Are there any side effects for children taking anthelmintics?

I believe that all parents will have such troubles. When their children are young, they always grind their teeth, have white spots on their faces, have white dots on their nails, their buttocks are always itchy, and so on. Most families attribute these symptoms to "roundworms" and think that their children should take deworming medicine. However, all medicines are poisonous. Can we take all kinds of anthelmintics casually? Are there any side effects after taking it? Let’s take a detailed look at it below.

The doctor said that in the past, sanitary conditions were poor and children liked to eat raw and cold food. These external environments provide a "breeding ground" for parasite eggs, because many roundworms invade the human body through food. Therefore, when living conditions are poor and hygiene habits are bad, children are prone to infection with worm eggs, and it is necessary for them to take deworming medicines regularly.

But with the improvement of living standards, both adults and children drink almost all purified water, wash their hands before and after meals, eat more and more refined food, and pay more attention to hygiene habits. Intestinal nematode disease has long become a relatively rare parasitic disease, and there is no need to give children anthelmintics regularly!

1. Taking anthelmintics indiscriminately has many side effects, which may lead to lifelong disability.

1. Hazard 1 : Allergic encephalitis

As early as 2009, the National Center for Adverse Drug Reaction Monitoring issued a warning that imidazole anthelmintics such as levamisole can cause encephalitis syndrome; many domestic hospitals have also had case analyses of encephalitis caused by taking anthelmintics.

According to a domestic study on anthelmintic encephalitis, the most common symptoms of the disease are impaired consciousness, slow reaction, limb paralysis, aphasia, cortical urinary incontinence, etc., and these symptoms may lead to lifelong disability.

2. Harm 2 : Damage to liver and kidney function

Some people who take anthelmintics may experience elevated alanine aminotransferase, elevated aspartate aminotransferase, and a transient increase in blood urea nitrogen. Liver and kidney functions will be damaged!

3. Other hazards

In addition, the following symptoms may also occur: nausea, abdominal discomfort, abdominal pain and diarrhea; rash, fatigue, occasionally exfoliative dermatitis and alopecia; granulocytopenia and thrombocytopenia; some dolls may also experience dry mouth, fatigue, drowsiness and other symptoms...

2. Rumors : These symptoms do not necessarily mean that there are worms

■My child’s butt is always itchy, is it pinworms?

An itchy butt does not necessarily mean that you have a pinworm infection. More often it is caused by inadequate skin cleaning or local irritation, such as urinary tract infection, eczema, diaper allergy, etc.

■My child keeps grinding his teeth when sleeping. Is it because of worms?

There are many reasons that cause children to grind their teeth, such as uneven teeth and other tooth occlusion problems, excessive mental stress or excitement during the day, eating too much before going to bed, etc. Some of them may have a family genetic tendency.

■A child has white spots on his face. Are they worm spots?

There is no direct correlation between whether a child develops white spots on his face and ascariasis infection. Many kinds of skin diseases can cause white spots on the face, such as pityriasis alba (also called simple pityriasis), pityriasis versicolor (commonly known as tinea versicolor), anemic nevus, apigmented nevus, etc. Among them, the most common one in children is pityriasis alba.

■My child often complains of stomachache. Is it because of worms?

Ascaris infection can cause abdominal pain in children, but the converse is not true: “abdominal pain means there are worms.” Indigestion, constipation, mesenteric lymph node inflammation, gastritis, etc. can cause stomach discomfort in children.

3. The real possible symptoms of ascariasis

1. Malnutrition

Ascaris not only plunder nutrients in the small intestine, but also damage the intestinal mucosa, causing digestion and absorption disorders. It also affects the absorption of protein, fat, carbohydrates, and vitamins A, B2, C, and even causes developmental disorders.

2. Damage to intestinal mucosa

There are often symptoms such as intermittent pain around the navel, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, and indigestion.

3. Cause hypersensitivity reactions

Such as urticaria, angioedema, skin itching and conjunctivitis, and shock may occur when the reaction is strong.

4. Common complications

When ascaris are stimulated, such as when eating spicy food or having a fever, they may enter the ducts or other organs connected to the intestinal cavity, such as the bile duct, pancreatic duct, appendix, etc., causing ascariasis complications, biliary ascariasis, intestinal obstruction, and even penetrate the intestinal wall to cause intestinal perforation and lead to peritonitis, etc.

If a child has the above symptoms, parents should take the child for a stool examination first. Only when worm eggs are found can it be proved that the child does have ascariasis and medication should be used appropriately under the guidance of a doctor.

However, taking medicine is only the last step. What is more important is to strengthen daily household and personal hygiene to prevent parasite infection to the greatest extent possible.