Every child learns the environment through all senses. The organ of taste plays an important role in this. The baby tries to lick or bite any toy. The rules of personal hygiene are instilled at a more conscious age, and therefore helminthic infestations are very common among children of kindergarten age. It is very difficult for a child to understand why he has to wash his hands or why he should not try sand.
Today in our article we will talk about helminths, namely pinworms. How to deal with them? Why are they so common among preschool children? We will answer these and many other questions.
Pinworms in children - what is it?
Pinworms are whitish roundworms or helminths. Their individuals are subdivided into males and females.
When these worms are large enough, they can be seen as scraps of white thread on linen or in feces.
The length of the female reaches one centimeter, the length of the male is about 5 - 6 mm. The female has a special suction cup, thanks to which she can be fixed on the intestinal wall. The tail of the male is rounded, and that of the female is pointed, like an arrowhead.
The pinworm got its name from the pointed ends of its body. Pinworms are divided into 3 types. The disease of enterobiasis got its name precisely from the Latin language, which means “pinworm”.
The eggs that the female lays are oval in shape. Unlike the individual itself, eggs can only be detected under a microscope.
The favorite place of residence of these parasites is the small intestine and the cecum. The female and male meet in the ileum, after which the pregnant female tends to the anus, where she lays eggs. The female loves to crawl out at night, while secreting isovaleric acid. This is due to the main symptom of this disease - excruciating itching in the anal passage.
After mating, the male dies, and the female dies after laying eggs. Thus, these nematodes live for about a month, constantly multiplying and dying.
Ways of infection with enterobiasis
The most important route of infection is through household contact. This is the infection of a healthy person from a sick person through bed linen, a towel. And re-invasion, when a child, during itching through his hands, infects himself again.
In kindergartens, pinworm infection of children ranges from 25 to 90%.
During the combing of the anal passage, the eggs fall on the hands, under the nails, and also on the bedding. In this connection, other family members become infected without suspecting it.
During walks in playgrounds, parasite infestation can occur in sandpits, where there is a massive "accumulation" of children's pens. Also, after a walk, unwashed hands can cause the spread of enterobiasis.
From house dust, if personal hygiene is not followed, or when wet daily cleaning is rarely carried out, eggs can enter through the respiratory tract. This happens especially often when knocking out carpets, washing curtains.
Pets can bring pinworm eggs from the street on wool, paws.
In general, enterobiasis is still a "disease of dirty hands."
Symptoms of having pinworms in children
- The leading sign of infection with enterobiasis is itching in the anus. The child is very worried, especially at night. He becomes irritable, whiny, scratching appears in the buttocks. The baby's arms practically do not leave the panties.
- Girls may experience itching around the labia, causing inflammation of the vulva.
- Bad sleep. The stormy vital activity of female pinworms at night leads to sleep disturbances, capriciousness of its owner.
- Disorders of the intestines, imbalance of the intestinal microflora, and hence flatulence, pain in the umbilical region, upset stool (frequent, but formalized stools).
- Strabismus or grinding of teeth at night. This is due to the excitability of the baby.
- General symptoms of intoxication of the body: lethargy, weakness, fever. These signs can be observed with an increased population of pinworms of the intestine.
- Allergic reactions in a child like dermatitis, asthma attacks, reminiscent of bronchial asthma. They arise due to the fact that the parasite is a foreign agent to which the child's immune system can react hyperreactively. Incomprehensible rashes on the skin, which also practically do not heal, may indicate the presence of a parasite.
- Headaches against a background of intoxication.
An increase in eosinophils in the blood can speak not only of an allergic reaction, but also of helminthic invasion.
Why are pinworms dangerous?
- due to their ability to migrate, in the absence of adequate treatment, roundworms can crawl into the bile ducts and other internal organs - lungs, eyes, nasal cavity, causing inflammatory changes. This can happen with massive invasion;
- in girls, pinworms can migrate to the vulva, through the fallopian tubes, which leads to the development of inflammation, which can further lead to infertility;
- directly negative impact on the intestine itself, disruption of its work, provoking the development of enteritis, colitis.
Complications of enterobiasis are quite rare, since modern diagnostics allows pinworms to be detected in time and treatment is started.
Diagnosis of enterobiasis
- The first stage is the collection of anamnesis, complaints from all family members.
- The second stage is microscopy of scrapings taken from the skin of the anus.
- The third stage is a complete blood count, in which eosinophilia and anemia can be detected. Sometimes there are common signs of inflammation - leukocytosis, increased ESR.
Graham's method - an imprint from the anus to the tape. The print is taken in the morning, before the act of defecation, the child does not need to be washed. The method is used three times, with an interval of a week. The efficiency is reached 93%.
Scraping from the perianal area is taken with a cotton swab dipped in glycerin. Then the material from the cotton wool is applied to the glass. This method is quite outdated and its efficiency reaches only 50%. Scraping for enterobiasis is also carried out once a year for children in kindergartens and schools for preventive purposes.
Pinworm eggs should not be looked for in the feces, since they will not be there, only scrapings are used for diagnosis.
In the modern world in recent decades, an innovation has appeared - a study for enterobiasis using a PCR reaction to identify the DNA of the pathogen. You can also carry out scraping from the subungual spaces. These examinations are carried out in municipal clinics, and on a paid basis in private clinics. They are the most informative.
How to treat enterobiasis in a child?
Overview of anthelmintics
- Pirantel. The drug is available in two forms - suspension, tablets. Used in children from 6 months. It is used at any time of the day. In case of enterobiasis, it is better to carry out treatment for 5 days in a row at an age-specific dosage, then, after a week, repeat the treatment cycle again. The drug tastes sweet, can be diluted with water, drunk an hour after eating. Between treatment cycles, your child can be given an enema with baking soda before bed, if, of course, he allows you.
- Mebendazole or Vermox - assigned to children from 1 year old. It can be used in an age-specific dosage once. Then the reception is repeated after 2 and 4 weeks. The drug has a wide spectrum of action, it also helps to get rid of other worms.
- Albendazole - a broad-spectrum drug. Its reception can be one-time.
Treatment with anthelmintic drugs is best done for all family members.
Sorbents
Here in the arsenal we have Neosmectin, Polysorb. Sorbents help relieve intoxication, remove waste products of parasites, but not pinworms themselves and their eggs. Sorbents should be taken one hour before taking anthelmintic drugs.
Probiotics and prebiotics
Allow to normalize the balance of microflora and intestinal secretory function.
It is very important to carry out proper hygiene of the baby during drug treatment and in between. All underwear and bed linen are washed at 90 ° C and ironed on both sides. The baby should be bathed daily before bed. Otherwise, the effectiveness of treatment will be low and the cycle of pinworms in the family will resume.
Folk remedies
- Enema before bed. As a rule, one to two glasses of enema liquid is enough for a child.
- Herbal decoctions. For example, wormwood.
- Infusion of onions. The onion should be poured with boiling water and insisted for half a day. After that, the contents should be drunk in two steps.
- Tansy, namely its flowers, which are poured with boiling water. It is necessary to insist for about two hours.
- Thyme, centaury - also help in the fight against enterobiasis.
- The well-known "grandmother's" way of removing helminths is garlic, pumpkin seeds. They must be crushed, poured with boiling water and taken in the morning and only after 3 hours have breakfast.
- A two-week intake of beetroot juice helps fight enterobiasis.
Prevention of pinworm infestation
- washing hands after walking, before each meal and obligatory annual examination for pinworm eggs;
- anthelmintic therapy for domestic animals for prophylactic purposes;
- during treatment, change the baby's underwear and bedding daily;
- if at least one family member of enterobiasis is detected, all family members should be treated;
- bathing the baby before bedtime.
Doctor Komarovsky E.O. about pinworms
Pinworm infection and the disease that occurs for this reason is usually called enterobiasis. The most famous children's doctor claims that it is better to prevent this disease than to cure. After all, pinworms in children very often have a tendency to recur.
Now on the market there are many preparations for single use of helminths.
Taking anthelmintic drugs must be agreed with your doctor for the correct dosage selection. When taking an inadequate dose, the baby can get poisoned, because such drugs are harmful to the liver.
During treatment with these drugs, the appearance of nausea and abdominal pain may occur. This is normal and indicates the death of pinworms.
Also, after anthelmintic therapy, the biocenosis of the children's intestine should be restored with the help of pro- or prebiotics.
It is very important to follow preventive measures. Doctor Komarovsky recommends washing your child's hands after walking. If you have pets, you should bathe them and also carry out anthelmintic preventive therapy. Pets should also wash their paws after walking.
Child's nails should be trimmed short and kept clean at all times. Try not to let the child have the habit of biting his nails.
After the treatment of enterobiasis, all children's things and bedding must be washed or boiled and ironed on both sides.
Children's toys, especially fluffy stuffed toys, should also be washed and dried outdoors in direct sunlight if possible.
All family members must also be diagnosed for enterobiasis. Accordingly, if detected, it is necessary to be treated.
In any case, it is important to understand that when your child visits kindergarten, pinworms will periodically visit your family. The main thing is to be treated on time and to avoid complications. After all, childhood without helminths is very rare.
