Pinworms in children

All parents want to see their children healthy - they take care that they have enough vitamins, they are taken to the sea and dressed according to the weather. But there are such diseases that it is very difficult to protect children from. Among them - infection with helminths. Pinworms in children are common, and information about the symptoms and treatment of helminthic invasion can be useful to all moms and dads.

Unpleasant troubles: worms in a child

It is difficult to teach children to hygiene. They pull everything in their mouths, forget to wash their hands after using the toilet and before eating, and stroke stray cats and dogs. Therefore, pinworms are found in 30-100% of babies. Infection with these parasites is called "enterobiosis".

Their presence does not bode well. They poison the body of the child, cause allergic reactions (which is expressed by skin rashes and even bronchial asthma). Helminths can creep into the genitals and cause inflammation. Pinworms can damage the intestinal wall and cause inflammation of the peritoneum. With a massive infection, they provoke an attack of appendicitis.

To drive the pinworms is not so difficult, but re-infection happens very often. Therefore, family hygiene issues come to the fore.

How to find out if your child has pinworms: enterobiosis symptoms

Vigilant mothers can always, by the behavior of their baby, suspect that he has had pinworms. After all, when they appear, the following symptoms are found in the child:

• the main symptom is unbearable itching in the perineum or anal region (it occurs periodically, often at night, when the female pinworm gets out of the intestine to lay eggs on the skin);
• loss of appetite (or increased desire for food) and nausea;
• headache;
• dizziness;
• restless sleep;
• abdominal pain (near the navel);
• violation of the chair - diarrhea or constipation;
• increased fatigue, decreased concentration;
• pale skin;
• bruises under the eyes;
• increased salivation;
• weight loss;
• tooth gnashing during sleep;
• girls may have urinary incontinence (due to irritation of the urethra with worms) and discharge from the genitals.

So the main factor that indicates pinworms in children is external symptoms. And treatment should begin as soon as they appear.

Mom can notice pinworms on the child's pope when she washes the baby. In the case of a strong invasion, the parasites remain on the panties and may be present in the feces. They look like white slender sticks with double-pointed ends. In some individuals one of the ends is rounded. The length of the worms does not exceed 1 cm. They move. Eggs of parasites cannot be found in feces: only adults can be present there.

What tests will help to identify uninvited guests?

If a boy or girl has strong immunity, then the manifestations of enterobiosis can be blurred or be absent for a long time. Therefore, at the slightest suspicion of helminthic invasion, the child should be scraped (in kindergartens such an examination is carried out regularly). To do this, use adhesive tape. It is glued to the anus, then peeled off and placed on a glass slide. Instead of a tape, a cotton swab is often used, which is simply carried out over the baby's ass (near the anus). To obtain reliable results, the procedure should be carried out several times in 2-3 days.

For the diagnosis of enterobiosis, a blood test is also performed, which helps to detect antibodies. They are developed by immunity in response to intoxication caused by the activity of worms.

It is useless to do a fecal analysis: it will not help detect pinworms.

How to remove pinworms from the body?

How to start treatment of pinworms in children? Drugs, the range of which is now quite wide, effectively cope with the task of eliminating enterobiosis.

It should be remembered that the majority of drugs to combat worms are quite toxic, therefore, if pinworms are detected in children, the pediatrician must prescribe treatment. In children with enterobiasis, the following drugs are most often prescribed:

• Pyrantel Inexpensive drug costs from 30 to 50 rubles;
• Piperazine. The drug is not very effective, but it is the safest and low toxic. It costs up to 30 rubles .;
• Helmintox. Can be used from 6 years. Sold at a price of 80-120 rubles.;
• Levamisole (Decaris). Applied from 3 years. For these drugs will have to pay up to 70 rubles.;
• Mebendazole Suitable for patients from 2 to 10 years. They give 25-50 mg at a time. One of the most economical drugs - 20 rubles.
• Vermox. Popular tool with a wide spectrum of action. Allowed from 2 years. Its cost is 90 rubles.

Parents are often asked by the country's main television pediatrician about which medicine is best to use to get rid of pinworms in children. Komarovsky advises the treatment with Albendazole. He is able to defeat several types of parasites at once, is a powerful antihelminthic. But Evgeny Olegovich draws the attention of parents to the fact that such a drug can only be given to children from 2 years of age. He quickly wins pinworms, but has many side effects, so it is better not to "assign" him yourself.

If itch and allergy do not give your child rest, you can use antihistamines - Loratidine, Cetrin, Zodak, and also microclysmic with soda solution (take 200 ml of water with half a teaspoon of soda).

A day after taking antiglycan drugs for the prevention of toxemia, the child should be given chelators (activated carbon, Polysorb, Enterosgel) - 1-2 tablets. Linex or Bifidumbacterin is used to restore the intestinal microflora.

Is it possible to do with folk remedies?

Treatment of pinworms with folk remedies in children gives excellent results, but only if the rules of hygiene are strictly followed.

If you decide to defeat pinworms in children with just such a strategy, you can perform home treatment using the following methods:

• Give the child 3 days of garlic mixture (2 cloves of garlic skip through the garlic pot, mix in a 1 to 1 ratio with water). It is necessary to drink before bedtime and drink water. Repeat treatment after a week;
• chop onion (100 g) in a meat grinder, add 50 ml of vegetable oil and 1 tsp. salt. Give the child a night of 5 days;
• use pumpkin seeds with a film, which is located between the rind and the seed. They should be crushed and mixed with 100 ml of olive oil. Mix the baby should drink on an empty stomach; after that it is forbidden to eat 3 hours. Treatment to spend 3 days.

Pinworms enter the child’s body in two ways - domestic (if personal hygiene is not followed) and contact (from sick animals or people).

In order to avoid self-infection, the child should change her panties in the morning and evening. After washing the underwear should be ironed. It is imperative to wear shorts during sleep that fit snugly against the body or overalls (so that the child cannot comb the itchy place). It is necessary to wash the baby twice a day with soap. Be sure to do wet cleaning. You must teach your baby to wash his hands and not pull his fingers in his mouth. Marigold should be short so as not to turn them into a collection of dirt.

Pinworms - not the worst of worms. Modern drugs will help to quickly rid the body of them. The problem, rather, is not how to destroy these parasites, but to not meet them again. Remember that the main enemies of pinworms are hygiene and cleanliness!