool is liquid).

On the part of the nervous system, a behavioral change is also observed.

• tearfulness,
• whims,
• fatigue,
• headache,
• dizziness,
• nausea,
• blanching of the skin,
• weakening of memory.

There may be a good appetite with profuse salivation and significant weight loss.

General well-being negatively affects the receipt of new information by young children, the progress of schoolchildren.

A sign of the development of helminths in girls is urinary incontinence, manifested by irritation of the urethra. Parasites are able to move to the genitals, which causes profuse discharge.

Signs of enterobiasis may sometimes be absent. Children in good physical shape, with strong immunity are successfully fighting pinworms. Observing the rules of hygiene, it is possible to avoid the spread of parasites, self-infection.

Video - How to detect worms and is it necessary to carry out prevention?

Complications of pinworm infection

Untimely treatment can lead to the development of a large number of parasites. They suck out minerals and nutrients from the child's body, filling them with toxins, which causes intoxication. Prolonged stay of pinworms significantly depletes the body and can cause serious consequences:

1. Salpingitis - pathology develops after the penetration of pinworms into the ovaries, fallopian tubes.
2. Vulvovaginitis appears due to the penetration of parasites into the genitals, an inflammatory process occurs.
3. Eosinophilic enterocolitis manifests itself with prolonged infection and due to the high sensitivity of the body to pinworms.
4. Peritonitis occurs after mass infection, when pinworms penetrate into the abdominal cavity through the intestinal wall.
5. Appendicitis.
6. Allergic reaction in the form of a rash, cough, itching.
7. Intestinal obstruction, which develops with a large accumulation of pinworms in heaps that block its lumen.

Almost all medicines for helminths cannot be taken by children under 6 months. Therefore, pathology is treated only by a specialist after preliminary diagnosis.

Diagnosis of pathology

You should pass tests that will allow you to establish an accurate diagnosis. Almost all drugs against pinworms are highly toxic, therefore their independent use is unacceptable.

Only a specialist, having studied the results of the analysis, can prescribe the appropriate therapy with an indication of the required dose.

The most reliable method for identifying pinworms is a scraping taken from the anus. Thanks to the smear, the eggs of the worms can be detected. It is handed over in the morning, without first washing the child. It is better to get tested if the child slept badly in the middle of the night, cried, scratched the anus.

Scraping is taken 3 times with an interval of one day, since the result may be unreliable, even in the presence of pathology.

The material is taken by 2 methods.

• using adhesive tape;
• with a cotton swab soaked in petroleum jelly.

If you donate ordinary feces for analysis, then the study will be unreliable, since adult females lay eggs outside the entrance to the rectum, and not inside. It is impossible to find parasites in a child's feces.

Pathology can be identified using a general blood test. It will show an increase in the number of leukocytes and eosinophils.

Video - Worms

Disease therapy

The treatment course for enterobiasis is prescribed only by a doctor. The duration of treatment often takes 3-5 days, after 20 days the course is repeated.

The child's body requires preparation. 7 days before the start of the main therapy, you should switch to a dietary meal. The diet should not contain spicy, salty, fatty foods and foods that have a strengthening effect.

Table of drugs for the treatment of pinworms in children

Product name	Image	Release form	Age restrictions	Note
Pirantel		Pills, suspension	From 3 years old, from 6 months	Prescribed for all family members for simultaneous admission
Helmintox		Pills, suspension	From 6 years old, from 6 months	Can be used to treat infants under 6 months of age on the recommendation of a doctor and under his supervision
Vermox		Pills	From 2 years old	When infected with pinworms, the agent is taken once. All family members should use the drug. Reappointment is carried out after 2 weeks.
Wormin		Pills	From 2 years old	When taking medication, it is recommended not to eat fatty foods.
Nourished		Chewable tablets, suspension, suspension powder	From year	One of the most effective medicines for helminths, used to treat the whole family
Nemosol		Suspension, pills	From the year, from 3 years old	Do not take the product if the retina is affected.

Eliminate helminths will help Piperazine. The medication has a paralyzing effect on the neuromuscular system of the helminth, promotes its exit. The drug is produced in pills, powder for making a suspension. Let's admit the reception of funds by babies under one year old. The treatment lasts 5 days with the subsequent repetition of the course.

Medication Mebendazole promotes impaired absorption of glucose by pinworms, due to which death occurs. A single dose is required. Prescribe a remedy for 2 years.

If a severe allergy manifests itself, the therapy of the disease takes place with the use of antihistamines:

1. Tsetrina.
2. Loratadin.
3. Zodak.

Along with the treatment with medicines, you can use folk methods, but only after the permission of the doctor. Effective remedies include the following:

• pumpkin seeds;
• garlic;
• onion;
• carrot and beet juices.

Enterobiasis is a typical ailment of dirty hands, the main way to fight it is to pay more attention to hygiene. If pinworms appear, symptoms and treatment in children and adults will not be different. It is important to understand that therapy for any disease, including pinworm infection, should be carried out only by a doctor.