What to do if a child has worms in his anus

If there are worms in a child's anus, it means that the child has pinworm disease. Pinworm disease has a relatively large impact on children's health. If certain methods are not taken to treat it in time, it will greatly affect the child's physical condition and may even cause malnutrition in the child, which will have a very adverse effect on the child's development. Below, we will introduce you to the relevant knowledge about pinworm disease in detail!

1. Causes

Humans are the only host of pinworms, and people infected with pinworms are the only source of infection of pinworm disease. There are two modes of transmission: autologous infection and allologous infection. Self-infection occurs when female worms crawl through the anus at night and lay eggs on the surrounding skin, causing extreme itching. Children use their fingers to scratch the itch and become contaminated with worm eggs. Ingestion of worms while eating or sucking. The worms begin to hatch into larvae in the stomach and duodenum, and finally develop into adults in the lower small intestine and large intestine. The nymphs hatch at the anus, and the larvae can crawl into the anus and invade the large intestine, causing retrograde infection. These two modes of self-infection aggravate the infection and make it difficult to heal. Heterologous infection is through oral infection through food or toys contaminated with worm eggs, or through the mouth and nose, by inhaling flying worm eggs and then swallowing them. This is the main way of transmission between groups and families.

2. Clinical manifestations

About one-third of people infected with pinworms have no symptoms at all.

1. Itching around the anus or perineum

It is caused by toxic substances produced by pinworms and mechanical stimulation, which is especially severe at night, affecting sleep and causing children to cry and become restless. Due to the extreme itching, scratching causes the skin around the anus to fall off, become congested, and cause rashes and eczema. It may even induce purulent infection.

2. Digestive tract symptoms

Pinworms burrowing into the intestinal mucosa and mechanical or chemical stimulation in the gastrointestinal tract can cause symptoms such as loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea.

3. Psychiatric symptoms

The metabolic products discharged by the parasites in the body can cause mental excitement, insomnia, and night terrors and finger biting in children. The most common symptoms of pica in children are those in patients with pinworm infection, such as eating lumps of earth, coal slag, and salt.

4. Other symptoms

Caused by ectopic parasitism of pinworms, such as vaginitis, salpingitis, endometritis, etc. It can also invade the appendix and cause appendicitis or even peritonitis.

Treatment

1. General treatment and care

This disease must be cured by combining prevention with drug deworming. The child must wear full-crotch pants to prevent fingers from touching the anus, and wash the skin around the anus with soap and warm water every morning. The underwear that is taken off should be steamed or soaked in boiling water and then exposed to the sun to kill insects for 10 consecutive days. Pinworms have a short lifespan and may heal on their own if repeated infection can be prevented.

2. Medication

(1) Mebendazole is most effective when taken orally.

(2) Take enbopirovinium orally and take it again after 7 days. Do not crush the tablets. If necessary, the treatment can be repeated after 2 weeks. The stool will turn red 1 to 2 days after taking the medicine.

(3) Take thiabendazole orally for 3 consecutive days, and it has a very good effect.

(4) To prevent recurrence, take another dose of benzylphenol after 14 days. It has good efficacy and few side effects, except for occasional nausea and vomiting.

(5) Thiethylpyridine has a significant effect in expelling pinworms.

3. Local treatment

If you have anal itching or eczema, wash the area before going to bed every night and apply 10% lice ointment or 2% aminomercuric oxide ointment to kill insects and relieve itching until you are cured.