«Worms - yuck!»
Lena* can't sleep. She whines and cries because her bottom itches terribly. When her mum checks, she discovers that the 7-year-old has scratched her bum badly. On closer inspection of her pyjamas, she finds the culprit: a tiny white worm.
The idea of worms in the body is admittedly quite disgusting. However, these parasites have been living in close symbiosis with their human and animal hosts for over 150 million years and are extremely well adapted. It is estimated that around two billion people worldwide are colonised by parasitic worms, technically known as helminths.
Pinworms are transmitted via toys, soft toys or door traps, among other things.
However, the vast majority of cases are recorded in much warmer climate zones with comparatively low hygiene standards. In this country, worm infections are rarer. «As worm infections are not reportable, we don't have any concrete figures,» says Dr Bernhard Beck, a specialist in tropical and travel medicine in Zurich who specialises in the treatment of worm infections.
Infection occurs from person to person
When children get a worm infection, it is usually caused by pinworms. Pinworms belong to the group of so-called threadworms, which specialise in living in the human intestine.
«Pinworms are white, about ten millimetres long and resemble sewing thread,» says Beck. «Infection usually occurs from person to person via the ingestion of worm eggs in the mouth.» This means that toys soiled with worm eggs, soft toys, unwashed organic vegetables, but also contaminated door traps, shared towels, bed linen and so on are possible sources of transmission.
Within hours, the eggs develop into larvae in the intestine, which then migrate towards the small intestine. «The children don't notice anything,» explains Beck. After about a month, the larvae develop into adult pinworms.
"To lay their eggs, the adult females crawl out of the anus at night and lay many tiny eggs in an extremely adhesive sticky shell in the folds of the anus. This can lead to severe itching in this region, which is why affected children scratch persistently, especially in the evening and at night, and are therefore unable to sleep.
An infection with threadworms is usually more of a nuisance than a health hazard.
As a result, a vicious circle begins, as worm eggs repeatedly get onto the fingers and under the fingernails when scratching. «If the fingers are then put in the mouth, the eggs get back into the intestine, which leads to constant re-infection,» emphasises the tropical medicine specialist.
«The worm eggs also get onto toys, door traps, toilet seats and so on via the hands, so that other people can also become infected.»
«An infection with threadworms is usually more of a nuisance than a health hazard, as the worms do not pass through the intestinal wall,» says Beck. "In rare cases, complications can occur in women and girls if pinworms also infest the vagina, which can lead to inflammation.
Detection with a strip test
Scratching can also lead to inflammatory skin infections on the anus. The disease is also contagious due to the spread of the worm eggs. If a pinworm infection is suspected, the family doctor or paediatrician should therefore always be consulted.
The disease can be detected relatively easily with a strip test. «To do this, parents dab their child's anus with an adhesive strip in the morning before washing to catch any eggs,» says Beck. «Sometimes you can also find a worm in the underwear, which you can also take to the doctor.»
5 tips for preventing worms:
- Make sure your children - and yourself - practise meticulous hand hygiene, especially after playing outside, after going to the toilet and before eating.
- Raw vegetables should always be washed or cooked thoroughly before eating. When buying manure-fertilised organic vegetables, look for trustworthy producers.
- Always cover sandpits well after use to protect them from contamination by cat or dog faeces.
- Infection with cat or dog roundworm, for example, is possible via the faeces of pets such as dogs and cats. This is rare, but can occur.
- Regularly deworm pets with an outdoor run and clean their fur. Dogs love to roll around in the faeces of other creatures during walks, which can also lead to transmission.
Special worm medication in tablet form is used to treat worm infections, which safely kills the worms in the intestine. «Treatment is always administered to the affected person themselves and, as a precaution, to all members of the household,» explains Beck, «even those without symptoms.»
It is important that the drug treatment is supplemented by supportive behavioural measures. This is because although the medication kills the worms, infection occurs via the worm eggs. «It is therefore important to wash your hands thoroughly with soap several times a day, especially after going to the toilet, after playing outside and before eating,» says Bernhard Beck.
