Pinworms, or Enterobius vermicularis, are a common human parasitic infection that causes an itchy anus and can lead to re-infection or transmission. Treatment involves antiparasitic drugs and preventing reinfection through proper hygiene. The disease is more common in school-age children and proper hand washing is important to reduce infections.
Enterobius vermicularis may be better known to most people as pinworms or roundworms and are responsible for some of the most common human parasitic infections. The eggs of the worms are usually ingested and therefore the prodigious spawning takes place at night right at the anal opening. This results in a frustrating anal itch, which most people can’t help but scratch, leading to re-infection or easy transmission of the worms from one person to another. Sometimes, if one person in a family gets an Enterobius vermicularis infection, doctors treat all other family members at the same time.
It might be fair to say that an Enterobius vermicularis infection is relatively mild and unlikely to cause serious complications. Eggs that enter the body are located in the intestines and mature rapidly. After males mate, they die and are shed from the body in feces, but females move into the anus every night to lay new eggs.
The most significant symptom of pinworms is caused by this spawning behavior; it can irritate the skin and the anus can itch a lot. Itching sometimes causes lack of sleep, so you may notice irritability or other symptoms of poor quality sleep. Females are also prone to vaginal itching, as pinworms can sometimes lay their eggs near the vagina.
While rare, difficulties can occur if people have large collections of Enterobius vermicularis. They may begin to lose weight, which is usually a direct result of loss of appetite. While complications are uncommon with pinworms, they still need to be eradicated so they are not passed on to others.
With the aforementioned symptom of itchy anus, especially in children or people who have children, roundworms should be suspected. A diagnostic tool, especially with children, is to look at the anus after the child has gone to sleep. There may be pinworms coming out of it. Another method is to use scotch tape briefly on the anus to gather potential evidence of eggs. This could then be tested in the laboratory. People can also visit their doctors for diagnosis.
There are many important steps to get rid of Enterobius vermicularis. Doctors usually prescribe an antiparasitic drug that is taken for a few weeks to kill the worms. Preventing reinfection is equally vital. This means discouraging any hand scratching the anus, washing hands after using the toilet, keeping the toilets in the house clean, and making sure that shared underwear, bedding and linens such as towels are changed frequently and washed thoroughly. .
It is not uncommon for failure of the above steps to lead to reinfection, and treatment with medications does not make people invulnerable to future infections. The disease probably occurs more frequently in school-age children because hygiene is not good and children can easily pass the eggs onto other children’s hands, where they enter the body orally. It is important to encourage proper hand washing to reduce infections that originate in schools.
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