Doctors often call enterobiosis “a disease of unwashed hands,” because it is because of the failure to observe basic hygiene rules that parasites penetrate the human body. Most often, this disease is diagnosed in children of primary school age, as well as in children under 7 years of age. Adhering to the therapeutic scheme drawn up by the doctor, you can quickly get rid of this ailment. About how to treat enterobiosis in children, we will tell in our article. We will dwell in more detail on the features of the diagnosis of the disease and the drugs used in therapy.
What is enterobiosis?
Other names for this disease sound like helminthiasis or helminthic invasion. Enterobiosis involves infection of the digestive tract of an adult or child with pinworms. Nematodes of the species Enterobius vermicularis, which are the causative agents of the disease in humans, are grayish-white in color and have an elongated shape. Pinworm body length is from 2 to 12 mm (in females). They parasitize mainly in the small intestine and only for laying eggs the female crawls out of the anus through the rectum. One sign that a person is infected with pinworms is severe itching in the anus.
People suffering from enterobiasis strongly comb these places. This usually happens during sleep. At the same time, a huge number of eggs fall under the nails. Then there is the dispersion of parasites in bedding, furniture. Thus, the child is constantly self-infected.
Of course, compared to other parasites, such as trichinella, pinworms are relatively safe for humans. But under certain conditions, worms can greatly harm the baby's body. That is why it is extremely important for parents to know how to treat enterobiosis in children and what preventive measures to take to prevent pinworm infection.
Causes of pathology
Studies have shown that pinworm eggs are not too adapted to life in the environment. They die equally quickly both at low and high temperatures. Eggs need moisture and heat to mature. That is why the spread of the disease are most often:
- home clothes;
- underwear and bedding;
- Houseware;
- Kids toys;
- tableware.
The main source of infection is a sick person - someone from the immediate environment of the child.
The greatest danger to a healthy baby is the hands and skin of the carrier of the disease. With direct contact with the anus, pinworm eggs stick to the fingers and palms of a person. As a result of this, the patient instantly becomes a source of infection for the people around him.
Thus pinworm eggs are transferred from one surface to another by the fingers. They can get into the eyes, ears, nose and mouth. These parasites can survive in any organs and parts of the human body. Another carrier of pinworms is flies and cockroaches, which pick up eggs with their paws and move them from one surface to another, including on the skin of a child.
There are a number of enterobiosis symptoms that are characteristic of adults and children. Treatment of the disease, as a rule, is quite successful. Nevertheless, the observance of elementary hygiene rules is mandatory both during therapy and after recovery.
Symptoms of enterobiasis in children
Assume that the child was infected with pinworms, it is possible even before laboratory tests. The disease is accompanied by severe itching in the anus and genital area, which is especially aggravated in the second half of the night. This is due to the fact that female pinworms crawl out of the intestine closer to the anus, where eggs are laid in the folds of the skin. The child begins to intensively comb the places of itching. This is the first symptom. Treatment of enterobiasis in children is also required if there are other signs of pinworm infection. These include:
- sleep disturbance;
- damage to the skin in itchy places;
- pain and discomfort in the abdomen - it can be colic, and cramps, and an unpleasant rumbling in the abdomen;
- nausea - usually malaise occurs in the morning;
- frequent urge to defecate, loose stool - this is due to irritation with pinworms of the rectum;
- allergic skin rash.
These are the main symptoms of enterobiosis in children. Treatment and prevention of the disease are carried out simultaneously with the therapy determined by the doctor. Since the disease has a contact-household mode of transmission, a therapeutic course will be assigned to all family members living together in the same house. After taking the medication, the analysis will need to be repeated.
What is the danger of enterobiosis?
This disease responds well enough to therapy and usually does not cause any complications. But there are exceptions. To avoid complications, you need to consult a doctor as soon as it is revealed that scraping for enterobiosis is positive. You can learn how to treat a child from your pediatrician. He must warn parents what can happen if you refuse therapy:
- Vulvovaginitis. Pinworm eggs laid in the anus can move into the genital tract, causing unpleasant itching. The constant combing of these areas leads to the growth of pathogens on the vaginal mucosa, the development of the inflammatory process and the appearance of secretions on the underwear.
- Pinworms living in the small intestine impair its motility and secretion. They can cause inflammation of the digestive system, causing the development of gastritis, gastroduodenitis, enteritis.
- With untimely treatment, pinworms can be transferred by hands to the ears, eyes, nose, causing infection of these organs. And to remove them, for example, from the eye sclera will be much more difficult than from the rectum. That is why enterobiosis needs to be cured as soon as possible.
Diagnosis of the disease
There are several methods to detect enterobiosis in children. And the better to treat a child infected with helminths, the doctor must determine, given his age, the presence of chronic diseases and other factors.
Diagnosis of the disease is carried out in one of the following ways:
- Scraping. This method is the most accurate and it is recommended to perform it in case of suspected enterobiosis in a child. The analysis consists in taking a smear from the perianal folds and examining it under a microscope.
- Fecal analysis. In the process of diagnosis, the presence or absence of helminth eggs in the child's feces is determined.
- Blood analysis. When the child's body is damaged by worms, the number of eosinophils in the blood increases.
If the analysis does not reveal pinworm eggs, but the symptoms persist, the doctor may prescribe preventive treatment.
Many parents believe that getting rid of pinworms in children who are constantly in contact with animals is almost impossible. They believe that these parasites are not so dangerous and there are much more serious diseases than enterobiosis in children. But treating a child is simply vital, because pinworms give the patient a lot of pain and discomfort, interfere with the normal growth and development of his body.
Features of drug treatment
In fact, all pinworm medicines are effective in combating parasites, but they cannot be called absolutely safe for the child’s body. Therefore, before deciding how to treat enterobiosis in a child at 2 years old, with medications or traditional medicine, you need to carefully weigh the pros and cons. The choice is up to the parents. If we talk about the means of official medicine, then today all preparations from enterobiasis for children are made on the basis of the following active ingredients:
- Albendazole Tablets based on this substance are intended for the treatment of helminths in adults and children over 1 year old. This group of anthelmintic drugs includes drugs: "Albendazole", "Nemozol", "Vormil" and others.
- Pirantel. The main advantage of anthelmintic agents based on this active substance is that they are approved for use for children under the age of 1 year. Pyrantel is a part of the Helminthox preparation.
- Mebendazole. Preparations based on this substance are better absorbed by the intestines, so they are allowed to be taken from only two years old. Mebendazole is part of a drug like Vermox.
Overview of drugs for the treatment of enterobiasis in children
Therapeutic regimens may vary depending on the age of the patient and the form of release of the drug. Young children are most often recommended to give a suspension in which the content of the active substance is reduced. In addition, in this form, the child will be easier to take the drug.
The most popular drugs for the treatment of enterobiasis in children are:
- "Albendazole". Tablets are taken orally after a meal once, not chewed. The daily rate for a child is calculated individually: 6 mg per 1 kg of body weight. Intended for children over 1 year old.
- "Fed." The drug is available in the form of a suspension and tablets. The daily dose is determined by the doctor, taking into account the fact that the norm for an adult is 0.4 g within 24 hours. The medicine is taken for 3-5 days. The drug is contraindicated for children under the age of 2 years.
- "Pirantel." A drug that causes neuromuscular blockade of helminths is taken once in the morning after a meal at the rate of 10 mg per 1 kg of body weight.
- Nemozol. A medicine based on albendazole is taken with food in an amount of 20 ml (suspension) or 400 mg (tablets) for children over two years of age and in a volume of 10 ml for babies up to 2 years. Treatment is prescribed simultaneously for all family members.
- Helminthox. The active substance of the drug is pyrantel. It is prescribed in a dosage of 10 ml / kg. Relatively safe for children over 6 months of age.
- Vermox. The drug on the basis of mebendazole is available only in the form of tablets. It should be taken in an amount of 100 ml once, in the morning after a meal. After this, the reception should be repeated 2 more times, each time with a two-week interval. The medicine is contraindicated for children under 2 years.
It is difficult to say which drug is the most effective for the treatment of enterobiasis in children. Pyrantel-based drugs are considered less toxic and safe, but by no means always they allow you to get rid of pinworms the first time. Therefore, in the process of therapy, one should strictly adhere to the doctor's recommendations and not engage in self-medication.
Traditional medicine methods
When parents are asked how to treat enterobiosis in a child at 7 years old, mothers and fathers usually choose one of the above drugs. Firstly, most of them are taken once, and secondly, for children of this age, all of these drugs are relatively harmless. As for the question of how to treat enterobiosis in preschool children, here some parents prefer traditional medicine, believing that they are safer:
- Pour a teaspoon of chopped garlic with a glass of milk and boil on the stove for 5 minutes. Take in the morning after breakfast and in the evening before going to bed for a week.
- Prepare a decoction of wormwood, pour a tablespoon of dry weight with a glass of boiling water. After cooling, use an herbal solution to perform an enema.
- Tansy decoction is used internally or to perform an anthelmintic enema. As in the case of wormwood, for a complete cure, 2-3 procedures are required.
Evaluation of the effectiveness of treatment
To achieve the desired result, therapy is performed for all family members. Otherwise, treatment is impractical. If we talk about the effectiveness and how to treat enterobiosis in children quickly, in this case it is recommended to give preference to specially developed anthelmintic drugs. As a rule, they are taken 1 time, act instantly, and to consolidate the result, the procedure should be repeated after 14 days.
Traditional medicine is far from always effective. In addition, herbal decoctions can also be called toxic to some extent. And the absorption by the intestinal walls of toxins contained in the same garlic or wormwood is much higher than in the pyrantel. In addition, herbal anthelmintic drugs do not always work the first time. Most likely, they will have to take more than one day.
We can conclude that the drugs of official medicine are most effective in the treatment of enterobiasis in children. Folk remedies for pinworms can be treated for a very long time and not get the desired result.
Treatment and prevention of enterobiasis in children
Pinworm therapy involves not only taking medications prescribed by a doctor, but also following personal hygiene rules. The same recommendations should be followed for the prevention of helminth infections:
- wash hands thoroughly after the street, before eating, before and after going to the toilet;
- to wash with soap twice a day (in the morning after sleep and in the evening before bedtime);
- iron underwear with a hot iron on both sides;
- change underwear after each wash (2 times a day);
- during treatment, change bed linen every day, and after it 1 time in 14 days;
- wash linens at a temperature of 90 ° and be sure to iron it on both sides.
Such measures are necessary in order to destroy pinworm eggs and prevent them from re-infection.
At the end of treatment, a control scraping is performed. The full recovery of a child or adult can be judged only by the results of three negative tests.