What pinworm worms look like - symptoms in children and adults, diagnosis, treatment and prevention

From the very first moment of life, thousands of dangers and hundreds of enemies await a person in a large and far from friendly world.

Some are completely invisible to the naked eye (for example, microbes and viruses), some are huge, like predatory animals, and some do not seem to pose any threat, but are no less dangerous than the toothy Tambov wolf - these are parasites and worms. And their main danger is that they harm from within the body.

As you probably already understood, we will talk about parasites, in particular parasitic worms (helminths), which infect humans and cause enormous harm to the body. One of the representatives of this type of parasite are pinworms.

What are pinworms

Infection with these worms is called “enterobiasis.” Pinworms are parasitic nematodes (roundworms). Penetrating into the human body, these worms have a destructive effect on certain organs and systems. Pinworms spread throughout the body very quickly. Children are more at risk of infection, but adults can also develop such worms.

What they look like

The first thing that attracts attention is the grayish-white color of the worms, which is why they are clearly visible in the feces. What do pinworms look like? It depends on their gender:

1. Males do not exceed half a centimeter in length. They have a rounded rear tip.
2. Females reach a length of 0.7 to 1.2 cm. The posterior end of the worm is thin and pointed.
3. Each individual has a thickened mouth part, with which they stick to the intestinal walls.

What do eggs look like?

They are completely invisible to the human eye and can only be detected when examining a smear under a microscope. Pinworm eggs look like this:

1. The size is 0.02-0.05 mm.
2. The egg shape is oval, asymmetrical. There is a seal on one side and a bulge on the other.
3. The eggs have a double-circuit transparent shell.

Life cycle

An individual lives for about a month. The life cycle of the pinworm takes place entirely in the human body and includes the following stages:

1. Fertilization. In the large intestine, males fertilize females and then die. The rest gradually move towards the anus.
2. Laying eggs. For this process, females choose the area around the anus, skin folds on the buttocks, and the perineum. At one time, an individual lays up to 15,000 eggs, then dies. As a rule, the process occurs in the early morning or at night. When eggs attach to the skin, a person feels itching.
3. Development of larvae. For the normal course of this process, a person’s body temperature should be 36.6 degrees. The larvae in the eggs mature in approximately 5 hours.
4. Infection. A person scratches the places where pinworm eggs are laid because of the terrible itching, thereby spreading them with his hands onto the food and household items around him: bed linen, towels, dishes, etc. From them the larvae enter the oral cavity of people, then into the intestines. There they grow quickly and after about two weeks they begin to reproduce. As a result, the life cycle repeats.

Where live

Sexually mature worms exist in the human body, but only eggs live in the external environment. Pinworms live:

1. In the vagina. This happens if eggs laid in the perineum, due to non-compliance with the rules of daily personal hygiene, are transferred to the female genital organs, where a very favorable environment is created for them. Pinworms can exist not only in the vagina, but also in the fallopian tubes and uterus, which is fraught with a huge number of health problems.
2. In the intestines. This is the main habitat for pinworms. They can migrate to different parts of the organ.
3. In the nose and lungs. Infection occurs if a person who has larvae on their hands scratches their face.

Why are they dangerous?

Any worms harm a person, because they live at his expense. Pinworms are dangerous because during their activity they release decay products that cause intoxication. Worms significantly affect the digestive organs. As a result, a person feels discomfort in the stomach, bloating, and abdominal pain. Pinworms absorb huge amounts of nutrients that enter the body. For a person, this is fraught with a feeling of fatigue and irritation.

Due to the presence of pinworms in the female reproductive organs, many diseases develop:

• vulvovaginitis;
• inflammation of the urinary tract;
• dysfunction of childbirth.

Pinworms are white roundworms, what type are they?

There is a clearly formulated classification of parasites, which allows us to understand the danger helminths can pose.
Roundworms are classified as a separate type of worms. The most insidious in the kingdom of parasites are nematodes. This class unites up to 24,000 subspecies, but scientists suggest that this is not the final figure. These include about a million varieties. All nematodes have common characteristics. Which? I would like to answer this question using the example of pinworms. As mentioned above, the type of roundworms unites species that have a similar structure. Both pinworms, roundworms, and whipworms, like other subspecies, have a very thin body, elongated in length, pointed at the ends, and round in cross section, unlike flat parasites. This is why this type of helminth got its name.

The elasticity of the body of pinworms is given by the cavity fluid; it fills the entire internal space of white roundworms and forms a pressure that is slightly higher than atmospheric pressure. The cavity fluid acts as a hydroskeleton; it also ensures the transport of nutrients and the removal of waste products.

Instead of a digestive system, small white pinworms have a digestive tube. It is divided into three sections. The anterior one begins with the oral opening and continues with the pharynx. It works on the principle of a pump. The middle section of the digestive tube in roundworms is responsible for the digestion and absorption of nutrients. The last section of the tube is the hindgut. This includes the anus.

White roundworms have an excretory system. It consists of two side channels. They merge into one stream under the throat. The waste products of parasites first accumulate in the abdominal fluid, and only then are discharged out through the excretory channels, which open on the side where the peritoneum is located.

This type of roundworm has a nervous system. It is simple from an anatomical point of view, but is capable of providing pinworms with the ability to touch, taste and even see light.

The type of roundworms includes parasites that reproduce only sexually. Pinworms have males and females. In the male, the reproductive system consists of the vas deferens, the canal from which the seed is ejected, and the apparatus through which the male copulates with the female. In female pinworms, the reproductive system is represented by paired ovaries, oviducts, a full-fledged uterus and a vagina, which has an unpaired structure. After copulation, the female gives birth to eggs. In pinworms, they become invasive six hours after laying.

And one more important point. Roundworms are a type of nematode that has a skin-muscular sac. It is multi-layered, the basis of the frame is made up of longitudinal muscle fibers. When they contract, the pinworms' body wriggles and moves forward. Snake-like movement is a characteristic feature of parasites of the described type. This is another difference from flatworms.

White roundworms are a type of parasite that lives inside the host's body. Their main goal is not the death of the host, but nutrition at the expense of it. But if the invasion is started, death can occur. This is why it is so important to be able to recognize the first symptoms of infection in time and be more attentive to your health.

Why are pinworms black and red?

It is quite difficult to miss them during enterobiasis.
The pinworm is a small white worm. It enters the human body orally and settles in the intestines. It is there that the larvae mature, mature and reproduce as adults. After the act of copulation, the males die and are excreted along with feces. Dead pinworms are black. Experts recommend that if there is a suspicion of infection, carefully examine the stool. If there are black roundworms in it, these are dead pinworms. Their presence is a cause for concern. Sometimes pinworms are red. This is not an anomaly, but the consequences of mono-diets. Some microelements that parasites feed on can color the bodies of round and flatworms in unusual shades. One type of pinworm settles in humans - enterobius vermicularis. It has characteristic features: small size (up to 12 mm), round shape, pointed ends and milky white color. Females are parasites in the intestines, but at night they crawl out through the rectum and lay eggs around the anus. If the clutch is delayed, the female does not have time to crawl back. That's why they remain on linen. Their snake-like movement irritates the skin, severe itching appears - this is the most characteristic symptom of the presence of the enterobius vermicularis type inside the human body. When the number of worms in the intestines increases greatly, they come out during the day along with feces. They are easily recognized by their strong sinuous movements and characteristic white color. Black pinworms are dead individuals. Knowing what types of pinworms there are, where white roundworms parasitize, and what dangers they pose to humans, you can try to prevent the occurrence of an infestation.

How can I get rid of roundworms?

This type of white roundworms is dangerous to humans; almost all nematodes have a short life cycle, but during this time the reproduction process proceeds rapidly.
The accumulation of a large number of parasites leads to complications. Some of them, such as intestinal obstruction, for example, can cause death. That is why it is so important, when the first symptoms of the presence of parasites, including flat parasites, appear, to immediately seek help from specialists. They will conduct a series of diagnostic tests to determine what type of roundworms have settled inside a person, and then develop an effective treatment regimen. Modern drugs make it possible to destroy white worms with a single dose of medication, and then very gently remove them from the body. But the difficulty of treatment lies in trying to prevent re-infection, cleanse the body of toxins, and increase local immunity. As mentioned above, each type of roundworm has its own life cycle, which is why, after its completion, the medication will need to be resumed and the entire course of treatment repeated again, even when the next stool and blood test shows the absence of white parasites inside the human body.

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How can you get infected?

There are many ways for parasites to enter. Pinworm infection occurs when eggs enter the body. The most common routes of invasion:

1. Autoinfection. By scratching the areas of skin where eggs are laid, a person transfers them to the palms of their hands and under the nails. They may then end up in the mouth.
2. Handshake.
3. Ingestion of eggs into the body from bedding, clothing, household items, dishes, and toys.
4. Caring for an infected person.
5. Ingestion of dust infected with worms.
6. Eating unwashed foods.
7. Contact with animals that have helminth eggs in their fur.

Diagnostics

It is almost impossible to determine whether a person is infected or not at an early stage without a special examination. But, in case of symptoms and complaints in medical institutions, a smear or scraping from the perianal folds is taken using a special adhesive tape or cotton wool moistened with glycerin.

At an advanced stage of infection, pinworms can be visually seen in feces and even on bed linen.

After the signs have been confirmed by medical analysis, it is necessary to begin treatment for pinworms. It is especially important not to start the disease, but to begin treatment on the first day.

Symptoms

There are many signs of the presence of worms and they can be different for everyone. The severity of pinworm symptoms depends on how strong a person’s immunity is. If not many eggs enter the body, then enterobiasis may not manifest itself at all. However, they do not reproduce because they are in an unfavorable habitat, and after a while they die. However, only a few get by this easily. In most cases, enterobiasis can manifest itself as signs:

1. The anal area is extremely itchy, especially in the evening and at night. Periodically, the discomfort goes away, which misleads the sick person. He may think that he has recovered, or that the cause of the itching is ordinary irritation. The discomfort disappears when the generation of worms changes, then resumes.
2. Sores and cracks appear on the scratched areas. If bacteria get into them, a secondary infection develops, further weakening the immune system and complicating the process of treating worms.
3. Allergic reactions. A skin rash may appear, accompanied by itching, spots.
4. Intoxication. The person loses appetite, becomes apathetic, and the skin turns pale.
5. Digestive disorder. A person suffers from dry mouth, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, constipation, and diarrhea. There may be impurities of mucus and blood in the stool.

Pinworm worms in children cause the following symptoms:

• irritability, moodiness;
• grinding teeth at night;
• sleep disorders;
• weight loss even with a good appetite;
• nagging pain in the abdomen;
• increase in body temperature.

Causes in adults and children

Most people believe that under no circumstances are they at risk of becoming infected with worms. All causes of pinworms in adults and children ultimately come down to non-compliance with personal hygiene rules. People at increased risk of infection include:

• children of preschool and younger age attending kindergarten or school;
• neglecting the rules of personal hygiene;
• consuming unwashed vegetables and fruits, undercooked foods;
• using other people's hygiene products;
• eating in places not designated for this (in bed, at the desk, etc.);
• wearing long nails;
• having the habit of biting their nails and sucking their fingers.

Prevention of infection

To prevent re-infestation, patients are advised to carefully monitor personal hygiene: wash their hands, take a shower, and wash themselves. Underwear and bed linen should always be ironed and clean. Children need to cut their nails short and wash them daily in soapy water. The pot that the child used should be doused with boiling water. In the room where a patient infected with helminths is located, regular wet cleaning is carried out.

After recovery, the patient is registered at the dispensary for another month and a half. The effectiveness of treatment is checked a week after the end of the course of anthelmintic drugs. The absence of helminths can be confirmed by scraping the perianal area three times with an interval of 1–2 days.

Despite the fact that enterobiasis in most cases does not pose a threat to human life and health, its symptoms should not be ignored. Timely treatment prevents the rapid spread of the disease.

Treatment of enterobiasis

If a person suspects the occurrence of worms in himself or a child, he should visit a doctor and have a stool test done to diagnose the parasites. Treatment of enterobiasis is prescribed exclusively by the doctor, taking into account the patient’s age and the degree of invasion. Complex therapeutic methods are used. Sometimes folk recipes also give good results. As a rule, the patient is recommended:

• take sorbents;
• do cleansing enemas;
• take anthelmintic drugs.

Pills

Medicines for worms must be prescribed by a doctor, because self-administration of medications can lead to disappointing consequences. Tablets are selected after laboratory analysis, taking into account the patient’s age and degree of infection. Sometimes suppositories, drops, and enemas for worms are prescribed instead. As a rule, such products are used for children.

Pills, like any other medications, have a toxic effect on the body. The worms die or become paralyzed and pass out of the anus with feces. If you follow the instructions and observe the dosage, then no side effects should occur. The drugs destroy and remove not only mature parasites, but also larvae and eggs, thereby completely cleansing the body.

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In adults

The most popular deworming medications are:

1. Vermox. Tablets with the active substance mebendazole are available in a dosage of 0.1 grams. As a rule, take one tablet and two weeks later a second one. Prohibited for pregnant and lactating women.
2. Decaris. A broad-spectrum drug that paralyzes parasites. One tablet, with a dosage of 150 mg, is drunk in order to completely get rid of worms. The medicine has virtually no side effects. It is preferable to drink it before bed. Not recommended for use by people with renal and liver failure.
3. Nemozol. A drug containing ambendazole that gets rid of worms very quickly; they leave the body in less than a day. It is recommended to take the medicine with some fatty product to avoid negative effects on the digestive system.
4. Piperazine. A drug that paralyzes parasites. After consuming it, it is advisable to do an enema so that they leave the body faster. A not too toxic medicine that can be used even during pregnancy.
5. Wormil. Destroys adult worms and larvae. The course of treatment is from three to five days.

Pirantel

This drug is one of the best. It paralyzes helminths and is excreted in the feces. Each tablet of Pirantel for pinworms contains 250 mg of active ingredient. The dosage is selected taking into account the patient's weight. For 1 kg of body weight, 10 mg of anti-worm medication is required. You can also take Pirantel to reduce the risk of infection. The tablets have a number of contraindications:

• individual intolerance;
• pregnancy, lactation;
• myasthenia gravis under treatment.

After taking medicine for worms, a person may experience the following side effects:

• nausea, vomiting;
• headache;
• hallucinations;
• intestinal disorder;
• dizziness;
• hives

For children

The following drugs are suitable for young patients:

1. Pirantel. Medicine for pinworms for children over one year old. It is preferable to give not tablets, but a suspension for worms.
2. Decaris. The dosage is selected according to the patient’s weight. Allowed for children over three years old.
3. Vermox. The course of treatment for a child is designed for three days. It should be repeated after a few weeks.
4. Piperazine. The safest medicine for children over one year old. To prevent intoxication, it is recommended to do a cleansing enema after taking the drug.
5. Zentel. Allowed for children from one year of age, the dosage is adjusted according to weight.

Enema

The procedure is most effective for enterobiasis, although it also helps against other types of worms. Recipes for enemas against pinworms:

1. Pour 40 g of dry tansy with 440 ml of boiling water. Cover and leave for a quarter of an hour. Strain. Do an enema with the cooled solution every evening for a week in a row, trying to keep the liquid inside for at least five minutes.
2. Dilute a teaspoon of soda in 0.5 liters of hot water. Insert into the anus and hold for a while. Repeat for a week in a row every evening.

Zinc ointment

This product is cheap and can be found in any pharmacy. Many are surprised to learn that zinc ointment helps against pinworms, because this is not its main purpose. The substance only gets rid of these parasites, because their size is insignificant. The area around the anus is treated with ointment. It is very thick, so when the female comes out to reproduce, she gets stuck in it along with her eggs.

Zinc ointment is applied every day before bed in a thick, even layer. It is necessary to carry out hygiene procedures first. Then you should put on cotton underwear to avoid staining the bed. In the morning, the ointment is carefully removed with napkins, after wearing rubber gloves. If a person prefers to wash it off, then the towel with which he wipes himself must be washed immediately. The course of treatment is three weeks, only then can you be sure that all the worms have been destroyed.

Candles for children

Advantages of treatment with suppositories:

1. The components penetrate directly into the veins of the rectum without entering the liver.
2. Pinworm suppositories for children act faster than other drugs.
3. The composition of most suppositories is based on herbal natural ingredients.

Effective drugs:

1. Hirudotex. Allowed for children over five years old.
2. Nigela Sativa. Candles containing black cumin oil.
3. Gelmavitol. Children's pinworms are guaranteed to disappear after a course of treatment with these suppositories.
4. Prostada. They not only destroy parasites, but also relieve inflammation and heal wounds from scratching.

Can you see the eggs?

Many people are interested in what pinworm eggs look like on the butt or underwear, because adults lay them in the anus.

It is impossible to see parasite eggs with the naked eye - they are too small and visible only under a microscope. There are several different tests to detect them. The most reliable is scraping for enterobiasis. Do it early in the morning, it is advisable not to wash yourself before that. Sometimes it is advised to place adhesive tape in the anus overnight, but this method of analysis is rarely used.

There is also a stool test for the presence of eggs and other waste products of worms, but this method is not the most accurate. Usually it is carried out several times at different times if there are doubts.

It is worth remembering that the main obvious symptom indicating the presence of parasites in the gastrointestinal tract is itching in the anus. After its appearance, the necessary research should be immediately carried out and treatment should begin.

Treatment with folk remedies

Recipes:

1. To treat pinworms with folk remedies, pumpkin seeds are often used. 50 g of this product in its raw form is mixed with 1 tsp. liquid honey, a piece of butter, and use the product in the morning on an empty stomach.
2. Infuse freshly squeezed beet juice for at least two hours in the refrigerator. Drink half a glass twice a day on an empty stomach.
3. Pour 50 ml of olive oil over the chopped onion. Add some salt. Divide into six servings and eat each before bed.

Garlic enema

Recipes:

1. Peel one head of garlic and crush the cloves. Add 1 tablespoon of dry wormwood. Pour a glass of water and bring to a boil. Cool and strain. Leave in a warm place for two hours. Do a garlic enema for pinworms in the evening for a week in a row.
2. Chop 10 cloves of garlic. Stir in two glasses of milk. Leave for 12 hours. Strain. Do an enema after a bowel movement for 7 days in a row if you don’t know how to remove pinworms.
3. Chop 10 cloves of garlic and 1 onion and squeeze out the juice. Dilute with 0.5 liters of warm water. The solution must be left for 2 hours. Do an enema every morning for a week in a row.