Medicine for worms in children
Helminths are parasites from three groups (nematodes, cestodes and trematodes), numbering about 240 species. They have a different size and shape, life cycles and place of localization, but they always use the victim's body for nutrition and vital activity. Helminths are capable of parasitizing several systems and organs of the human body: it can be the liver, lungs, intestines, brain, eyes. According to medical statistics, parasitic diseases cover about a quarter of the world's population.
Preschoolers and younger students are most often affected by pinworms and roundworms - worms from the genus of nematodes. These parasites become the causative agents of ascariasis and enterobiasis. The consequences of helminthic invasion are serious pathologies, the most severe of which are cancer.
For a developing child's body, helminthiasis is a difficult test. The supply of tissues with nutrients, vitamins and minerals is disrupted, the waste products of worms cause allergies and toxic damage. The digestive tract, nervous and respiratory systems are affected. For the treatment of children, only safe and effective anthelmintic drugs are used.
Content:
- Test for the presence of parasites in a child and an adult
- What is the best worm medicine for children?
- Medicines for the prevention of worms in children
- How to remove worms in children?
Test for the presence of parasites in a child and an adult
To verify the presence or absence of helminths, you need to answer the test questions. If you are not sure about the accuracy of the answer, it is considered negative. Positive responses are summed up:
- The test taker works, studies in a large team (the child attends kindergarten);
- There are recurrent abdominal pains of varying intensity;
- An increase in lymph nodes is diagnosed;
- The baby has severe sleep disorders (cries, cannot sleep for a long time, often wakes up at night);
- Skin rashes are observed;
- Disorders of the gastrointestinal tract occur (diarrhea, diarrhea, bloating);
- Allergy manifestations are diagnosed: asthmatic attacks, allergic cough or runny nose, neurodermatitis;
- Itching occurs in the anus (more often at night or in the evening);
- There is a constant feeling of fatigue that does not go away after rest or sleep;
- There is bitterness in the mouth, nausea, not depending on food intake;
- There are muscle pains out of relation to the load;
- The person being tested often consumes uncooked meat, steaks with blood, dried fish, sushi, homemade salted brisket;
- A change in appetite is diagnosed: a decrease or increase that does not affect weight;
- There are a lot of vegetables and fruits in the diet, which are not well washed and not scalded with boiling water.
Test results:
- 7 or more positive answers - laboratory tests are required (blood test for the presence of giardiasis, threefold stool sample for eggs of worms, threefold anal scraping for enterobiasis);
- 15 or more positive answers - there is almost certainly one or more types of helminthiasis.
To clarify the diagnosis and referral for examination, consultation with a parasitologist or infectious disease specialist is required.
What is the best worm medicine for children?
Each type of helminthiasis is best treated with a specific drug that is most active against a particular type of parasite. Before the doctor selects the necessary drug, the culprit of the invasion should be clarified. This is very important, since even the safest antihelminthic drug has a toxic effect on the body.
To eliminate nematodes, drugs recommended by the World Health Organization are used. These are derivatives of Mebendazole (Vormil, Vermox), Pirantel (analogues of Nemocid and Helmintox), Albendazole (Nemozole), Levamisole (Decaris). The least toxic drug is Piperazine (but it is not highly effective).
Rules for the use of medicines for worms in children:
- For safe use, exact adherence to dosage is required;
- The frequency of taking the medicine and the dose is calculated by the doctor, there may be discrepancies with the instructions for the drug;
- In the case of massive helminthiasis, a course treatment is used, several drugs are used that complement each other or are taken intermittently;
- When prescribing drugs for worms in children, contraindications must be taken into account: pathologies of the blood, digestive and nervous systems, oncological processes in the body.
Medicines for the prevention of worms in children
There are 2 points of view of parasitologists on the prevention of helminthiasis in children:
- The first is that every six months, prophylactic anthelmintic drugs should be taken by children visiting the children's team. The reasons for this are the ease of transfer of eggs and larvae of worms, unstable hygiene skills in children, inaccurate diagnosis;
- The second is that anti-worms are very toxic for the child's body, you should not use them without specifying the diagnosis.
The child's absence of abdominal pain, nausea and diarrhea, itching in the anal region, bright skin color, good appetite are signs that make it possible to feel confident in the absence of helminthiasis. And the symptoms of ascariasis or enterobiasis can become a reason for an in-depth examination even with a negative test result for worm eggs.
How to remove worms in children?
If at least one person in the family suffers from helminthiasis, all its members need to be examined and treated. How is children treated for worms? The doctor prescribes a therapeutic dose of an anthelmintic drug, depending on the weight, age, degree and duration of the invasion.
List of medicines for worms, ranked by toxicity, starting with the safest:
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Piperazine for children in the form of a suspension 
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The medicine causes paralysis of the musculature of pinworms and ascaris. In adults, the drug disrupts the functionality of the neuromuscular system, without affecting the larvae and eggs of parasites. The positive quality of this remedy is that the worms do not die in the intestines and do not poison the body with decay products. Paralyzed helminths come out with feces during bowel movements. Piperazine is used for minor helminthiasis, for the treatment of children and pregnant women. A massive lesion cannot be cured with Piperazine, in which case the drug can be used as an additional agent. Side effects of the drug: abdominal pain of a spastic nature, nausea, headache, diarrhea. In patients with kidney pathologies, limb trembling, hallucinations, a feeling of euphoria, and blurred vision may be felt. |
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Pirantel - for children from 6 months 
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Analogues and cost of the drug: Pirantel (from 30 to 50 rubles), Kombantrin, Helmintox, Nemocid (from 80 to 120 rubles). The most common medicine for worms in children, used in the case of ascariasis, enterobiasis, hookworm disease and non-kotorosis, is Pirantel. Excretion of ascaris and pinworms from the body occurs during a single application. After 2-3 weeks, you should repeat the treatment dose. To prevent reinvasion, all this time you need to carefully follow the rules of personal hygiene, iron the linen with a hot iron, change it in the morning and evening. Side effects of Pirantel: skin rash, headache and dizziness, nausea and vomiting, sleep disturbances, confusion. The tool is not used to treat children under 6 months, pregnant and lactating women, patients with kidney pathologies. |
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Mebendazole - children over 2 years old 
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Analogs of the drug: Vormin (price about 20 rubles), Vermox, Termox, Mebex, Vermakar, Vero-Mebendazole (price from 90 rubles). The medicine is used to treat a wide range of helminthiasis (enterobiasis, ascariasis, teniasis, trichinosis, trichocephalosis, ankylostomiasis, strongyloidiasis) and with mixed helminthic invasions. Side effects: hepatitis, nausea and vomiting. In case of an overdose, hyperthermia, diarrhea, rash, pruritus, alopecia, eosinophilia are diagnosed. The drug is not used in patients with ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, and is not suitable for the treatment of children under 2 years of age and pregnant women. |
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Albendazole - children over 2 years old 
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Analogs of the drug: Nemozol, Albendazole, Sanoxal, Aldazol, Gelmodol (prices from 120 to 150 rubles). The medicine for worms is effective for the treatment of a large number of diseases: it is enterobiasis, toxocariasis, ascariasis, trichinosis, hookworm disease, strongyloidosis, children's giardiasis, capillariasis, skin migratory larvae and other parasitic invasions. The effectiveness of the drug is as high as the intensity of side effects: possible disturbances in the digestive tract, inflammation of the liver, dry mouth, nausea and vomiting, convulsions, pruritus, fever, allergic urticaria. The drug is not used to treat children under 2 years of age, is not used during pregnancy, during pregnancy, and during breastfeeding. |
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Levamisole - children over 3 years old 
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Analogs: Decaris - the price is from 70 to 90 rubles. The medicine is used to treat diseases such as ascariasis, hookworm disease, noncatorosis, enterobiasis, as well as in mixed invasion. Side effects - sleep disturbances, diarrhea, abdominal pain, cramps, dizziness, headache. Overdose with prolonged use leads to impaired liver and kidney function, manifestations of allergies, hallucinations, stomatitis, arthralgia, and a flu-like symptom are diagnosed. The drug is not used to treat children under 3 years of age, patients with liver and kidney pathologies, pregnant and lactating women. The release of toxins during the decay of dead helminths leads to violent allergic reactions. To stop such manifestations, enterosorbents (activated carbon, Polyphepan, Polysorb) are prescribed simultaneously with drugs for the destruction of worms. The optimal period of use is a day after taking the anthelmintic drug, so as not to weaken its effect and not reduce its effectiveness. |
Allergy manifestations are reduced by modern antihistamines: Zyrtec, Erius, Loratadin, Tsetrin, Zodak, Clarisens. They are used in children from 1-2 years in the form of drops or syrup, relieve allergies for a long time, have a minimum of side effects and no sedative effect.
Pumpkin seeds are eaten as an additional remedy against helminths. Folk recipes against worms with tansy flowers, successfully used in adults, are unsuitable for the treatment of children because of their high toxicity.
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.
