Threadworm

Threadworm (also called "pinworms") is the most common worm infection in humans. It mainly affects children, although adults can easily become infected, too. Threadworm infection spreads by direct contact with pinworm eggs, often on bedding, food, or other contaminated surfaces such as toilet areas.

Children often touch the eggs with their fingers, then put their fingers in their mouth. Within 2-4 weeks, the eggs hatch in the digestive tract and the worms move to the anal area at night, where they lay more eggs - an event often accompanied by itching. When the child scratches the area, the eggs remain under their fingernails and get transferred to other children or other members of the household, and so on.

Threadworms are white and about the length of an average staple (5-10 mm). Their eggs can live outside the human body for several weeks and can cause reinfection when they come into contact with humans.

Signs, Symptoms & Diagnosis

Pinworm symptoms may include itching around the anus, restlessness and bedwetting at night, interrupted sleep, general irritability, teeth grinding, presence of worms on the outside of a bowel motion, irritation of the skin around the anus (from scratching), weight loss or appetite loss (primarily in cases of severe infection). Girls may experience vaginal irritation, if an adult worm enters the vaginal area instead of the anus.

In children and adults, it is also possible to have a pinworm infection with no apparent symptoms.

Testing for threadworm may include a tape test, in which a small piece of cellophane tape is applied to the skin near the anus, and removed, usually in the morning before bathing. The doctor then examines the tape, using a microscope, for the presence of eggs.

How to Treat Threadworm

Threadworm is easily treated with non-prescription medications. If someone in your house is infected with threadworm, it is advisable to treat everyone in the house, because of the possibility of contagion and reinfection. Treatment should be repeated at two weeks, as it does not kill eggs.

Vermox (mebendazole) is a common over-the-counter remedy for threadworm, and it comes in several forms (orange-flavoured tablets, a combination pack including suspension and tablets, and a banana-flavoured suspension).

Children (and some adults) often prefer to take Combantrin, taken in squares of chocolate, for threadworm. Malcolm Harker formula 825 may also be taken for threadworm, and Good Health's Parasite Cleanse contains herbal extracts used to assist with intestinal cleansing.

To avoid reinfection, make sure to wash your hands after using the toilet and before meals. Keep your fingernails shorts, and wash bed linens and underwear frequently, and disinfect toilet seats daily.

See Your Doctor

If you or your child have symptoms of threadworm, or if you have seen threadworm on your child, see your doctor.

Helpful Links

Pinworm Infection Fact Sheet - National Center for Health Statistics

Pinworms and Pinworm Test - Drugs.com

Pinworms - MedLine Plus