While the infected person sleeps, female pinworms lay thousands of eggs in the folds of skin surrounding the anus. Most people infected with pinworms have no symptoms, but some people experience anal itching and restless sleep. Pinworm infection occurs most often in school-age children, and the tiny microscopic eggs are easily spread from child to child.
Treatment involves oral drugs that kill the pinworms and thorough washing of pajamas, bedding and underwear. For best results, the entire family should be treated.
Accidentally swallowing or breathing in pinworm eggs causes a pinworm infection. The tiny microscopic eggs can be carried to your mouth by contaminated food, drink or your fingers. Once swallowed, the eggs hatch in the intestines and mature into adult worms within a few weeks. Female pinworms move to the anal area to lay their eggs, which often results in anal itching.
When you scratch the itchy area, the eggs cling to your fingers and get under your fingernails. The eggs then get transferred to other surfaces, such as toys, bedding or toilet seats. The eggs can also be transferred from contaminated fingers to food, liquids, clothes or other people. Child care centers often are the site of cases of pinworm infection. Pinworm eggs become infective within a few hours after being deposited on the skin around the anus and can survive for 2 to 3 weeks on clothing, bedding, or other objects.
People become infected, usually unknowingly, by swallowing ingesting infective pinworm eggs that are on fingers, under fingernails, or on clothing, bedding, and other contaminated objects and surfaces. Because of their small size, pinworm eggs sometimes can become airborne and ingested while breathing. Pinworm infections are rarely spread through the use of swimming pools. Pinworm infections occur when a person swallows pinworm eggs picked up from contaminated surfaces or fingers.
Although chlorine levels found in pools are not high enough to kill pinworm eggs, the presence of a small number of pinworm eggs in thousands of gallons of water the amount typically found in pools makes the chance of infection unlikely. During this treatment time and two weeks after final treatment, it is a good idea to avoid co-bathing and the reuse or sharing of washcloths.
Showering may be preferred to avoid possible contamination of bath water. Careful handling and frequent changing of underclothing, night clothes, towels, and bedding can help reduce infection, reinfection, and environmental contamination with pinworm eggs. These items should be laundered in hot water, especially after each treatment of the infected person and after each usage of washcloths until infection is cleared.
Humans are considered to be the only hosts of E. Diagnosis is made by identifying the worm or its eggs. Worms can sometimes be seen on the skin near the anus or on underclothing, pajamas, or sheets about 2 to 3 hours after falling asleep. The eggs stick to the tape and the tape can be placed on a slide and looked at under a microscope. Because itching and scratching of the anal area is common in pinworm infection, samples taken from under the fingernails may also contain eggs.
Pinworm eggs rarely are found in routine stool or urine samples. Pinworm can be treated with either prescription or over-the-counter medications. A health care provider should be consulted before treating a suspected case of pinworm infection. Treatment involves two doses of medication with the second dose being given 2 weeks after the first dose. All household contacts and caretakers of the infected person should be treated at the same time.
Reinfection can occur easily so strict observance of good hand hygiene is essential e. Daily morning bathing and daily changing of underwear helps removes a large proportion of eggs. The infected person and all household contacts and caretakers of the infected person should be treated at the same time. Reinfection occurs easily. A pinworm infection is one of the most common types of human intestinal worm infections.
Pinworms are tiny, narrow worms. Pinworm infections are also known as enterobiasis or oxyuriasis. Pinworm infections can spread easily. An effective treatment for pinworm infections is medication, though reinfection is possible. Serious complications and long-term health effects are rare.
Some individuals with pinworm infections may not experience any symptoms. However, you may suspect that you or your child has a pinworm infection if you notice:.
Pinworms infections are highly contagious. You become infected with pinworms by unintentionally ingesting or inhaling pinworm eggs. The cycle of infection begins with the ingestion of these microscopic eggs.
Once the eggs enter your body, they remain in the intestine until they hatch and mature. As adults, the female pinworms move into the colon and exit the body through the anus at night. Female pinworms lay eggs in the folds of skin around the anus and then return to the colon.
The presence of these eggs often causes anal itching and irritation. When a person scratches the affected area, the pinworm eggs transfer to the fingers. The eggs can survive for several hours on your hands. Pinworm eggs can survive on these contaminated surfaces for up to three weeks. Children transfer pinworm eggs easily because they may put infected toys or other objects directly into their mouths.
The eggs can also transfer from contaminated fingers directly to food or liquids. Pinworms generally live for up to 13 weeks.
Scratching an affected area can lead to unintentional ingestion, which can lead to reinfection and a restart of the entire pinworm life process. Sometimes, eggs on the anus can hatch and the pinworm larvae can reinfect the intestine that they came from. Pinworm infections affect people of all ages and geographical regions. Humans are the only pinworm hosts. A tape test is the most reliable method for diagnosing a pinworm infection.
This test consists of taking a piece of cellophane tape and pressing the sticky, adhesive side against the skin around the anus.
0コメント