Pinworms in children: symptoms and treatment
Pinworms are roundworms from the nematode genus, oxyurid family, parasitizing in the human body. They are the causative agent of enterobiasis - a parasitic disease diagnosed in 25-90% of preschool children. Such a wide range of statistical data is due to the fact that the presence of pinworms in preschoolers does not always show characteristic symptoms.
Often, pinworms do not cause any painful sensations in the child's body. Complaints in a child can appear only with a powerful infestation of helminths. Most often, such a symptom characteristic of pinworms appears as night itching in the anus. The child's discomfort interferes with restful sleep, and children become irritable.
Content:
- Ways of transmission of pinworms in children
- Diagnosis of pinworms in children
- Symptoms of pinworms in a child
- Complications of pinworms in children
- Treatment of pinworms in children
- Treatment of pinworms in children at home
Ways of transmission of pinworms in children
Enterobiasis is transmitted through the contact-household way, when a sick child spreads pinworm eggs in their environment on the hands and under the nails. They get there when children scratch the skin around the anus, irritated by a female helminth crawling out of the rectum. Adult pinworms crawl out of the intestines late in the evening or at night to lay fertilized eggs in the skin folds around the anus. After scratching, a huge number of eggs remain on the skin of the hands and under the nails.
Other family members can become infected this way if they do not follow basic hygiene practices. A child with enterobiasis is at risk of reinfection, swallowing eggs laid by helminths that live in his intestines. This risk is increased if infected children rarely wash their hands and do not change their underwear and bedding immediately after sleep. By touching toys, household items, dishes and products, pet hair, the child spreads pinworm eggs in his environment.
All family members, as well as members of the children's collective where the child with enterobiasis is, most often become infected in the shortest possible time. Through unwashed hands while eating, biting nails, sucking fingers or toys, pinworm eggs enter the mouth, then into the intestines. After 4 weeks in the intestine, the parasites become sexually mature pinworms and begin to lay eggs. If you scrupulously follow the recommendations for observing personal hygiene during the treatment of pinworms, self-infection of children can be stopped. An important condition is that all family members should be treated.
It is difficult to teach a preschool child to follow the rules of hygiene. For this reason, up to 5-6 years old in children attending a children's collective, it is extremely difficult to completely and without relapses to cure pinworms. Even if a child often washes his hands and does not have bad habits (biting nails, sucking fingers), he can become infected from his peers. To get the kids interested and teach them how to wash their hands, various techniques are used: using soap with various inclusions or in the form of funny figures, colored soap suds, blowing soap bubbles, etc. Fun games in the bathroom will help to teach your little ones to hygiene.
Diagnosis of pinworms in children
The main method for diagnosing pinworms in children is scraping for the presence of helminth eggs in the skin folds around the anus. The time of the scraping is the morning period before the bowel movement, while the child should not wash the anal area. This method is not 100% accurate because pinworms do not lay eggs every day. However, on the day before which the child worried about itching at night, the result of the analysis will be accurate.
Even if there are pinworms in the intestines of a child, the test may be negative.
With a combination of symptoms of pinworms such as:
- Itching in the anus;
- Abdominal pain;
- Poor appetite;
- Allergic manifestations;
- Intestinal dysbiosis;
- An increased level of eosinophils in the blood test,
It is recommended to have a scraping three times, the first two - every other day, and the third - after 10 days. In this case, there is confidence in the reliability of the data obtained.
The analysis of feces for worm eggs is not informative, since the female lays them on the skin near the anus, and not in the intestines. Visually, it can be found in the feces or on the skin folds of an adult helminth, similar to a piece of white thread 0.5-1 cm in size. Its body has pointed ends on both sides.
Methods for taking material for diagnosis:
- With the help of adhesive tape, which is briefly pressed against the skin folds near the anus, and then glued to the glass;
- Using a cotton swab soaked in Vaseline.
The second method is most often used. The material is examined on the spot or sent to the laboratory for microscopic examination within a period of no more than 2 hours.
Symptoms of pinworms in a child
Pinworms are rarely found in a child's feces or on his skin, even with severe parasite infestation.
Even with a negative result of scraping for enterobiasis, their presence in the intestines of a baby can be suspected by the following signs:
- Severe nighttime itching in the anus, the appearance of scratching marks on the skin;
- Restless sleep, crying at night in the smallest children, the child has difficulty falling asleep, often moves in bed in a dream;
- Nausea and decreased appetite
- Excessive salivation (drooling);
- Increased appetite;
- Dyspepsia (constipation, diarrhea), dysbiosis;
- Headache, dizziness;
- Increased fatigue, moodiness, irritability;
- Pale face with bluish circles under the eyes;
- Teeth grinding during sleep at night (unproven statement).
Persistent skin irritation in the anal area with prolonged invasion can be complicated by the addition of a bacterial infection.
Pinworms in the process of their vital activity release toxins, a powerful invasion significantly affects the child's nervous system with these toxins. As a result, children develop irritability and behavior disorders. Constant fatigue and lack of sleep lead to lethargy, impaired attention, and learning disabilities. Anthelmintic therapy should be started immediately at the first symptoms of pinworms.
The peculiarity of the structure of the genitourinary system of girls leads with enterobiasis to irritation of the urethra and vagina, external genital organs. The consequence of this is urinary incontinence, inflammatory processes with profuse discharge (vulvovaginitis). For a long time, the current invasion aggravates the symptoms of allergy: an increase in the level of eosinophils, eczema, dermatitis. A decrease in the level of hemoglobin is indicated by the pallor of the child's skin.
Complications of pinworms in children
If you do not start the timely treatment of enterobiasis, the child's body does not receive enough vitamins, trace elements, nutrients that are so necessary for it for full development. Instead, pinworm colonies fill it with toxins, provoking allergies. In a depleted body with prolonged invasion, the level of immunity is significantly reduced.
Complications of enterobiasis in children:
- Eosinophilic enterocolitis - intestinal damage, appears with high sensitivity to antigens on pinworms, with massive helminthiasis;
- Salpingitis and oophoritis - inflammation of the ovaries and fallopian tubes when pinworms enter the genitals;
- Appendicitis is an inflammatory process with the accumulation of pinworms in the cecum;
- Vulvovaginitis - inflammation of the vagina when pinworms enter the genitourinary system;
- Peritonitis - inflammation of the peritoneum when parasites penetrate through the intestinal wall;
- Inflammation of the foreskin in boys when parasites penetrate under it;
- Increased risk of allergization of the child's body;
- Increased risk of masturbation, balanitis, leukorrhea with excessive irritation of the genitals with pinworms;
- Children with a weak type of nervous system develop neurological abnormalities, increased irritability, and seizures of the type of epileptoid seizures may develop.
In addition to everything, children with long-term invasion are often underweight, lagging behind in physical and mental development.
Treatment of pinworms in children
In children, the treatment of pinworms is unacceptable. Treatment directed against pinworms in a child's body can only be carried out by a doctor (pediatrician, infectious disease specialist, helminthologist). He will take into account contraindications, individual characteristics of the child, and accurately calculate the dose of the drug. Almost always, after 10 days, you have to carry out a second course of treatment in order to surely get rid of the pinworms that have appeared during this time from the eggs.
Pinworms are treated with all family members, as well as those who have often had contact with the child.
Drugs for the treatment of enterobiasis in children:
- Piperazine is the safest drug with low toxicity, costing up to 30 rubles;
- Pirantel, analogue - Helmintox, costing from 20 to 120 rubles;
- Mebendazole, analogues - Vormin, Vermox, costing from 20 to 90 rubles;
- Levamisole, an analogue - Decaris, a drug with the properties of an immunomodulator, costing about 70 rubles;
- Albendazole, an analogue - Nemozole, is used in the form of a suspension and tablets, has a pronounced toxic effect, is used only for massive invasion, costing about 120 rubles.
Treatment of children from pinworms should be started after preliminary preparation. The day before the start of therapy, foods that fix stools and dense foods are excluded from the diet. Soups and dairy products remain on the menu. A light fruit dinner the night before is encouraged.
In the morning, the child takes the remedy prescribed by the doctor. In the evening of the same day, it is recommended to take a laxative to accelerate the evacuation of dead pinworms from the intestines. To prevent self-infection of children during treatment, it is necessary to neutralize the environment from helminth eggs as much as possible.
Hygiene rules to be followed during treatment:
- The dwelling is cleaned daily with disinfectants;
- The toilet bowl and sink for hand washing are treated with disinfectant solutions;
- The underwear of the child and all family members should be changed in the morning and evening, children's panties are disinfected by ironing them with a hot iron;
- Nibbling of nails is excluded, they are cut short;
- Before eating or any snack, after using the toilet, wash your hands with soap and water.
So that the child is not disturbed by the manifestations of allergies, skin itching, dermatitis, antihistamines are used. The most effective are syrup and drops of Tsetrin, Zodak, Loratadin. If children do not feel discomfort from itching, they scratch the skin less and do not spread pinworm eggs on their bodies and clothes. For severe itching, use an enema with a solution of soda (half a teaspoon per 200 ml of boiled warm water)
To protect the child from toxic effects as a result of the death of helminths, a day later enterosorbents are used: Polyphepan, activated carbon, Enterosgel, Smectu, Polysorb, Filtrum STI. This time period must be sustained, otherwise enterosorbents will reduce the medicinal effect of drugs for the treatment of enterobiasis. It is not worth prolonging the intake of enterosorbents for longer than 1-2 days, since drugs from this group reduce the absorption of nutrients and vitamins, while prolonged helminthiasis has already led to a deficiency of nutrients.
Pinworms in children require immediate treatment, which is carried out under the guidance of a doctor. During anthelmintic therapy, hygiene rules should be carefully observed in order to prevent re-infection.
Treatment of pinworms in children at home
Pumpkin seeds. This method is used in the treatment of pinworms in children more often than others. An important point is that the active substance, which negatively affects the parasites, is part of the green film between the shell and the pumpkin seed. Therefore, peeled seeds do not have any medicinal effect on pinworms. To prepare the product, mix 100 g of crushed pumpkin seeds peeled from the top cover with 1/4 cup of olive oil. This mixture is taken on an empty stomach, food intake is allowed only after 3 hours. The course is designed for 3 days, after a 3-day break it can be repeated again.
Another method of treating pumpkin seeds requires preparation. It lies in the fact that the child is given an enema for 3 days in a row in the morning. The last time this procedure is carried out on the day of treatment. In the evening on the eve of taking the pumpkin seed drug, you need to drink a saline laxative. In a mortar, pound seeds with a preserved gray-green shell in the following amount:
- Child 3-4 years old - 75 g;
- 5-7 years old - 100 g;
- 8-10 years old - 150 g.
Pumpkin seeds are mixed with honey (50-100 g), the child is offered to eat this mixture on an empty stomach. After 2-3 hours, children take a laxative, after 30 minutes they make another enema. After a full bowel movement, you can offer your child a light meal (porridge, vegetable soup, dairy products).
A substitute for ground seeds can be a decoction of pumpkin seeds, drunk on an empty stomach.
The number of seeds for decoction, depending on age:
- Up to 5 years - 150 g;
- From 5 to 7 years old - 200 g;
- Up to 10 years - 300 g.
After 2 hours, the child takes a laxative.
Find out more: Pumpkin seeds: benefits and harms
Garlic for the treatment of pinworms. A contraindication to the use of this method is gastritis, the recipe is applicable only with an excellent condition of the digestive tract. It is necessary to finely chop 2 cloves of medium size garlic, stir with the same amount of water by volume. The child takes the resulting mixture before bedtime, washing it down with boiled water. The course of treatment lasts for 3 days. It should be repeated after a week. (more: the benefits and harms of garlic, garlic treatment)
Beetroot and carrot juice from pinworms. Beet juice is used as an adjuvant for the treatment of enterobiasis. Its high biological activity makes it possible to purify the blood, to remove intoxication from the vital activity of helminths.
A high concentration of active substances of the juice can be toxic to a child, therefore, before use, it is defended in the refrigerator for 3 hours. To improve the taste, beetroot juice is diluted with freshly squeezed carrot juice. A mixture of juices is taken for 14 days, 100 ml in the evening and in the morning on an empty stomach.
Onion. A mixture of 50 ml of sunflower oil, 1 tsp. salt and 100 g of chopped onions are mixed and offered to the child before bedtime. The course of treatment is 5 days.
Treatment with enemas. For the treatment of pinworms, it is enough for a restful sleep to give the child a micro enema with 200 ml of cool water. A popular recipe for an enema with garlic and milk is considered more effective.
To prepare it, boil 1 head of garlic in milk until soft. The broth is filtered, from 100 ml of liquid they make a micro enema to the child at night. The course of treatment is 1 week. Using this method, one should be very careful, if children complain of discomfort, treatment is stopped.
The author of the article: Sokolova Praskovya Fedorovna | Pediatrician
Education: Diploma in the specialty "General Medicine" received at the Volgograd State Medical University. A specialist certificate was immediately received in 2014.
