If other people touch an infected surface, they can then transfer the eggs to their mouth. Threadworm eggs can survive for up to 2 weeks before hatching. If the eggs hatch around the anus, the newborn worms can re-enter the bowel. Eggs that have been swallowed will hatch inside the intestine. After 2 weeks, the worms reach adult size and begin to reproduce, starting the cycle again. Read more about what causes threadworms.
If you or your child has threadworms, everyone in your household will need to be treated as there's a high risk of the infection spreading. This includes those who don't have any symptoms of an infection. For most people, treatment will involve taking a single dose of a medication called mebendazole to kill the worms. If necessary, another dose can be taken after 2 weeks. During treatment and for a few weeks afterwards, it's also important to follow strict hygiene measures to avoid spreading the threadworm eggs.
This includes regularly vacuuming your house and thoroughly washing your bathroom and kitchen. If you're pregnant or breastfeeding, hygiene measures are usually recommended without medication.
This is also often the case for young children. Read more about treating threadworm infections. It's not always possible to prevent a threadworm infection, but you can significantly reduce your risk by always maintaining good hygiene and encouraging children to do the same. Children should wash their hands regularly, particularly after going to the toilet and before mealtimes. Kitchen and bathroom surfaces should be kept clean. If your child is infected, encouraging them not to scratch the affected area around their anus or vagina will help prevent reinfection and reduce the risk of the infection spreading to others.
However, they can cause intense itching around the anus and the vagina in girls , particularly at night when the female worms are laying eggs. This can disturb sleep. In some cases, you may spot threadworms on your bed clothes or sheets at night, or you may notice them in your stools. The worms look like threads of white cotton and are about 1 centimetre long. A female threadworm can lay thousands of tiny eggs around the anus or vagina.
The female threadworm also releases mucus, which can cause an itchy bottom. Scratching the anus or vagina, or wiping them after going to the toilet, can cause the eggs to stick to your fingertips or under your fingernails. If you don't wash your hands, the eggs can be transferred to your mouth or on to food or objects, such as toys and kitchen utensils. If someone else touches a contaminated object, or eats contaminated food and then touches their mouth, they'll become infected.
After the eggs have been swallowed they pass into a person's intestine, where they hatch. After about 2 weeks the threadworms will have grown into adults, at which point they'll reproduce and the cycle of infection will start again. As well as being swallowed by a person who touches a contaminated object or surface, threadworm eggs can also be swallowed after being breathed in. This can happen if the eggs become airborne — for example, after shaking a contaminated towel or bed sheet.
Threadworms only infect humans and aren't spread in animal faeces. However, there's a small risk that threadworms can be caught from pets if the animal's fur becomes contaminated with eggs after an infected person strokes it.
If another person then touches the animal's fur, the eggs could be passed on to them. Threadworm infections most commonly affect young children because they often forget to wash their hands and they share toys with other children. People who are in close contact with someone with a threadworm infection also have a high risk of infection. 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. Prevention always should be discussed at the time of treatment. Good hand hygiene is the most effective means of prevention. If pinworm infection occurs again, the infected person should be retreated with the same two-dose treatment. If pinworm infection continues to occur, the source of the infection should be sought and treated. Playmates, schoolmates, close contacts outside the home, and household members should be considered possible sources of infection.
Each infected person should receive the recommended two-dose treatment. Strict observance of good hand hygiene is the most effective means of preventing pinworm infection.
This includes washing hands with soap and warm water after using the toilet, changing diapers, and before handling food. Keep fingernails clean and short, avoid fingernail-biting, and avoid scratching the skin in the perianal area. Teach children the importance of washing hands to prevent infection. Daily morning bathing and changing of underclothes helps remove a large proportion of pinworm eggs and can help prevent infection and reinfection.
Careful handling avoid shaking and frequent laundering of underclothes, night clothes, towels, and bed sheets using hot water also helps reduce the chance of infection and reinfection by reducing environmental contamination with eggs.
Control can be difficult in child care centers and schools because the rate of reinfection is high. In institutions, mass and simultaneous treatment, repeated in 2 weeks, can be effective. A doctor or pharmacist will tell you how much you should take depending on the type of worms you have.
If you have threadworms also called pinworms you will usually take a single dose. If you live with anyone else, they will need to be treated at the same time because threadworms can spread easily. A doctor or pharmacist may suggest you repeat the dose after 2 weeks to prevent you from getting them again.
This is because the medicine kills the worms but not their eggs. Usually you need to take a dose 2 times a day for 3 days. The tablet can be chewed or swallowed whole with a glass of water, juice or milk. You can take it with or without food. The liquid comes with a spoon to measure it.
If you don't have a spoon, ask your pharmacist for one. Do not use a kitchen teaspoon as it won't give you the right amount. If you are taking mebendazole 2 times a day and you have missed a dose, take it as soon as you remember. However, if you remember more than 4 hours after your dose was due, skip the missed dose and just take your next dose as normal. It happens rarely but it is possible to have a serious allergic reaction anaphylaxis to mebendazole. These are not all the side effects of mebendazole.
For a full list see the leaflet inside your medicines packet. You can report any suspected side effect to the UK safety scheme. Mebendazole isn't usually recommended for the treatment of threadworms during pregnancy or when breastfeeding.
However if you have another worm infection such as roundworm or hookworm, you should speak to a doctor to discuss the best way to treat this. If you're pregnant or breastfeeding, it is usually considered better to try to treat threadworms without taking a medicine.
It's important to:. There might be a problem with taking some herbal remedies and supplements together with mebendazole. Ask a pharmacist or doctor for advice. Tell a doctor or pharmacist if you're taking any other medicines, including herbal remedies, vitamins or supplements. Mebendazole kills worms that cause gut infections such as threadworm sometimes known as pinworm and other less common worm infections whipworm, roundworm and hookworm. It works by stopping the worms using sugar glucose.
Without glucose, the cells of the worms lose their energy supply and quickly die. Mebendazole does not kill the eggs of the worm. This is why you may need to take another dose 2 weeks later to help prevent reinfection. The medicine should start to work straight away but it may take several days to kill all the worms.
It is important that you take the medicine as a pharmacist or doctor tells you. Do not stop early if you have been told to take it for several days. Mebendazole does not kill the worms' eggs, and these can cause you to get worms again and pass it on to other people. A doctor or pharmacist may advise you to take mebendazole again after 2 weeks, to stop the worms from coming back.
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