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The most common form of pyrantel for human and veterinary use is pyrantel pamoate. Pyrantel is a safe, effective, and inexpensive treatment for several types of intestinal worms, including pinworms. Since pinworms are easily transferred from one individual to another by hand contact, it is recommended to treat both the affected individual as well as close contacts. If eggs are present, treatment with pyrantel or a similar medication is recommended.
#Pin worms in poop skin
While the worms themselves may be difficult to visualize, especially during daytime hours when they are less active, application and removal of sticky transparent tape to the affected skin may help reveal the presence of pinworm eggs. Scratching of the affected area can cause additional spread of the eggs as well as reinfection of the same individual. This process occurs primarily at night and results for the severe anal itching and disturbed sleep that is often associated with pinworm infection. Female pinworms reposition their eggs to the skin surrounding the human anus. The eggs replicate and grow in the human gastrointestinal system and migrate through the intestines, finally exiting the human body through the anus. Humans are exposed to pinworms through oral contact, after contaminated fingers, clothes, or bedding allow for transfer of eggs into mouth. Pinworms are tiny, thread-shaped organisms that are white in color. Pinworms are the most common roundworm to cause infection in children. If a person is diagnosed with intestinal worms, the entire household should be treated to prevent spread and reinfestation. In addition, children can pick up worm infestations by playing in dirt contaminated with feces and not washing their hands before eating or putting their hands in their mouths. Since an estimated 68% of households in the US own at least one pet, control of intestinal worms in pets has become an essential safeguard in preventing transmission to humans. Dogs and cats entering animal shelters are routinely treated for worms using pyrantel or other anthelmintic medications. Worm infestations can follow contact with household pets and other animals such as horses, cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, and llamas. People in developing regions are at higher risk due to poor sanitation. In heavily infested areas, more than 50% of people can have intestinal worms. About 10% of the population in the developing world is affected.
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Since intestinal worms can be transmitted from animals to people, they are considered "zoonotic" infestations.Īccording to the World Health Organization, soil-transmitted worm infestations afflict close to 1 billion people worldwide. Worms can also be transmitted to humans by handling pets, such as dogs and cats that have not been treated for worms. When a person or animal ingests the eggs, they hatch in the intestines and lead to illness. Intestinal worms are transmitted through soil or hands that are contaminated with feces containing the eggs of worms.
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Drugs used to combat intestinal worms are known as anthelmintics. Pinworm infections can cause severe rectal itching and sleep disturbances, especially in young children. The worms (helminths) cause symptoms ranging from abdominal pain and loss of appetite to dysentery. That condition is intestinal worms, including pinworms. You might not have heard of it before, but pyrantel is a drug used to treat a serious condition suffered by millions of people every year.
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