How to Recognize and Prevent a Pinworm Infection

Understand how pinworms are spread. Pinworms can affect both young children and adults. The means of transmission is oral-waste. Worms are spread from person to person by ingesting worm eggs in fingers, bedding, clothing and other contaminated objects. ^[1] For example, children with pinworms can scratch their anus and cause eggs to attach to their fingers or under their fingernails, which then infect another person or object, or even infect themselves. worms to the young themselves.

Risk assessment. Obviously, the more you surround yourself with someone who has poor or undeveloped hygiene, the higher your risk of pinworm infection. ^[2]

• High Risk : School-age children/preschoolers, orphans/or elderly people in nursing homes and their families, family members and carers of the first two groups. Children’s hands often touch many things, do many things, and are often not washed. Children also often put their hands/fingers in their mouths, touch toys, tables and chairs, touch each other, wipe their hands on clothes, etc. Orphans/or elderly people in nursing homes are similar. This has created a favorable environment for pinworms to multiply.
• Moderate risk : Moderate risk. Similar to what you would expect in the high-risk group, people who come into contact with any or all of the subjects in the high-risk group will be placed in the moderate-risk group. At this point, to prevent pinworm infection, you only have to follow the instructions on personal hygiene. Since you can’t distance yourself from others because they have pinworms, you can only take care of yourself as best you can.
• Low risk : This group includes basically everyone. Adults with little exposure to high-risk groups or relatively limited exposure to moderate-risk groups will be in the low-risk group for pinworm infection.

Understand the life cycle of the pinworm. After the eggs of the pinworm enter the body, the incubation period of the eggs will take 1-2 months (or longer for female eggs) to mature in the small intestine. ^[3]

• Once mature, the female worm migrates to the intestines and lays eggs around the anus at night, when the host is asleep. When laying eggs, female worms use “glue” to stick the eggs to the anus and this substance will cause an itchy sensation on the skin.
• This is why the itching is often worse at night: the worms migrate to the area around the rectum to lay eggs.

Understand how worms are transmitted. Scratching the itch can cause microscopic pinworm eggs to spread to your fingers. From there, the eggs can be carried to the mouth or other mucous membranes. ^[4]

• This process of hand-to-mouth transmission can also take place indirectly. Eggs can be carried to flat surfaces such as clothing or furniture, where they can live up to two to three weeks and stick to human hands. Finally, the worms will be introduced into the body if the person does not wash his hands and bring them to his mouth.

Watch out for other signs of pinworm infection. Besides the obvious irritation in the rectum, a person infected with pinworms may not experience any other symptoms. If present , the symptoms are usually: ^[5]

• Restlessness, insomnia, especially if you have never experienced this condition before
• Bedweed
• Bad sleep habits (like teeth grinding)
• Vaginal discharge in women
• Bacterial skin infections

Look for the real signs of a pinworm infection. If the above symptoms occur, you can confirm the body of pinworm infection with the naked eye by following the instructions below: ^[6]

• You can see worms in the anus (rectum), especially if observed about 2-3 hours after the infected person is fast asleep. Use a flashlight to help you see better.
• You may see worms in the toilet after the infected person has finished defecating. Observers will see worms crawling in the waste. Pinworms are usually very small and 1 cm long. They may look a bit like white yarn.
• Pinworms can be found in a young child’s underwear in the morning.

Take samples for testing at the place of worm infestation. If a pinworm infection is suspected, your doctor may ask you to place a piece of clear tape over your rectum. Pinworm eggs will stick to the tape. The doctor will then look at the eggs under a microscope. ^[7]

• The doctor may also take a sample from under the finger of an infected person and check for worm eggs.
• You can use a pinworm straw. This flute-like device will be used to “pick up” a sample from a suspected pinworm site and store it in a plastic test tube.