In the United States, pinworm infection, or enterobiasis, is the most common of all parasitic roundworm infections. It primarily affects school-age children. Because pinworm infection is spread mainly by children, it is found most often in family groups, daycare centers, schools, and camp settings.
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases:
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Health Topics
Intestinal worms
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2. Overview
In the United States, pinworm infection, or
enterobiasis, is the most common of all parasitic
roundworm infections. It primarily affects school-
age children. Because pinworm infection is spread
mainly by children, it is found most often in family
groups, daycare centers, schools, and camp
settings.
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4. Symptoms
Folklore is filled with fantastic descriptions of
symptoms and abnormal behavior attributed to
pinworm infection. In fact, many people have no
symptoms at all. Of those who do, the symptoms
are usually mild and barely noticeable.
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5. Symptoms
The movement of egg-laden female worms from
your anus to deposit their eggs will often produce
itching around the anus or vagina. This itching may
become very intense, interfere with sleep, and
make you irritable.
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious
Diseases:
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6. Diagnosis
Your healthcare provider can diagnose pinworm
infection by simply finding the eggs. The most
common way to collect the eggs involves swabbing
the anal area with the sticky side of a piece of
transparent cellophane tape. Your healthcare
provider will then put the tape on a slide and look
for the eggs under a microscope.
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8. Treatment
If your healthcare provider prescribes medicine for
this condition, everyone who lives in your house
should take it, regardless of whether they have
symptoms. Medicines, such as mebendazole or
pyrantel pamoate, are the most useful in treating
pinworm infection.
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9. Treatment
To relieve the intense itching that often happens
with pinworm infection, your healthcare provider
may also prescribe a soothing ointment or cream.
Because of the strong probability that children will
be reinfected outside the home, in a daycare
setting for example, major efforts to eliminate the
eggs from the home are of little help.
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11. Prevention
Some of the ways that you and your children can
prevent becoming infected or reinfected with
pinworms include:
-- Bathing after waking up
-- Washing night clothes and bed sheets often
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12. Prevention
-- Washing your hands routinely, particularly after
using the bathroom or changing diapers
-- Changing underwear every day
-- Avoiding nail biting
-- Avoiding scratching the anal area
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