Pinworms in adults: symptoms and treatment
Pinworms are the most common type of helminth. They parasitize the human colon and cause a disease called enterobiasis. The most vulnerable age group is children of preschool and primary school age. It is they who most often bring helminthiasis to the family, where adults also become infected with pinworms.
Content:
- What do pinworms look like?
- Causes of pinworm infection
- Pinworm symptoms in adults
- Pinworm diagnostics
- Pinworm treatment
- Pinworm prevention
What do pinworms look like?
Pinworms (Enterobius vermicularis) belong to the genus of nematodes, that is, roundworms. They can be seen in the feces with the naked eye, these helminths look like scraps of white thread. The length of the adult female is 10 mm, the male is 5 mm. The worm has a pointed body, this feature formed the basis for the name of the parasite.
One end of the male's body is slightly twisted, while the female's distal fragment of the body is bent towards the abdomen. The pinworm is attached to the intestinal wall with a special device that looks like a small suction cup along the mouth opening. Pinworm eggs can only be seen with a microscope. They are oval, convex on one side, and flattened on the other.
Causes of pinworm infection
The main cause of pinworm infection is contact with the host of helminths. Pinworm eggs, secreted by a sick person, are transferred to clothes, door handles, household items, animal hair, food prepared by him. In some cases, flies and cockroaches are distributors of helminth eggs. After contact with things or foods containing pinworm eggs, the person transfers them into the mouth and then into the small intestine.
There, representatives of both sexes grow from eggs, they mate and move to the large intestine for nutrition. After a month, a sexually mature female pinworm begins to lay eggs, crawling out of the rectum through the anus. The number of eggs in one clutch can reach 15 thousand.
Migration of pinworms in the perianal region causes severe itching. When the patient scratches the skin, pinworm eggs fall under the nails, they remain on the hands. A person infected with pinworms scatters their eggs throughout their habitat. Thousands of eggs can be found on unwashed hands under long nails. They get on the bed, dishes, food, underwear and clothes of other people.
It is difficult to stay healthy if there is at least one patient with enterobiasis in the immediate environment. If there is a child in a family who visits a children's team and is not accustomed to following the rules of hygiene, it can be argued for sure that all family members are infected with pinworms. They stop the spread of infection against the background of drug therapy, isolating the patient, treating his things and underwear. An additional precaution is to take food only with clean hands.
Pinworm symptoms in adults
When infected with pinworms not from a family member, but from an outsider, an adult usually has a small number of helminths. In this case, the symptoms of pinworms are felt as little discomfort, or are completely absent.
In this case, simple hygiene rules must be followed:
- Thorough hand washing before meals and after using the toilet;
- Change of underwear twice a day;
- Daily thorough hygiene of the perianal area.
Then self-infection can be avoided, since hygiene measures deprive pinworms of the opportunity to reproduce. Adult helminths live for several weeks, after which they die from old age and are removed from the body. If there is a person in the family infected with pinworms, then it is very difficult for all the rest of its members to avoid constant reinfection.
With a massive infection, the main symptom in adults is itching in the anus, which intensifies at night or in the evening, when female pinworms go out to lay eggs.
It is possible that the itching will only last 1-2 days at intervals of 2-3 weeks. This is due to a change in the generation of helminths and reinvasion.
Without treatment and in case of insufficient hygiene, as well as with regular contact with sources of infestation (infected people), the number of pinworms in the body will increase, and the itching will become very strong.
A patient with pinworms scratches the anus, cracks, abrasions, scratches appear on the skin. The addition of a bacterial infection leads to dermatitis, inflammatory processes. In this case, a more complex and prolonged treatment of helminthiasis is required.
Pinworms in adults provoke the following intestinal disorders: dysbiosis, constipation or diarrhea, inclusions in the form of mucus or blood in a mushy stool. With a large accumulation of pinworms in the cecum, in combination with a bacterial infection, intestinal inflammation and exacerbation of appendicitis can occur.
Consequences of untreated enterobiasis:
- Allergic manifestations;
- Increased irritability;
- Intoxication of the body;
- Fast fatiguability;
- Sleep disorders (insomnia, difficulty falling asleep);
- Headache, dizziness;
- Endometritis and vulvovaginitis in women due to pinworms entering the genital tract;
- Irritation of the peritoneum, manifested by pain in the navel.
With a long-term current invasion in blood tests, an increase in the concentration of eosinophils and a decrease in the level of hemoglobin are diagnosed.
Pinworm diagnostics
Pinworms lay eggs not in the intestines, but in the anus, therefore, the analysis of feces for egg content is not used to diagnose pinworms. The most informative method for determining helminthiasis is scraping. Its implementation is not difficult; this can be done with a cotton swab smeared with petroleum jelly, or by applying adhesive tape to the anus.
But even a technique as precise as scraping can give false negative results. The reason for this is that female pinworms are not able to lay eggs daily. More reliable results are obtained after a three-fold analysis, moreover, at least 2 weeks should pass between the second and third scrapings. If the family has children attending a children's team, examination of all family members is mandatory.
Pinworm treatment
Self-medication is unacceptable. Therapy is carried out only under the guidance of a helminthologist or infectious disease specialist. He will take into account the contraindications of drugs, he will accurately calculate the dosage. Any anthelmintic agent has a toxic effect and requires caution in use.
Drugs for the treatment of pinworms:
- Levamisole is an analogue of Decaris (70 rubles), the drug has the properties of an immunomodulator;
- Mebendazole - analogues Vormin (20 rubles), Mebex, Vermox (100 rubles), Telmox;
- Pirantel (up to 50 rubles) - analogue of Helmintox (up to 120 rubles);
- Carbendacim is an analogue of Medamin;
- Nemozole is a drug with a powerful anthelmintic effect, used for combined invasion or severe enterobiasis;
- Piperazine - let's say during lactation and pregnancy (up to 25 rubles).
Most drugs are designed for a single dose of a therapeutic dose, but for greater effectiveness, you should not take stool thinners the day before. Usually, anti-worm drugs are taken in the morning, so the dinner before treatment should be light.
In the evening on the day of taking antiparasitic pills, a laxative should be taken to completely remove pinworms from the intestines. Treatment of pinworms is repeated after 2 weeks in order to destroy those individuals that could appear from the eggs during this time.
Along with the anti-worming drug, antihistamines are taken:
- Zodak;
- Loratadine;
- Cetrin.
They can help prevent itching, scratching, and skin damage. This precaution will reduce the spread of pinworm eggs through the body and clothing. For the same purposes, they use a soda enema: for half a liter of boiled water, you need to take 1 tsp. baking soda.
During the treatment of pinworms, all family members should carefully observe the following rules:
- Change underwear twice a day, pre-ironed with a hot iron;
- Cut your nails short;
- Wash your hands more often with soap and disinfectant solutions;
- Daily wet cleaning of the apartment, disinfect the toilet.
If these rules are not followed, medication treatment will not lead to the desired result. Surrounding the patient, his family members will become infected over and over again.
In addition to medicines, pinworms can be treated with folk remedies, although it does not replace medicines. The simplest and most affordable method is the use of pumpkin seeds. A gray-green film on pumpkin seeds has a healing effect. Before such treatment, you need to do an enema every morning for 2 days in a row, and drink a saline laxative in the evening. Pumpkin seeds (300 g) are ground and mixed with honey (100 g). The mixture is eaten on an empty stomach, after 4 hours an enema is given and a laxative is taken. You can eat only after a bowel movement.
Preventive measures
In order not to expose yourself to the danger of enterobiasis, it is enough to observe hygiene rules:
- Thorough and prolonged hand washing;
- Hygienic shower;
- Washing vegetables and fruits (first they are washed with running water, then rinsed with boiled water).
If a patient infected with pinworms appears in the family, a general cleaning is carried out in the house or apartment. All household and interior items available for washing with soapy water are thoroughly washed. Underwear and bed linen, clothes are washed at the highest possible temperature. Lingerie is changed daily, nails are cut short.
Pets are not carriers of pinworms, but helminth eggs may remain on their fur. Therefore, in the house of a patient with enterobiasis, you need to thoroughly wash cats and dogs.
Prevention of enterobiasis without consulting a doctor and conducting preliminary diagnostics is unacceptable, since antiparasitic agents are toxic to the human body.
Author of the article: Danilova Tatyana Vyacheslavovna | Infectionist
Education: in 2008 received a diploma in General Medicine (General Medicine) at the Pirogov Russian Research Medical University. Immediately passed an internship and received a diploma of a therapist
